In a 2008 InterBusiness Issues article, Mayor Jim Ardis announced:
Our growth strategies are working—and they’re paying for themselves too. A special census was recently completed, and the results were better than expected. The city added 1,453 dwelling units and an additional 3,256 citizens in select areas of the city. Combined with the total from our last special census in 2004, the city has added 3,653 additional dwelling units and 8,455 citizens since the 2000 census. That’s great news!
Peoria’s population as of the 2000 Census was 112,936. If we added 8,455 citizens by 2007, as the Mayor stated, then our new population as of 2007 would have been 121,391. But today, I received a press release from the City stating, in part, this:
According to 2010 Census data, the City of Peoria has a population of 115,007, an increase of 1.8 percent over the 112,936 counted during the 2000 Census. Census data are very important in determining the allocation of Federal and State funds to the City of Peoria, proper representation in Voting Districts, and as an important source of strategic planning data. Council Member Ryan Spain said, “After a population decline since 1970, this is a positive sign for the City of Peoria as population has begun trending upward.”
Trending upward? But we had 121,391 in 2007, and now we only have 115,007! Isn’t that trending downward? Which is it? Did the population go up or down?
To answer that question, we need to understand how a special census is conducted. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, “A Special Census is an actual enumeration of housing and group quarters of a specific area, conducted on a specified date. Special Census counts will include new housing and population that came into the area after Census 2000.” In other words, since 2000, Peoria has annexed more land and new subdivisions have been created. The City wanted to get credit for all the (supposedly) new people that had moved into Peoria since the 2000 Census, so they counted just those new areas to see how many people were living in there — a special census, conducted in a selected area on a specific date. In 2007, for example, the “selected areas” of the Special Census count “included the subdivisions of Northtrail Meadows, Rollingbrook, Timberbrook, Prairie Lakes Apartments, Sommer Place, and Chadwick Estates to name a few,” according to a Jan. 30, 2008, press release.
The presumption was that all of these residents were new to Peoria and represented population growth to the City as a whole. In reality, they showed growth in only the area(s) of the City counted. They didn’t show whether there was growth or decline in other areas of the City. Now we know that, while the special census count areas increased in population by 8,455 citizens, the City’s overall growth was only 2,071. This implies that 6,384 citizens — the difference between the 2010 total census increase and the 2004/2007 combined special census increase — merely shifted from one part of Peoria to the special census count areas.
Bottom line: the population did go up 1.8% since 2000, but more significantly, the population shifted to the north. Our growth cells are working, but it unfortunately appears they’re drawing more migrants from other parts of Peoria than new people from outside of Peoria.
In the short run, though, there’s an even bigger concern, and that’s this: the City of Peoria has been receiving state-shared revenue funding based on the 121,391 figure from the 2004/2007 special census additions. Thus, from a revenue-sharing standpoint, our population dropped, and we will be getting less revenue from the State as a result — at a time when we can least afford to lose any money.
“The City of Peoria will hold a news conference on February 18, 2011 at 10:00 a.m., in Room 400 … to discuss the data released by the Census Bureau,” Alma Brown announced today. Despite the hopeful tone of today’s press release, the City is going to have to face some tough questions about population shift and revenue loss at Friday’s press conference.
Excellent anaylsis. You will be an excellent city council member if Peorians are smart enough to elect you.
The numbers point out how important it is for Peoria to
1. Expand north to attract middle and high income residents, and
2. To revitalized older parts of the city with Tif and Enterprise zone incentives
Failure to do either of these would leave us with and increasingly impoverished city
The city of Chicago lost a lot of population.
More info at http://cityplanningnews.com
http://cityofpeoria.blogspot.com
What will this do to Peoria’s bid to become the new state capital?
Will ‘they’ have to tweek the ‘projected’ attendance figures for the new museum?
“According to the census numbers, the percentage of blacks increased to 27 percent in 2010, up from 24.8 percent in 2000. The city’s Hispanic population also increased, up to 4.9 percent in 2010 from 2.5 percent in 2000. Also increasing was the city’s Asian population, from 2.3 percent in 2000 to 4.6 percent in 2010.
Peoria’s white population saw a decline during the past 10 years, dropping from 69.3 percent of the overall population in 2000 to 62.4 percent in 2010. In 1990, the city’s white population made up 76.5 percent of the city.”
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1240516929/City-of-Peorias-population-up-for-first-time-in-40-years-census-data-shows
Seems like the only way to keep whites in town is to annex suburban white areas until they move out further… either that or build high rise luxury condos on Grand View Drive.
People wanted to escape the high crime and failing District 150 school district in Peoria, so they moved north just out of the city limits. The city of Peoria then annexed all of them right back into the city. Perhaps this is where all that growth came from?
I think Peoria has expanded too far north. The City – and the taxpayers- can’t afford to extend services to support the sprawl, unless some form of land-use fee is established to defray the cost of extending city services out that way. It is more important to revitalize the urban core and attract people back. I think the national trend points to this return, which making the city safer and getting the schools back on track could help stimulate.
Mr Hullinger;”revitalized older parts of the city with Tif ” Please Please Please expalin how Midtown does this? Other than Popeyes fast food joint, no other investment has occured. No “spin off” in the hood. Fact is this TIF is a moeny pit for the city and not for the developer.
I agree on one thing. CJ would be a great councilman.
It is impossible to annex yourself to greatness…. GIVE ME ONE EXAMPLE WHERE THAT HAS WORKED WITH AN OLDER CITY.
1) Brooklyn was an independent municipality before New York annexed it. In fact, NYC annexed entire counties in the late 19th century. These are the basis for some of their “boroughs”.
2) Dozens of towns like Norwood Park and even entire townships like Jefferson Township were annexed by the city of Chicago in the early 20th century; annexations include one of the busiest airports in the world.
3) Los Angeles’s “Shoestring Strip” annexation which included the Port of Los Angeles, one of the busiest ports in the world.
Hope those municipalities aren’t too obscure for you, justan.
Jacksonville Fl 1968 incorporared entire county of Duval into a consolidated city.
Rich, the city expanded north to avoid integration–in fact, in the 1960s I don’t believe there was a high crime rate in the city of Peoria–even in the southend of Peoria. At least, I know that in 1962 I worked at the Griswold Branch of the Peoria Public Library across from Harrison homes and waited on the corner for a bus at 9 p.m. at night without any fear. Also, in the 1970s, I tutored in Harrison Homes without any fear. The city expanded in fear of what might happen but hadn’t happened (and built Richwoods High School)–and who knows maybe it wouldn’t have happened if everyone hadn’t raced to the expanded areas.
Sharon – Not sure of what you are saying here – “The city expanded in fear of what might happen but hadn’t happened (and built Richwoods High School)” particularly since neither the City nor Dist. 150 built Richwoods.
I am part of a traveling band of gypsies that moves in and out of the Peoria area. Not really, but it feels that way sometimes. The largest employer in Peoria rotates a sizable group of families in and out of the area every 3 to 5 years. Chadwick, Sommer Place, and other new developments are filled with us gypsies. Regardless of the condition of the Peoria schools, Peoria housing stock outside of the new developments on the fringe, does not suit many needs of many families. If you are only going to live in a place 3 to 5 years, you cannot afford to spend the time and energy remodeling an outdated home. I would prefer to live in the city and have been trolling the internet to find homes for sale in older, established areas of Peoria but . . . few homes are on the market, lots of remodeling required on those that are available, and even in a down market these home still carry a high price tag and don’t even get me started on the property taxes.
The high property taxes and the overcrowding in the Dunlap schools is making even the fringe areas of Peoria unattractive to many. Recent gypsies transfers are finding Washington the new Dunlap. Lower taxes, less frenzied school environment, attractive recreational facility . . .
If you want people to move to Peoria, offer them what the want. Wishing they will move back into the city will not make it so.
Spikeless, you’re right about who built Richwoods–probably built by people who were escaping to the north. Frustrated, you are somewhat unique, I think. Not all who are seeking to buy a home would prefer older homes in established Peoria neighborhoods.
Your right Sharon, I am a bit unique in that I am one of the few moving into Peoria that actually want to live in the City and willing to consider older neighborhoods. Most of my fellow gypsies want crisp newer homes with all the modern amenities . . . that was part of my point.
The more established parts of the City do not offer this type of housing stock and the City does not appear to be encouraging developers to revitalize older areas like what has been done in some Chicago suburban cities and SO o o o . . the Mayor, City Council, city planners should not be surprised that the census reveals a decline and/or a very modest up tick, depending on how it is counted.
Since the first guys built their cabins on the riverfront, Peoria has expanded and grown towards the north. Knoxville and University were the trellis Peoria grew up on. It wasn’t a matter of escape, it was a matter of available land. Richwoods was no different. I lived in Richwoods Township before being we agreed to be annexed… (what a HUGE mistake that was)
We thought being annexed was a great deal. We were now a part of Peoria.
This was very different from the cowards who flee to Metamora (for “small town values”) or Dunlap (for “country living”) or Morton or Washington (“cuz we hate black folk… I mean crime and poor people”) These people are parasites sucking the economic life blood from Peoria and returning nothing.
Either way, we’re not talking a significant population increase. The more salient question is why we have doubled or tripled our land use in the last few decades, despite nearly stagnant population growth.
Does anyone seriously believe that all that additional concrete increases our quality of life in Peoria?
Garth-
Charlie…I live in Morton and am offended by your assumption that I moved there because I “hate black folk”. I moved there becuase it is one of the best school districts and with a daughter about to enter kindergarten that is my number one priority. I would love to live in Peoria but I get a better return on my property tax investement on Morton.
Sorry walk of shame, if you are offended. It was not my intention to offend.
Do you think that the quality of schools and property rates have anything to do with race?
Yes they do…SO whats the point? Wanting a good school environment for your children does not mean your raciest.
“Wanting a good school environment for your children does not mean your raciest.”
It certainly does when the parent(s) purposely move to a community with smaller “whiter” schools. A quality education is not a given at a Morton school or a Dunlap school or even a Pekin school. A quality education can be had at any school including District 150 schools. I put 2 kids through these schools in District 150. Garfield Primary, noted south end school, poor, mostly black, then Treywn Middle School, again south end, mostly poor, and mostly black, then Manual High School also south end, poor, mostly black. All these schools were on some sort of State list for not performing (Pekin High School, mostly white, is also on the State list). Both of my children gradutaed at the top of their class, one a Salidictorian, the other #3. Both went on to college and graduted there with full degrees, magna cum laude, and went on to good stable jobs.
How can this possibly have happened at District 150? I know of many many other students, black, white, whatever that also succeeded and went on to college and careers. But how? Because the squeaky wheel gets the grease. You hear the bitch and then it’s amplified thousand times over and before you know it, the schools suck, the teachers are over paid, the kids are ALL out of control, and people think it’s time to change only people don’t like to change something. It’s easier to simply avoid and move. Kids have been fighting in schools in Peoria since way way back. Disipline has always been a problem. Teachers and Admin have been butting heads forever. Throw in the money problems, a under funded government program with no clear plan (No Child Left Behind), then complicate that with a high minorty rate, a lot of social econmicly deprived kids, parents who don’t give a shit and you get one loud squeaky wheel.
Bottom line here? District 150 gives out an education equal to or above any other school district around and I dare say that would include Notre Dame, a private school. With ND, when a parent pays $2500 a year to send a kid there, you can bet the family is stable and that family gets involved with their child’s education and the school. That is the BIG missing item for district 150 or any public inner city school system. Hell in small towns, the whole town lives for the high school. Ever notice the school name on the water tower?
Now people who say they moved to, like Morton, to give their kid a better education so they can avoid Peoria’s schools is bullshit. They do it to avoid trying to make the schools here better, they don’t like the “element” at these schools, and it’s a slap in the face to the teachers we have here in Peoria. That element? Blacks. White flight wasn’t just dreamed up. Me? I stood my ground in the south end. I got involved with all aspects of my kids education and their schools by volunteering and trying to help and make change. I met some wonderful teachers and parents, who like a lot of us, struggle with life everyday to make it better for their kids. Black and white. My boys are more diverse today because of the environment they were taught in. So claim you want Morton or Dunlap. What you really want is not to have little Sally interact with those nasty minorities and their ways. That is the 500lb gorilla in the room no one sees.
Emtronics – I agree with everything your saying just not your conclusion.
You state “. . . you can bet the family is stable and that family gets involved with their child’s education and the school. That is the BIG missing item for district 150 or any public inner city school system. Hell in small towns, the whole town lives for the high school. Ever notice the school name on the water tower?”
I don’t believe seeking out such a involved community and/or student body makes you racist.
Families don’t just look at how many AP courses are offered or how many teachers have advanced degrees at a school (because you are right, District 150 offers a good education). They also consider the learning environment that the school provides. The other schools you mentioned no doubt have their problem students, but not in such mass as District 150. Families are looking for schools in which the balance of parents and students are directed towards the same positive end.
Now about this time, Sharon will chime in and say it can all be alleviated “if only” the District would get tough on discipline and frankly, I think that does not in anyway recognize and appreciate what the District is up against. Should it be tougher, absolutely, and I think you will see in the future that it will be under Dr. Lathan, BUT . . . . there are a lot of struggling kids and families in the District and from blog comments of teachers, a classroom has as many troublemakers as it has students on task. You can suspend and expel everyone.
Families that have options don’t want to deal with this. So those folks are going to leave (or never come to Peoria) unless you offer them alternative learning environments, like the IB program, Northmoor Edison, Quest, etc. And creating learning environments like Quest not only retain and attract families that have choice, they provide opportunities for those families living in Peoria that do not have the financial means to escape and thus have no choice.
Frustrated: Maybe I wasn’t exactly clear. True, you are right. Families looking to locate in Peoria may decide not to simply because of the schools. I agree. Also, Pekin HS for example has as many problems, fights, drugs, and academic failures as Peoria High. The media simply doesn’t report it like it does here in Peoria for whatever reason. This leads me to believe that Dunlap and Metamora and other schools also have their problems. It’s just that their “laundry” isn’t aired out like District 150’s is in the media and on blogs.
What I was trying to say is that Peorian’s living here, should support the District more, try and make it work, solve the problems, and send their kids through what really is a very good school system. Sure, some people here do try and have a passion to see the District succeed, Sharon probably being one of them here on the blogs. Yes, people who can afford the cash to send their kid to private schools like Peoria Christian or Notre Dame are families that have stable good jobs and homes. They simply didn’t scrape up the cash, they made a decision and paid and get involved. Sending your kid to these schools is not racists nor is seeking a decent community with decent schools when moving.
What is racist is people moving to a different community abandoning Peoria and it’s schools because they don’t want to deal with the make up of our schools. I truly believe people up and sell and move for that reason alone. That is racist.
Also your last line implies that maybe I sent my kids through District 150 simply because I didn’t have the means to move and had no choice. If so, let me inform you that I had a choice and early on when my oldest was about to enter 5th grade at Trewyn, I didn’t want him going there. Why? Because I was racist and I didn’t like the kind of kids going there. Better word: color. I was prepared to pony up and send him to Peoria Christan (I was maintaining their VCR’s at the time and knew school staff) My son and my wife said; “no”. My son had friends at Garfield and wanted to go to Trewyn. He went and I learned a lot about myself and my prejudices through those years. So please, I truly respect your point of view but if people are leaving Peoria because of the schools then 80% or more are doing it because of their perceived notion of race. i.e racist. Now those looking to come here, that is a different perspective.
Wow thats quite a rant. South end = high crime rate per capita. Thats a fact no matter what color the person is committing the crime. You can chose to live there and thats fine but calling someone racist because they dont want to is laughable. District 150 = underperforming Cluster Fudge. Once again you did what you did and made the best out of it and thats fine but it has nothing to do with race. I could churn my own butter but I say screw it and buy it from the grocery store. Its not that I dont have the knowledge or the ability or maybe even the burning desire to really improve my toast experience, but at the end of the day I dont want to deal with the hassle, heartache and time sink of doing it. Many people just dont want to deal with BS that comes with sending their children to an underperforming train wreak of a school if they have other options and with that do not want to live in the neighborhoods that feed into those school systems for the same reasons. Its easier to have something premade and ready to order then it is to fight the system, fight the neighborhoods, fight the crime…… Black or white screwballs are screwballs.
Also not shocked about pekin being on a list. Its pekin. This proves the race thing. White people can be just much a screwball as black people. A “largely white” school isnt always better then a “largly black” school. I dont know when it became some place people wanted to move but growing up it was just a poo hole, cluster filled with meth tweaked white trash.
Wow “outsider now”, what in the hell has churning butter got to do with anything? Talk about rant. South end does not include high crime rate per capita. Please give me some figures or link on this in Peoria. I would think as far as crime goes, the East Bluff has the south end beat but another stereotype from people like you foster this kind of crap. This is the same type of stereotyping going on with District 150. Does District 150 have problems? Of course. Do tales grow longer down the line? You bet.
You perceive all District 150 schools as a “train wreck”? I say they are not. I say train wrecks have no successes but District 150 has successes with students all the time. They aren’t just very news worthy as a good ol fight is. I never called anyone a racist because of where they live or not. I did however say or make judgment that people who move just because they don’t want their kid in District 150 schools and not even considering the private schools Peoria has, is most often because of race. Again, while not churning your butter, you missed what I was trying to convey. That District 150 has problems as does every damn district does and there is nothing unique about our problems that can’t be found in any inner city school system, it’s just that some of us would like to stay and fix our problems instead of running. Now go get your butter at Schnuck’s as I supposed Kroger’s is beneath you.
No you missed the point as usual. We will go slow.
Some people like to work at something, like you for example. I used butter because I thought it was easy. You really enjoyed the fight and take pride in the fact that you stayed in the south end and sent your kids to the public school and they did well yadda yadda. GREAT. Thats what Peoria needs. Hence you are the person that churns the butter. Its a ton of work but at the end of the day you get a better product and you can really take pride in it knowing that you were very involved. You didnt settle for what was on the shelf you worked to get something that was better and that you could take pride in.
There are many people out there who are willing to avoid all the work to just buy their butter at the store. They want to move to Morton small town America where the crime rate per capita is much lower then the South End or basically almost anywhere in Peoria. These people would rather have less involvement in the process and are willing to settle for whatever butter is available. They know that the likelyhood of the butter being standard is greater, i.e. they dont have to really work through variables, so they bank on the statistics that their children and neighborhood will be the norm for the area. Statistically better then Peoria on many levels.
The schools in those areas on a percentage do much better then the ones in 150 the crime rate in those areas is much lower the Peoria and those are just the facts peoria has to work around. Can you get mugged in Morton, yes, are the likelyhood of getting mugged higher on the south end, east bluff, center bluff wherever the F you are in Peoria higher YES.
So my comparison isnt with areas of Peoria it is a comparison of Peoria to the greater area. It is not a comparison of 150 schools it is a comparison of 150 performance to all schools outside of 150. Yes there are great things happening to individuals at 150 but as a whole the statistic is not as many as are happening in Metomora everyday.
Race may be one factor of many that keep people from moving to Peoria but a blanket statement of racist is not even close to being in the same block as the ballpark. By the way dips..t I dont shop at schnucks and I didnt live all that far away from you so I get where you are coming from.
dipshit? That cheapen the whole post. For a minute there I was starting to come away with what you were saying. sigh
After a little reflection, I guess my Schnucks line wasn’t very cool either.
Students from middle to upper income families with two parents tend to do better academically. Schools with more of these students tend to have better test scores. Case closed. A teacher who can get Bs and Cs out of kids who come to school hungry and with no role models are probably better teachers than those teachers whose classes are filled with kids who have full bellies and maybe one out of two parents with a college degree.
Race has nothing to do with my decision to live in Morton, in fact, I send my dauther to day care in Peoria so she can be with a more diverse group of kids.
If I hear Emtronics boast about what Valedectorian Princes his kids are and what a friggin cover-model parent he is one more time I’m going to puke. At least he’s moving on from “my mission is to raise the pay for cafeteria ladies just because I’m a nice guy and has nothing to do with the fact my wife is a cafeteria lady”.
I agree with Dennis. And walk of shame, I see your point also. Ditto Dipshit: The truth hurts doesn’t it and my wife is not a cafeteria lady but btw, they did get their raises. Why don’t we meet sometime. I’d like you teach ya lesson. Also, neither of my kids were Valedictorians but hey if we meet, you can tell me to my face. I’d like that.
P.S. I don’t take shit off anonymous posters who hide behind their keyboards.
Hahahahaha!!! I’m glad I’m not alone in getting tired of Em… He is a rascist and I’m glad he finally admits it. PS… (If he could leave the south end he would… sucks being stuck!)
Whoa, everyone. Have a beer, glass of wine, shot of whatever, and loosen your sphincters. Before the last few posts, it looked like a pretty interesting debate on a very sensitive issue. Now, well you know those kids that are going to have a fight after school?
Folks, if there was an easy answer to this, it would have been over in 1963. There isn’t, and won’t be until we all learn we need to get past our preconceptions and start working with what we have right now. The past cannot change, but we can change the present and the future, if we want to.
Good call Mr Smith. Cheers BTW, we are all racist to some extent and ditto ditto, you are the same lowly person.
I don’t understand the need for personal attacks…can’t we all get along?
Hey walk, I agree. I am proud of my accomplishments with my boys and I am proud of my family. Apparently that irks some anonymous commenter here. I was just expressing an opinion on what I think “white flight” really is and well, if you don’t like it then fine. Like I said it was just an opinion. I shouldn’t have lowered myself to the digs I posted.
Dennis says:
“Students from middle to upper income families with two parents tend to do better academically. Schools with more of these students tend to have better test scores.”
That is exactly right Dennis and so, I really do not believe families choose the suburbs of Peoria to avoid “mixing,” rather it is about academic atmosphere and academic performance.
Emtronics, that is what I am talking about. As a parent, if you are fortunate to have a child on the right track in their academics and behavior, or you have a small one and are wishing to develop them on that track, you are looking for a critical mass of students at a school that are headed in that same direction. Unfortunately, the District no longer has it, even the schools north of W. Memorial, contrary to what some bloggers believe, have their challenges.
An SO . . . (wait for it, here comes my constant mantra). In struggling urban areas you MUST artificially create that atmosphere by having programs like Quest, the IB program, and Washington Gifted in order to attract and retain middle class families. The greatest imperative for District 150 is not to turn every failing school into a success, but to reset the socioeconomic balance to some degree. In 2000, when my children entered District 150, the District poverty level was at 60%, now what is it?? 70 or 75%. In a decade, there has been dramatic shift.
By developing more programs like Quest and Washington Gifted, you not only plant the seeds for a more diverse economic community to grow, you create more opportunities for minority and poor families living within the city, to get on that “track” as well.
Very enlightening Frustrated.
To interested parties, just want to let you all know that Richwoods won the Masonic Sectional Meet today in Scholastic Bowl. They beat Dunlap, Limestone, Lincoln, East Peoria, Morton, and Metamora on the way to Masonic State which will be Sat. March 5 in Riverton. Add this to the WYSE academic victory over Morton, Dunlap, and Metamora and I would say that good things are happening in D150.
Ok, RHSteacher – I would have your principal, run not walk, to the new District PR person and makes sure this information appears in the PJS.
Congrats to RHS!!!
Only problem is that RHS doesn’t have a principal. 🙂
Maybe….maybe not….. but, they do have an awesome Asst. Principal who can do the job!!!!
Look for news breaking soon on RHS principal.
Does Peoria have the same city limit boundaries it had in 2000?