All posts by C. J. Summers

I am a fourth-generation Peorian, married with three children.
Peoria Public Schools

Adult Education Center eyed for Math & Science Academy

22 Comments

Peoria Public Schools Superintendent Ken Hinton spoke to the West Bluff Council this past Thursday night to discuss his plans for a new math, science, and technology academy on the west bluff. Whereas original plans were to build that academy near Main Street in the Renaissance Park district, Hinton stated that the school district simply doesn’t have the money for that much site acquisition, in light of its other recent building projects.

So he’s looking at an existing site. He said he had considered the Loucks School site, but then they had to close that school to help balance the budget. So now his preference is to use a IGCSE chemistry tutor for Cambridge and the Adult Education Center on the corner of Moss and Garfield avenues.

Physically, he envisions keeping the front facade in place, but everything else would be renovated and “look nothing like it does now.” In order to enlarge the school, he sees it expanding northward (the front of the school faces south, more or less), possibly extending to the corner of Garfield and St. James.

Enrollment is expected to be 400-450 students, and school would be in session year-round. He foresees the school serving grades 4-10, an expansion from the original 4-8 grade concept. Similar to Valeska-Hinton Early Learning Center’s schedule, Hinton said that students at all three new schools — Harrison, Glen Oak, and the Math/Science Academy — would attend for 45 days (9 weeks), then get 15 days (3 weeks) off year-round.

The administration and board are also exploring the possibility of the Math/Science Academy being a charter school. No charter organizations have been identified yet; he said the board is in the “information-gathering stage.” One advantage of a charter school is that the district could hire Bradley professors to teach advanced math classes part-time, since they would only be required to have a degree in their field, .e.g, Phd In Computer Science, not a teaching certificate.

Adult Education programs currently in the building (which used to be known as Washington School, not to be confused with Washington Gifted School), would be relocated to the Diagnostic Learning Center near the Administrative Offices on Wisconsin. The Alternative High School program, composed of roughly 100 students, would be moved to an as-yet undetermined location.

The new Math/Science Academy would be a choice school, so any children in the district would be allowed to attend, based on aptitude and availability. Also, unlike Washington Gifted School, students will be allowed to transfer in from parochial schools or other schools outside the district.

Hinton would like to see the academy open in the fall of 2010, the same time as Harrison and Glen Oak. That means the board would have to decide on the site this summer, develop plans, and secure bonding through the Public Building Commission by the end of the year.

Miscellaneous information

The evening was chock full of interesting miscellany:

  • Hinton stated his plan is to retire (again) June 30, 2010, when his latest contract expires.
  • Plans are to rehire Dr. Cindy Fischer on a part-time basis after she retires this year.
  • The Board of Education is writing a policy for rehiring retired employees.
  • Hinton discussed his vision of Woodruff expanding to 14th grade, in coordination with Illinois Central College, so that students graduating from Woodruff would receive an Associates degree.
  • Plans are to remove the bricks from the bricked-up windows of existing school buildings to allow more natural light into classrooms.
  • Plans are to renovate Richwoods High School and build additions to Northmoor, Lindbergh, and Kellar.
2008 Campaign, General News

Darin LaHood supports Supreme Court decision

5 Comments

Someone asked me what Kevin Lyons and Darin LaHood thought of the Supreme Court’s second-amendment ruling, so I asked them. So far, I’ve only received a response from LaHood; if and when I get a response from Lyons, I’ll post it as well. Here’s what Darin had to say:

I think it is a great victory for the law abiding citizens of our community and this Country. I have always believed that law abiding citizens have the right to defend themselves with a weapon and also have the right to go hunting with a weapon. This right is clearly articulated in the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution. I strongly support the Supreme Court’s decision.

My experience as a prosecutor is that strict enforcement and prosecution of convicted felons and criminals who use and possess weapons is the most effective way to reduce gun violence and violent crime. Having personally prosecuted hundreds of violent criminals who used and possessed weapons I know first hand the importance of combating gun violence while respecting the right of law abiding citizens to own guns. We don’t need more gun laws; we need better enforcement of existing gun laws to get guns out of the hands of criminals. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which I spearheaded as a Federal Prosecutor, is a great example of how tough prosecution of felons, who possess weapons, can reduce criminal activity and take criminals off our streets.

City of Peoria

Chicago, Peoria reaction to court decision widely divergent

16 Comments

The Chicago Tribune reports that Mayor Daley is “angry” over the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Second Amendment to the Constitution. He

called the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Washington D.C. gun ban “a very frightening decision” and vowed to fight vigorously any challenges to Chicago’s ban.

The mayor, speaking at a Navy Pier event, said he was sure mayors nationwide, who carry the burden of keeping cities safe, will be outraged by the decision.

The mayor of Peoria isn’t outraged. I asked Mayor Jim Ardis via e-mail today what he thought of the ruling and Mayor Daley’s comments, and he had this to say:

I’m glad they made the decision they did…. It’s too bad the Supreme Court decision was as close as it was. It should’ve been unanimous.

I’m looking forward to Mayor Daley coming here next month and I’m very anxious to meet him. I couldn’t disagree with him more on this issue though. Personally, I would be very supportive of conceal carry in Illinois. We’re one of only a few states that don’t allow it and Conceal Carry has had a positive impact on crime reduction in the State’s that allow it. Having criminals look down the barrel of a gun held by a law-abiding, trained gun owner would make some of these punks think about moving somewhere else. Perhaps if our State Legislators don’t have the guts to allow it state-wide, they’ll allow Peoria County to be a test case for it? I’m pretty sure that both our police chief and sheriff support it.

I haven’t talked to the sheriff, but I did ask Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard what his reaction was. As with Ardis, I also asked how he felt about Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis’s statement, quoted in the Tribune, that “From a law enforcement perspective, this [the Supreme Court decision] will no doubt make a police officer’s job more challenging than it already is … particularly since a firearm is used in 75 percent of all murders committed in the city of Chicago.”

Settingsgaard responded:

I applaud the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. I believe wholeheartedly in a private citizen’s right to own a firearm and to protect themselves when necessary. I disagree that this makes law enforcement more difficult. Law abiding citizens who have clean criminal records and who have no history of mental illness are not the threats our officers and our citizens face every day. I am hopeful that someday Illinois will join the vast, vast, majority of States that have already legalized concealed carry. Want to know what truly can make police work more safe? It is not fewer honest citizens with guns. It is fewer defenseless victims. If these predatory criminals had more cause for concern that a citizen just might be up to the task of defending themselves, if more of these predators found themselves staring down the barrel of a gun when they thought they had found an easy mark, THEN law enforcement’s job would be easier. We have enough laws to demonstrate legislation won’t stop some wolves from being wolves. We need fewer sheep.

Illinois and Wisconsin are the only two states that completely disallow conceal carry.

General News

Yes, Americans have an individual right to bear arms

17 Comments

From the Supreme Court of the United States, in a 5-4 ruling handed down today:

Held:

1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. Pp. 2–53.

(a) The Amendment’s prefatory clause announces a purpose, but does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative clause. The operative clause’s text and history demonstrate that it connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms. Pp. 2–22.

(b) The prefatory clause comports with the Court’s interpretation of the operative clause. The “militia” comprised all males physically capable of acting in concert for the common defense. The Antifederalists feared that the Federal Government would disarm the people in order to disable this citizens’ militia, enabling a politicized standing army or a select militia to rule. The response was to deny Congress power to abridge the ancient right of individuals to keep and bear arms, so that the ideal of a citizens’ militia would be preserved. Pp. 22–28.

(c) The Court’s interpretation is confirmed by analogous arms-bearing rights in state constitutions that preceded and immediately followed the Second Amendment. Pp. 28–30.

(d) The Second Amendment’s drafting history, while of dubious interpretive worth, reveals three state Second Amendment proposals that unequivocally referred to an individual right to bear arms. Pp. 30–32.

(e) Interpretation of the Second Amendment by scholars, courts and legislators, from immediately after its ratification through the late 19th century also supports the Court’s conclusion. Pp. 32–47.

(f) None of the Court’s precedents forecloses the Court’s interpretation. Neither United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U. S. 542, 553, nor Presser v. Illinois, 116 U. S. 252, 264–265, refutes the individual-rights interpretation. United States v. Miller, 307 U. S. 174, does not limit the right to keep and bear arms to militia purposes, but rather limits the type of weapon to which the right applies to those used by the militia, i.e., those in common use for lawful purposes. Pp. 47–54.

2. Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose: For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms. Miller’s holding that the sorts of weapons protected are those “in common use at the time” finds support in the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons. Pp. 54–56.

3. The handgun ban and the trigger-lock requirement (as applied to self-defense) violate the Second Amendment. The District’s [District of Columbia, where this suit originated] total ban on handgun possession in the home amounts to a prohibition on an entire class of “arms” that Americans overwhelmingly choose for the lawful purpose of self-defense. Under any of the standards of scrutiny the Court has applied to enumerated constitutional rights, this prohibition—in the place where the importance of the lawful defense of self, family, and property is most acute—would fail constitutional muster. Similarly, the requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional. Because Heller conceded at oral argument that the D. C. licensing law is permissible if it is not enforced arbitrarily and capriciously, the Court assumes that a license will satisfy his prayer for relief and does not address the licensing requirement. Assuming he is not disqualified from exercising Second Amendment rights, the District must permit Heller to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home. Pp. 56–64.

478 F. 3d 370, affirmed.

SCALIA, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS, C. J., and KENNEDY, THOMAS, and ALITO, JJ., joined. STEVENS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which SOUTER, GINSBURG, and BREYER, JJ., joined. BREYER, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which STEVENS, SOUTER, and GINSBURG, JJ., joined.

I’m surprised the vote was so close, but I suppose I shouldn’t have been. It’s just that, to me, a plain reading of the Second Amendment to the Constitution shows that the right to bear arms is an individual right:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

It’s nice to see that the Supreme Court agrees. And if you’re looking for a gun that is perfect for concealed carry, check out https://ballachy.com/glock-37-review/

Television

Is this going to be a trend?

7 Comments

Gee, this sounds awfully familiar:

Springfield’s public television station is in a financial crisis so serious that the station’s chief executive officer is warning it could go off the air…. Gruebel is appealing to viewers to donate $330,000 to get the station through the summer. If the money doesn’t materialize, “any number of negative scenarios can play out,” he said….

While the non-profit corporation hasn’t missed any loan payments, he said, it is at risk of violating loan covenants, including requirements to stay within a certain asset-to-debt ratio and have a minimum amount of money in reserve. The covenants are scheduled for review in September, he added.

Is this the new strategy for public television stations to raise money/pay off debt/get free publicity?

Uncategorized

Quote of the Day

10 Comments

Across the nation, the realization is taking hold that rising energy prices are less a momentary blip than a change with lasting consequences. The shift to costlier fuel is threatening to slow the decades-old migration away from cities, while exacerbating the housing downturn by diminishing the appeal of larger homes set far from urban jobs…. More than three-fourths of prospective home buyers are now more inclined to live in an urban area because of fuel prices, according to a recent survey of 903 real estate agents with Coldwell Banker, the national brokerage firm.

City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Public Library

Council to give library board $28 million

10 Comments

I realize I’m going to get criticized for never being happy no matter what the outcome, but nevertheless, the city council’s vote tonight to give the library $28 million with no strings attached left me scratching my head.

First of all, how did they come up with $28 million? One of the concerns about the library’s plan was that $35 million was too much in light of the city’s (and, ultimately, the taxpayers’) other obligations. Apparently, $28 million is not too much, since it was approved. But why? Why not $29 million? Or $6 million? Or $34.5 million? How did $28 million become the magic threshold?

Well, I confirmed after the meeting what I suspected was the reason: The $7 million reduction is the cost of upgrading the Lakeview branch. You may recall that several council members suggested that the library board wait to upgrade Lakeview until the effects of a new northern branch on Lakeview’s patronage could be determined. Fair enough.

But cutting the full $7 million pegged for Lakeview was rather simplistic. Lakeview is still going to need some upgrading. The library board isn’t going to just leave it to rot and they’re thinking: is it time to replace your ac unit? Even without expansion, it still needs capital improvements, such as air conditioning repair and technology upgrades. Professional AC Repair Services in Boca Raton can help achieve this.

So what should have happened? The item should have been deferred until after the library board met, put together a revised proposal — basically the same plan as before, but with the Lakeview expansion removed — and presented it with the new price tag to the council. I don’t know what that price tag would have been, but it’s a safe bet it would have been more than $28 million and considerably less than $35 million. Then the council should have voted on that.

Instead, we have a rather artificially-set limit that guarantees cuts will have to be made elsewhere in the plan, but no one knows exactly where yet, nor how little or how drastic those cuts must be. First district councilman Clyde Gulley realized this and asked if the cuts were going to come out the plans for the south side (Lincoln branch). Despite the equivocal answer he received, he voted for the plan anyway, just like almost everyone else.

I feel confident that the library board will make good decisions about where to cut, but just find it a bit boggling that the council wouldn’t vote for a $35 million plan with plenty of detail, but would happily vote for a $28 million plan that lacks some potentially significant specifics.

City of Peoria, HOPC

HOPC meeting rescheduled for July 25

Leave a comment

From a press release (all caps in original):

THE REGULAR HEART OF PEORIA COMMISSION MEETING SCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2008, HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2008, AT CITY HALL, 419 FULTON STREET, ROOM 404, AT 8:00 AM.

The chair and vice-chair of the commission were both unable to meet June 27, hence the rescheduling.

One thing that will be on the agenda is the seeming lack of enforcement of the Land Development Code. One question I’ve been asked is whether the supposed lack of enforcement is real or merely perceived. I’ve been asked, for example, if I’m just pointing out all the exceptions and not acknowledging the alleged majority who comply. That’s a fair question, and something we will explore at the next meeting. No one will be happier than I to discover there is far more compliance with the LDC than non-compliance, but I have to admit I’m skeptical of that being the case.

City of Peoria, Peoria Public Library

Library district idea a quick fix, not a long-term solution

Leave a comment

Establishing a library district sounds like a reasonable solution to the deadlock that’s been taking place between the appointed library board and the City Council. It would solve a couple of problems: (1) it would make the library board directly accountable to the voters, instead of being appointed by the Mayor; and (2) it would require that a referendum be passed by the voters before they would be able to raise their tax rate, which would keep the board fiscally conservative and force them to make a compelling case to the public before raising taxes.

But establishing a library district would also freeze the district’s boundaries at their current position, so library services would not automatically be extended when the city annexes more land. Territory annexed to the city could also be annexed to the library district if the residents there so desire, or they could go without library service. The library director sees this as a downside, but doesn’t elaborate as to why this would be a bad thing.

One argument could be made that the library district wouldn’t be automatically capturing the new tax revenue from the northern growth; but on the other hand, they wouldn’t have to provide services to them either, so it seems like a wash to me. More importantly, though, it’s bad at a more basic and philosophical level: The city shouldn’t be divided into “haves” and “have nots” where library services are concerned. We already have a city divided into three school districts (Peoria, Dunlap, Limestone), and we’ve seen how inequitably those services are delivered to city residents as a result. There’s no sense in creating the same kinds of problems with our library system.

I’m still hopeful that the library board and city council will reach a compromise that will update and modernize the library system at a cost that is reasonable and acceptable to all parties. They can consult on how they can do it through the Metro District.

Uncategorized

I’m back

15 Comments

Just got back from California tonight — the family and I went to Disneyland for a few days and had a wonderful time. My oldest daughter got a hug from Snow White and Alice in Wonderland, while my youngest daughter got to see Tinkerbell fly from the Matterhorn down to Sleeping Beauty’s castle and set off the fireworks, so it was a magical adventure for both of them. (My 3-year-old son stayed with Grandma and Grandpa and had the time of his life here in Peoria.) Anyway, I’m back now and have a stack of newspapers to peruse.

While I was on vacation, I got some reading done (we took the train to California, so I had plenty of time to enjoy the scenery, play games with the kids, and read). I’ve been reading The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. I had started it some time ago, but never got very far. This trip I was able to nearly finish it, and I’m already looking forward to Morris’s follow-up book, Theodore Rex. What an interesting and remarkable man Mr. Roosevelt was!

Well, it’s good to be back home. I’m not sure what the joke is with all the song lyrics on one of my previous posts, but whatever. From reading Billy Dennis’s blog, it looks like not much has changed since I left — he has several more posts slamming the library expansion plan. Too bad he hates books and literacy so much. [/joking]

Talk to you all soon!