General News

Political Correctness plays on FOX

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PC on FOXSteve Lyons was a FOX broadcaster until immediately following Game 3 of the ALCS. It was during that game that Lyons, according to FOX, made “racially insensitive remarks” about fellow broadcaster Lou Piniella, who is also destined to be the Cubs’ next skipper.

In this age of hypersensitivity, what in the world could Lyons have said to cost him his job? Here’s the report from the Detroit Free Press:

In the second inning Friday, Piniella talked about the success light-hitting A’s infielder Marco Scutaro had in the playoffs against Minnesota. Piniella said that slugger Frank Thomas and Eric Chavez needed to contribute, comparing Scutaro’s production to finding a “wallet on Friday” and hoping it happened again the next week.

Four minutes later, Piniella said the A’s needed Thomas to get “en fuego” — “on fire” in Spanish — because he was “frio” — “cold.” After Brennaman praised Piniella for being bilingual, Lyons spoke up.

Lyons said that Piniella was “habla-ing Espanol” — butchering the conjugation for the word “to speak” — and added, “I still can’t find my wallet.”

“I don’t understand him,” he continued, “and I don’t want to sit too close to him now.”

The three broadcasters laughed and continued calling the action.

Fox executives told Lyons after the game that he had been fired.

Now, can someone explain to me what’s “insensitive” about this exchange? Is it that he said Piniella was “habla-ing Espanol”? Did they really Lyons was poking fun of Spanish-speaking people or the Spanish language in general? Please. Or was it that he implied Piniella had stolen his wallet, thus leading FOX to believe he thinks people of Hispanic descent are born thieves?

Come on. Lyons was just trying to make clever repartee — silly banter — with his booth-mates as is normal for broadcasters. He didn’t make any racial slurs or play on any stereotypes; if it had been Brennaman who had said what Piniella said, Lyons would have said the same thing. To fire him over this is the epitome of political correctness, and is the kind of thing that makes people afraid to say anything at all.

If FOX wants to fire someone for being insensitive, they should fire Jeanne Zelasko for unceremoniously cutting off broadcasting legend Ernie Harwell after only 17 seconds of a pregame interview during the 2005 All-Star Game.

Amtrak, City of Peoria

Amtrak service being considered for Peoria?

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Amtrak LogoThe Quad-City Times reports on the possibility of Amtrak service being expanded in the state (emphasis mine):

Officials throughout Illinois have been invited to discuss such an expansion during a meeting to be hosted Tuesday by Amtrak president Alex Kummant and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

[…] The Tuesday summit, scheduled to take place in a refurbished Amtrak station in downtown Champaign, is an attempt to build on the train ridership increases Illinois has seen in recent years.

Along with the potential for adding service to the Quad-Cities, the meeting will address an ongoing study looking at the feasibility of providing Amtrak service to Rockford. The talks also will touch on the prospect of adding a Peoria stop to Amtrak’s offerings.

Even though this is highly speculative right now, it’s nice to know that it’s at least on the radar. There was just a letter to the editor today from a Peorian who would like to see Amtrak service from Peoria again — I’ll bet there are a lot of people who feel that way. And since the “River Station” (actually the Rock Island Depot) is vacant, it could become a depot once again, this time for Amtrak — a perfect addition to Peoria’s downtown renaissance.

Hat tip: David Jordan (via PeoriaRails Yahoo! Group).

General News

Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not remain free pending appeal.

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George RyanFrom the Chicago Tribune:

Former Gov. George Ryan must surrender to prison early next year after a federal judge on Friday refused to let him remain free on bond while his appeal winds through court.

In a 32-page ruling issued Friday evening, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer rejected claims by the defense that Ryan’s racketeering conviction was likely to be reversed on appeal.

Who says there’s no justice these days?

Peoria Public Schools, Public Building Commission

Anatomy of District 150’s tax levy, Pt. 2 or, “How your taxes will go up if D150 gets funds through the PBC”

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There’s one more observation I’d like to make about District 150’s tax levy, and that involves the second-largest expenditure behind Education: the Public Building Commission (PBC).

Since 1993, the school board has been unable to tap the PBC for bonds due to a state law prohibiting it (we’re paying for pre-1993 bonds on our tax bills today). Sen. Shadid and Rep. Schock would like to see that change and passed legislation that would allow the school board to again get funding for construction through the PBC, but it was vetoed by Gov. Blagojevich. It was an amendatory veto that allowed funding to come from the PBC, but would require a public referendum to do so. Now Shadid wants to work on overriding that veto.

The school board has consistently promised that receiving these funds through the PBC would not raise taxes; i.e. the tax rate would remain the same. (Of course, we all know a tax rate that stays the same when it’s supposed to go down is a tax increase by any definition but the school board’s, but that’s their claim.) They even took action to cap its tax rate for the payment of leases with the Public Building Commission, and this was the basis of Shadid’s support for overriding the governor’s veto.

There are two problems (for taxpayers) with this little scheme.

First, the school district capped the tax rate at .60%. And, as you can see from Part 1 of this post, the current rate is .5578%. So, even by their own definition it will be a tax increase — an increase of .0422%. And, of course, since this supposed “cap” is only set by the school board and not state law, it could easily be repealed at any time.

Second, since the PBC’s part of the levy is not listed separately on your tax bill, how would you ever know if the rate changed, anyway? Only if you took the time to go down to the county clerk’s office and get a copy of the tax computation worksheet, which is unlikely for 99.99% of Peorians. I asked how one can go about listing the PBC’s part of the levy separately like they currently do for District 150 pensions. According to the county clerk’s office, it would have to be required by state law. I don’t expect our local lawmakers would want to see that, do you?

If Shadid, Schock, et. al., are successful in overriding the governor’s veto, make no mistake about it — they will have just voted to circumvent safeguards for voters (the referendum process) and allow District 150 to raise your taxes without your consent.

Peoria Public Schools, Public Building Commission

Anatomy of District 150’s tax levy, Pt. 1

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You’ve all seen the levy on your property tax bills. It’s the biggest levy of all — Peoria Public School District 150. Total rate for 2005: 4.49151%. But what really goes into that rate? How is the sausage made, so to speak?

Well, that information is available from the County Clerk in the form of a “Tax Computation Report.” I got a copy of it, and your levy from District 150 breaks down like this:

Fund Name Max. Rate Actual Rate Percent
Education 2.18000 2.18000 48.5361
Bonds 0.00000 0.19275 4.2914
Oper & Mtce 0.50000 0.50000 11.1321
I.M.R.F. (Pension) 0.00000 0.15277 3.4013
Transportation 0.20000 0.20000 4.4528
Fire Safety 0.05000 0.05000 1.1132
Special Ed 0.04000 0.04000 0.8906
Tort Immunity 0.00000 0.38520 8.5762
Social Security 0.00000 0.18299 4.0741
Lease 0.05000 0.05000 1.1132
Public Building Commission 0.00000 0.55780 12.4190
TOTALS 4.49151 100.0000

Although there’s not enough room in my blog layout to show this in the above table, there is some additional information on the tax computation worksheet.

First, the way it works is this: the district requests a specific amount of money (levy request) for each category. Based on the equalized assessed value (EAV) of property in the school’s taxing district, the county calculates the rate they’d have to charge to collect that much money. If the calculated rate is higher than the maximum rate, they obvioiusly can only charge the maximum.

So, for example, in 2005 the school district requested $27,951,565 for the Education fund. Based on the rate-setting EAV for the taxing district of $1,235,731,719, the county would have to impose a rate of 2.261944%. However, the maximum allowable rate is 2.18%, so that’s what they charged, resulting in an estimated $26,938,951.47 in revenue for the Education fund, or about $1,012,613.53 less than the district requested.

Notice that the district is at the maximum rate for every category that has a maximum rate.

Secondly, something interesting to note is the impact tax increment financing (TIF) districts have on District 150. You may have noticed that I earlier referred to the “rate-setting EAV.” That’s to distinguish it from the “Total EAV.” The difference between the two is this: the rate setting EAV has any property within TIF districts taken out. That’s a big difference. The total EAV for District 150’s taxing district is $1,293,403,719, which means the rate setting EAV is $57,672,000 less than the total EAV.

So, how does that translate to District 150 income? It means District 150 lost out on $2,590,343.64. Per fund, that works out this way:

Fund $ Lost to TIF
Education $1,257,249.60
Bonds $111,162.78
Oper & Mtce $288,360.00
I.M.R.F. (Pension) $88,105.51
Transportation $115,344.00
Fire Safety $28,845.00
Special Ed $23,068.80
Tort Immunity $222,152.55
Social Security $105,534.00
Lease $28,836.00
Public Building Commission $321,694.41
TOTAL $2,590,343.64

Now, the argument is, of course, that if there were no TIF there would have been no development/property improvement, and thus the school district wouldn’t have seen that $2.5+ million anyway. Still, I think it’s good to see what the impact of our TIF policies are on the school district; it could lead to adjustments to how the city implements TIFs in the future. For example, would we get the same economic development benefit, while mitigating the impact on schools, if TIFs were only implemented for a shorter time period?

I’ll save my last observation for the next post so it doesn’t get lost in this one.

Museum Block

No surprise: “Peoria Riverfront Museum” wins

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Here are the vote totals from www.namethemuseum.org:

  • TOTAL VOTE NUMBERS -5328
  • PEORIA RIVERFRONT MUSEUM – 2658 – 50%
  • ILLINOIS [RIVER VALLEY] MUSEUM – 1389 – 26%
  • PORT OF EXPLORATION MUSEUM – 617 – 12%
  • MUSEUM ON THE SQUARE – 375 – 7%
  • HEARTLAND CENTER – 162 – 3%
  • WRITE IN’S – 127 -2%

I find it funny that “Peoria Riverfront Museum” got 50% of the vote in a five-way race despite the fact that museum names with “Peoria” in them “didn’t test well” in focus groups. I suppose that should give us all pause as we consider the value of such groups.

Thank you to the museum collaboration group for listening to the public on this one. There were some really good choices this time around (second place winner “Illinois River Valley Museum” was a good name, too) and it’s clear the winning name has a lot of support.

Now, let’s see if we can’t listen to the public some more and get that design to conform to the Heart of Peoria Plan….

Peoria Public Schools

Thousands for administrators; not a cent for truants

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Peoria Public Schools logoFrom today’s Journal Star:

District 150’s truancy assessment center is in danger of being shuttered this December because its grant money will run out.

But the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce is stepping forward to raise $40,000 necessary to keep the program alive this year, and the chamber intends to raise enough money to keep it running for three years.

[…] The district can’t afford to foot the bill right now, but Associate Superintendent Cindy Fischer said in three years, the district should be in better financial standing and able to do so.

Ironically, Fischer is one of two administrators (Herschel Hannah is the other) the district is budgeting to give a $30,000 per year pay raise. That’s approx. $60,000 between the two of them per year. So, the district is in great financial standing to give an extra $60,000 to administrators, but not in good enough financial standing to fund the $40,000 needed to continue their successful truancy program.

You can draw your own conclusions on the district’s priorities.

Peoria Journal Star, Peoria Public Library

No pre-school planned for library expansion

Recently, the Journal Star reported: “The new [library] layout has areas sketched out for a preschool, small career center and even a group study room.”

It turns out that the pre-school part of that report was in error. I received this comment on one of my earlier blog entries:

I am Ed Szynaka, Library Director for the Peoria Public Library.

This is a good blog. Some infomation that might prove helpful.

The Journal Star made an error making reference to a child care center. We have no plans for a child care center. We do envision a story hour room and a very graphically attractive youth area.

Also the K merchandise building was just mentioned as an example of a possibility.

The Library Board has not accepted any plan and in fact has set aside the next 70 days for discussion, public meetings and debate of the plan. Our website will start listing meeting, times and places. We encourage everyone to participate.

I will try to answer questions on this blog as time permits.

Thanks,

Ed Szynaka
Peoria Library Director

The sketch to which I assume the Journal Star referred is this one (see original PDF here):

South Branch Concept

This is a concept drawing of how an expanded Lincoln branch could be arranged. There is an area labeled “Pre School,” but as you can see in the context of this sketch, it refers to stacks of children’s books at a pre-school reading level, not “a pre-school” that kids would attend.

My thanks to Ed Szynaka for writing and clearing things up!

Peoria Journal Star, Peoria Public Schools, Public Building Commission

Why the PBC shouldn’t fund school construction

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I read a great argument against using the Public Building Commission to fund school construction. It came from an unlikely source: the Peoria Journal Star. Of course, it was from the PJS of 15 years ago, about two years before the state legislature took away the PBC’s power to bond for school construction. Take a look at this editorial from December 1, 1991, page A8 (emphasis mine):

What would you think of a business that advertised a product or service at a specific price, and then charged you almost 70 percent more when you got to the store? You’d probably think you’d been misled. You might not shop there again. You might tell your friends not to patronize that store, either. Even if the product you bought was of high quality, it would be the principle that mattered, because you’d been lured to that store under false pretenses.

In a way, that’s what Peoria School District 150 has done with its school facilities expansion and your tax dollars.

When District 150 pitched its blueprints to the public 18 months ago, administrators said the expansion would cost about $15.5 million, the second largest capital improvement in the school district’s history. Through a series of eight public meetings, that number was repeated time and again. Hardly any opposition was voiced. The school board approved the plan; the district hired architects and began tinkering.

Suddenly the expansion of eight schools costing about $9 million became nine schools costing $13 million. Suddenly the construction of two new schools at a cost of about $3.5 million each assumed price tags of $7 million and $6 million respectively. Suddenly a $15.5 million expansion has become an estimated $26 million expansion (pending the Public Building Commission’s approval for the two new schools), the largest in District 150’s history.

District 150 can do this because, unlike virtually every other school district in central Illinois, it does not need voter approval to issue bonds to pay for new construction. That’s because it has a rich uncle at the Public Building Commission, which is subject to no one’s authority but its own. Examples like this one are why this newspaper has a philosophical objection to PBCs and the way in which they allow local governments to circumvent the will of the people who pay their bills.

Continue reading Why the PBC shouldn’t fund school construction →

Peoria Public Library

Public meeting dates on library expansion set

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The Peoria Public Library, before going to the voters and asking for money for expansion, is holding several meetings soliciting public input. Some other public bodies in Peoria could learn from their example. The meeting dates are:

  • Thursday, October 19 – 4:30 p.m.
    McClure Branch Library, 315 W. McClure
  • Saturday, October 21 – 2:00 p.m.
    Lakeview Branch Library, 1137 W. Lake
  • Wednesday, November 1 – 7:00 p.m.
    Dunlap Middle School, 5200 Cedar Hills Drive
  • Tuesday, November 14- 7:00 p.m.
    Common Place, 514 S. Shelley
  • Tuesday, December 12 – 7:00 p.m.
    Main Street Branch -107 N. E. Monroe Street

I already have some questions I’d like to ask at one of these meetings. After reading the executive summary of their proposed plan (available on their website), I’m still a bit dubious that they can offer the same or better level of service at the main branch if they take some of the employees there and move them to a new North Peoria branch.

I understand the concept of having an open floor plan, thus fewer people can staff multiple departments. But won’t we lose expertise? If you have a specialist in Business and a specialist in Art & Music, and you take the Art & Music person and put them up north, then ask the Business person to oversee Business and Art & Music… aren’t you losing something? Or at least putting more strain on the existing staff?

I know they’re trying to keep costs down, and that’s commendable. But if they’re going to add a 35,000-square-foot branch, I think it’s only realistic to expect they’ll need more staff.