All posts by C. J. Summers

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

Time to redistrict again?

I was thinking about all the annexation that’s been happening on the north and north-western fringes of Peoria and it got me thinking, might it be time to redraw the council district boundaries again? Here’s the most recent map I can find:

If you click on the map, it will display a larger version from the City of Peoria website. Is the fifth district starting to look disproportionately large to anyone else? And this map doesn’t include the extra square-mile-plus that was just added. To the naked eye, it looks as if the fifth district is larger than the second and fourth districts combined.

As far as I can determine, the last time redistricting occured was in October of 2001. What’s the trigger for doing it again?

Kellar Branch

One more thing before I go….

Since I’ve been covering the Kellar Branch saga for several months, I can’t go on sabbatical without first reporting its predictable conclusion.

On November 21, 2005, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) made their final ruling on the Kellar Branch. Pioneer Industrial Railway (PIRY) will not be able to force a sale of the branch. It is abandoned, and now the city (or, technically, Central Illinois Railway, the city’s carrier) has been granted the right to discontinue service on it. Case closed, as far as they’re concerned.

Now there is only one thing that can stop the line from being converted to a hiking/biking trail: if Pioneer wins their suit against the city. Pioneer believes their contract with the city is still in force — that the contract never specified a termination date. But the chances of them winning that court case are pretty slim, in my opinion. It’s only a matter of time before they lose that case, and then the tracks will be removed.

And then . . .

People from all over the country will flock to Peoria to visit its beautiful trail! It will make our city the garden spot of the midwest and the envy of all other cities in Illinois! I can hear mothers and fathers in their family rooms, looking over travel literature now:

Father: “Where do you want to go this year, kids? There’s Disneyland, Busch Gardens, Silver Dollar City, Six Flags, or the Rock Island Trail in Peoria.”

Daughter: “The Rock Island Trail?! Hey, didn’t I hear on the CBS Evening News last night that they just completed a new addition that goes right through the heart of Peoria?”

Mother: “That’s right, dear. Everyone’s been talking about it. Aunt Frieda said there’s hardly a bicycle to be seen in Chicago since Peoria opened up their new trail.”

Son: “Wow! Dad, I don’t want to just go there for vacation. I want to live there!”

Father: [chuckle] “Well, son, I’ve been meaning to tell you. My boss offered me a job in Peoria. I was a little concerned about transferring there because I heard they have a lead poisoning problem, and small amounts of lead have been shown to lower children’s IQ levels. But seeing how excited you kids are about a goofy trail, it looks like your IQ is already in question, so I guess it won’t hurt to transfer there after all!”

Attention all hotels, restaurants, and retail stores: Start preparing now for the giant influx of people who will be frequenting your establishments once this trail is completed. If the Peoria Park District’s and Journal Star’s numbers are correct, it will be a regular boom town around here. Don’t be caught off-guard. Start lining up extra help now!

City of Peoria, Peoria Journal Star, State of Illinois

Misleading statistics abound in Journal Star special series

The Peoria Journal Star recently concluded a three-part series titled, “Lead Poisoning: Our Silent Epidemic.” You can read reporter Clare Howard’s entire series online here. The report has already received accolades from the Peoria Pundit, who has gone so far as to suggest the City Council should act immediately on the recommendations from Dr. Brian Bostwick, the doctor quoted in the series.

Lead poisoning claims should never be taken lightly. It is a serious problem that should be looked at critically and objectively. What I’m about to talk about in no way diminishes the importance of lead poisoning prevention.

That said, let’s talk about statistics.

Someone once said, “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” That’s because you can get statistics to say just about anything you want them to say. The Journal Star has them saying that “Illinois leads the nation in elevated blood lead levels, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” To prove it, they reproduce this chart from the CDC on page A21 of the 11/13/05 edition of the paper:

This chart is from a report titled, “Surveillance for Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Children — United States, 1997–2001.” It’s available online here, at the CDC website. As you can see, the number of confirmed elevated blood lead levels (EBLLs) is astronomically high in Illinois compared to the other states: 15,323 children were confirmed to have EBLLs — higher than Michigan and Pennsylvania combined. When this happens, they should have been checked by associates like Nephrology & Hypertension and gotten treatment. It’s unbelievable! So unbelievable, I didn’t believe it. So I did some investigating.

The raw data on which that chart is based is also included in the very same CDC report, Table 6. Reviewing this data, it became clear to me why Illinois was so high: a far greater number of children were tested in Illinois than in most of the other states. In fact, only Massachusetts and New York tested more children than Illinois. Illinois tested 187,385 children in 2001. In contrast, California only tested 15,040 children. Obviously, Illinois is going to have a higher number of children confirmed to have EBLLs when they test twelve-and-a-half times as many kids!

When the sample rates are that varied, you can’t make a meaningful comparison between states. In fact, the report explicitly says, “State-to-state comparisons of the numbers of children tested and confirmed with elevated BLLs should be made cautiously.” What you can do instead is compare the confirmed cases of EBLLs as a percentage of children tested.

And I’ll be darned, that data is already in Table 6 of the CDC report — they’ve even done the math for us. When you look at percentages, you get a different picture:

  • Oregon: 9.68% of children tested had EBLLs
  • California: 9.32% of children tested had EBLLs
  • Pennsylvania: 9.31% of children tested had EBLLs
  • Illinois: 8.18% of children tested had EBLLs

That’s right. When a proper comparison is made, Illinois does not lead the nation in EBLLs — it was fourth in 2001 according to the CDC’s own data from the very same report the Journal Star referenced in their series. (In case you’re wondering if perhaps Illinois reached No. 1 at a later date, the answer is no. In 2002 and 2003, Pennsylvania was No. 1, according to another CDC report, “Tested and Confirmed Elevated Blood Lead Levels by State, Year and Blood Lead Level Group for Children <72 mos.”)

You would also get the impression from reading the Journal Star articles that the problem must be getting worse, thus the need to take immediate and drastic action. Yet, according to those same statistics we’ve been looking at in Table 6, you may be surprised to learn that the number of Illinois children with EBLLs has dropped by more than half since 1997. In 1997, 32,061 children (17.87%) had EBLLs, but the number dropped steadily each year to 15,323 (8.18%) in 2001.

Things have continued to improve. That other report I mentioned from the CDC website shows that Illinois dropped to 9,379 children (4.78%) having EBLLs by 2003. If you exclude Chicago, it drops even further: 2,688 children (2.90%).

Like I said before, this doesn’t diminish the important work of eradicating elevated blood lead levels in Illinois. And when you see the statistics in proper context, it shows that we’re making significant progress toward that goal. But exaggerating the problem by the misuse of statistics (unintentional though they may be) hurts the credibility of lead-abatement advocates.

City Council, Peoria Disposal Company

Council Roundup: Peoria Disposal Company

4 Comments

Peoria Disposal Company (PDC) wants to expand their landfill in Pottstown, and some Peoria residents aren’t happy about it.  But don’t complain to the city council — it’s a Peoria County decision.

Mayor Ardis explained that PDC was giving tonight’s presentation at his request as a courtesy, but that no discussion or vote would be taken since it’s not in the city’s jurisdiction. 

Brian McGinnis, attorney for PDC, explained that they would be filing the application tomorrow morning to expand the landfill.  Once it’s filed, PDC will not be able to comment publicly on it until a public hearing is held.  That hearing will happen within 90-100 days of filing, probably in February.  So, anyone who wants to speak for or against the expansion should keep an eye out for the public hearing date.

Peoria Disposal Company was founded in 1928 by the Coulter family and has been family owned ever since.  Chris Coulter, Director of Sales and Business Development, touted the company’s 100% compliance with Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) inspections, earning them the Environmental Compliance Award for 12 consecutive years.  He also said that the company wants to expand because they will run out of capacity in early 2009 and they want to continue servicing their current customers.  They don’t expect any increase in annual waste receipts.

Ron Edwards, Vice President of Landfill Operations, tried to allay fears that hazardous waste at the site would infiltrate ground water, surface water, or air quality.  He explained all the treatments and precautions the landfill applies to hazardous waste.  One of the more surprising slides was the one comparing (contrasting, actually) PDC and Love Canal. 

Van Auken, once again, asked the questions on everyone’s mind:  Why are we one of only 16 communities who have this kind of disposal?  Why do other communities not want this kind of disposal in their cities?  Why should Peoria take this risk?

Later, during citizens’ requests to address the council, three people spoke out against the landfill expansion.  Dr. John McClain said his concern is not that PDC is bad company; in fact, he believes they are a good company.  However, there are things that they can’t control: accidents, natural disasters, terrorism.  He concluded, “We are accepting hazardous material that other communities do not want and our safety cannot be guaranteed.”  Of course, the usual objection from the Sierra Club was voiced.  But perhaps the most eloquent opponent of the expansion was Bill Cook who observed, “This expansion is privatizing the benefits and socializing the risks.”  That is, PDC gets all the profits while hundreds of thousands of residents shoulder the risk of potential contamination of our water supply.

Expect a battle on this one.

Received and filed.

Kellar Branch, Port District

Rail Service important for Peoria to be “hub of shipping”

 

I took Bill Dennis’s advice and took a look at WCBU’s new website.  Right on the front page is this story (reprinted here in its entirety because it’s short and I couldn’t find a permalink):
PORT DISTRICT STUDIED
Peoria – 11/3/05
The effort to make the Peoria region a hub of shipping has identified thirteen possible locations for development. A study from the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission looks at everything from the strength of air, water, rail, and highway transportation in the area to the kinds of goods that would likely come through a port. The study suggests 13 places in the six county region that could be developed into a port. It also looks at the constraints that could hamper such development efforts. They include having a limited number of interstate highways, and secondary roads that may not be adequate for major shipping corridors. It also includes restrictions on developing wetlands, flood plains, and other federally protected land. The study also points out limited rail capacity in the region. The Heart of Illinois Port District, now called TRANSport, will use the study to analyze the market, and eventually create a business plan for port developments. Leaders of the effort project if successful, the port district could create thousands of jobs in the area in the next ten to twenty years.
I would like to see this study, but I can’t find it anywhere on the web.  Specifically, I’m intrigued by the “limited rail capacity in the region.”  I wonder how they arrived at that conclusion.  And I wonder what impact closing down the Kellar Branch to make it a walking trail has on that conclusion.  As regular readers of this blog know, severing the Kellar Branch’s connection to the riverfront means Pioneer Park loses access to seven major rail lines — it will only have access to Union Pacific once the tracks are removed. Granted, it’s only one area, but what does it say about Peoria’s commitment to bringing in higher-paying jobs when it won’t even maintain existing competitive rail service in one of its prime growth areas?
What this study does, among other things, is show that rail service is not some antiquated, 19th-century mode of transportation.  It’s not only viable, but essential to cities that want to attract business and be a “hub for shipping.”  And if our capacity is limited, it’s only because the city has not made it a priority.  There’s not a whole lot Peoria can do about lack of highways or restrictions on developing federally-protected land.  But rail capacity we have, and should be exploiting. 

 

City of Peoria, Heart of Peoria Plan

Community Planning workshops open to public

The Heart of Peoria Commission wants to “educate and inform people of what form-based codes can do for a community.” Here’s part of an e-mail I received from the city’s Planning & Growth Management Department:

Attached is the invitation for the upcoming Form-based Code Workshops. The neighborhood groups are invited to the workshop scheduled for Wednesday, October 26, 2005, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Civic Center, Rooms 220-221. . . . Our intent and goal is to educate and inform people of what form-based codes can do for a community. In order to do that, we need to invite as many people as possible.

Please RSVP Gene Lear at 494-8604 or glear@ci.peoria.il.us.

The “invitation” spoken of was a PDF attachment you can see here.

Kellar Branch

Trail use exaggerated

In July, the Journal Star had this to say about plans to convert the Kellar Branch rail line to a bike trail:

By conservative estimates, the Kellar Branch would attract at least 2,500 hikers, bikers, runners and walkers a week.

At least 2,500 hikers, bikers, runners and walkers a week! I don’t know where they got those numbers, but one would imagine they based them at least in part on current trail use. So imagine my surprise when I read this letter to the editor today:

Peoria’s riverfront path empty
Thursday, October 13, 2005

Many people are missing out on one of Peoria’s best features, the walking and biking path along the riverfront in Downtown Peoria. I’ve used the path since it opened and often I’m walking alone, with only an occasional jogger passing me by.

The views of the Illinois River and the boats and barges sailing by, the wooded path with stretches of prairie, the many animals one sees along the walk and the beautiful urban views of the bridge and the Downtown buildings are special. This is a true gem right in the middle of an urban center. Too bad more Peorians don’t enjoy it.

Harry Gunn
Peoria

How is that possible? Where are the crowds? At 2,500 people per week, that’s 357 people per day. Even if those people were evenly distributed over 24 hours a day, Mr. Gunn should be passing about 15 people every hour!

I think it’s just more evidence that trail usage numbers are exaggerated.

City of Peoria

Peoria 1977

I have here Peoria’s City Directory from 1977 (don’t ask me why), and I thought you might enjoy some of the descriptions and predictions of Peoria from 28 years ago:

Population: 134,000
Area: 40 square miles
Parks: 7,000 acres
Airport: City is served by Ozark Air Lines, Continental Airlines, and chartered service by Byerly Aviation Company.
“By number of employees, Peoria’s five major industries are the Caterpillar Tractor Co., Pabst Brewing Co., Westinghouse Air Brake Co., Keystone Consolidated Industries Inc., and Hiram Walker & Sons, Inc.

“Peoria Water Co., in 1976 completed a $3.7 million addition to its Illinois River station that will increase water production capacity by 10 million gallons per day.

“Illinois Bell Telephone Co., in late 1977, will be installing a traffic service position system (T.S.P.S.) which is an electronic computer like system for handling long distance calls.”

And downtown was a hot topic then like it is today:

Vision of Future Peoria in 1977

Peoria is looking to the future with a comprehensive plan to redevelop the Central Business District. The distinguished Washington (D. C.) architect and urban designer, Angelos C. Demetriou, AIA, was hired to create a downtown plan for Peoria and do a feasibility study of its long cherished dream of a Civic Center. The Demetriou Plan for downtown Peoria revolves around two key concepts: the mini-mall to spark retail shopping and the development of the riverfront to attract a 24-hour a day lifestyle in the Central Business District.

The Downtown Plan, developed by a team of consultants led by Angelos Demetriou, is tailored for Peoria. The document begins by building on the existing strengths largely provided by the over $70 million in downtown investment which occurred over the past 15 years. Integrated with the results of those 15 years of accomplishment are new projects which will broaden downtown’s base and which will make it possible to reach new potential for growth identified in the Plan.

The Plan outlines several major elements of change for the downtown.

They include: Housing about 2,550 units downtown; a civic center complex serving three important functions: a convention-oriented exposition hall with 20,000 sq. ft., an auditorium for the performing arts, and a sports arena-assembly hall. Also, new hotels to support the civic center; an enclosed shopping mall to strengthen the retail core; new offices for government, large firms and general occupancy; extensive beautification and improvement of riverfront; and convention parking which is so essential to downtown revitalization.

Considerable activity is underway for implementing the Plan.

The $6.4 million Peoria School of Medicine was opened in 1976 and its medical students are now undergoing training at the various hospital complexes located in the Peoria area.

Downtown received another boost when Cohen Furniture Company completed a major renovation of the “flagship” store at Harrison and Adams.

Final construction drawings are being prepared for the open air plaza on Fulton, between Jefferson and Adams, and renovation of the existing Jefferson Building in downtown Peoria. The plaza would connect the civic center activities in the “superblock” with the enclosed shopping mall between Bergner’s and Sears. The City has not yet proposed a financial plan to pay for this improvement. However, with a feasible financial plan, the project could move very quickly.

The county and city are negotiating for a new city-county administration building. The building would be located at Hamilton, between Adams and Jefferson, across from the Courthouse Plaza. The city has allocated revenue sharing funds toward the project and acquiring the property for the development.

The Peoria Downtown Development Council has been working closely with the City of Peoria and the U. S. Postal Service in the location of a regional Post Office in Peoria. The building will be constructed on about 10 acres of large blighted property on the southern edge of downtown. Also, the city and county have been discussing the issue of building a new jail. The site has not been finalized, however, it will be a common shared facility of the county and city.

These public projects will offer important contributions to downtown and help created the needed environment for major private investments to occur.

Well, that certainly sounds exciting, doesn’t it! It’s not quite the same as DPZ’s Heart of Peoria Plan, but there are a few overlaps: they both agree that retail is vital to downtown (Demetriou recommended building a mini-mall downtown; DPZ said the Shoppes at Grand Prairie should have been built downtown), that there should be more housing options downtown so people can live there, and that your downtown should “attract a 24-hour a day lifestyle.”

I’m actually quite amazed at how much of Demetriou’s plan was realized. The civic center was the biggest thing, of course. Unfortunately, the biggest departure from this plan is the retail aspect. In 1977 there were still several department stores downtown: Bergners, Sears, Sparr, Szolds, and Woolworth. Not only did Demetriou’s mini-mall idea never materialize, but the existing retail stores disappeared as well.

This does answer one question I’ve had for a long time: what was the purpose of Fulton Plaza? It was to connect the Civic Center to the retail shopping “superblock.” Now that Bergners has been replaced with One Technology Parking Deck and the other stores are gone, one wonders why we don’t tear the plaza out and make Fulton a through street again.

In 2033, when we look back at the Heart of Peoria Plan and Vision 2020, I wonder which things will have been implemented and which ones will have fallen by the wayside. I have a feeling there still won’t be any retail downtown, and we’ll probably have hired a new consultant to tell us pretty much the same thing the last two have told us….