All posts by C. J. Summers

I am a fourth-generation Peorian, married with three children.
City of Peoria

Peoria Comprehensive Plan online

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From a news release:

HELP PLAN PEORIA WEBPAGE AND ONLINE SURVEY

The City of Peoria is launching the second phase of public participation in the Comprehensive Plan process with the launch of the www.planpeoria.com web page and online survey.

The Comprehensive Plan serves two major functions for a community. First, it sets an overall vision for the growth and development of the community over the next ten to twenty years. Second, it establishes the legal basis for a zoning ordinance and for development control over a one and one half mile area outside of the current city limits. In some communities it is called the “master plan,” and as such, guides the development and implementation of all other plans.

The www.planpeoria.com web page provides background data on various demographic changes in Peoria over the past thirty years, copies of the public input already received at the Topic Area Workshops held in 2007, and access to an online survey.

The online survey is the core of the web page; it is designed to allow the public to determine which of the goals created at the Topic Area Workshops are of greatest importance to the future of Peoria. Wide participation in the survey will greatly assist the Planning Commission and City Planning Department staff in the development of a final draft plan. The public is encouraged to take 15 minutes to help us plan for the next 15 years.

Paper copies of the survey will also be made available in the Planning Department offices or by calling the City Planning Department at 494-8600.

For further information on the Comprehensive Plan process, the www.planpeoria.com web page, or the online survey, please contact Ross Black, Assistant Planning Director at 494-8601 or rblack@ci.peoria.il.us

General News

Upcoming Events

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A couple of important dates for your calendar:

  • Blogger Bash tonight at Buffalo Wild Wings near the Shoppes at Grand Prairie. Billy has the details.

  • JammSammich Tenth Anniversary Concert is this Saturday, Feb. 2, at Crusen’s on War Memorial Drive. Show starts at 8:30. Believe me, if you like live music and especially if you like dance music, you will have a blast at this show. The original five-piece band will be there (Brian Carroll, Mike Mercer, Doug Rendleman, Matt Tomlianovich, and me), plus every incarnation of the band thereafter right up to today, including fantastic musicians like Scott Wignall, Steve Davis, Eric Anderson, Chris Booher, and Bill Trulove. You can see more details on the JammSammich website.
Uncategorized

Plans for analog holdout thwarted by dying TV

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I had it all planned out. I was going to be the digital television holdout. I already reserved a coupon for a digital-to-analog converter box so I could keep using my TV to get over-the-air broadcasts well past the February 2009 cutoff for analog signals.

I like being non-conformist in some ways. I don’t have a cell phone. We only have one TV in the house (well, technically two, if you count the 1979 12″ black and white TV in the kitchen). I was all set to add “old analog TV” to my list of eccentricities. After all, I don’t need a big screen, and what good is all that extra resolution if you’re going to have a small TV set anyway?

But it wasn’t to be. The TV died. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say it was failing. It was getting darker and darker. My daughter watched “The Chronicles of Narnia” on DVD the other night… or I should say she listened to it mostly. Even thought the brightness was turned all the way up, any scene that was at all dark in the film was completely black on the TV — just like if the TV were turned off.

LG 37? LCD HDTVSo I did it. I bought a new TV. A new LCD TV. A new LCD HDTV. And, let me tell you, I’ve been mesmerized by HD programming ever since. The clarity, the detail, and — since it’s a 37″ television — the enormity. I realize there are larger sets out there, but in our family room, and coming on the heels of our 20″ analog set, this thing is huge. (For the techno-geeks out there, it’s an LG 37″ 720p LCD with an NTSC, ATSC, and QAM tuner.)

I watched the Late Show with David Letterman last night. Dave has a lot of wrinkles on his face I never saw before. And you could distinctly see every hair in Jessica Alba’s eyebrows. I’m not sure why I need to see this fine of detail, but it is nevertheless fascinating. The NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams is in HD, too. And PBS — let’s just say I have new-found interest in not wanting WTVP to go dark now.

Perhaps the worst thing is that I work in TV — a big part of my job at Grace is editing video of the morning worship service each week, and editing our big Christmas production each year. It used to be that the picture I saw at work, which is broadcast-quality NTSC on professional TV monitors, was far superior to what I saw on my consumer television at home. Now it’s a different story. I look forward to the day that we shoot Grace Family Christmas in high-definition.

I have the TV just in time for the Superbowl, but we already have plans to watch the game at a friend’s house. But that’s okay. He has a 46″ HDTV.

Kellar Branch

All right, we’ll call it a draw

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Black Knight

I feel like I’m caught in a Monty Python movie every time I read a story like this.

David Pittman, the Vice President of Recreation Trail Advocates, says the recent use of the [Kellar Branch] rail line should not sway people against the trail.

In other words, the STB’s decision to allow both Pioneer Industrial Railway and Central Illinois Railroad Company to run trains on the Kellar Branch isn’t a mortal blow to the trail advocates’ all-or-nothing plan to tear out the rail and make this corridor a dedicated hiking trail. “‘Tis but a scratch.” “Just a flesh wound.”

The Journal Star reported this bravado:

State Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, would lobby for the transformation of the rail into a trail and work to enact a federal earmark to supersede regulations so the Kellar Branch can be converted.

Psst, hey Aaron, “earmarks” specify spending priorities (i.e., they give money to a project); they don’t make regulations. You can’t just “earmark” the overthrow of a federal regulatory agency’s decision. Besides, don’t you think Ray LaHood — Champion of Earmarks, scoffer of trains, and in-law to Bonnie Noble — would have already done that if it were possible? But hey, it sounds tough, doesn’t it? “The Black Knight always triumphs! Have at you!”

All I can say is, “All right, we’ll call it a draw.”

Train crossing Prospect on Kellar - photo by Ed Sanders
Photo credit: Ed Sanders
2008 Campaign

Gordon’s fines for shoplifting just paid Tuesday

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Jehan Gordon recently announced that she was convicted of shoplifting in 2000. What she didn’t mention was that she just paid the fines associated with that crime this past week.

According to the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Champaign County, Ms. Gordon’s theft charge from June 29, 2000, Case #00CM00657, was paid this past Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008, via credit card. The fines totaled almost $400. All those court costs have been outstanding for over seven years, including time she was running a campaign for the 92nd district seat.

Here’s how it appears on the Circuit Clerk’s website:

RECEIPT # DESCRIPTION AMOUNT DATE PAID
170628 CLERK 25.00 2/27/01
474682 AUTOMATION FEE 5.00 1/22/08
474682 DOCUMENT STORAGE FEE 5.00 1/22/08
474682 COURT FINANCE FEE 25.00 1/22/08
474682 STS ATTY 10.00 1/22/08
474682 ARRESTEE’S MEDICAL 10.00 1/22/08
474682 LOCAL ANTI-CRIME FEE 5.00 1/22/08
474682 FINES 100.00 1/22/08
474682 VIOLENT CRIME VICTIM 12.00 1/22/08
474682 SUR CHARGE-OLD 8/40 12.00 1/22/08
474682 LEADS MAINT FUND 3.00 1/22/08
474682 COURT SECURITY FEE 15.00 1/22/08
474682 CR CARD CONVEN FEE 15.00 1/22/08
474682 COURT SERVICES FUND 30.00 1/22/08
474682 ATTY FEES P D 100.00 1/22/08

Ms. Gordon was also cited for operating an uninsured motor vehicle in Champaign County (Case #04TR11478) on May 12, 2004. She didn’t appear at her court date on June 24, 2004, and was fined $200. Those fines were paid just two months ago, on November 26, 2007. That was more than three years after the incident and after she entered the race.

While I was willing to write off her youthful indiscretion of seven years ago, the fact that she left that judgment and at least one other unpaid all this time is very troubling. Essentially, she didn’t finish paying her debt to society, so to speak, until just this week. Unless the circuit court is wrong in its dating of when the fines were paid, this is pretty damning to her candidacy. She should immediately withdraw from the race.

Incidentally, she also shows up in the McLean County Circuit Court system for a traffic violation (Case #2007TR025410) from Sep. 20, 2007, that they describe as simply “UNLICENSED” (all caps in original). Not sure what that means — driving without a license, perhaps? Her last court appearance was Dec. 17, 2007, and the case is now listed as “closed.”

City of Peoria

WCBU: Holling is choice for interim City Manager

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Jonathan Ahl has the inside scoop:

WCBU News is reporting this afternoon that Henry Holling, a retired Caterpillar executive, is still the choice for interim city manager. A committee of council members along with City Attorney Randy Ray are hammering out the final details. Sources say at least three council members voiced concerns about Holling.

You can read more details at Jonathan’s blog.

On Friday, Oct. 26, 2007, Mr. Holling was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol after he crashed his car into a light pole near W. Giles Lane about 8:55 p.m., according to a Journal Star report on Oct. 30. Holling retired from Caterpillar on June 1, 2007. When he retired, he was the “manager of social responsibility initiatives.”

2008 Campaign

Confession is good for the soul, but what about the candidacy?

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Jehan Gordon held a press conference today. She didn’t announce any new policy ideas. She didn’t announce her stance on any controversial matters in the 92nd district.

No, she announced that she was once convicted of shoplifting:

“As a teen I was charged with a misdemeanor for attempting to take a bracelet from a store,” Gordon said. “This life experience taught me a lot. It is one of the reasons why I work so diligently with young people today because I know what it’s like to be young and impressionable.”

The article says this happened in Champaign county when she was 18; she’s now 26.

What possible reason could there be for her to announce this? Was someone threatening to reveal it to the press, and this was a preemptive confession? Or is this a campaign strategy designed to endear her to voters for her transparency and openness?

Perhaps a more pertinent question would be, should we care? Is this piece of information relevant to her candidacy? It was a misdemeanor, on par with a traffic citation. Should we be questioning candidates about their speeding tickets, too?

The graduation issue was pertinent because she made a claim in a campaign ad that was false. The shoplifting conviction, on the other hand, happened eight years ago. I can’t help but think this was a tactical error. She didn’t need to reveal this information, and it would likely have backfired if someone else tried to make an issue of it. By calling attention to it herself, it gets everyone talking about her faults instead of her virtues or her policy initiatives. It’s a distraction that she’s brought on herself.

I think this revelation, despite her attempt to go on the offense with it, and despite the fact that it’s arguably irrelevant, will end up hurting her candidacy more than it helps.