City Council, City of Peoria

Chronicle prediction comes true

56 Comments

Back in January, when the Peoria City Council agreed to extend the Wonderful Development deadline until the end of February, I predicted that “Long about February 21, you can reasonably expect the council agenda to include another deadline extension.” Well, it’s February 22, and guess what? The council agenda for next Tuesday includes a request to extend the deadline until the end of March now.

I feel confident in predicting that, if this is approved, the new deadline won’t be met either. At the end of March will be another deadline extension request. This may happen every month in perpetuity, or at least as long as the majority of this council is allowed to remain in office, and Gary Matthews is never held to a real deadline.

Just for those council people who are unaware of the definition of “deadline,” here it is: “The time by which something must be finished or submitted; the latest time for finishing something.” That’s not how the Council has been defining it, obviously.

56 thoughts on “Chronicle prediction comes true”

  1. Yep … that is the definition … nope that is not how the council sees it … once a pet project gets the initial greenlight … no going back … think any project which had its deadline adjusted ad nauseum … hotel … museum … Riverfront Village … quite likely ad nauseum for the list of projects.

  2. one has to wonder…..what part of doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result do these people not comprehend? perhaps CBS should line up a new version of survivor pitting the city council against the 150 board. sadly, if the first challenge is pouring pee from a boot w/ the instructions on the heel, all will be sent home after one day!

  3. No surprise. They are going to do this bad deal come hell or high water. I am sure that they counted on robbing the south end of every dollar they could get. My guess is that they will really need to borrow more because Matthews still doesn’t have the financing. maybe the council should should start taxing crime victims to raise money for the hotel. They couldn’t find the criminals themselves because they can never seem to locate them. Might as well benefit the hotel, from all the crime. Who cares if they were traumatized, bill them anyway for taking up police time with their piddly problems. (note: tongue in cheek)
    They need to get the maps redrawn, many many of them need to be replaced.

  4. Replace the word “deadline” with Extenze, natural hotel inhancement…Both promote somthin big to happen in the future…

  5. Why doesn’t the city council just shelve this project, pat themselves on the back for trying and move on to another problem or something else, like…oh….crime!

  7. Conrad:
    The council will ignore the petition, ( Petition on OSF/powerhouse/White school) Snubbed.

  8. I know, Martin. However, it is not an excuse to do nothing. And we can vote out the district reps next year.

  9. If BVA runs in the 2nd and it still covers the west bluff, they will flock to her like lost children in search of a money source. If you don’t you will lose all the special priveleges earned to you by the folks with the large houses, ample booze stock, and fat checkbooks. So she will stay. If Clyde’s district doesnt change much the three people that vote will vote for him because he is black. Riggenbach is the only one who had a close election, but no one has stepped up looking that could be the fire department machine combined with OSF’s money. Unfortunately, Spain suckered people into believing that he is a sweet, innocent youth, when he is the one pushing all these bad deals, hotel, warehouse, and museum. He then sits back quietly letting others take the heat for it. Turner was nailed in the last election. Spain sat there an smiled like “hotel, what hotel”. “nothing to see here.” Turner wants the hotel because CAT is demanding it. So unless the maps are redrawn, which won’t be done quickly, then no one has a good shot at finding candidates to oppose the spending binge. That was deliberate as the district reps were put in charge of doing their own redistricting. We will have more of the same. The only staff left will be the person who writes checks to the developers.

  10. Now, CJ, as much as respect you & your blog, you predicting the extension of the February deadline is about as prophetic as me predicting my driveway is made out of cement. Who didn’t know this was coming? Oh, yeah, right, my bad: the people sitting around the pie in the sky…er I mean the horseshoe.

    I hope Gary Matthews and the Council are contributing to the unemployment benefits of the displaced Pere workers.

  11. I don’t think so, checking. BVA does not enjoy the support she once did in the West Bluff. If she runs again, she will lose.

  12. Chef Kevin,

    Cement come in a bag…………… concrete comes in a truck……….hehehehehehe

  13. Gulley isn’t running for re-election. 1 down. Because of population shifts, some of BVA’s district will become the 1st so she’ll lose that support unless of course she runs for the 1st. Spain, of course, is a At Large, so his re-election isn’t up for some time yet. I think the 3rd will get a new choice. There is hope. I hope.

  15. Checking for details:

    Ha ha … well there were four voters in our household last election and none of us voted for Gulley … so I guess there must be more than three voters in the 1st … I do not think that Em voted for him either … just saying that we need candidates with common sense and know that you cannot spend and WON’T spend public money on baubles … just sayin’

  16. I have heard rumors that Spears may not run. BVA has already bought votes in the district moving north. She replaced sidewalks on three streets that were in pretty good shape. The funny thing is that neighborhood had been complaining about crime and people wanted to sell their homes and get out, but couldn’t get what they needed from their houses. Now perhaps they will and the slumloards will buy up the properties, fill it with Section 8. The sidewalks will remain pristine because everyone will be walking in the streets, so not so much as a shoe scuff will appear on the sidewalks. Money well spent as well.

    karrie, I was exaggerating. There were what, a little over 500 that voted him in last time.

    Conrad, MB will vote for BVA come hell or high water. If they don’t they themselves will have to mow the western ave greenway like other neighborhoods have to do, instead of the park district. The extra cops will be gone and all the other perks.

  18. Many promised to work to vote Turner, Spain and others out of office. “Words”, no Peoria voters need “sticks ans stones”. Keep Weaver, Sandburg and Beth. At least until Chuck and Beth continue to prove themselves as worthy of the respnsibility.

  20. goodness, apparantly my sources are better than the council’s? Matthews still doesn’t have the funding together. This extension is a sham, the “fine” is a sham. the council hasn’t enforced one deadline or deal requirement, who thinks they would enforce a fine? They don’t with slumloards. What another joke on the backs of the taxpayers. Note: Ardis is now taking the heat while Spain and HP slinks back into the darkness. Ordinarily Spain has his pom poms and cheerleader skirt on to take credit for any and everything. Things are screwed up, he disappears. His goal is higher office, don’t ever be fooled by the smile.

    They are proposing a $41,000 fine for a 59 million dollar investment, neither of which they will ever recoup. Poor planning, poor execution, bad deal. Vote these people out.

  24. Interesting. LaVetta Ricca from Old Towne South neighborhood complained about the lack of code enforcement in her area. Well, they got rid of numerous code enforcement positions and supervisory staff to pay for the hotel and the warehouse district. Stop complaining and remember to vote them out. Clearly neither you nor your neighborhood are as important as their friends who wil make money on these deals.

  25. Hard to ‘Vote Them Out’, when there’s no one else to ‘Vote In’. Easier to complain here on the blogs than to pass petitions, file them, and run a campaign for council. (I hope CJ tries again, though) As of right now, we know Clyde Gulley is not running for re-election.

    There’s been all kinds of complaints against the Dist. 150 School Board, yet there are 2 seats up for election…and no one opposing the incumbents. So figure that one out.

  26. People aren’t stepping forward, because the council has failed to pause their “fund that developer” show long enough to finish the maps to show where the districts will be. Ardis put the foxes in charge of the chicken coup. I assure you that they will be drawn to the incumbents best advantage. There has been no discussion about proceeding. It will be left to the last minute to reduce opposition fundraising and door to door efforts.

  27. I believe the new maps have to be done by November 1st, because usually petitions for Mayor/Council are released so they can be picked up and filed around December 5th. (Someone correct me if dates aren’t right)

    The next City Election is in April 2013. If more than 10 people file petitions for Council and/or more than 3 people file for Mayor, then there would be a Primary probably in February.

    And as far as fundraising, I don’t think Gary Sandberg ever has had to raise a bunch of cash when he runs for an At-Large seat. So if you get out there, talk to many citizens in the district you are running in (after maps are finalized), get your name out there, your issues, your thoughts on improving the community, you might not need a whole lot of $$$$. Word of Mouth is still a very powerful tool. This is democracy at its best.

  28. Did anyone else catch that the museum folks were in DC begging for tax dollars? Do they even have their endowment, one of the many promises made?

  29. Speaking of candidates for election….

    The latest CAPtions edition features the NAACP Forum that included the US House 17th District, IL State Senate 46h District, Peoria County Board Dist. 6, and the 10th Judicial Circuit Court Judge. This CAPtions can be viewed online before it is broadcast. Here are the links to the 1st hour of this forum:

    Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TAN7VNe-KY

    Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChyFgThk-lY

    It will also be broadcast this coming Sunday at 5 pm on Comcast Cable 22.

    The 2nd hour of the Forum will be available next week.

    Candidates Forums are a good way to actually see and hear straight from them their views on issues, and how they responded to questions from the audience. The Primary is March 20, but Early Voting is underway now.

  32. I would imagine that Spain and company are crapping themselves on this one. OSF funded a chunk of Riggenbach’s campaign. Spain received donations and a number of votes/perks and so on and so on. This could directly effect their funding flow and I am sure that is the only thing that will get their attention. WMBD reported that the city stated that it would not extend the deadline any more. HA! I am certain no one would believe that. additionlly the city council is in bed with Koehler on this deal for tax credits and his legislation just effected the diocese in a very negative way. Personally I hope the Diocese holds its ground. Perhaps this dragon can be slain after all.

  33. sorry for butting in and going off topic…but can someone tell me what the heck is going on with the two Chinese buffets called the Dynasty? First they up close the one out North on University and plaster paper on the windows and a sign saying closed for remodeling. I drive by there nearly every day at various hours and just occasionally do I see signs of demolition – let alone just 1 car or 1 truck at any time. Now today I drove down to their other buffet further down University by Steak N Shake and now it is also closed! What gives? BTW there is a new building going up near GFS by Culver’s on University – is that part of this puzzle? It just strikes me as a strange way to run a business!

  34. Golden Corral put him out of business. Grand village is building at the location by gfs.

  35. Wow, went and checked out the Dynasty by SnS on University (the old Shakey’s building) and sure enough, gone. So the sewer pit put them out of business? I don’t see how as Chinese food is different from whatever food is sold at Golden Corral. What is a Grand Village?

  37. “Golden Corral put him out of business.”

    How is that? We tried Golden Corral once… we walked out, after being seated, before even getting our food. The place was waaay filthier than Dynasty ever was. The linear flow of GC, I don’t see how people like that? It took us 15 minutes just to get to the salad bar… which we were going to skip but because of the linear line, couldn’t. It was clear it would take close to 30 minutes just to get to the ‘meat’ counter. Heaven help you if you wanted seconds. I will never go there again.

  38. Dynasty didn’t go out of business. It will reopen under a new name which the guy told me but I couldn’t begin to spell it. It sounded like a new Hyundai. Their closing had nothing to do with the crap shoot known as the GC.

  41. For kicks and giggles I had lunch today in EP at the Grand Village on Camp Street. I was pleasantly surprised as even the noon time buffet was quite the spread of food – in fact I’d have to save their selection was easily double what the Dynasty always offered. You pay up front and a there’s a price break for patrons 60 and over. One thing that grabbed my attention was the large offering of self-serve soft drinks, milk, tea and coffee. One other noticeable difference was for as large as the room is there was only 1 waiter who cleaned tables unlike the large number of young ladies at Dynasty. He was flying the whole time! BTW the older gentleman behind the cash register booth who appeared to be the owner confirmed they are building the restaurant by GFS on University. Though for me it was a 35 minute trip to get there I will go there again and look forward to their new Peoria location.

  45. It has never been in doubt that the project is “on” in the sense that it will inevitably happen come hell or high water. The only questions have been “when” and after how many “deadline” extensions. If for some reason this little setback with the Diocese pushes the closing into April, you can bet your tax dollars that the deadline will be extended one way or another. Perhaps they will vote on another extension like they’ve done the past couple months, or maybe they’ll redefine what constitutes “closing,” or maybe they’ll just ignore the deadline completely like they’ve done for several other “deadlines” in this project that Matthews has missed. In any event, it’s going to happen. And don’t forget, time is of the essence!

  46. You forget to mention how “crutical” and “critical” it is. We all call that the Spain drinking game. When he says it, take shot. Only thing that makes the council meeting palitable these days.

  49. Not over by a long shot. We will be paying for this debacle out of the general fund for the next 40 years because it will be refinanced at least once. They can’t fill the current rooms, but our taxes are adding more. Oh well, to those who were paid off, am sure it’s a great year for you.

    Additionally, Chris Setti was on the news last night talking about putting food trucks on the street because competetion is good. Yet advocates for tax dollars to fund a council chosen, tax funded hotel area to try to be successful at the expense of other, non tax funded businesses. What a load….

  50. I hope voters will remember this at election time next year. Five council seats and the Mayor are up for grabs. All of the current occupants voted for this bad deal. Time for them to go.

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