I’ve been watching the new Bass Pro Shops materialize in East Peoria, and I got to thinking about a statistic I read in the Journal Star when it was announced they were coming to town. The Journal Star reported in May last year that Bass Pro Shops “attract an average of 3 million people a … Continue reading Thinking about Bass Pro Shops
One thing I learned about Peoria growing up is that we care very little for our own history, other than looking at pictures of it. Once something is thirty, forty, or (God forbid) fifty years old, it’s time to knock it down and build something new. Newer is always, always, always better. Anyone in favor … Continue reading Kenyon one of the few with passion to preserve Peoria’s history
Bradley Basketball coach Jim Les, who makes over $400k per year, has now led his team to 0-6 in the Valley. He got a big raise a few years ago after leading Bradley to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. But what has he done for Bradley lately? How bad does the team have to get before … Continue reading Will this be the last year for Les?
Tuesday night, Dr. David Kinney from District 150 presented a plan to mitigate the negative impact of a TIF by sharing some of the revenue with the school district. I mentioned in my live blog that he had distributed a PowerPoint handout to the council members; here is a copy of that handout: TIF Presentation … Continue reading District 150’s TIF proposal
Tonight is the first City Council meeting of 2011. After proclamations and a “business showcase” presentation from Northwoods Mall, the City will hear from anyone who wants to talk about the proposed East Village TIF. Although it isn’t on the agenda, there has been speculation that the Council will also discuss the City’s ordinance covering … Continue reading Peoria City Council 1/11/11 (Live Blog)
The big news from Peoria County: Peoria County Administrator Patrick Urich announced today that he has decided to seek another challenge in the public sector, yet to be determined. Urich has been the Peoria County administrator for 10 years and has held the reins as the longest serving CEO in recent memory. […] Urich’s career … Continue reading Urich bids a sudden and unexpected farewell
As I mentioned in a previous post, I received a questionnaire from the new “Biz PAC” (formerly Peoria Area Chamber PAC). Here are the questions they asked, along with my answers: What are your top three priorities if elected? I believe city government exists for the purpose of providing basic, essential public services to residents … Continue reading Answers to Biz PAC’s questions
George Ryan put a moratorium on the death penalty. Now the State of Illinois is looking at banning it outright. A bill to abolish the death penalty passed the Illinois House and moves on to the Senate. Lawmakers approved Senate Bill 3539 with the required 60 votes after waging an earlier emotional, hour-long debate. But … Continue reading Death penalty ban
I realize this is old news, but I just have to lodge my disappointment that not a single person filed to run for the District 150 school board from District 3. I really am at a loss for words over this turn of events, so I’ll just reprint this paragraph from the Journal Star’s editorial … Continue reading Nobody
Craig Hullinger has written a blog post about the necessity of providing incentives to rebuild a city’s downtown/older neighborhoods. Hullinger used to be the Economic Development Director for the City of Peoria until he retired in 2009. Since that time, the City has not hired a replacement; instead, Economic Development personnel report directly to the … Continue reading Discussing incentives with Craig Hullinger