The City of Washington (Illinois) outpaced the City of Peoria in population growth over the last decade not just in percentages, but in real numbers.
According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, Washington has grown by 3,451 residents (from 10,841 to 14,292) between 2000 and 2009*, an increase of 31.83%. Peoria increased by 2,584 residents (from 112,936 to 115,520) — an increase of 2.29% — over the same period.
On a percentage basis, the largest population growth near Peoria is in Germantown Hills. The village grew by 1,121 residents (from 2,111 to 3,232) — a whopping 53.1%.
Other surrounding communities that saw population growth include Morton, Metamora, Eureka, East Peoria, and Dunlap. Several towns and villages lost population, including Bartonville, West Peoria, Pekin, Peoria Heights, and Canton. West Peoria and Peoria Heights lost the most residents percentage-wise in the immediate area: -5.63% and -5.38%, respectively.
Here’s a breakdown of population changes in several communities of interest, in alphabetical order:
You may notice that typically communities on the east side of the river fared better than communities on the west side. The county statistics bear that out. Peoria County grew by 2,383 residents, or 1.3%, between 2000 and 2009. But Tazewell County grew by 3,981 (3.1%) and Woodford County by 3,393 (9.57%). Combined, Tazewell and Woodford counties grew by 7,374 residents (4.5%), more than three times as much as Peoria county during the same time period.
* Note: In all calculations, I compare actual April 2000 U.S. Census Population Data to recently released June 2009 Population Estimates.
This is why Peoria businesses need an entity separate from the Peoria AREA Chamber of Commerce to represent and lobby for their interests and the interests of PEORIA.
I would love to see the racial and socio-economic demographics of the population change…
My wife asked me this morning about Chillicothe, which I didn’t include in the list above. Chillicothe grew by 8 residents (5,996 to 6,004), or 0.1%. Just in case anyone else was wondering.
Who benefits from all that growth and decline?…. Maloof, D Joseph, (fill in other developers and Peoria (move out of the) AREA chamber of commerce types)
Families are fleeing district 150 and Pekin/suburban Pekin area schools. We all know about district 150. What is the story about Pekin area schools. Are there specific reasons people “flee” the Pekin area?
Residents on the east side of the river still have to visit Peoria for theater (plays, musicals), fine dining, doctors (especially specialists), and for shopping that is of higher quality than the Wal-Mart/Aldi/Dollar Store. As I have posted elsewhere on this blog, the east side is growing, but the growing towns are doing NOTHING to attract these amenities.
My predictions:
The Germantown Hills/Metamora area will become the new Dunlap. Families will want to live there – even if the kids don’t play football. The native Apostolic and Mennonite populations will be dwarfed by the influx of people from other religious backgrounds.
Morton does well because of the good reputation (and/or good perception) of the schools. Washington schools are not as strong as Morton’s, yet housing is more affordable than Morton, and proximity to the 150 bridge makes getting to the north side of Peoria pretty easy. As a bonus, a family with small kids does not have to endure the stuffiness and unfriendliness (bordering on hostility) of most of the Morton natives. Therefore, Washington will be larger than Morton in less than ten years. In the race to grow, Washington had better be careful not to allow sleazy developers to build shoddy tract housing. Some of the newer houses look questionable. Once a subdivision is built, then the town is stuck with it forever.
The proposed Peoria Eastern Bypass will launch a population boom north of US 150:
http://www.easternbypass.com/
More predictions: All towns east of the river will benefit. All of them will be competing to annex every bit of farmland near the new expressway. Developers and real estate agents are salivating at the opportunities.
These towns would do well to enact the rules of New Urbanism before the area gets too built up. The area does not need additional crappy strip malls, sleazy motels, and pedestrian-hostile streets.
Great, more sprawl. Just what we needed.
The bypass is bad for the City.
I think a lot of the East side does well because of the proximity near State Farm in BN.
You would be surprised how many people make the commute from Dunlap to Bloomington to work at State Farm. The Eastern Bypass would make it easier to *bypass* Peoria when traveling I-74 from Bloomington/Normal to Dunlap (pun intended). More sprawl, anyone?
you are exactly right Jim. Easier access means more sprawl, which means they city dies. Hello St Louis!
Peoria is already dead. Urban crime sprawl has killed it.
Crime and schools, not museums and ballparks.
This is a population trend that won’t be ending anytime soon.
And Jim, I also agree on the new homes in Washington. Cookie cutter at it’s best. I’d take an older Washington home any day over the new construction. Of course, I’d say that in just about any city.
For four years I sat on the Council of Rivercity Governments (COG) The Peoria City representative believed the ring road would benefit Peoria. Can anyone tell me how?
The ring road, on which several millions for studies have been spent in the past decade, would need a bridge to Caterpillar and Chillicothe. Estimated cost of the whole project? My educated guess, which is what all estimates are, is 7 to 900 million dollars, money no governmental body has to spend now or in the distant future.
But the studies go on and on and on.
My family was one of those East Peoria additions, then I got my property tax bill. Our house was a starter home, and we will be going elsewhere. We are looking at Washington, Germantown Hills, Morton, or Groveland. They all have decent schools and better than East Peoria taxes.
In this day in age, it is back to basics. People go where they can afford to live within their means. They also are looking where they can get the most for their money. Right now, that is the places I mentioned.
If Peoria wants to grow, the formula is simple: lower property taxes, get crime under control, and flush their school district out. The only problem is that the City leaders always seem to do the opposite of the above formula. When that happens the good people leave, bad leaders keep getting reelected, and the town goes down a death spiral.
Also, Pekin has the same problem as Peoria. They are trying to compete with having the highest sales tax, bad schools, and horrible property taxes. Not to mention there is no good way to get to Pekin. My parents and sister’s family live in Pekin, and both of them are looking to moving out of the City.
“People go where they can afford to live within their means.”
The communities you listed are not cheaper. The taxes might be lower but the homes are most certainly not. No, I don’t think people really move and live within their means in these cases. I think many of them are stretching, stretching hard so that they can have their kids go to the schools there.
As far as taxes go… observe that as communities age, mature, provide more for their residents, their taxes go up. Most newer communities have lower taxes. Why? Because they are new. The maintenance costs are lower because of it. They tend to have fewer amenities but as those amenities are added, the taxes go up. Faulting Peoria or Pekin or East Peoria for that trend is somewhat disingenuous.
As a matter of public policy… encouraging this trend of people fleeing for the new and the cheap is very very costly overall. What benefits a few people hurts the overall public… and in time will hurt those few too.
Flight is a short-term solution. As the recent robbery at Grand Prairie Mall demonstrated, the bad stuff follows. The national trends are toward re-gentrification and re-urbanization. The current “sprawl is good” mentality that we are currently dealing with in Peoria is behind the times, as communities in other areas of the country have realized what a dead-end this is and have moved in other directions. Peoria can be turned around, but we’re going to need some real leaders to drive that kind of change; many of the ones we have now aren’t cutting it.
Mahkno,
Most people like to know how and why their [tax] money is being spent. If taxes are being spent to improve [village, town, city, etc] infrastructure fine, but that is the problem… especially in Peoria! Peoria City/County decided to get into the museum business, at the taxpayers expense. I am sure I don’t need to list the other ‘projects’ currently under consideration – that will look to tax monies for support. The people of Peoria are complaining about a lack of basic services, a growing crime rate, etc., not a lack of fine arts and culture!
Paying higher taxes may not be the problem; it is what you are getting for your money [in Peoria…] that is.
“They [Towns] tend to have fewer amenities but as those amenities are added, the taxes go up.”
How many of these “amenities” are more than just basic infrastructure, such as streets and sewers. How much property tax money is used to build the private empires of local politicians. Perhaps newer communities have younger, smaller, bureaucratic empires.
“We are looking at Washington, Germantown Hills, Morton, or Groveland. They all have decent schools and better than East Peoria taxes.”
Much of the infrastructure in East Peoria has been rebuilt. Who will pay higher property taxes as a result of Bass Pro Shops coming to East Peoria? And guess who got higher taxes as a result of recent commercial redevelopment efforts (within the past 10 years): Residents, not businesses.
@GenerationWhy
Groveland is not a town. It has a post office, but that is it. Most of the houses are huge and expensive $400,000. Groveland is in the Morton school district, which is good. I once emailed the town urban planner of Washington to complain about the crappier tract housing being built and the lack of culture. He was kind enough to respond, and he told me that he functions more like a clerk than a planner. I did not understand his answer. Make sure you interview town and school officials before moving.
“re-gentrification and re-urbanization”
This was the grand plan in the 70s. Detroit is the model of how that works… No surprise that Peoria is still trying it.
Stay away from Morton, at least for the time being. My family moved there to escape the problems in Peoria, but only to discover that Morton seems to be following the same broken model as other communities. The current leadership wants to lure the upper middle class and the wealthy away from Dunlap very badly. The tax base can’t keep up with the added infrastructure for the new developments. Morton leaders are planning to raise taxes and have already enacted a sales tax increase to fund infrastructure costs and a “facade improvement plan” for private businesses. The school district although a good one has grandiose visions as well, with plans to the tune of 60+ million dollars to “improve” grade schools in the wealthy parts of town and build a new mega-high school to compete with Dunlap. Morton is not friendly to the middle class and lower middle class segments. All new housing is out of their price range and the older part of the community although affordable and well kept is likely to lose its neighborhood grade school through the aforementioned grandiose visions of the school board.
I repeat…Stay away from Morton if you want lower taxes….at least until the current crop of leadership has been voted out!
Oh…I forgot to add that Morton has just built the Taj Mahal of fire stations to the tune of several million dollars and get this…it includes a museum component to house an old fire engine. Basic Services = Fail.
Hostility in Morton? Haven’t seen it, even with my diverse family.
While I think the plan for downtown is, in a word, stupid, the Fire Station and the school improvements are both much needed.
With the Fire Station, the old station was very limited and, quite frankly, the geographic center of Morton isn’t downtown anymore. The expansion of Morton to the North has been significant over the past 20 years. A Fire Station is much, much more than a big garage to park fire trucks. Firefighting is much more than spraying water. It is compressed air, it is AFFF, and it is advanced medical treatment. There are firefighter-paramedics that live there. There is training that takes place there. Much like the new Police Station that opened a few years ago, Morton now has a first-class firehouse.
In a few months I will have children attending the Grade, Junior High, and High Schools. I’ve been in those buildings. I’ve seen the desks in the hallways. People seem to forget about the technology that is being used in schools. NONE of the current school building were built with computers in mind. They also no longer warehouse special education students in single, segregated classrooms. There is more individualized instruction. There are federal and State laws requiring PE every day so a gym is needed at each school (yes – 3 of 4 Morton grade schools do not have a gym). The one grade school that has a gym is over 100 years old and was the old high school. As much as it hurts, the money to keep this land-locked building up would be enormous. So the plan is to enlarge the three newer (newest built in 1977) schools. Then the plan is to replace the current MHS with a new campus built on the edge of town. The current MHS would then be able to house the Junior High – the current Grade 7-8 Junior High would become a 5-8 Junior High. This process is not going to happen overnight. It means my 2nd Grade student might possibly have her Senior classes in a new building.
Yes, 10 or 11 years.
Disillusioned’n’Morton – I don’t understand your gripes. The school system in Morton is above average. The Police and Fire departments are also above average. It is no accident that Morton has good schools and safe streets. Our fire station is a building that is no longer suited for todays firefighting. Our schools are no longer suited for todays teaching methods. The buildings represent a part of the total effort to NOT settle for ‘good enough.’ There are buildings, employees, equipment – it all adds up to a concerted effort to bring A+ basic services to the people of the community. Morton is a fine – not perfect – community. I think the new police station, pool, fire station, and the schools plan are some of the symbols why.
anon e. mouse
Re: Fire Station…could have been built for much less and still served the same purpose…certainly didn’t need the museum room.
Re: Schools I agree there is some need for updating and modernization of existing structures, but not to the extent that the school board has planned. (FYI the Jefferson grade school was built in 1928 and was never the old high school. The Jr. High was the old high school.) The School Board and administration have inflated the figures to show that keeping it open is too costly. Let’s face it the real reason for it being closed is that the village wants it for its Pumpkin Festival Grounds. Some in Morton don’t care as long as their kids aren’t affected by the closure and their grade schools are improved. Some will care as they don’t want their taxes raised or to see a community landmark and neighborhood anchor bulldozed. This current plan floated by the District is an antithesis to the stated goal of the village of having a walkable community. As would moving the high school out into a cornfield and forcing more busing and car dependence on teenagers. All of this would require even more infrastructure and Morton can’t pay for what it currently has. Yes, the plan is for work to be over the next 10 years or so, but each time the taxes will go up, especially when the 50 million dollar high school is built.
I agree that Morton has above average services now, but that is thanks to the wise stewards of the past not the spendthrifts of the present. As the current leadership executes their plans for an updated Morton it will still have above average services, but outrageous tax bills. Morton has earned its reputation by being very frugal with citizen’s tax dollars and not squandering them on upscale projects to attract the uber wealthy that would otherwise settle in Dunlap. Morton is a fiscally conservative community that has been hijacked by people who are going to run it into the ground. I think the appropriate mission statement for current Morton leadership would be, “We have met the enemy and it is US”.
Disillusioned’n’Morton: Please tell me what services are available in the Village of Dunlap that attract the “uber wealthy”? Your statement is laughable.
Answer to City Financial Problems? Outsource City Services – http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/29/news/economy/city_fires_employees/index.htm
Hell, why hire the county sheriff’s department? I say we simply dismantle the Peoria Police Department. Then the city can do what it did with animal control and notify the county government that they are expected to patrol city streets. I mean, is there any statutory requirement a city the size of Peoria have a police department in the first place? If the sheriff won’t perform his duties adequately, disgruntled voters can vote him out and replace him with someone who will. If this causes an increase in COUNTY taxes, so be it. It’s about time those slackers in Pottstown pick up the slack. We’ve already got those poor bastards paying a tax for the Caterpillar museum.
You are right that the Village of Dunlap proper has very little to offer. When Dunlap is used in conversation here I think that most know that what is meant is north Peoria including Dunlap Schools. What else does it offer the upper middle class and wealth? How about McMansions, The Shoppes at Grand Prairie, upscale restaurants and bars, boutique businesses, etc…
“Morton now has a first-class firehouse.”
Sure… but how will that compare to Peoria’s WORLD CLASS MUSEUM?!?!?
Actually it is a firehouse and a museum…basic services=fail
I was kidding.
Disillusioned’n’Morton – almost EVERY small town fire department keeps an old engine around for parades. Even little bitty all-volley departments. The difference here is that a full service bay is not dedicated to this like many do.
I see “museums” allover the place – a wall dedicated here, a corner there. Even my little office has a “museum” of old computer equipment to remind us how for we’ve come.
…and you say “basic services=fail” yet the location of this station enables the fire fighters and paramedics to better serve the community. That is hardly a “fail”.
“The current leadership wants to lure the upper middle class and the wealthy away from Dunlap very badly.”
The Morton area is not bad if you want to live in a ranch house built in 1976. Good luck finding an affordable newer house in Morton. I have noticed that most new construction in Morton and Groveland are the $300,00 – 400,00 houses. The Peoria area is loaded with $400,00 houses. Why live in a McMansion in Morton versus a McMansion in unincorporated Dunlap? Come on, now, I have already mentioned the lack of culture on the east side of the river in previous posts. Is Morton (or any other town east of the river) really trying to attract culture? We have not seen it yet.
For decades, Morton was the traditional choice of upper-income Caterpillar office workers. The construction of the Grand Prairie mall and the flight of businesses from downtown/central Peoria to the far north-northwest side of Peoria changed all that. People do prefer to live close to the stores, restaurants, and medical facilities near Grand Prairie mall. Why drive 45 minutes to Grand Prairie from Morton when you can make that same drive in 10-15 minutes from Dunlap? Build a second Grand Prairie style mall in East Peoria, and Morton could once again emerge as an extremely desirable place to live. Although Morton is still nice, (Unincorporated) Dunlap is now *the* place to live. The era of Morton being the “elite” white collar suburb of Peoria has passed. Sorry, Morton.
There IS a lot of hostility in Morton – especially if the natives detect that you were not born and raised there. The people in that town are NOT friendly. You have heard of this from others – not just from me. The reputation of “stuffiness” of the residents is well-known all over the Peoria area. I will stand by my assertion.
Morton will soon have a “facade improvement plan” for private businesses??? Do you mean “form based code?” Yes, many towns are doing it. Bloomington is implementing “form based code.” That is not necessarily a bad thing. Other than Farm & Fleet and Cracker Barrel, what does Morton offer that is unique to the Peoria metro area? Or unique to central IL? Why should anyone want to live there instead of Eureka, Tremont, or even Delavan? What would motivate someone from the Dunlap area to want to move to Morton?
Dunlap has new school buildings, so now Morton “needs” to build a new high school. Yes, the town of Morton will close Jefferson grade school and use that property for Pumpkin Fest grounds. It also wants to build a new high school on the edge of town (far east side?). The current high school is located in the center of town. Lots of kids walk or ride a bike there. Will students be able to ride a bike path to the new high school. My guess is that the only way to the school will be to drive. The town will increase taxes in order to accomplish this. If Morton schools have such a great reputation, then why is a cop working full time at the high school. If the school has problems with drugs, violence, and with kids disrupting class, then how will constructing a new building solve anything.
Yes, Morton now has a nice, rebuilt pool. The town raised taxes in order to build it. Who benefits: The children on swim teams that swim every weekday morning during the summer months. Why was there a push to rebuild the pool: The town of Tremont was forced to rebuild their pool. It was falling apart. Lo and behold, Morton decides a year later that it “needs” to rebuild the Morton pool, too. Washington has a traffic circle. Now Morton “needs” one, too. Washington has Lindy’s Downtown Market. Morton tried to entice Lindy’s to move there. Lindy’s would only do it if they could sell liquor. Morton abolished the ordinance that restricted alcohol sales to liquor stores only. Lindy’s then decided not to relocate. Why did Morton “need” Lindy’s? Why does Morton feel the “need” to look at the two or three towns around it and try to imitate the amenities offered. If the leaders of Morton really had vision, they would be talking to communities all over the country that employ new-urbanism techniques.
aaron wrote:
Answer to City Financial Problems? Outsource City Services – http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/2…../index.htm
Please DON’T recommend privatization. Taxes go up, and quality and service go down:
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/report/water-privatization-threatens-workers-consumers-and-local-economies-2/
Jim – Morton will soon have a “facade improvement plan” for private businesses??? Do you mean “form based code?”
No. There is a movement afoot to do some facade work to the downtown to make it look more – well, I guess more downtownish. It is the kind of thing I would expect from Peoria. I am not a fan of this idea.
The pool? The pool was falling apart. It was 45+ years old. I think the original push for the pool started when 5-Points in Washington was built. Notice the new pool is not an indoor facility like 5-Points is. And your point about the “swim teams” could be said for the tennis courts or softball diamonds…all community assets.
The new school is needed…seriously. So, where do you put a new High School campus? You either use cornfields or a bulldozer. Near East Side? I suspect so – near where the new churches are and some of the newer neighborhoods.
Drive to Grand Prairie? Why? I can get to Home Depot in Bloomington in less time than it takes me to drive to the one in Peoria.
You can talk about shopping all you want. The fact is that Walmart changed everything. I am not a fan but it is the current reality. I didn’t agree with the decision to sell alcohol in grocery stores, either.
Yep – McMansions are the rage in Morton, and elsewhere. Show me where they are building $100-150k ranch houses in towns around Peoria? They aren’t.
Hostility? I didn’t grow up in Morton – heck, Morton is a big city compared to where I grew up. My family is as anti-Morton looking as they come. However, neither my wife or I have noticed any hostility to us or other outsiders.
Jim,
When you refer to a “lack of culture on the east side of the river,” are you referring to the rubes who live in farm country, or are you talking about a lack of idiotic, overpriced tax payer supported museums? Just want to be clear on this. Perhaps a lack of culture is better than a lack of common sense…?
More about the new Morton Firehouse
http://www.mortontimesnews.com/features_carousel/x41611941/Transition-to-station-near-complete
NV… he meant they only have one strip bar on the East side of the river.
What got me going was this earlier quote from Disillusioned’n’Morton : “The current leadership wants to lure the upper middle class and the wealthy away from Dunlap very badly.” I regret that I took the bait. I am starting to wonder if this is even true at all. Why should Morton care about Dunlap/North Peoria?
anon e. mouse: Well, the facade work to downtown Morton would be nice. I am not sure if this would motivate more people to shop in that area. If the town doesn’t encourage the right mix of eclectic/specialty businesses, then it would not matter what is done to improve the buildings.
I have constantly heard that people move to Morton for the schools. Why does Morton High School need to employ a city cop full time? I don’t get it.
Wal-Mart changed a lot. “One stop shopping” at a big box store is the trend. I would not say it changed everything. There are enough people that hate Wal-Mart to keep Kroger doing well. Yes, Wal-Mart does well – for certain commodity items. Often, you cannot put Wal-Mart and quality in the same sentence. For example, you would not shop at Wal-Mart for clothes, would you?
Mileage-wise, Grand Prairie is still closer to Morton than the Home Depot in Normal.
With the housing market collapsing, I thought that developers in the Peoria area would stop building those $400,000 McMansions. And as they continue to build McMansions, they do not build any new neighborhood parks. What gives?
New Voice: I can give you a few examples of missing culture. The zoo and the botanical garden are easy ones. Other than in Goodfield, there are no playhouses on the east side of the river. There are no white tablecloth restaurants, either. You have to travel to Peoria for those. No, there are no museums east of the river. Normal has a wonderful childrens museum and you don’t hear residents screaming about the cost. Of course, that museum is not in the Peoria area. Blame the third-world style corruption of Peoria officials for making their museum overpriced and for botching all the redevelopment efforts along the riverfront.
New Voice says – “When you refer to a “lack of culture on the east side of the river,” are you referring to the rubes who live in farm country…”
You are a real piece of work. The only culture missing is within your own self.
Private business funded by tax dollars in Morton=FAIL
http://www.mortontimesnews.com/news/x925448542/Sales-tax-increase-meets-opposition
Mayors daughter on commission=conflict of interest=FAIL
http://www.pjstar.com/news/tricounty/x150484092/Morton-forms-commission-for-business-district
Dunlap Observer,
Don’t get your pink panties in a bunch! If you couldn’t tell I was being facetious, you need to get out more. I was just trying to see where ‘Jim’ was coming from.
And don’t be so ignorant; as if you have never heard anyone refer to Pekin in a less than…complimentary way….?
Most people living in Creve Coeur DO NOT find the Creve-Tucky ‘thing’ amusing either….
So relax, a little friendly jab here and there never hurt anyone.
Jim,
I believe I understood where you were coming from. I will just say this, if Peoria had been on the east side of the river, the west side would have been without ‘culture.’
Aside from East Peoria, all of the communities on the east side are small. Why would Washington have a ballet [though they have Five Points & Sarah Palin!]? Why would Metamora have a white tablecloth restaurant [though the Lincoln Courthouse is superior to anything Peoria can muster]?? Why would El Paso have a botanical garden? Eureka a zoo [though they do have Eureka College]?
Actually if it weren’t for Peoria, where would all the small towns on the west side stand…in terms of ‘culture?’
Actually… even WITH Peoria, where do all the small towns on the west side stand in terms of ‘culture?’
Eastlight, 5 Corners… NO playhouses? No white tablecloth restaurants? The Chateau? None?
I have always thought that the east side would eventually be as large as the west side of the river in terms of population. My point is that simply building dozens of subdivisions (and without the corresponding neighborhood parks) does not make a community. It also does not entice the new residents to remain in their new McSubdivision-dominated town to spend money and increase the local sales tax revenue.
Peoria still has all the fancy (and unique) restaurants. People still drive across the river, from east to west, for fine dining and specialty shopping. There are no decent restaurants in Washington. East Peoria has low-end chain restaurants. Morton is dominated by crappy fast food joints near the I-74 exit. If one fancy restaurant chooses to locate in Washington or Morton, then the entire east side of the river should benefit. I do believe that Jonahs in East Peoria has attracted people from all over the area (from both east and west of the river) to spend money in that town. Jimanos in East Peoria is the only Chicago pizza place in the entire Peoria area. Restaurants are only one example of culture. Culture can work, but the product needs to be unique.
New Voice wrote: “Actually… even WITH Peoria, where do all the small towns on the west side stand in terms of ‘culture?”
Answer: They are close enough to the growth in North/Northwest Peoria. As Peoria continues to move West/Northwest and therefore further away from towns east of the river, It makes driving easier for residents on the far west side, but harder for people living on the east side of the river. Now there are a few things that cannot be relocated: The Zoo, Corn Stock Theatre, etc. but I think you get my point.
Five Points in Washington is an excellent example of a town that prefers to have its residents remain in town to spend their leisure time (and hopefully money). I understand that Five Points also has banquet facilities and a Caterpillar Performance center. (I think that is the name). I would bet that the new fitness center at Five Points has members who would have otherwise driven to the Riverplex to work out.
Disillusioned’n’Morton: What bothers me the most about raising taxes and/or enacting new ones, is that those taxes NEVER decrease and are NEVER temporary in nature. The new Morton mayor appears to be building a private empire – even though most of the residents prefer that Morton remain a sleepy bedroom town. Funny, but the Washington Wal-Mart is superior to that in Morton, both in size and in selection. If sales taxes are way out of line compared to the taxes in other towns, and if enough “Wal-Mart loyal” Morton residents notice, then they will shop in other towns.
By the way, Pekin and some of the adjacent towns do have a nasty reputation for rednecks and white trash. Not everyone wants to live in a dumpy 500 square foot house. I understand that may make some of those residents mad, but the perception remains. They just have to work harder to address those issues. Making their schools some of the cleanest and most strict in the state would be an excellent way to entice young families to move there. Rebuilding/restoring the old downtown and encouraging businesses on the outer edges of town to relocate to the old downtown area would also be ideal.
Jim,
When the Pekin superintendent spoke at Rotary, she said that staffers from D150 had visited numerous times to see the programs in place at the high school. Not sure about the cleanliness but I’ve always heard that the high school was pretty strict. Why would employees of D150 want to visit Pekin if it’s such a redneck, white trash town with bad schools?
Jim, when was the last time you visited ANY school in Pekin? As a board member, I can tell you that I am extremely proud of the “cleanliness” and adherence to board policy at PCHS. I believe you have an extremely skewed “belief” about Pekin. Please feel free to visit. In fact, I will be happy to take you for a tour of our beautiful facility, including the tech/ed building. It disappoints me that this type of negativity towards our wonderful community still exists. Yes, it is true, D150 officials have visited our tech/ed center several times over the past 6-7 years, yet they have never taken it any further than a “visit”.
I knew in advance that my statements would offend some and amuse others, so I took a chance. I apologize for offending some people. Thanks for the feedback. That is what I love about blogs: Freedom of expression.
303 board member: I hope you understand why many people have negative perceptions of Pekin being the butt of Jeff Foxworthy jokes. If not because of the schools, then why is Pekin losing population?
The Pekin school district should copy the student handbook from this school and then ask D150 officials to visit:
http://www.lw210.org/
Lincoln-Way has some of the strictest high schools in the state. That area is booming *because* of the reputation of the school district. For example, a student automatically gets ten (10!) detentions for chewing gum in class. Students cannot graduate until they either serve all their detentions or work them off in the form of community service.
“I knew in advance that my statements would offend some and amuse others”
“There ain’t nothin like a good redneck joke… ‘cept a Polack joke or a blond joke or a nigger joke or a gook joke or a dago joke or a kike joke or one about fags, dykes, cripples, retards, or Baptists.
Or my personal favorite: Jokes about PEORIA SCHOOL DISTRICT 150 grads…
What does a Richwoods grad after graduation?
go back to school.
What does a Woodruff grad do after school?
go back to work.
What does a Central grad do after graduation?
Ask their daddy.
What does a Manual grad do after graduation?
Huh?
Me too. I knew in advance that my statements would offend some and amuse others.