Category Archives: General News

General News

Labor Day Parade at 2 p.m. today (Updated)

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Don’t forget about the Labor Day Parade (presented by the West Central Illinois Labor Council) at 2 p.m. today in downtown Peoria. The parade will start at the 500 block of Monroe Street, go southwest to Main, then down Main to the riverfront, where there will be a picnic with musical entertainment.

Happy Labor Day, everyone!

UPDATE: I took my son to the parade today. Some random observations:

  • We were near the corner of Madison and Main, and from that position, it looked like the parade was well-attended. It wasn’t as well-attended as the Santa Claus Parade, but there were people lining both sides of the street on the parade route.
  • I saw Sharon Crews, Terry Knapp, and Hedy Elliott-Gardner (among others) marching in the parade, representing the teachers’ union. Hedy even said “hi”!
  • Lots of candy was thrown to the kids. I hate that part of modern parades. And yes, I know everyone will think I’m an old stick-in-the-mud for saying so. To me, it really detracts from the point of the parade (celebrating/recognizing the participants and the organizations they represent), instead turning the event into a competition for candy with parents as referees.
  • Speaking of candy, it always amuses me to see union families collecting said candy in Wal-Mart bags. Why any union member would shop at a chain as anti-union as Wal-Mart I’m sure I’ll never know.
  • I believe John Vespa was the only Republican in the parade.
  • Lots of union workers carried signs from the Illinois AFL-CIO that said “Health Care Can’t Wait.”
City of Peoria, General News

News Summary 8/24/2009

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Good morning! It’s Monday, August 24, and this week District 150 school kids go back to class. Mothers all over Peoria are rejoicing. In other news:

  • School Board member Rachael Parker is planning a run for Bud Sous’s Peoria County Board seat. The election is in 2010, and if elected, Parker would have to give up her seat on the School Board.
  • The City of Peoria is going to intervene in the Illinois American Water rate case, protesting the rise in water rates. According to a recent Issues Update from the city, the cost to intervene and monitor the process is “minimal,” but “to hire an ICC Utility Attorney and present expert testimony, that would likely cost $60,000 to $80,000.” So the city is going to look at mitigating that cost by possibly partnering with other nearby cities, like Pekin and Champaign. “Certain issues may be different but other issues, such as return on investors’ equity, would be common to all.” Illinois American Water is asking state regulators to let them raise water rates by more than 28% in Peoria.
  • In a previous post, I mentioned that someone was polling residents with questions about the city and school district. Renee Charles of the Heartland Partnership said the company is aware of the poll, but after calling their subsidiary organizations (including the Chamber of Commerce), she went on record saying she does not know who is conducting the poll. The city and school district have also denied running the poll. So the identity of the pollster remains a mystery.
  • A press release last week announced, “Senate Bill 1512, sponsored by State Senator David Koehler (D-Peoria), authorizes the Secretary of State’s office to issue false identification to undercover law enforcement agents.” But the most interesting part of the release was this statement (emphasis mine): “For years the Secretary of State’s office issued false identification to the police with no real authorization or clear guidelines. The new law ensures that these fake IDs are properly distributed and used only for undercover investigations.” I wonder what else is being done with “no real authorization.”
  • At a press conference today, Democrat Carl Ray will kick-off his campaign to run against Congressman Aaron Schock for the 18th Congressional District of Illinois. There are two locations and times for his announcement: 10 a.m. at Five Points Washington (360 N. Wilmor Rd., Washington), and 2 p.m. at the Springfield Public Library (Carnegie Room South, 326 S. 7th St., Springfield). “There will be a 10-15 minute address, followed by time with the media and supporters.”
  • The proposed downtown museum still has a “several million dollar gap” in funding, and they’re still negotiating a contract with IMAX.
  • Invitations went out last week for the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Peoria Public Library North Branch. The event will be held September 10, 2009, 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Grand Parkway in Medina Plains Corporate Park off Townline Road.
General News

Royster strikes again

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Kay RoysterWhen we last left former District 150 Superintendent Kay Royster, she had just been fired from a school district in Missouri. Well, since then, the state has audited the school district. From the July 29 St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

The Jennings School District ran annual deficits of $3 million for four years, mismanaged an expensive plan to provide hand-held computers for students and has many sloppy accounting practices, a state audit released Tuesday found.

The report, by Missouri Auditor Susan Montee, also says the district appears to have paid an excessive severance to former Superintendent Kay Royster, who championed the purchase of 2,572 Palm T/X computers. Montee reports the district didn’t competitively bid for the computers, overspent the $950,000 project budget by $304,000, never hooked up a workable system and had 324 of the computers in storage as of January.

“The units are basically sitting in the classroom unused or seldom used,” Montee said.

Royster announced the mini-computer program in February 2007 as a way to keep the district “on the cutting edge.” But when the board fired her one year later, members cited declining student test scores and the failure to put the devices to effective use.

The audit says the computer overspending is one reason for the annual deficits. Others include an extra $988,000 for nine administrators added mainly by Royster and the $249,709 severance package she obtained in February 2008.

Kalamazoo. Peoria. Jennings. Who will be next?

General News

Heartland Partnership rolls out new survey

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The Heartland Partnership is conducting a survey of what people think of the tri-county area. However, they only want to know what things you like about the region, not what you don’t like. So the purpose of the survey appears to be an effort to get some good marketing quotes and some statistics on what area residents like best the region. It’s only 10 questions, so it doesn’t take long to complete. Here’s the info:

The Peoria metropolitan area; including Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford Counties; would like your help gathering information to better market our region.

Log on to www.peoriametrosurvey.com and take a few moments to complete our brief survey. Tell us what you think about living in the Peoria metro area. You can also register to win a prize package. This brief survey has only 10 questions and should take less than 5 minutes to complete. We look forward to hearing from you!

Help us take the pulse of the Peoria Area and be sure to pass the survey on to your friends and contacts!

General News

Other events in the world

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Here are some other things that have happened in the world despite the recent deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson:

  • The House of Representatives narrowly passed (219-212) the Waxman-Markey bill, also known as the “Climate Change bill” or “Global Warming bill,” which will establish a cap-and-trade system to limit greenhouse-gas emissions. This will raise the cost of carbon-based fuels, which means annual energy costs for Americans will rise. Everyone agrees that costs will rise; they just disagree over how much. Estimates range from $98 extra per year to over $4,300 extra per year for an average household. Nevertheless, President Obama claims it will be good for the country’s economy — even going so far as to claim that it will change the business cycle:

    I have often talked about the need to build a new foundation for economic growth so that we do not return to the endless cycle of bubble and bust that led us to this recession. Clean energy and the jobs it creates will be absolutely critical to this new foundation.

  • There has been a coup in Honduras. President Manuel Zelaya was forced out of the country by the military:

    Mr Zelaya campaigned for office on a law and order ticket but, Reuters news agency reports, it remains a major drug-trafficking transit point, overrun by street gangs and violent crime. Limited to a single four-year term in office under the current constitution, he was accused of seeking to change the law to allow him to stand for a second term.

  • Eight British Embassy employees were arrested in Iran “for their alleged involvement in post-election protests.” The British foreign secretary denies any involvement: “The idea that the British embassy is somehow behind the demonstrations and protests that have been taking place in Tehran in recent weeks is wholly without foundation.” Click here for a video report from the BBC.

Kudos to Billy Dennis for continuing to cover the Iranian crisis.

General News

“America’s first step in a lasting return to the moon”

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From NASA:

On the moon we will develop technologies to survive in the infinite frontier of space, because the moon presents the same challenges we will encounter throughout the universe: harmful radiation, electrified dust, and extreme temperatures.

Just as a scout finds the safest way for expeditions on Earth, NASA will first send a robotic scout, called the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), to gather crucial data on the lunar environment that will help astronauts prepare for long-duration lunar expeditions.

LRO’s launch date is scheduled for no earlier than June 17, 2009. The spacecraft will spend at least a year in a low polar orbit approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) above the lunar surface, while its seven instruments find safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment, and test new technology.

The LRO blasted off on an Atlas V rocket on Thursday, June 18, at 4:32 p.m. CDT:

It will reach the moon on Tuesday, June 23, at 4:43 a.m. CDT.

General News

Berean Bookstore reopening under new (old) ownership

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Well, it was less than four months ago that Berean Bookstore announced they were closing and had a big going-out-of-business sale. But now word comes that they’re opening again this Thursday. Here’s a letter that recently went out to folks on the old Berean mailing list:

June 5, 2009

Dear Faithful Friend,

It is with great joy and privilege that I am writing this letter today. After much prayer and clear direction from God, we have been led to open a new Christian bookstore in the community. We plan to open Hoerr’s Berean Bookstore on Thursday, June 11th in both Peoria and Decatur (located in the old Berean locations) and later in the summer in Bloomington (in a new location). Since you have been faithful friends of Berean over the years, we wanted you to know about this new bookstore!

My family had owned Berean back in the 80’s and 90’s. In light of Berean closing, we feel led to provide a lighthouse for the community again. A place of fellowship; where you can pick up a great book, grab a cup of coffee, sit down on a comfy chair, and meet a life long friend.

We want to thank you in advance for your support of our ministry and are eager to meet and serve you in yours. May God bless you and yours.

In Christian love,
Joe Hoerr
President

It will be interesting to see what changes are made under this new (old) ownership. Hopefully their stock will include more books/music and less tacky Christian gift product than the old store. Best of luck to them.

General News

Clifton Gunderson HQ moved from Peoria to Milwaukee

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The accounting firm Clifton Gunderson is has moved their firm’s headquarters from Peoria to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (well, technically Wauwatosa).

The move was announced over a year ago (April 2008), but was completed as of June 1 this year. In a statement, CEO Krista McMasters said “the decision will not have any immediate or long-term impact on the operations of the Peoria practice office.”

Abortion, General News

You can’t stop abortion by killing abortionists

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Late-term abortionist George Tiller was killed at his church Sunday morning in Wichita, Kansas. Tiller was a controversial figure in the abortion debate. He was one of the few doctors to perform late-term abortions, and had previously been the victim of attempts on his life.

No doubt the murderer feels justified in killing Tiller because of Tiller’s actions in killing unborn babies. But he’s not justified. I agree with President Obama’s reaction to the killing:

Today Obama said he was “shocked and outraged” by the killing. “However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion,” he said in a statement, “they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.

My mother always taught me that two wrongs don’t make a right. Killing an abortionist is not a justified response to the scourge of abortion on demand in this country. I still have hope that abortion will be abolished through peaceful, legal means over time through persuasion, the way slavery was abolished in England.