City of Peoria, Open Meetings Act

Circumventing the Open Meetings Act

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By Invitation OnlyThe Open Meetings Act (OMA) is hard to follow. Even people like me who want to follow it conscientiously can sometimes find that we’ve inadvertently violated it. So, I just want to acknowledge up front that you really have to be on your toes when it comes to OMA.

It’s a different story, however, when officials set out specifically to circumvent the OMA. In today’s Word on the Street, intrepid reporter Jennifer Davis revealed this about efforts to get consensus on the “Knoxville corridor” controversy:

There was a special meeting with all the stakeholders this past week, which the city wanted to keep closed. That’s fine, because we’ve been promised there will be public hearings on this issue.

Still, to avoid triggering the Illinois Open Meetings Act, the city had to ensure a majority of a quorum from either the City Council or a city commission didn’t attend.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan states that, “[i]n its present form, the [Open Meetings] Act is designed to ensure that public business is conducted in public view, by prohibiting secret deliberations and actions on matters that should be discussed in a public forum.” If what Jennifer Davis described isn’t “secret deliberations,” then I don’t know what is. They wanted to deliberate (definition: “consider a question carefully”) the matter secretly, so they found a way to do so without “triggering the Open Meetings Act.”

Of course, the justification for this is that “there will be public hearings on this issue.” But that’s the point — the public hearings are where this matter should be deliberated. If it’s going to be hammered out in a back room among representatives from the council and commissions, doesn’t that abort the whole public hearing process? I mean, if a consensus was already reached by the members of the secret panel, then the public hearing becomes nothing more than a formality. The result of the hearings is predetermined.

But here’s the goofy part: We already had public hearings on this. They were the public hearings for the Land Development Code. This was all aired then. Remember the result? The Planning Commission (on which Maloof Realty employee Suzi Miller sits) and City staff recommended 150-foot setbacks, but the Zoning and Heart of Peoria commissions recommended 80-foot setbacks. Then it went to council.

Now the deliberation should take place in council chambers during one of their semimonthly meetings. They have all the information from both sides. If they have any questions, they can invite representatives to the council meeting to explain — where everyone can hear them and where they will be on the record. Why the need for these secret meetings and further public hearings?

Global Warming

The Great Global Warming Swindle

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Global WarmingNow here’s a program I learned about today while watching BookTV on C-SPAN. It’s called “The Great Global Warming Swindle,” and was broadcast on British television in March of this year.

In a nutshell, it makes the case that man-made global warming is junk science; i.e., that increased CO2 levels are not a cause, but rather an effect, of global warming, and that climate change is instead caused by solar activity. Recent warming is part of the earth’s natural warming and cooling cycles that have gone on for thousands of years, the program goes on to argue. It’s kind of like a rebuttal to Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth.”

There are those who think the documentary is a bunch of bunk, of course (like this site), and in addition to rebutting the claims made in the program, tries to discredit the filmmaker. But then, there are those who think Al Gore’s documentary is full of inaccuracies, too (like this site). Naturally, Wikipedia has an entry on it already (and it’s mentioned in the entry for Gore’s film as well).

All of this leads me to believe that at least one claim in this documentary is true: that man-made global warming has become a bit like a religion, with those who disagree on the tenets being labeled heretics by the opposing side. I don’t see the harm in looking at both sides of the issue. I mean, isn’t science all about challenging hypotheses and testing theories? Why all the fear? I find it amusing that the man-made-global-warming-theorists are calling this film WWII-style propaganda, yet see no irony in their efforts to suppress the release of it in DVD format. Propaganda bad, censorship good? Heh.

The program is on YouTube (what isn’t?), if you’d like to view it and form your own opinion. It’s about 75 minutes long, so it’s broken into eight parts. For your convenience, you can watch it here by clicking the “Read the rest of this entry” link below.

Continue reading The Great Global Warming Swindle →

City Council, City of Peoria, Peoria Housing Authority, Peoria Public Schools

City to consider intergovernmental agreement with D150

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Peoria Housing Authority LogoDistrict 150 — the district that recently spent $877,500 to acquire properties it can’t use on Prospect, let them be stripped and then subsequently had to start razing a few of them for thousands more dollars; the district that has hired four highly-paid superintendents to do the job of one; the district that owns the Meyer building in the Warehouse district but allows it to fall further into disrepair, lowering property values in that area; the district that refused to cooperate with the city’s good-faith effort to work with them on placing a replacement school on the site of the current Glen Oak Primary School — that district is unhappy that the city is trying to raise property values in the older part of town through the use of a TIF. They want an intergovernmental agreement that gives them some of the money if property values go up.

So, city staff has worked with them to hammer out a proposed agreement — which, interestingly only affects the Eagle View TIF, not the Warehouse District TIF. In the agreement, the city would reimburse District 150 $1.5 million to be used toward the cost of infrastructure improvements around their new Harrison Primary School they want to build, only if/when the fair-market value of improvements within the TIF equals or exceeds $95 million. The city would also agree that if/when $250 million in new construction is completed, the city will stop incentivizing with TIF funds and instead pay off any debts/bonds and retire the TIF.

It would also include the new Harrison Homes Primary School in the TIF. At least, that’s what I believe the language is stating. But I’m a little concerned about the wording. According to item 3 of the proposed agreement, it says that the two governments would agree that “the Harrison Homes site shall be included in the Eagle View TIF redevelopment project area.” Not the Harrison School site, notice, but the Harrison Homes site.

Now, it’s possible that “Harrison Homes Site” could have been defined earlier where it says, “WHEREAS, District 150 plans to construct a community school in the Eagle View TIF redevelopment project area at the Harrison Homes Site, bounded by Krause, Griswold, Folkers and Grinnell Streets;” but it’s vague at best.

You see, back in December, the Peoria Housing Authority asked for all of Harrison Homes to be included in the Eagle View TIF. But in January, the city council said “no.” In fact, they said “no” to a lot of requested additions. I wouldn’t put it past someone over at the PHA to come knocking on Peoria’s door if this agreement is approved and say that they should be included in the TIF because of it. Perhaps the wording should be clarified.

It’s sporting of the city to play nice with the school district, but honestly, I hope the council rejects this agreement. You’ll notice that it benefits the district, but not the city, as usual. The city should require the school district to agree to put an East Bluff replacement school on the site of the current Glen Oak Primary School as part of the bargain. There shouldn’t be any more of this one-directional, so-called “cooperation.” The school district needs to start giving back to the city. Right now they’re doing nothing but driving people away.

City Council, City of Peoria, HOPC

New Heart of Peoria Commission proposal submitted

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Mayor Ardis had proposed decommissioning the Heart of Peoria Commission back in May. His proposal then was to take the HOPC members and place them on other commissions. Most notably, he wanted to increase the size of the Planning Commission by four members and put four HOPC members in those newly-created seats.

However, the HOPC discussed the Mayor’s plan at their next scheduled meeting and communicated to the council that the commission believed it could be more effective continuing as a city commission rather than as an independent advocacy group, but that it fully supported the proposed dual appointments. When the issue came up for a vote in June, it was deferred a couple of times, most recently until July 24. So it’s on Tuesday’s agenda.

In June and July, the HOPC met a couple of times and hammered out a work plan to aid the council in considering whether to keep us or not. On the agenda, the Mayor has submitted a new recommendation. This one would have the Heart of Peoria Commission remain a commission, provided that capital funding in the work plan go through the normal process for all commissions (fair enough).

However, now the Mayor is suggesting only two seats be added to the Planning Commission instead of four. The two HOPC members who would be appointed to Planning would be Joe Richey and Dick Schwebel. Beth Akeson and I would not receive dual appointments until there’s an opening on an applicable commission (e.g., zoning, planning, ZBA, etc.). There’s no explanation given in the council communication as to why this change was made, but it’s the Mayor’s prerogative to appoint or not appoint people to commissions, so I don’t have any beef with it. After all, two is better than none, and I’m pleased that the Mayor has agreed to allow HOPC to remain (if it’s approved by the council, of course).

I’m a little concerned about whether HOPC will be able to complete its work with only six meeting per year, but we’ll see how it goes.

City Council, City of Peoria

City trying to keep Northmoor widening to three lanes

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The July 24 Peoria City Council Agenda has been posted on the city’s website. There are a few items of interest on the docket next week.

One of them is a funding switcheroo from the Northmoor Road project to the Sheridan Road project. The city wants to widen Northmoor Road between Allen and Knoxville to three lanes. But since they would be using IDOT funds, they have to get IDOT approval. Well, IDOT insists that if we’re going to use their funds, we have to make it a minimum of four lanes. So the city staff is requesting that we delay that project for the time being while we keep trying to persuade IDOT to change their mind and let us make the road three lanes and pedestrian-friendly.

In the meantime, in order not to lose state money, they would like to use those dollars to fund another project: widening Sheridan from Notre Dame (near Glen Ave.) to Giles/Knoxville. They don’t believe they’ll have any trouble getting IDOT to agree to three lanes there. I’m glad to see the city staff proposing this action, and I hope the council concurs.

Peoria Journal Star, Peoria Public Schools

This is why we have the press and FOIA

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Kudos to Clare Jellick for her investigative report on the Roosevelt Magnet School field-trip scam. Her persistence in getting information through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has brought to light a very disturbing situation — shaking down district parents for money that they don’t owe:

The requested information shows that the district considers there to be a “total outstanding balance” of $17,391 to cover the cost of the trip – even though the figures provided show Roosevelt families actually owe only about $8,800. […]

With all the contributions from kids, families and community members added together, $40,491 has been raised to cover the trip. This is about $8,800 short of the total cost.

So the district is saying the parents owe $17,391, but the numbers reveal the families only owe $8,800 — a difference of $8,591. That’s a huge chunk of change. Who is going to be held accountable for this? Where is Mr. Hinton’s public statement on this issue?

The school board members should be demanding an explanation from the school administration. Will anyone have the cajones to confront Hinton at the next board meeting?

Blogosphere

A request for my pseudonymous commenters

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To my pseudonymous commenters: I value your comments on my blog — I really do — and I want you to keep commenting. Please don’t stop! However, I do have one request:

Please pick one pseudonym and stick with it, or else use “anonymous.” When you change pseudonyms all the time, it kinda defeats the purpose of having a pseudonym. And it’s deceptive. It gives the illusion that several different people are sharing opinions, even though you’re really the same person. I know at least one of you has even responded to your own pseudonymous comment under another pseudonym. Now come on — that’s a little excessive, isn’t it? Unless you have a dissociative identity disorder, I would prefer that you either pick one pseudonym to identify yourself, or else use “anonymous” if you don’t want to have an identity.

Thanks for understanding. And please keep commenting.

WiFi

WiMax is coming… but how or when?

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WiMax logoA couple of interesting Wi-Fi items in the news. Actually, they’re “WiMax” items, to be technically accurate.

Sprint and Clearwire to deploy WiMax nationwide

From ZDNet:

Sprint and Clearwire are pooling resources in a venture that could take WiMax nationwide.

The two companies said Thursday that they plan to build a national WiMax (4G) network. The partnership, which is a 20-year agreement with three 10-year renewal terms, will enable a “broader and more efficient deployment of a mobile WiMAX broadband network than either company could accomplish on its own.” WiMax, or “worldwide interoperability for microwave access,” is a standard that allows wireless signals to be sent over long distances from towers that can cover up to 3,000 square miles.

The official press release is available here.

WiFi Planet reported last month that Sprint’s CTO Barry West “argued that the killer app for 4G Wireless is broadband Internet, which today means DSL and cable modem since Wi-Fi hotspots don’t offer total coverage. WiMAX changes the equation, and with chipsets in every notebook, a real mobile broadband economy can emerge…. West went on to boast that Sprint-Nextel will be able to deliver a tenfold improvement in price per bit on WiMAX against other wireless technologies.”

The article goes on to talk about how West isn’t daunted by the iPhone at all (which offers its service exclusively through AT&T), and believes Sprint’s WiMax network will be superior, both in quality and price. They’re targeting larger markets first, of course, so there’s no telling when such service could come to Peoria. But for what it’s worth, according to Indeed.com, there was a job posting 15 days ago for a “MGR 4G/WIMAX DESIGN AND DEPLOYMENT” in Farmington, Illinois. Employer: Sprint.

WiMax closer to home

Here’s something else interesting I learned recently: a Peoria-based company called SVI was recently bought out by a California-based company called Oxford Media. The former SVI is now a subsidiary company called OxfordSVI and is still located on Altorfer Drive. Their main business is providing video-on-demand services and high-speed internet access to hotels, but they also plan to roll out a broader WiMax network eventually, utilizing antennas on the tops of their subscriber hotels.

According to this SEC filing, OxfordSVI plans to offer not only WiMax broadband internet access to surrounding homes and businesses, but also on-demand movies in high-definition:

Our WiMax offering, when available, is expected to allow customers within a seven mile radius of each antenna (installed at participating MDU and hospitality properties) to access the Internet at speeds as fast or faster than existing broadband systems. This high-speed delivery will allow access to other services such as Video on Demand movies. The quality of the movies being delivered on this system will no longer be limited by bandwidth thus making available high definition broadcasts to all homes and businesses within the 7 mile range. The consumer will see high-quality content delivered over their television sets, even though the content is actually distributed through our media servers from the same satellite network utilized to distribute the content to our MDU and hospitality customers.

Before you get too excited, the SEC filing also says that they’re “not devoting resources to WiMAX development as there is only a limited revenue opportunity for this product in the near-term as compared to the opportunity in the delivery of content to the hospitality market.” But it’s an interesting idea, and Sprint’s recently-announced build-out expansion could accelerate their plans if WiMax becomes popular. You can see a more in-depth description of their long-range WiMax plans on their website.

State of Illinois

Two pieces of advice for Emil Jones

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Emil JonesFrom the Bloomington Pantagraph:

As state lawmakers near a deal, Senate President Emil Jones credits himself for ensuring customers will see discounts on their soaring electric rates.

Jones said Tuesday at the Capitol that consumers wouldn’t see the benefits of a $1 billion rate relief package — the details of which are being finalized — if he hadn’t stopped the rate freeze that House Speaker Michael Madigan and others pushed to provide consumers relief.

I’ve got two pieces of unsolicited advice for Mr. Jones:

  1. Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched. Nothing has passed yet, and in politics anything can happen.
  2. Don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back.
General News

Consumer prices increased 5.2% in Q2

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Up Arrow GraphThe Bureau of Labor Statistics reports today that consumer prices increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 5.2% for the second quarter of 2007.

This brings the year-to-date annual rate to 5.0 percent and compares with an increase of 2.5 percent in all of 2006. The index for energy, which rose 2.9 percent in all of 2006, advanced at a 27.8 percent SAAR in the first half of 2007 [emphasis added] and accounted for about 48 percent of the advance in the overall CPI-U during that period. Petroleum-based energy costs increased at a 48.3 percent annual rate [emphasis added] and charges for energy services rose at a 5.5 percent annual rate.

The food index rose at a 6.2 percent SAAR in the first half of 2007 and contributed about 17 percent to the overall CPI-U increase in the first six months. Grocery store food prices increased at a 8.0 percent annual rate in the first half of 2007, reflecting acceleration over the last year in each of the six major groups. [emphasis added] These increases ranged from annual rates of 14.8 percent in the index for dairy products to 5.5 percent in the index for other food at home.

Tell me something I don’t already know. Every month when I pay bills, I’m painfully aware that energy, petroleum, and grocery prices are all skyrocketing. And the money left at the end of the month keeps shrinking and shrinking. It’s depressing, frankly.