All posts by C. J. Summers

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

The improvised school district

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Anyone else get the idea that District 150 is just making things up as they go along?

Grading Policy

I didn’t get a chance to see last night’s school board meeting, but according to the Journal Star, the district’s administration defended their new grading scale:

“For students who have made an effort . . . the lowest grade we’re asking teachers to give students is 50, however, there are students who are not making an effort, they are not turning in complete assignments or not turning in assignments at all – certainly zeros or other grades below 50 are appropriate and can be entered into the grading system,” Chumbley said, adding the administration looked at ways students were “not always put in that hole of not being able to climb out.”

So, say you have two students, and each of them gets two questions out of ten correct on an assignment. According to Mr. Chumbley, the teacher could give one of those students a 20% and the other a 50%, depending on whether the teacher thought the student was putting forth sufficient effort. Thus, even though both students did the same work, one of them will get a higher score than he earned. At this point, grades cease to reflect what the student has actually learned, which was, I thought, the whole point of grading. And pity the poor student who tries real hard and gets only five out of ten questions correct; he doesn’t get any extra credit for effort. He gets a 50 just like the kid who tried real hard and only got two questions correct. The less you achieve, the more benefit you receive.

Hinton chimed in, too:

While backing the new grading procedures, Superintendent Ken Hinton also described it as “a work in progress.”

“Once you give many children a zero in regards to their work, it shuts them down. In other words, they know there’s no way to recover,” Hinton said. “And so what we’re doing, we’re trying to do, is reach a happy medium, keep expectations as such that you have the responsibility of doing your work to the best of your ability while at same time recognizing that if you don’t do your work, the zero is still there.”

Administrative procedures are not voted on by the School Board, but Hinton said alterations can be made to incorporate board concerns.

There’s no way to recover? Have extra-credit assignments been banned from District 150? How are expectations kept high when you’re giving extra credit to those doing substandard work for no other reason than “we don’t want to discourage them”? But best of all, this grading system which has already been implemented is a “work in progress,” and “alterations can be made.” So maybe halfway through the year, they’ll change the grading scale again.

Year-Round School?

Meanwhile, the district is now suggesting Lincoln Middle School switch to a year-round schedule. And this is a bit confusing: the Journal Star says it was presented that this would be “a pilot program for year-round schooling.” However, WMBD-TV reported: “Hinton says the school day will mimic the new Glen Oak and Harrison Schools when they open: 45 days of school, 15 days off and so on…” A “pilot” is “something that serves as a model or a basis for making copies.” But if the proposed Lincoln schedule is supposed to be mimicking the schedule at two other schools, it’s not a “pilot.”

Of course, “no costs of the pilot program were presented Monday night.” That’s just as well, since you can’t trust any cost estimates coming from the administration. Although no costs were presented for changing Lincoln, there were other costs presented:

One stumbling block administrators foresee in making more schools in the district year-round is air conditioning. Many buildings don’t have air. It could cost about $6 million to put air in each high school, for example.

So we have a plan to pilot year-round school, but we know that if we actually go to year-round school district-wide, it’s going to cost millions of dollars to put A/C in existing buildings. And the district is so financially-strapped, they’re closing schools. But they’re going to consider changing the schedule in such a way that they’ll have to spend millions of dollars to accommodate it.

Speaking of closing schools…

The district still doesn’t have a plan for closing Woodruff. They just know they’re going to close it. Who knows where the kids will go next year? Who knows how much it will actually save? What will happen to the Woodruff building?

One group is tired of the District’s “shoot first, ask questions later” policy. They’re going to file an injunction against closing the school unless D150 comes up with a plan by the next school board meeting.

Ah, the travails of the improvised school district.

State of Illinois

Ethics Commission wages outrageous

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Brad McMillan — the guy who, at a public meeting, falsely accused me of spreading misinformation — has been appointed to the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission. As a commissioner, he will get $36,000 of our tax money. That’s a typical full-time annual salary for working men and women across Illinois. What do you think he’ll have to do to acquire that much of our hard-earned money?

Answer: Attend twelve meetings per year. That’s right. “Ethics” commissioners get $36,000 a year for the punishing job of attending one meeting a month to conduct hearings, prepare information materials, provide guidance, and receive reports — you know, the kinds of things that local planning and zoning commissioners do for free.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Illinois is 10%, and state funding for schools is second to last in the nation. But we have $36,000 to hand over to the politically connected to judge the ethics of others.

Paying a state commissioner a year’s salary for a few hours of work is an outrage. Making such expenditures to the already employed in the middle of a recession/depression is downright immoral. But evidently, it’s ethical… at least, according to Illinois.

General News

Miscellaneous

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Just a few miscellaneous things of note:

  • The City’s Planning and Growth Department is considering combining the Planning Commission (PC) and Zoning Commission (ZC). The PC considered it at their September 16 meeting, and the ZC is going to discuss it at their October 1 meeting. The ZC agenda gives this explanation for the request:

    Request by Staff that the Zoning Commission discuss the merits of combining the Planning Commission and Zoning Commission and determine if there is potential to create more efficient service delivery. This request is being made due to the potential reduction of a part-time position in the Planning and Growth Management Department, which represents an estimated 20 hours per week of duties. Those responsibilities would be re-assigned to existing staff reducing staff support to both commissions.

    The ZC meets at 3:00 p.m. Thursday in City Council chambers.

  • Speaking of the Zoning Commission, they are also scheduled on Thursday to consider allowing cell phone towers to be erected at Expo Gardens, Columbia Middle School, and near Von Steuben Middle School. However, the Journal Star says this item “will be postponed as officials representing AT&T Mobility gather more information requested by the city’s Department of Planning & Growth Management. The commission will be asked to take up the matter during its Nov. 5 meeting.”
  • I’ve been seeing ads for OSF St. Francis Medical Center lately that say they OSF is “preferred 2 to 1” over all the other hospitals in the area. If you go to their website, they will even show you the survey results with colorful little graphs. It reminded me of Maggie Mahar’s film “Money-Driven Medicine,” which I saw on the PBS show “Bill Moyers Journal.” She talks about the differences between “consumer-driven” and “patient-centered” health care. One of the things she mentions is why competition among hospitals doesn’t improve health care:

    Typically, 4 or 5 hospitals within a 5 mile, 10 mile, 15 mile radius will all buy the same technology because they’re competing with each other…. One time Dr. Donald Berwick called a hospital in Texas and said, “We’ve heard you have a very good procedure for treating a particular disease. We’d like to learn more about your protocol so other hospitals can use it.” And the hospital said, “We can’t tell you that. It’s a competitive advantage in our market that we’re better at treating this disease and it is very lucrative. So this is proprietary information.”

    …A physician takes an oath to put his patient’s interests ahead of his own. A corporation is legally bound to put its shareholders’ interests first. And this is part of the inherent conflict between health care as a business, part of our economy, and health care as a public good and part of our society. Health care has become a growth industry. That means higher health care bills. That means more and more middle class people cannot afford health care in this country.

    It’s a thought-provoking film. It’s enough to make me look at those OSF ads in a different light. It makes me wonder why a fundamentally charitable institution like a hospital would want to compare itself to other hospitals. I mean, can you imagine St. Jude stating it was preferred 2 to 1 over the Salvation Army and Easter Seals? It’s a very strange marketing campaign.

City of Peoria

Hullinger to retire Nov. 6

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The City of Peoria’s Economic Development Director Craig Hullinger announced yesterday that he will be retiring, effective November 6. He explains his reasons for leaving on his department’s blog:

I believe that I have successfully met my goal of “Leaving my City a better place than I found it.” … The Mayor’s latest budget message of September 15, 2009 makes it clear that the City must make further substantial budget cuts. The City needs to cut expenses and senior staff. I will be 62 this year. I retired from the Marine Corps last year as a Colonel. It makes sense for both the City and me to retire. I will remain in Peoria (and Sarasota in the winter), and start a small part time economic development and planning consulting firm, continuing to help communities revitalize their older neighborhoods. And I will keep working to help improve the City and region.

His resume is posted online. I asked Craig about rumors that he would be rehired by the city as a consultant (a la District 150). He replied, “The City would be a great client. I plan to only work part time, targeting 1/2 time. I did propose to the City to continue to work for 25K a year to help close some developing development deals such as in Warehouse, Eagle View, and HIZ, but no response yet. The City is very busy with the budget crisis, and saving my salary and overhead will help. But I will help out with or without a consulting contract. I think most people want to see the Heart of Peoria successfully redevelop. And I live in the HOP [Heart of Peoria], and want it to succeed whether I am working for pay or not.”

He also has recommended having Chris Setti replace him as Economic Development Director. “Knows the City, worked in ED as our top ED Specialist, very capable guy.” Setti left the Economic Development department to become a Six Sigma blackbelt for the city. He’s now the assistant to the City Manager.

The Journal Star reports that new City Manager Scott Moore “said the position will be analyzed in the coming months as city officials examine a potential restructuring at City Hall. ‘I don’t want to do anything prematurely,’ Moore said. ‘I want to get feedback from the departments, from (Hullinger), and input from the council, so that when I’m making that decision, I’m not making it in a vacuum.'” Setti is quoted as saying, “I’m a team player. I’m willing to do whatever the city leadership thinks is best for the city.”

Bradley University

Bradley parking deck “too far” for some students, teachers

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My wife happened to pick up a copy of the Bradley Scout while walking through campus the other day, and this article on the new five-story parking deck at Main and Maplewood caught my attention:

Parking deck isn’t used to full capacity

The Main West Parking Deck is a year old, but it isn’t being used to its full capacity.

The deck, located on the corners of Main Street and Maplewood Avenue, was built in August 2008 for commuter students, faculty and staff with a valid permit, said Charmin Hibberd, director of Conference Facilities and Parking.

But Hibberd added that the deck isn’t being fully used.

She said the current construction on the Athletic Performance Arena, occurring directly next to the parking deck, is likely deterring students, faculty and staff from the area.

“People are leery of walking through there, even though there is a sidewalk and it’s safe,” Hibberd said.

She also said some students and faculty have told her they think the deck is too far from the buildings they visit most often.

The article goes on, but I couldn’t get past that last sentence. The deck is “too far from the buildings they visit most often”? What buildings are they visiting? From the parking deck to the opposite corner of campus is about a quarter of a mile. Considering the average person walks about three miles an hour, that represents a five-minute walk at most. How much closer do these students and faculty expect to be able to park? Is walking up to five minutes from your car to your class really that inconvenient? Or have college students just become so lazy and auto-dependent that they can’t travel more than a few feet on foot nowadays?

No wonder obesity is on the rise on college campuses.

General News

Katie Couric interviews Glenn Beck

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Why am I posting this? Because I know that I have some readers who are just dying to talk about Glenn Beck, health care, Rush Limbaugh, the right-wing fringe, etc., etc., but it’s pretty much off-topic in my other posts. So, here’s a post where you can take your shots. However, I would like you to watch this video first. It’s an interview with Katie Couric, and it’s relatively recent — it was put up on YouTube just five days ago. Note: it’s about 45 minutes long, so make sure you’re comfortable before you launch into it:

For those of you who don’t know, a boycott of Beck’s show is being organized by a group called Color of Change.org. According to their website:

Fox’s Glenn Beck recently said President Obama is “a racist” and has a “deep-seated hatred for white people.” Beck is on a campaign to convince the American public that President Obama’s agenda is about serving the needs of Black communities at White people’s expense. It’s repulsive, divisive and shouldn’t be on the air.

Join us in calling on Beck’s advertisers to stop sponsoring his show….

Our campaign has been a huge success so far. More than 270,000 of us have stood up and 62 companies have pulled their support.

Their first sentence is factual. Their second sentence is their opinion about Beck’s “agenda.” Beck, according to the interview above, says that his agenda is that he doesn’t want government to get any bigger, and that he has opposed big government from George Bush just as much as he has from Barack Obama. However, he defends his belief that Obama is racist by pointing to Obama’s membership in Jeremiah Wright’s church — a church that teaches black liberation theology — and Obama’s immediate assumption that a white police officer “acted stupidly” in arresting Henry Louis Gates, Jr., before he even knew the details of the incident. Color of Change.org and their followers believe Beck is race baiting.

Besides the racism charge, many complain that Beck is spreading lies about the proposed universal health care bill in Congress. Specifically, they say Beck is fear-mongering by linking health care reform to euthanasia and infanticide (i.e., suggesting reform would kill the elderly and infants, respectively). Beck doesn’t address that charge in the above interview, but he does say that his solution to the health care crisis is to “let the free market work,” and allow people to purchase health insurance across state lines.

Glenn Beck can be heard on 1470 WMBD-AM from 9-11 a.m. weekday mornings here in Peoria.

General News

Who’s out?

10 Comments
  • Brent Lonteen is out. He’s resigned as President of the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. No one will say why.
  • Henry Holling is out. His job as interim City Manager ended Friday. Scott Moore takes over now.
  • EmergePeoria says that Craig Hullinger is out. However, I can get no independent verification of that. E-mails to Holling and Hullinger have gone unanswered. I have heard rumors, however, that if/when Hullinger does resign, the plan is for the city to hire him as a consultant. Sounds like a page out of the District 150 playbook to me.
  • Billy Dennis says Chuck Collins is out. No independent verification of that either. Even Billy says it’s just a rumor.
  • Summer is out. It ended a few days ago. Life goes on and the world goes ’round….
City of Peoria, Peoria Disposal Company, Waste Management

Public Works to recommend PDC for waste hauling contract

9 Comments

On July 28 the city agreed to send out requests for proposals (RFPs) for a new garbage hauling contract (the current one expires at the end of the year). Only two companies submitted bids: Waste Management (the current hauler) and Peoria Disposal Company (PDC). According to a report released today from the Public Works Department:

In reviewing the responses it is clear PDC provided the best pricing in almost all categories and further discussion in this report will be based on our recommendation to award all service contracts covered by this RFP to the Peoria Disposal Company (PDC). Staff will be recommending the Alternate Proposal from PDC for consideration by City Council at the October 13, 2009 City Council meeting.

PDC’s “alternate proposal” is to provide exactly the same service we have plus citywide recycling collection, all for a $5 million flat rate. Specifically, the proposal would include these services:

  • Residential Refuse Collection & Disposal (as currently provided)
  • Landscape Waste Collection & Disposal (as currently provided)
  • Neighborhood drop boxes, tire disposal and dead animal service (as currently provided)
  • Condominium and City Building refuse collection (as currently provided)
  • Collection of Recyclables from curbside on a monthly basis for customers wishing to participate. A 95-gallon cart for single stream recyclables collection will be provided for a refundable deposit of $50. There would be no monthly cost for the service.

The good news is that we wouldn’t be losing any services we currently have, and we would finally get recycling collection as part of our base contract. The bad news is that recycling would only be picked up once a month, curbside only, and only from a PDC-provided wheeled cart.

For families that really get into it, recycling can account for 75% or more of their refuse. That’s going to really pile up over a month’s time. Granted, it won’t stink like garbage, but it will take more than a 95 gallon toter to hold it all. This seems less than ideal, which is why I never fail to find some dumpsters for rent near me and dispose responsibly.

There’s no reason recycling pickup couldn’t be accommodated in the alleys, especially since that’s where all the garbage and lawn waste collection is done. By requiring recycling to be curbside only, many in older neighborhoods would be precluded from even participating. Since those participating will have to use PDC-supplied 95-gallon bins, and since many older homes don’t have direct outdoor access from their garages/back yards to the front of their homes, the only way these neighbors could participate is by wheeling their bin down the alley to the side street, down the side street to the intersection, then down their own street, finally placing it in front of their house. Or, alternatively, they could wheel the 95-gallon toter through their house and down their front steps to the street. Kind of ridiculous, wouldn’t you say? There’s a reason why older neighborhoods have alleys. The city should insist that garbage haulers use them.

The PDC-provided wheeled cart is only bad in that it’s exclusive. If someone already owns a dedicated toter for recycling, they will have to plunk down another $50 (refundable though it may be) for this PDC-branded toter. It’s nice to have the toters available for use if you need one, but why force others to take one they don’t need? Are they going to tell us that they have a special, proprietary design to their toters and trucks such that only PDC toters are compatible? If we’re trying to encourage recycling, why do we want to add this entry cost? We’re not requiring everyone to fork over $50 for a toter for regular garbage.

According to the report from Public Works, PDC also provided the cost of providing this same service except that they would pick up recycling and landscape waste on an every-other-week basis. The cost of that solution is $6,186,664.27 ($1,186,664.27 more than the plan outlined above). I don’t understand why this costs so much more. Maybe it will be explained at the council meeting. It seems to me the more expensive plan actually requires fewer collection trips. Think about it:

$5M Plan   $6.1M Plan
4 landscape waste collections per month   2 landscape waste collections per month
+ 1 recycling collection per month + 2 recycling collections per month
= 5 total collections = 4 total collections

“Ah,” you say, “but landscape waste is only collected from the third Monday in March through the third Friday in December, whereas recycling is collected year-round!” Okay, let’s look at the whole year:

$5M Plan   $6.1M Plan
40 landscape waste collections per year   20 landscape waste collections per year
+ 12 recycling collections per year + 24 recycling collections per year
= 52 total collections = 44 total collections

Where is the added cost? Of course, this is probably a futile exercise, because my guess is most of the council members will not go for lawn waste pickup every other week anyway (the lawn waste bags start getting soggy after a while). But it does raise a fair question about how they came up with the amounts quoted.

Bottom line: The proposed contract is better than what we have now at a reasonable cost. The council should try to work out the flaws mentioned above while still keeping costs low.