Local resident General Parker traveled to Ohio to take part in a protest demonstration against JP Morgan Chase Bank in Columbus, Ohio:
“Being the number one perpetrator of home foreclosures in this country, especially after our tax dollars bailed them out. They should show some lienency and since they went through a meltdown, they should understand us going through the meltdown,” said General Parker, who traveled from Peoria, Ill., for the protest.
HOI News is reporting that General Parker, candidate for mayor of Peoria, has a criminal past that includes two felony convictions. According to state law, convicted felons cannot hold the office of mayor.
But there’s a catch. Evidently, the only way this is enforced is if someone contests Parker’s candidacy.
The State Board of Elections said it is not illegal for a felon to run for office, in fact they can even win and serve.
Only when someone formally objects to the state’s attorney is it investigated.
Parker is trying to get a pardon from Governor Quinn. Parker is the only candidate running against incumbent Mayor Jim Ardis.
UPDATE: The Journal Star has an article up about this now. It’s not looking good for Parker’s mayoral run.
I honestly didn’t know that he had been convicted of a felony. It was mentioned on my blog several days ago that a convicted felon couldn’t serve as mayor, but I didn’t think anything of it because I thought Parker’s offenses were misdemeanors. Guess I missed the boat on that one.
Just out of curiosity, I wonder what the rationale is for barring felons from being mayor. Obviously, if they’re in prison or on parole that would make sense. But what if they already served all their time and had paid their debt to society? Why should it be the unpardonable sin?
Monday night at Prince of Peace Missionary Baptist Church, candidates for Mayor of Peoria and City Treasurer gathered to answer questions from the public. Running for mayor are Jim Ardis (incumbent) and General Parker. Several residents — mostly from Peoria’s older neighborhoods — asked questions of the candidates.
A resident of the South Side of Peoria wanted to know what the candidates were going to do about the deterioration of the South Side. She said she was tired of litter, poor schools, gangs, and the way she felt the South Side is generally neglected by the City. Mayor Ardis said that the majority of police and fire resources are focused on that area now, but that more resources can be shifted there “as needs dictate.” General Parker said he advocates going to a system of neighborhood police officers and would require police officers to live in the City. He said the problem with enforcement is that there’s a mutual “us vs. them” mentality between the police and residents of the South Side. By having neighborhood beat officers, officers become part of the neighborhood community and trust can be built between the officers and residents.
Bill Ordaz, a near north side resident, expressed frustration with the City’s code enforcement department. He cited specific instances when he had called to report serious code violations, only to be told that the offender was given a verbal warning or that his complaint was invalid. Mayor Ardis said that he believed over 90% of code enforcement is complaint-driven, so the officers don’t have the time to be proactive. Nevertheless, he said that the council members are working with the Director of Inspections to get as much production out of the code enforcement officers as possible. He suggested citizens talk to their neighbors directly to ask them to take care of violations. General Parker said he agreed that the code enforcement officers were good workers, but that it sounded like someone “dropped the ball somewhere” and he would do an efficiency check of the code enforcement department if elected.
Karrie Alms, another near north side resident, complained that storm brush had still not been picked up on her street. When she called the Public Works dispatch at 484-8867, she was told that the city’s policy was to start brush pickup in the north and work their way south. Mayor Ardis said that wasn’t true — that pickup actually went by garbage pickup route, not north to south. General Parker said it would make more sense for pickup to start at the river and work out from there, since the older neighborhoods have larger trees and thus more debris after major storms.
Diane Vespa, a North Peoria resident, asked if there was any point at which the city could step into the public school issue. General Parker made some general statements about the importance of the school system being strong in order to be able to get people to move into the city, but gave no specific recommendations as to what the city could do. Mayor Ardis said that the City had extended a hand to the school district more than any other council in the last 20 years. He cited the establishment of the Glen Oak Neighborhood Improvement Zone, the Peoria Promise program, and the educational liaison to District 150. He also said they had the opportunity to have education reform expert Paul Vallas come to Peoria, but that the offer was rejected by District 150.
Next came questions for the candidates for Treasurer. The current Treasurer, Reginald Willis, is retiring, so there is no incumbent in that race. The candidates for Treasurer are Patrick Nichting and Gary Shadid.
Gary Shadid started by giving his experience and qualifications: Bachelors in accounting from Arizona State University, CPA, work for various accounting firms including KPMG, the establishment of his own practice (Martin & Shadid). He said his motivation for seeking this office is that he’s (1) qualified, (2) experienced, and (3) loves and cares for this city.
Patrick Nichting then gave his qualifications: City Council member for 12 years, endorsed by two previous treasurers, trustworthy (i.e., he will deliver what he says he will deliver), and 26 years experience owning and operating his own business (Panco).
Both candidates said they would quit their full-time jobs if elected to the office of City Treasurer.
Parents and teachers gathered at Godfather’s Pizza again Sunday night to further discuss ways to keep Central and Woodruff high schools from being closed. General Parker, candidate for Mayor of Peoria, assured those in attendance that he will “stand behind [them] all the way”:
Parker distributed copies of a summary report from the House Appropriations Committee on the proposed stimulus package known officially as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009. The summary stated that a large amount of funding will be going toward education:
Education for the 21st Century: To enable more children to learn in 21st century classrooms, labs, and libraries to help our kids compete with any worker in the world, this package provides:
- $41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13 billion), IDEA ($13 billion), a new School Modernization and Repair Program ($14 billion), and the Education Technology program ($1 billion).
- $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key services, including $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities distributed through existing state and federal formulas, $15 billion to states as bonus grants as a reward for meeting key performance measures, and $25 billion to states for other high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education.
Parker emphasized that last bullet point, implying the closing of a high school would qualify as a “[cutback] to key services.” Thus, he encouraged everyone to write their senators and congressmen asking them to pass the stimulus bill, and then ask their school board representatives to pursue some of that stimulus money to help them through these tough economic times instead of closing schools.
Parker also criticized city employees — especially [acknowledged that many city employees, including] our “most highly paid city workers,” such as police officers and firefighters — who don’t live in Peoria. By living outside the city, the school district loses revenue that would come from their property tax dollars, he said. [Parker states in the comments section of this post that another quote from last night better summarizes his feelings about this: “We need to make District 150 the best school district in the area to make the firefighters and police want to move back into the district.”]
Others who spoke at the meeting questioned whether the school district’s plan to redraw attendance area boundary lines is legal. In the state’s school code, there is a section (105 ILCS 5/10?21.3) also known as the Armstrong Act. It says the school board has the duty:
To establish one or more attendance units within the district. As soon as practicable, and from time to time thereafter, the board shall change or revise existing units or create new units in a manner which will take into consideration the prevention of segregation [emphasis added] and the elimination of separation of children in public schools because of color, race or nationality. All records pertaining to the creation, alteration or revision of attendance units shall be open to the public.
The argument is that Peoria’s schools would become more segregated if Hines and Von Steuben students are sent to Richwoods, as is currently proposed, and that is illegal under the school code. A legal opinion on the matter is being sought.
Several people opposed to the school closings are also getting together to go over (1) Treasurer Guy Cahill’s deficit projections to verify their accuracy, and (2) the district’s budget to see what other cuts could be made instead of closing a high school.