Thursday night was a strange night for the museum presenters. During the question and answer time, museum representative Brad McMillan was explaining what the admission price might be for the proposed IMAX, which was something like $30 for a family of four. Then he said — to my surprise — that it wouldn’t be $60 “like C. J. Summers has suggested.” Brad went on to say he was “tired” of opponents “spreading misinformation” about the project.
“Misinformation”? Why is he mentioning my name in his answer to the question? And where did I say it was going to be $60 for a family of four to visit the Peoria Riverfront Museum’s IMAX? I did have a post about my family’s trip to the IMAX at the Putnam Museum. In it, I said:
The [Putnam] IMAX was not showing any big Hollywood shows, but they did have some short educational films. We took in the double-feature of “Mystery of the Nile” and “Under the Sea 3D.” Admission price for the two approximately 45-minute films was $14 for adults and $10 for children. So for my family — two adults and three children — the total admission cost was $58. And of course no movie is complete without some popcorn and soft drinks. That set us back another $20 or so.
So, first I’d like to point out that my family is not a family of four, but a family of five. Secondly, I clearly stated that we saw a double-feature of educational films that were approximately 45-minutes each. And third, I said they weren’t showing any big Hollywood shows. And the price came to $58. Here’s the receipt:
You’ll have to take my word for the price of the popcorn and soft drinks; I didn’t get a receipt for that.
Later in the post, I said, “What the $17 [average annual cost per resident of the sales tax] doesn’t include is the price of actually patronizing the museum, which can be costly, especially if you have a large family. Just going to a couple of educational movies cost my family nearly $80. If we had wanted to visit the museum’s galleries, it would have cost even more.”
Now, if I had a family of four, and if we had only gone to see one educational film, and if we hadn’t gotten any concessions, then yes, the price would have been $30 (2 adults x $8.50 = $17, 2 kids x $6.50 = $13, $17+$13=$30), according to the Putnam museum website. I’ve never suggested otherwise. I was simply recounting my experience. For my family of five, seeing a double feature with concessions, it was nearly $80. Fact.
I think it was completely inappropriate for McMillan to call me out by name in a public meeting and imply that I was spreading misinformation about the cost of attending an IMAX theater, especially when that allegation itself was misinformation!
It’s pretty sad that the museum folks think reports of my family’s day trip might negatively affect their campaign — especially after they’ve spent over $600,000 on signs, literature, and advertising to get out their message.
CJ – How do we know you didn’t pick that receipt up off the floor or something? 😉
It looks photoshopped to me.
Oh, you guys are a riot. 😛
and you should know better than to be carrying around a wad of cash like that. ;P
wow.
I mean… wow.
That’s just rich.
Think Brad will pay the difference between $30 and what my family of NINE will cost to get in? Especially since we buy more stuff than a family of four and our annual out of pocket cost for the sales tax will be more than the stupid $17.
Maybe I should ask for a free ticket?
Have you thought about filing a slander charge, CJ? :0)
Every time something like this happens it just shows more and more that those in favor of this boondoggle have no intention of the other side even being allowed to speak our opinions.
Just goes to show, your blog has traction.
Peoriafan,
Any comment?
Maybe the PRM people are getting………..what was it you said……………”desperate?”
Mahkno has a point. You’re to the museum group what Rush Limbaugh is to the democrats currently in power.
we have your back CJ
IMAX isn’t even committed to to “our” museum yet. What if it doesn’t even come? (Providing the tax passes) It’s like blaming someone for something you haven’t even got.
if city is so desparate about why don’t just jury rig the vote, the votes are counted in peoria county courthouse in the basement in db2, relationship tables. All it takes is a global change of all the many no’s to yes’s in isql. They could have the sheriff declare a blank to clear the courthouse out, and then smuggle the city offical in to fix the vote
anyone listen to song american gangster given out verizon stores
I guess that guy lucky they could sent the authorities after him, they would accussed him being a drug lord to give the a physlogical beating
I can’t afford anything anymore much less another tax, the president has ruined all the dividend paying stocks with government rules on banks. And the government want to tax dividends more but the dividends don’t pay anymore, just like me.
Another adminstration dedicated to everyone else but their own citizens
If that guy got 58.00 for movies tickets, he must be a millionaire and has enough for a peoria traffic ticket. That give the city the desperate revenue they need, just wanted to help
the rest of sharps got plent of money for traffic tickets give em all got
anybody got a job opening that pay $10.00 to $12.00 an hour
I vote no
sincerly
greg sharp
11Bravo,
You are comparing CJ to Rush Limbaugh? **shakes head in dismay** Is that supposed to be a compliment?
Yeah, I wasn’t quite sure how to take that either…. 🙂
They are going to do what they do to so many, smear them.
Good luck, CJ. If this does NOT pass, prepare for the worst.
mahkno said “Just goes to show, your blog has traction.” I agree. Far superior to pundit. Cj has his opinions, but allows for free discourse and disagreement. selling ad space soon???
I can see how you would be irritated about being named, but it is actually kind of flattering. Your blog is evidently viewed as source of information and the museum group is concerned about the influence it may have on the outcome of the vote. I have not been following all the facts and figure of the museum issue that closely but it would seem the group should develop a little thicker skin. This is a big project involving major dollars and if they have their ducks in a row then they should not be threatened by alternative points of view or questions as to how this is all going to play out in the long run.
greg sharp: Karrie Alms is volunteering to be an election judge. Also, I trust Tom Bride to run an honest election in the city.
Dr. Thompson: I don’t recall you ever having a problem getting anything posted at Peoria Pundit.
But I share your high opinion of C.J.
I was joking about the Rush comment.
CJ:
Did you read this sentence in the PJStar editorial endorsement for District 2 candidates?
“No one should fear retribution for expressing a contrary view.”
FYI: I spoke with Tom Bride months ago about being an election judge in this election and being an advocate for an issue on this ballot. I had this discussion to determine if any possible any conflict of interest would surface. Tom shared that many election judges have strong opinions about community and state and federal issues and candidates. If the election commission disallowed every election for having strong opinions, they would not be able to find election judges. Tom shared that if anyone has an issue with you being an election judge, please have them call me. Tom Bride can be reached at (309) 494-8683.
“the votes are counted in peoria county courthouse in the basement in db2, relationship tables. All it takes is a global change of all the many no’s to yes’s in isql. They could have the sheriff declare a blank to clear the courthouse out, and then smuggle the city offical in to fix the vote”
The votes are not counted in the courthouse basement using db2 and haven’t been since 2000. The city and county both use stand alone computers with very strong security and audit logs for tabulation and have observers form both parties present during the tabulation. The election is very secure.
Why hasn’t the no-tax group released their own economic report yet?
billy-
didn’t mean to offend. you are correct – you’ve never edited or removed any of my postings. we agree on the museum and where tax money should be used, but alas, disagree on the second district.
how about updating the justice blog? (see, something else, we agree on!)
Scott A: Based on what? The hopes and dreams of the museum crowd? Based on the maybe IMAX? Based on the maybe attendance? Based on the maybe maintenance costs? Based on the maybe future economy?
The whole point of the NO campaign is that there is no YES plan… just YES promises, YES dreams and YES taxes and YES spending… oh yes, and YES special interests benefiting.
KcDad, based on the information.
If you think that the bradley profs info is off, show me a report saying what the actual projections should be.
CJ, just consider the source. Brad McMillan should be run out of town .
CJ, you and others have repeatedly put out facts on the museum referendum for your readers to consider. The best of citizen journalism and democracy in action.
The bunch in favor of more tax money for the referendum have acted the opposite. The have been elitist and thuggish from the get-go and all the way through. It is strange how they get to spend tax dollars promoting approval of the referendum.
Now regarding McMillan. He is supposed to work fullt-time as Bradley’s Director of the Center for Ethical and Responsible Leadership. Yet during business hours he has focused on the referendum intensively for the past six months. How is it ethical to campaign for a referendum while on Bradley’s payroll? It seems he is taking Bradley University for a ride. This smug, holier than thou, and full of himself man then questions your honesty as to whether you paid $30 or $60. This is NOT like the pot calling the kettle black. It is like the ocean calling a drop of water wet.
Brad n Bradley,
I hear you. Unfortunately, CAT University, excuse me, Bradley University supports this museum. Of course Bradley, just like ICC, doesn’t really support the museum project, Glasser, Irwin and their respective boards do……..
Scott A.,
I have been working on the new figures for the ‘no-tax’ people. I find if I use the PRM’s method [making it up as I go], it really isn’t to difficult. Of course, I plan to submit my data, which miraculously has the museum losing millions over the next few years, to a couple of economic professors at Bradley.
New Voice, you’re an economist? A finance expert? A statistician?
Is it elitist to say that I’d rather that info come from an expert (regardless of the expert, yea or nay)? Is it elitist for me to go to a doctor for a broken foot?
Pardon I mean regardless of the opinion of the expert (yea or nay on the museum).
Amazing the lengths some in this ballgame will go…….
Billy dennis oh yea
there one person working election worked some where had important job once, was counting stuff made you know running it, but the problem is stuff counted did not exist and the company found out. He pushed out his job in hurry and now has join the election team counting votes
Brad McMillan has internet I’d suppose. And I notice that Brad McMillan, as well as others, has never come here to your blog to address you, C.J. I think that speaks at least a volume. Arrogance. If I’m wrong on that then I’ll take my lumps.
Brad McMillan, The same person that ran the fourms for #150 on the new schools and he belittled some people that spoke so consider the person that made the comment to you CJ.
He is the Director of the Center for Ethical and Responsible Leadership? I think he needs to take a refresher course in that.
Roger that, Martin!
Scott A.,
Where do I start?!?
First – Your so-called experts [Bradley Econ Professors], did NOTHING! They were NOT the ones who accumulated the data in question. Don’t be ridiculous! The PRM has been generating these bogus numbers for years! They hand these Bradley guys a stack full of fudged data……what did you really think the outcome would be? Glasser & BU are going to cave-in with CAT no matter what the data reads.
Second – The CFRS gave the same data to a number of other EXPERTS. Their conclusions were a bit different. Well?
Third – EXPERTS?!?!? There is not ONE expert that has ANYTHING to do with this entire project! Richerson’s experience with a project like this is ZERO. There is not one person involved with this entire project that knows anything about museums! If there had been, maybe this project would have moved along YEARS ago.
Try not to be a bigger idiot then anyone running the PRM show.
New voice,
Perfect! If the data is fudged, you or another expert can find the real numbers and come up with the correct results!
Exactly what I’m asking about.
Why has nothing, NOTHING been done along those lines?
CAT has a hand in determining ICC’s policies and curriculum as well… CAT is not JUST in the earth moving business…
Scott A: what is your dog in this fight? You seem rather aggressive in your opposition to the opposition. I wonder why you are not arguing in favor of supporting the museum, rather than opposing the opposition to the museum… it just seems kinda weird.
Scott A.,
O.K. Lets say for the moment neither one of us is an ‘expert.’
Let’s consider the ‘sources’ and subsequent analysis of the PRM attendance data.
The PRM wants [desperately] to build this data. They will make this project look win-win at ANY cost. Their figures have changed considerably since this project began back in 2003; not just the total cost of this project, but the projected attendance figures. Somehow, someway, the attendance figures always seem to keep up with the rising cost of construction, etc. Granted, PRM might charge more per ‘admission’, but the numbers of [paying] ‘customers’ continues to rise. COOL!
Also, PRM decides to have THEIR data analyzed by two [unbiased] experts; Bradley economists ‘A’ and ‘B’. They just happen to find this data “better than good, it’s great!” The Bradley [and ICC] administrations support the museum project 100%. Sure thing. Did this have anything to do with the BU professor’s findings?
Economists from other area colleges/universities find the data flawed and question the conclusions drawn by the BU ‘experts’. What would the other professors/economists have to gain by finding fault in PRM/BU data/conclusions, and please don’t belittle yourself, by suggesting professional rivalry.
If you are expecting this museum to be the next great economic stimulus of Peoria County, maybe you need to consider other studies conducted on museums [of comparable size, etc] across the country.
Last – $136 million [and counting], is a hell of a lot of money. Is it really a good idea to risk the TAXPAYERS money on a few projections and a couple of pipe-dreams?
No, no I wouldn’t suggest professional rivalry at all. Anymore than I would suggest that any expert that disagreed with me must be fudging their results to align with higher ups.
Which economists are those? I’d love to see their critiques.
Scott A.,
I believe I answered your question[s] in my previous post. I don’t know how to make it any clearer……. Maybe this…………….
The two BU professors received their data DIRECTLY from the PRM. How the PRM developed these data is anybody’s guess. I am sure they incorporated a number of factors, etc One of the biggest issues ‘No Voters’ have with this project is the cost of the project [construction, building up-keep, payroll, etc] vs. the expected number of [paying] visitors. Basically, how will the museum manage to ‘pay for itself’ in the future? If [paying] attendance begins to drop off even a little, the museum will be hard-pressed to pay its bills. Then what? Where will they go for the needed funds? Where do you think?
Anyway, I do not consider the conclusion[s] drawn by the BU guys to be valid. They DID NOT accumulate the data themselves. They did not carry-out ANY independent research of their own [at least they haven’t admitted to doing so]. How can you or anyone else validate their conclusions?
As far as the critiques offered up by the other professors/economists, they were featured in J. Star article, and posted by C.J. on his site earlier. I think anyone is following this ‘story’ can validate this.
Sorry, I forgot.
This project has been developed by a select few; a ‘closed circle’ if you will. Outside of a few consulting firms [who were grossly overpaid], the PRM Group as remained a closed circle, with their own agenda. Before you bring up the so-called COLLABORATION, you should know that the board members of each of these institutions haved or are currently serving on the Lakeview Board. Nothing like ‘keeping it in the family’.