Category Archives: 2008 Campaign

2008 Campaign, Peoria Public Schools

Working cash bonds will raise property taxes 25¢ per $100 EAV

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I recently spoke with District 150 interim comptroller Brock Butts about the $38,000,000 in working cash bonds the District wants to issue. He said the plan is to issue 15-year bonds, but hopefully pay them off early — possibly as quickly as five years. The bonds would be paid for by putting an additional levy on property taxes. Property taxes within the District would increase 25¢ per $100 of equalized assessed valuation (EAV). That means the owner of a $150,000 house would pay an additional $125 in property taxes.

Public notice of the District’s intent to issue the bonds was given in the Journal Star on April 7. Voters have 30 days from that date to either do nothing, in which case the district will go forward with the bond issuance in May, or gather at least 6,355 signatures to force the bond issuance to a binding referendum. The soonest a vote could be taken is February 2010, unless a special election were held earlier.

I asked what would happen if the voters did, in fact, succeed in petitioning for a referendum. Butts said that unless the District receives categorical funding from the State, the District will run out of money mid-May. At that point, the district could borrow money under something called “teacher’s orders” to pay certified staff salaries, but that’s about all they could do until October when they could issue tax anticipation warrants again. In short, it would keep them in a perpetual cash flow crisis.

Some explanation may be helpful here. Tax anticipation warrants are kind of like payday loans. As the name implies, money is borrowed in anticipation of receiving future tax revenue. The loan is paid off when the future tax revenue is collected. Basically, they’re using next year’s tax money to pay this year’s bills, just like you can use next month’s paycheck to pay this month’s bills if you get a payday loan. Companies like Investors Choice Lending do this and the District has been doing this for years, allowing people to try Investors Choice Lending.

That comes with a cost: interest. Tax anticipation warrants don’t raise your property tax bill, so guess from where the money for interest comes. According to Dr. Butts, it comes out of the education fund. Not good.

This is why the comptroller (and others) have recommended that the district issue $38 million in working cash fund bonds. It will give the district money to build up their reserves so they no longer have to issue tax anticipation warrants. That, coupled with efforts to balance the budget, will get the District back on sound financial footing. While it will cost a little extra in property taxes now, it will save money in the long run. It will also keep the interest costs from coming out of the education fund. Once the working cash fund bonds are paid off, property taxes will be abated.

This plan sounds reasonable and fiscally responsible to me, and I can support it. In fact, I’ve decided I’m not going to be a part of any effort to force this issue to a referendum.

However, I still have one really big reservation about this plan, and that is my lack of confidence in the school administration’s commitment to stick to it. As has been stated before, Blaine-Sumner was closed, then remodeled for use as offices, squandering the savings there. White School was closed and sold, but the Social Security Administration building was acquired and remodeled for more than the sale price of White. More squandered savings. And need we mention the money wasted on multiple superintendents and other questionable administrative/consultant positions?

What assurance can the District 150 Board of Education give the citizens of Peoria that they will not squander the savings of the recently-decided school closures, or the additional revenue from working cash fund bonds? That’s not a rhetorical question; I really think the constituents of District 150 deserve an answer.

2008 Campaign, City of Peoria, Weather

New snow plan has unintended consequences

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It all looks good on paper:

The City of Peoria has not established a “Bare pavement” policy for each and every roadway. Bare pavement will dramatically increase our costs as well as negative environmental impacts. If a citizen will drive carefully for a few blocks to a roadway with a higher level of service, travel throughout Peoria can be made easier and safer. Balancing levels of service to user volumes is the most efficient use of Peoria’s tax dollars and minimizes damage to the environment.

The plan was executed to the letter this year, which resulted in excellent driving on primary routes and treacherous driving on residential streets. Many residential streets are a solid sheet of ice, but Public Works and the City Council are evidently okay with that level of “service.”

What the snow plan didn’t take into account was the effect this would have on service vehicles, like garbage trucks. Many residents haven’t had garbage pickup for two weeks now — an inconvenience any time of year, but certainly around Christmas when there is a lot of extra garbage. Here’s the latest press release from the city:

In response to the icy conditions on roads and alleys, Waste Management has suspended residential and commercial collection for today. Collections will resume tomorrow, Saturday, December 27th, for the routes scheduled for collection today.

The icy conditions on roads and alleys are due in no small part to the city’s planned neglect of them, per the snow plan. The icy conditions are so bad that even the city’s snow plows are having trouble getting through neighborhoods now. Here’s another press release:

City crews are treating residential areas with a sand/salt mix to increase traction. Progress is delayed due to most inclines, that will force the salt truck to back up the street to prevent sliding.

If the snow plows can’t get through without sliding, how well do you think the average motorist is able to navigate these streets to get to “a roadway with a higher level of service”? Snow plows, garbage trucks, even Journal Star delivery has been delayed due to the icy conditions.

My guess is that the snow plan was designed to handle snow, but not ice like we’ve had this year. Maybe the city should reevaluate the snow plan in light of these developments and establish an “ice plan” for the future.

2008 Campaign

Times-Observer weighs in on con-con post

10 Comments

The Times-Observer did a nice editorial piece in response to my post-election Constitutional Convention reaction.

Before getting into the meat of it, let me explain my most-criticized comment, which was: “Well, I don’t want to hear any complaints about state government from anyone who voted against the Con Con. You had your chance to improve things, and you blew it.” Some have taken this to mean that I want to somehow limit their free speech to complain about state government. Not so. Complain away. I just said I don’t want to hear it, which is another way of saying you’ll get no sympathy from me.

Now, as for the arguments against the Constitutional Convention (“con-con,” for short), here’s the thing I don’t understand. What harm would it have done?

According to the Times-Observer, “we cannot trust anything coming out of Springfield”; they then go on to compare a con-con to the electricity deregulation debacle. The Peoria chapter of the League of Women Voters’ spokesperson said, “Special interests, current political dysfunction in Springfield and party politics may gain control of the delegate election/selection process, as well as deliberations. Results may be unrepresentative of voters’ concerns.”

These statements indicate to me that these people evidently do not know how a con-con works. Delegates to the convention cannot be legislators. There would be a separate election of delegates. Furthermore, the proposed constitution that would come out of the con-con would have to be approved by the voters. That’s why it’s not anything like the electricity deregulation debacle.

Those who worry that “results may be unrepresentative of voters’ concerns” are showing a lack of faith in voters, who are ultimately they themselves. They’re saying that democracy is too scary, and there are too many potential pitfalls. Better to stick with what we’ve got. I, for one, am glad that our founding fathers didn’t have such fear when they decided to write the U. S. Constitution instead of sticking with the Articles of Confederation.

But, you might object, the voters are the ones who gave us Michael Madigan and Emil Jones — how can we trust such voters? I would direct you to a political map of Illinois and see how the district boundaries are drawn. It’s a textbook case of gerrymandering. The legislators carve up the state in such a way that they are literally choosing their voters, instead of the voters choosing their legislators. But with a statewide referendum, gerrymandering loses its power. It’s a straight popular vote.

Ironically, gerrymandering is an issue that the League of Women Voters is concerned about. Yet they shot down a process whereby they could tackle the problem head-on. They would rather stick with the status quo — where redistricting reform bills are sent to the “Rules” committee to die — rather than risk a con-con.

And that’s really their whole argument: it’s too risky. Well, life is risky. Voting against the con-con didn’t alleviate Illinoisans of any risk. It just ensured that the current risks would remain, and they have.

The Times-Observer quotes Shakespeare as saying, “The devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape,” as if one option is the devil and the other isn’t. The truth is, the devil is in both options, pro and con. Voters simply chose the devil they knew instead of the devil they didn’t know.

2008 Campaign

Anti-con-con forces win

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Illinois voters don’t want a Constitutional Convention, 68 to 32 percent. Apparently, they’re all happy with excessive executive power, gerrymandering that allows politicians to choose their voters instead of vice-versa, and the ability for about four people to put a stranglehold on the Illinois House and Senate. Good show!

Of course the real answer, as former Governor Edgar, et. al., explained on the radio countless times, is to simply vote these bad representatives out of office. So, let’s see who got voted out of office. Hmmm…. Ah yes, here it is: No one.

Well, I don’t want to hear any complaints about state government from anyone who voted against the Con Con. You had your chance to improve things, and you blew it.

2008 Campaign

Losing faith

81 Comments

I have lost all faith in the voters of Central Illinois. No, not because Obama won. Not because Dick Durbin got reelected. Not even because Kevin Lyons got reelected, although that did push me to the brink. But the thing that pushed me right over the edge was this election result:

Jehan Gordon (D) 18,829 53%
Joan Krupa (R) 16,390 47%

I consider myself pretty open-minded. I can totally understand why people would vote for Obama, Durbin, Schock, Lyons, etc. I may disagree with many of those choices (and I do), but there are logically defensible reasons to vote for them nonetheless.

But Jehan Gordon? Seriously? I can’t think of one single solitary reason to vote for her. Not one qualification. In fact, she’s easily the most unqualified candidate I’ve ever seen in my life. I have a number of Democrat friends who voted for every other Democrat on the ballot, but couldn’t bring themselves to vote for her. Yet 53% of voters cast their ballot for her.

For the love of Mike, why? Have you people completely lost your minds? Did you do even the most rudimentary research on the candidates before casting your vote? Like reading their bios, for instance? Or are you so partisan that you would vote for any name with a “D” behind it, no matter how unqualified they are?

I honestly cannot believe she was elected. IT BLOWS MY MIND!!! What is wrong with 53% of you voters?

2008 Campaign

Election Results ’08 (Last Update for this post)

3 Comments

UPDATED 9:30

Okay, I’m tired of typing this stuff out. If you want more updates, you can click on these links for the latest:

County results
City results

Happy election night!

— 76 of 93 precincts counted in CITY of Peoria —

(Totals include early voting numbers)

President of the United States
Barack Obama (D) 23,996 (59.59%)
John McCain (R) 15,765 (39.15%)

U.S. Senate
Dick Durbin* (D) 25,601 (65.75%)
Steve Sauerberg (R) 12,097 (31.07%)

18th Congressional District
Aaron Schock (R) 21,018 (52.82%)
Colleen Callahan (D) 16,875 (42.41%)
Sheldon Schafer (G) 1,898 (4.77%)

92nd District
Jehan Gordon (D) 12,215 (57.28%)
Joan Gore Krupa (R) 9,110 (42.72%)

Peoria County State’s Attorney
Kevin Lyons (D) 21,725 (55.41%)
Darin LaHood (R) 17,483 (44.59%)

Constitutional Convention
No 25,247 (66.31%)
Yes 12,828 (33.69%)

City of Peoria Non-Partisan Election
Yes 20,064 (55.03%)
No 16,394 (44.97%)

— 45 of 53 precincts counted in Peoria COUNTY —

President of the United States
Barack Obama (D) 15,324 (50.85%)
John McCain (R) 14,281 (47.39%)

U.S. Senate
Dick Durbin* (D) 17,437 (59.73%)
Steve Sauerberg (R) 10,551 (36.14%)

18th Congressional District
Aaron Schock (R) 17,502 (58.37%)
Colleen Callahan (D) 11,126 (37.10%)
Sheldon Schafer (G) 1,359 (4.53%)

92nd District
Joan Gore Krupa (R) 5,538 (55.89%)
Jehan Gordon (D) 4,370 (44.11%)

Peoria County State’s Attorney
Kevin Lyons (D) 16,254 (52.61%)
Darin LaHood (R) 14,640 (47.39%)

Constitutional Convention
No 21,117 (69.48%)
Yes 9,275 (30.52%)

–ORIGINAL POST FOLLOWS–

Peoria County early voting results:

President of the United States
Barack Obama (D) 6,139 (54.4%)
John McCain (R) 4,997 (44.28%)
Ralph Nader (G) 61 (0.54%)
Bob Barr (L) 40 (0.35%)

U.S. Senate
Dick Durbin* (D) 6,563 (60.35%)
Steve Sauerberg (R) 3,908 (35.94%)

18th Congresional District
Aaron Schock (R) 6,031 (53.82%)
Colleen Callahan (D) 4,701 (41.95%)
Sheldon Schafer (G) 474 (4.23%)

City of Peoria early voting results:

President of the United States
Barack Obama (D) 9,218 (67.94%)
John McCain (R) 4,222 (31.12%)
Ralph Nader (G) 42 (0.31%)
Bob Barr (L) 40 (0.29%)

U.S. Senate
Dick Durbin* (D) 9,334 (71.09%)
Steve Sauerberg (R) 3,441 (26.21%)

18th Congressional District
Colleen Callahan (D) 6,999 (52.28%)
Aaron Schock (R) 5,836 (43.59%)
Sheldon Schafer (G) 552 (4.12%)

92nd District
Jehan Gordon (D) 4,737 (64.59%)
Joan Gore Krupa (R) 2,597 (35.41%)

Peoria County State’s Attorney
Kevin Lyons (D) 8,412 (63.81%)
Darin LaHood (R) 4,770 (36.19%)

City of Peoria Non-Partisan Election
Yes 6,857 (56.03%)
No 5,381 (43.97%)

Constitutional Convention
No 8,310 (65.33%)
Yes 4,411 (34.67%)

*Incumbent

Full election results are available from PeoriaVotes.com.

2008 Campaign

Election Day 2008

29 Comments

The campaign is finally over, and all the citizens who haven’t already voted early go to the polls today. By tonight at 9 p.m. or so, we should know who our next elected representatives will be.

While we’re waiting, anyone want to venture a prediction on any of the races? If you really want to show off your prognosticating skills, tell us what the percentage spread will be, too.

2008 Campaign

More endorsements for Schock

41 Comments

From a press release:

Aaron Schock Earns Support from 9 Unions

(PEORIA) Representative Aaron Schock picked up the support of nine unions in his bid to succeed Ray LaHood as Congressman for the 18th District.

The unions include:

  • National Education Association, NEA, the largest union representing teachers in the 18th District
  • Illinois Education Association, IEA
  • The International Union of Operating Engineers
  • The National Association of Police Organizations, NAPO
  • The Illinois Police Benevolent and Protective Union
  • The Peoria Police Benevolent and Protective Union
  • The International Association of Fire Fighters, AFL-CIO, FIREPAC
  • United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners
  • Airline Pilots Association International Union

In issuing their endorsement, the NEA wrote to Schock saying, “The NEA and IEA are proud to support the election of federal candidates, like you, who measure up to the issues that most concern our members.

The NEA and IEA are the union representing the largest number of teachers in the 18th District.

Schock recently was the keynote speaker at the Illinois Police Benevolent and Protective Union’s annual convention in Springfield earlier this month. He received a warm welcome and rousing ovation for his remarks to the members and the leaders held a news conference with Schock announcing their endorsement.

NAPO represents more than 2,000 police unions and associations, 241,000 sworn law enforcement officers, 11,000 retired officers and more than 100,000 citizens who share a common dedication to fair and effective crime control and law enforcement.

The International Union of Operating Engineers; the Carpenters Legislative Improvement Committee of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners; the National Education Association’s NEA Fund, and the International Association of Fire Fighters AFL-CIO FIREPAC also sent the maximum allowable $5,000 contribution to Schock’s campaign fund.

“I am honored to have the support of working men and women and the support of these organized labor unions,” said Schock. “I had a productive relationship with union representatives as a State Representative and my door will always be open as I try my very best to represent all the people of the 18th District.”

2008 Campaign

More endorsements for Darin LaHood

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There was a press conference yesterday at which several city leaders endorsed Darin LaHood for State’s Attorney:

Mayor Jim Ardis and At-large Councilman Gary Sandberg both spoke at a news conference in City Council chambers supporting LaHood. Councilmen Bob Manning and George Jacob were present. Councilmen Jim Montelongo, Patrick Nichting, Ryan Spain and Eric Turner have indicated their support….

Other supporters at the news conference included Jim McConoughey, representing the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, and several police officers.