“If (Big Al’s) doesn’t move, these hotels don’t get built,” at-large council member Eric Turner said afterward. “They’ll be built – but they’ll be in East Peoria.
“It’s essential that we do something,” Turner continued. “We have got to find a way to make this work.”
Even if that “something” is putting a strip club right next door to a day care center for children three months to 12 years of age. Sounds like a winning campaign slogan to me:
[image removed by blog owner]
It would look great on t-shirts, too!
The logical collary to “Better than Nothing” is “Do Something, NO MATTER WHAT”
Better yet the electronic bilboard at Knoxville and Penn. He could see his name up in lights.
Ah, “the ends justify the means” provision of the City Code. Why do they need the other thousand pages?
Eric Turner should just retire and move next door to some of the smut shops he has championed, what a clown. And don’t forget – Big Al’s is the final obstacle to the “Wonderful Project”. Let’s hand out some more free tax money we don’t have!!
hahaha. thank you for the laugh this morning! the child on the right needs flipped though so she is pointing at the Big Als signage, then add a voice balloon that says “Whats that mommy?!”
i’ll take one of those t-shirts! XL please. oh, i will also need this made into a yard sign for the next elections. thanks.
Today’s child is tomorrow’s lap dancer.
Does it seem odd that there is a daycare center in a bus terminal?
Myah will literally have Just 4 Kids remaining at her learning center…
Funny! Using humor to prove a point!
Can someone please explain specifically what the concern is. I’m just trying to understand. Is it that a Big Al’s patron will walk out of Big Al’s and see a child and want to assault them? Or that kids’s will see store front of Big Al’s and wonder what it is? What is the fear? Again, just trying to understand the issues. Thanks.
Is the fear that the kids will be exposed to riff-raff? Isn’t the daycare in a bus terminal? Just askin…
The assumption is that people who visit Big Al’s are not fit to be around children? Would that include one’s own children? Please someone explain! Have any of the commenter’s here ever been to Big Al’s? Are you one of the Big Al’s patrons that you revile? I wonder if I sit next to you in church. Hmmmm….
While I respectfully disagree with Councilman Turner’s assertion that hotel project will fail if Big Al’s can’t move, I believe if the parking lot by CityLink was not
going to work, the City & Big Al’s owner would find another place. I would suggest the Whammy Bar on the corner of Madison and Main. I thought I saw an article that stated they were in trouble financially.
In any regard, in talking to a colleague yesterday, he brought up a good point. Myah’s Day care operates in daytime, probably no later than 6 pm. Big Al’s probably opens at 5 pm.
Also, when parents enter Myah’s, the only entrance is off of Adams. In between where Big Al’s would be built and the Bus Station/CityLink, is the garage area where the buses pick up/drop off riders. Most likely, Big Al’s entrance would be closer to Jefferson. So views of patrons entering either place would not happen. Now, families coming/going from Civic Center Events however…
Overall, I still oppose this idea, but when the liquor license comes up for council approval, one stipluation could be made on Big Al’s…that they don’t open before 5 pm on weekdays. (Based on they used to serve lunch weekdays before)
Weekends could have earlier opening times.
So, there are those that don’t want Al’s to be near the daycare. But, it’s OK to have Swinger’s World(open 24 hours a day) in just as close proximity to the daycare. Just sayin’…..
Good point on Swinger’s World
Was not the daycare established after the bus terminal was built, and the Swingers World was already in place. If the objection is about adult facilities in proximity to a day care where was the concern when Myah applied for the business to be established knowing full well that Swingers World was just across the street.
I am not leaning one way or the other here. Dennis makes a valid point, though I thought Big Al’s was open for lunch…?
Will ‘carryout’ be available for the employees of the childcare center?
Yeah, this is a case of exploiting puritanical attitudes to argue against a project that is wrong for other reasons. Also, C.J. is probably going to have to work with Turner to some degree once he’s elected to City Council.
Not a wise post.
Ah….excellent!
Usually the only point Precinct makes is the one on top of his head.
This time his comment is quite…..provocative…?
Last question…..
What stand will C.J. take on the out-of-bounds drinking during the Peoria St. Pat’s Day parade?
His answer will make or break his run for city government………
Sex offenders live among us. Children are not safe anytime, anywhere without adequate adult supervision. According to the website below, there is one sex offender to every 296 citizens in Peoria.
http://www.city-data.com/so/so-Peoria-Illinois.html
Children are always at risk for abuse and exploitation. Parents must be constantly attentive and vigilant. We must be tuned in to who and what our children are exposed to. There were several instances of pornographic downloads by District 150 staff just last year. How many Catholic Priests have been indicted in the last decade? If Big Al’s does not locate near the daycare, children in general will not be safer.This issue is not about Eric Turner. It is not about Al Zuccarini. Very short-sighted to make it so.
Well, since I am not a client of Big Al’s, and quite frankly bored by the whole thing, I really don’t care where they locate. However, if we have to move Big Al’s and Swingers World and Brown Bag Video (Tavern) and 307 Swing Club all in the proximity of the ball park and the child care facility, let’s quit using the term “Wrigleyville” when we talk about revitalizing downtown. We might want to consider terms like “Tenderloin” or “Wan Chai”, places in the world famous for catering to debauchery and the basest of human instincts. If this is what we are going to be, then at least be honest about it. Hell, I have no problem with that, and the revenues will be pouring in when the word is out that Peoria is “wide open” again, just like the days of Al Capone. Everyone gets a piece of the action.
C’mon, guys, we are all equivocating here. Take a stand. You are either for the relocation or not.
I rather doubt that people who have a sexual interest in pre-school children are going to be lured to a pre-school because of it’s proximity to a club that features nude adult women. People who want to have sex with little children are going to be lured to grade schools, parks, Sunday school programs, etc.
This is a non issue, one founded in the belief that because one form of business is more Godly than another, it has more rights than one perceived to be less godly.
I am neither pro- or anti-relocation.
What I am in favor of is a property owner being allowed to open any legal business he or sh wants to open on his or her own property.
Seems like a good place for a day care. The strippers can drop their kids off next door while they go to work.
Billy,
What is legal in Limestone Township is not legal in the Peoria city limits. Those who define legal have the power to grow or crush.
NV: do you actually believe that pointedness is an intellectual trait or a physical trait in our social community? What was your intent?
Yep That dirty bus station is not exactly a great place for a child care center. More riff raff hanging out there than at Big Al’s. Maybe the city should offer to move the day care center out of the bus station and allow a 4am bar there instead. Another place to go after a ball game and take the bus home. This whole thing smells of back room deals, cash trading hands, profits at taxpayer expense, I’d say this was Chicago politics not knowing this is Peoria.
Frederick, I would like to take you to Wrigleyville sometime. Based on your postings of it, you have never been there. The main feature of Wrigleyville is super-duper late night bars and Cubs fans peeing in residents’ yards.
If Myah’s had a problem with an adult business, opening next to swingers world was not a prudent choice.
The level of clientele going to Swinger’s World is most likely a “worse” clientele than Big Al’s. Just get this damn project done without any more taxpayer money involved…
Joe, been to other areas surrounding big sports venues in other cities, such as LA, San Diego, Oakland. Yep, lots of bars and other shops, and there are always a few inebriated idiots who do stupid stuff, whether they drink at a tavern around a ball park or the local watering hole. But surprisingly no strip clubs, adult book stores, or swing clubs. Hmmm. Now if a state as wide open as California can manage to limit the locations of such places, why can’t we?
Billy — The graphic is just illustrating a point with humor. The key phrase is “for a better Peoria.” The idea that moving a sexually-oriented adult business next to a day care center so that the Marriott hotel deal can go through and the world will beat a path to our door is ludicrous.
All — I’m here at City Hall and Councilman Turner just talked to me. He said that several people have come up to him and indicated that they found my graphic on this post racist because of the “black people” (actually silhouettes) depicted. The silhouettes on the left come from the header image on Myah’s Just 4 Kids Learning Center website. In fact, all I did was lift the whole header. The stripper silhouettes on the right are standard clipart that I used (1) to match the silhouettes on the left and (2) to keep from showing an actual stripper, which would be rather distracting. Any racism in this post or graphic is the racism that is read into it by the reader.
I found it offensive, but not because I thought it was racist. It was offensive because you seem to be dumping the rampant sexual eploitation of children in today’s society at the feet of Eric Turner. I’m surprised that he would actually use the race card on this one, because it’s not necessary. I wonder if it would be as humorous to you, CJ, if it was your image in the parody. I doubt it.
Same thing happened to a teacher at Manual once–who is anything but racist. But he used stick figures, which happened to be black, of course, playing basketball. Black administrators accused him of being racist (I don’t remember the context for the figures) but race hadn’t even entered his mind. I assume thr same is true for C.J. since silhouettes are always black.
District Watcher — “Dumping the rampant sexual exploitation of children in today’s society at the feet of Eric Turner”? Wow. How did you get that out of “bringing kids and strippers together for a better Peoria”? And, your question is difficult to answer because I would never approve putting a strip club next to a daycare facility. If, hypothetically, I did support such a thing and some wag put a picture of me over the slogan “bringing kids and strippers together for a better Peoria,” I would feel embarrassed as I recognized the shamefulness of my position, and rightly so.
Billy — the problem is that they aren’t building Big Al’s on their own property; but property the City owns! Yes, they will buy it — but only in a backroom deal to facilitate other items going on downtown. Despite your libertarian views, I’m a strong believer in legitimate government restrictions on zoning and property use — adult businesses being one of them. They should not be regulated out of business; but as with other types of businesses should be located where appropriate in the community.
CJ — don’t worry about the flack. It’ll only get worse if you get elected. Who knows, someone might start a blog and start keeping track of your performance. I enjoyed the chuckle after reading your post — it demonstrated your post well with a little humor added. Those they indicate you shouldn’t have done it because you may have to work with Turner have it wrong. We need more people in office who say and do what they believe in on principle and not based upon what they can leverage with others.
Frederick, if there wasn’t exposè on Club 307 a few months back, 99.9% of Peorians wouldn’t know it existed. I sure didn’t, and I have been to plenty of Chiefs games.
When was the last time you heard of any incidences of foul play at Big Al’s? They do a pretty good job at keeping their patrons in line.
And this may surprise you, but there are 2 or 3 strip joints in Wrigleyville. One of them even has nude men! Oh the humanity!
I have been to at least the baseball stadiums in LA and Oakland. They compare more to Northwoods Mall than downtown Peoria. The Oakland complex features both arena and football/baseball next door to each other, surrounded by about a 1000 foot radius of parking lot. LA is the same way, except more parking, less an arena, and more grassland.
A quick google search of PETCO in San Diego(the most similar urban type complex) reveals a Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club only one half mile away from the stadium! Oh heavens! And Larry Flynt to boot! They made a movie of his exploits, sexual and otherwise.
Every city has these types of establishments. Just because you don’t know where they are in those places doesn’t mean they don’t exist (just like 307 was unknown by most until the WEEK story).
I for one applaud C.J. for having the courage of his convictions because he actually cares about people who are being exploited (even when they appear willing to be exploited)–and the courage to be ridiculed by those who want to give rights to a strip club and its patrons but want to deny that same freedom to those who object. That’s why these issue come to a vote–there are two sides.
its a sad day when someone calls simple silhouettes racism and a slam against “blacks”. what really suprises me though, is that there wasnt any news coverage of councilman Turner meeting with the Rev. Farrakhan and several members of the Nation of Islam today.
Peoria Proud.
I have to agree. Utilizing tax supported bond money to give to the developer to help purchase the lot owned by the city is just something that I can’t wrap my head around.
Joe, sarcasm aside, you are proving my point more than you know. If there are strip clubs in Wrigleyville, they are probably not adjacent to the ballpark. And while there is a Strip club in San Diego, it is half a mile away, not a few blocks or adjacent. As to any of the cities mentioned being like Peoria, you and I both know that isn’t even close to a comparison. Read up a few comments and you will see the answers that make sense are the ones that mention relocating adult oriented businesses to a specific district where they are not interfering with other businesses. Hey, if these businesses were willing to go along with it, I would recommend converting the old Cohen Furniture building to a multilevel adult play land. There is certainly enough room to enclose all of these businesses under a single roof and if I am not mistaken, there is adequate below ground space to allow for a parking area. Zone it, put on the normal restrictions about conduct and age limitations, and tax the living hell out of it after the first five years (got to sweeten the pot a little to get them to relocate).
Oh, and as to not reading about incidents at Big Al’s, you don’t seriously think they don’t make every effort to keep the news of any “incident” out of the press, do you? However, I will agree that Big Al’s appears to run a tight ship when it comes to client behavior, but since I do not patronize the place, I can only speak to what I read and observe.
Gah if only I could get tanked at 2:30 on a tuesday in downtown peoria and then drive home without having to see all the immorality that oozes through the exteriors, and out onto the streets, of these sex shops……..
It would be interesting to know what your stance is on negative campaigning.
Open letter to Councilman Turner after last night’s City Council Meeting:
Dear William,
I am sorry we did not have the opportunity to shake hands after the council session last night. I wanted to tell you that I felt the “cartoon” that appeared in the Peoria Chronicle was totally unfair and unbalanced. However, I also felt that pulling the “race card” out to attempt to dissuade C.J. from running future political “cartoons” was also a very unfair and uncalled for. I am not so naive to believe that racism has been totally cured or removed from our society, but when we ask for tolerance for one group, we must accept the responsibility of tolerance for all. The fact that the shadow figures were generic in nature would tell any reasonable person that age and gender were the objectives of the figures, not race.
As long as I have your attention, I wanted to tell you that I agreed with your questioning of the various items last night for discussion, even though the resulting questions and various comments caused the meeting to go quite late. I find it refreshing that councilmen and women are responsible enough to question the “consent” items and not just let things slide. However, after speaking with Mr. Barber outside the council chambers last night, I have some serious doubts over delaying the purchase of the trucks he requested. If he had these trucks sold for a salvage amount of around $11,000.00 ea., and the state buying power for the additional trucks saved an additional $20,000 ea., that means the council has just cost the city an additional $93,000.00. This year when we are facing a third deficit unless things turn around, and we have just spent an outrageous amount of money (Mr. Ardis’ opinion notwithstanding) to hire a City Manager with an unproven track record, the waste of $93,000.00 is untenable. As to the value of Mr. Urich, that remains to be seen.
Kris…Please elaborate. What seems to be the problem, or do you not get that Joe started this discussion in response to my comments? I have no fear of a spirited debate, nor do I feel it is necessary to twist the facts to suit your own theory. But then again, perception is everything. Have a wonderful day.
Freddy, I’ll forgive your ignorance, and just let you know that Councilman Turner goes by Eric, or Mr. Turner. Thank you.
Kris — All campaigns contain positive and negative messages. The number one question from citizens is, “Why should I vote for you instead of one of the other candidates?” The candidate has to say, “this is how I differ from my fellow candidates.” In this case, I’m simply pointing out that one candidate is in favor of placing a strip club next to a day care facility because he believes a greater good will result (construction of the hotel), and I’m saying I believe that shows poor judgment and is against the City’s liquor ordinance and adult use ordinance. Furthermore, I believe most people know that I’m against using public funds for the construction of this proposed private hotel which still does not have its private equity together. Thus the means only compound the folly of the ends. I tried to illustrate this folly by boiling it down to one short, pithy phrase: “bringing kids and strippers together for a better Peoria.” It sounds ridiculous and outrageous because it is ridiculous and outrageous, and that was the point. Am I being negative? Yes. What’s the positive message? Since the hotel deal has already been approved, I would work to find a solution to Big Al’s relocation needs that satisfies the requirements of the adult use and liquor ordinances, because I believe the laws should apply equally to everyone. I would also work to protect small businesses like Myah’s Just 4 Kids Learning from being exploited by larger business interests. The City should be promoting the public good for all citizens without showing favoritism.
The day care center was probably located in the bus terminal for people who have to ride the bus to work. I think the idea at the time was a good one. Someone on this blog implied that bus riders are low-life – shame on you.
Correction:
When I met Mr. Turner at my place of business, just before the January 11th meeting of the City Council, he introduced himself as William. Of course, you had no way of knowing that, so nothing personal.
And I go by Fred, Frederick, or Smitty to my friends. Since we are getting to know one another, I will forgive the dismissive and diminutive title of Freddy…this time.
She has a graphic of Eric Turner dancing. Is that racist?
C.J. Where can I get a yard sign!? Ryan Spain’s are the only ones I see up.