Since I was attending our neighborhood association meeting last night, I was unable to attend the County Board meeting and hear the museum presentation. So I asked Patrick Urich, Peoria County Administrator, what happened. Here’s his account of the evening:

The Museum supporters came to the Board last night in force. Congressman LaHood opened by providing a historical account of where they have come from, Dave Koehler urged support for the project as a legacy project, Jim Vergon outlined the funding shortfall ($24 million), Jim Richerson presented the museum overview, Sid Banwart (Cat VP) stated that they have a significant commitment that will not go forward without the museum, Mark Johnson of Cat outlined what the Visitor’s Center would look like, Dan Silverthorn of the West Central Building Trades Council outlined the number of jobs and the payroll this would generate locally, and Dave Leitch closed by urging support. The challenge is that they would like an answer by mid-December.

Tim Riggenbach asked that the County staff review what options we have to assist and present that to the Finance Committee. The main issue is that as non-home rule county, we can only do what the statutes allow, unlike the City – which is home rule – who have the authority to raise taxes (HRA, sales, utility, property) by a simple majority vote. So our options are likely limited in the short term, but long term (which may mean forgoing the new market tax credits for now) we would work with the legislature to craft something that would have some sort of voter approval tied to it.

…We will also be putting the video up on our website. You can check today at http://www.peoriacounty.org/county/avmeeting

The best part of this report is the commitment to getting voter approval. If only other public bodies (*coughdistrict150cough*) would have such a commitment to inclusion.