The Mayor held a press conference on Monday and released a letter that he and the rest of the City Council members signed (except for Gary Sandberg, natch) and sent to Journal Star publisher Ken Mauser. You can read it at PeoriaWatchdog.com, the official site of Peoria Unit 86 of the United Media Guild.
Among other things, Mayor Ardis says, “I and other city leaders are concerned about plans we’ve heard to outsource jobs, slash employees and cut wages.” And later in the letter:
I fail to see how additional moves against employees and staffing would allow the newspaper to continue as a valuable public watchdog and community resource. I have never run a newspaper. But less is surely not more, when it comes to reporting the news.
Does it strike anyone else odd that this concern is coming from a mayor and council that recently eliminated 52 positions themselves, including a third of the inspections/code enforcement department? I mean, I’ve never run a City, but less is surely not more when it comes to inspections and code enforcement. I fail to see how all these moves against employees and staffing would allow the City to add value to the taxpayers.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t like the way GateHouse Media is pillaging the Journal Star. I actually agree with the sentiments in the letter. I just think it’s a little inappropriate for the Mayor and Council to be passing judgment when they have acted similarly. After you slash important services to the taxpayers while simultaneously giving over $30 million to an out-of-town developer, it doesn’t give you much moral standing to scold the Journal Star’s publisher for doing essentially the same thing.
Ouch.
Why are we the only ones who notice the hypocritical quicksand our city council has their feet in?
Politicians are inherently tone deaf.
The Peoria Fire Fighters gave up a raise a few years ago (city struggling financially) and the council took their raise! They are nothing but HYPOCRITES !
Nostalgia is cute, even collectible. As to news, when I choose to read it, it is accessible ahead of the Journal Star (or any other print media) on the internet. My father turns 80 this year, and when I or my siblings have kidded him about getting a computer, his response has always been “Personal Computers are a fad, they’ll never last!” He says that tongue-in-cheek, of course, but the sentiment is the same. I repeat, Print is dead. I didn’t kill it, don’t blame me. Maybe if we shut down the internet and the iphones and ipads, the kindles, etc. it will return. But until we do, print is dead.
Print is not dead it is just shifted. Print is good for long term use but the news busness has changed, instant news, want it now, updates as it happens. The Journal star news part of the paper has been lacking for some time. Some local news is not reported for days after it happend or not at all. No in depth reporting or digging into issues.
As for the mayor and some council people supporting the workers at the PJS I wonder if CAT or any other employer outsorced work would they rally for those workers? Did the News 25 people ask for city support?
I note some of the more notables who will no longer be representing the city. Bill Collier unpaid except for—-fill in the blanks, and Dave Barber, who didn’t do what he told me he was going to do when he hired on so no great loss as I can see. Alma Brown who was a good person to me. Gulley not running again? No comment until I see see who replaces him. Ever drive by and look at or in his place of business on the Southside. A real asset to the “beauty” of the city.
C.J. probably should have said more about the ballclub if he reads the JS sports pages. “Packed” house is now called 3200 in a $24+ million stadium that accomadates 8000. In all the games the Chiefs have played this year, at home and on the road they total around 8000 attendance which includes no-shows.
Note the number in attendance last night in the JS sports page box score. Even the Cubs, who will finish 5th or 6th this year draw a near full house every home game regardless of the weather.