Peoria Pundit

I was caught off guard by Pat Nichting’s decision (apparently) to not seek re-election to the Peoria City Council from the 5th District (kudos to Word on the Street for the scoop).

In general, I think Nichting represented the district the way he thought he should — by devoting much of his time and energy representing the business and developers. It’s not surprising. The other four council districts are basically a collection of distinct neighborhood, and political organization is based on neighborhood organizations. North Peoria doesn’t really have many strong neighborhoods as much as it has subdivisions populated by commuters.

And now Nichting is considering a run for City Treasurer, a full-time job with a real salary. That’s an odd decision to make, considering he’s the owner of Panco Food Service Equipment, which I assume would be a full-time job.

I’m not all that familiar with two of the three people discussed as possible candidates. But one, Dan Irving, appeared at the old Peoria Pundit site several times by way of a questionnaire I sent candidates for at-large districts two years earlier.

Here are Mr. Irving’s replies, culled from the nine posts I made at the time:

1. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Kelo decision put the onus on state and local governments to decide when it is appropriate to take private property via eminent domain. Under what specific circumstances do you favor the use of eminent domain? Conversely, under what conditions would you oppose the use of eminent domain?

Answer: I would favor eminent domain if without a doubt the property was needed for public safety. Eminent domain is a process that needs to be used carefully and investigated thoroughly before any action is taken. Public input is crucial but also the input of the landowner is equally important. When exercising eminent domain, it is important to be fair and honest with the property owners. Open communication is a must. I oppose the use of this practice in cases where neighborhoods or residents are not involved in the process. The community must embrace the project and it must be a win-win for all parties involved. If not, the project cannot go forward.

2. At every at-large election, attention is paid to Peoria’s cumulative, or “bullet,” voting system. In a perfect world (free of any real or perceived restrictions caused by lawsuit settlements), what form of government should Peoria have and how would the council be organized in terms of districts?

Answer: I personally believe the form of voting needs to be changed from the current 5 votes per person, but the current law needs to be followed until we develop a workable solution for all parties involved. I fundamentally believe in 1 person for 1 vote. With that being said, we need to investigate the options of changing how the council is representative of the city. I would support one of the following options: First – Keep the current 5 districts and have 2 members from each district elected in staggered terms. Second – Re-district the city into 10 districts, each with a council person and have 5 members elected every 4 years. Third – Re-district the city into 7 districts and have 3 At-Large council members elected in 4 year terms. This would allow us to retain the “At-Large” concept and still have people looking at city wide issues.

3. Other than “improve communication” and “cooperate more,” what can or should the city of Peoria do to improve Peoria’s schools?

Answer: We must improve the communication and cooperation in order to move anything forward. As a city, we need to continue to investigate economic growth opportunities that will bring companies and head of household jobs to Peoria. We need to identify ways we can encourage families to re-locate within Peoria in order to grow our residential base which will help generate revenues through property and sales taxes.

4. Can you name anything the City of Peoria spends money on that it shouldn’t? I’m asking for specific line items, programs or projects. I’m NOT asking about “efficiencies” like being frugal with paper clips or cutting back a little on travel.

Answer: We need to look into curbing our spending on consultants. I am convinced if we engage our citizens, we have people that could be considered experts in their occupation that could help us with issues such as health care, or development.

5. What should the city be doing that it isn’t to combat litter?

Answer: We need to continue to focus on litter control. I think the Plant Pride, Not Litter program has created awareness and we need to continue reminding people. Litter to me is a common sense thing that people should care about. If we can re-invigorate the pride that people have in Peoria, we can continue to make a difference in litter control.

6. Are you willing to say “no” to Caterpillar at any time during your term? Can you think of a circumstance in the last 20-30 years in which the city SHOULD have said “no?”

Answer: Personally do not care for the terminology of saying “no” to Caterpillar. I think that has the potential to create a we/them division. As our biggest nationally recognized employer, their needs are important. At the same time, the needs of the City are equally important. We need to continue having open dialog with Caterpillar on what each of our needs are and make sure our actions are moving us forward of improving our community. I personally cannot provide an example of where we should have said “no” to Caterpillar in the last 20 to 30 years.

7. Under what circumstances are you willing to vote against the wishes of a neighborhood organization or the vocal wishes of a majority neighbors on an issue of zoning change, building permit, liquor ordinance, etc.?

Answer: I am not inclined to vote against the wishes of a neighborhood organization. They are the people that live in their area and their wishes need to be respected and heard. If a situation arose that I felt should be considered of which the neighborhoods were against, I would ask for public discussion with the group to determine the best cause of action. As an elected official, my job is to represent the wishes and needs of the people that elected me. Not listening to the taxpayers is an option I would not consider.

8. Can you name five businesses that have pulled up stakes and moved across the river or up north within the last four years? Bonus points if you can give me their stated reasons for doing so.

Answer: Waugh Foods – Moved to East Peoria. Something to do with zoning I believe. Winpack – Currently relocating to Pekin. Had issues with not being able to purchase their building. Pepsi – Moved to Morton. I am not sure of the reason other than highway accessibility. Mid State Terrazzo and Tile – Moved to Alta from Pierson Avenue due to deteriorating neighborhood. Jaspier’s Interiors – Moved to Mossville due to the cost of rent.

9. This question is designed to challenge candidates’ sense of honor and sense of history about Peoria: Without asking someone or looking it up, can you tell me where the original Pizza De-Lite Restaurant was located? Bonus points if you can tell me where Don’s Donuts was located. Exact addresses are not necessary, just the street name and/or a nearby landmark.

Answer: I will abide by your clearly written rules and not google this.

Editor’s note: I gave Mr. Irving points for his answer for moral integrity. Gary Sandberg cheated (even though he admitted it).

Well, they were never closed. But they were limited to those who registered. But it was too difficult for some people.

Have at it.

The difference: If I catch ANYONE behaving badly or dishonestly, I’ll ban them. If you don’t have an internal sensor that tells you what is and isn’t dishonest, then you will soon find out what MY definition is.

The last time I caught WEEK sports reporter Marc Strauss reading the news at 10 p.m., he was pretty agitated at the behind the scenes crew for it’s seeming inability to play the sports clips he was actually talking about at the time. This was more than a month ago, as I recall. Tonight, I watched Marc Strauss getting a little agitated at the behind-the-scenes crew for its seeming inability to play the sports clips he was actually talking about at the time.

What heartless neo-con blogger said this:

Security snipers, hidden, unknown, and constantly alert, are one solution to terrorist invasion of a hotel. As soon as bullets start to spray, the sniper takes him down with one shot to the head or heart.

Aside from what the grievances of the terrorists might be, for powerful nuclear nations to priss around like sissyboys in the face of violent extremists, it just seems stupid.

Lives were needlessly lost in Mumbai.

Done guessing? It’s this guy.

I’m doing the overtime thing at work on Saturday and Sunday, and I spent most of my free time writing an article. So, blogging will be light.

I don’t have a copy of tomorrow’s newspaper in front of me, of course. But glancing at the front page of PJStar.com, I notice links to four articles (three local) related to the “Black Friday” shopping mania.

I’m old enough to recall when the media started covering this in a big way. Before that, everyone was just aware that the day after Thanksgiving was a good day to avoid shopping if you wanted to avoid crowds, but a good one if you wanted a crack at bargains.

We didn;t need front page articles to inform us of this, nor do validate our shared experiences.

But THE MEDIA has now decided it’s a cultural event. The news hook is how it’s supposed to be a bellwether (a word used almost exclusively by the media) for how much shopping people are going to do in a year. With politicians telling us to panic about the state of the economy, we have the media absolutely obsessing about Black Friday this year.

But for the most part, “Black Friday” has become one of those stories that editors assign almost out of rote. It’s a a tale told by idiots, bull of storm and fury, but signifying nothing but a journalistic cliche.

I say ban Black Friday from the front page … unless someone gets killed or something.

Note: I’ve been doing a lot of blogging at American Guesser. I thought Peoria Pundit readers might enjoy this one.

Call me a dirty neo-Libertarian, if you must. Supporters of pacifist Ron Paul also might object, considering how the war is illegal and all that. But, this story (hat tip to Kim) brought a crooked smile to my face. It’s about some Marines who found themselves outnumbered in Afghanistan.

During the battle, the designated marksman single handedly thwarted a company-sized enemy RPG and machine gun ambush by reportedly killing 20 enemy fighters with his devastatingly accurate precision fire. He selflessly exposed himself time and again to intense enemy fire during a critical point in the eight-hour battle for Shewan in order to kill any enemy combatants who attempted to engage or maneuver on the Marines in the kill zone. What made his actions even more impressive was the fact that he didn’t miss any shots, despite the enemies’ rounds impacting within a foot of his fighting position.

“I was in my own little world,” the young corporal said. “I wasn’t even aware of a lot of the rounds impacting near my position, because I was concentrating so hard on making sure my rounds were on target.”

After calling for close-air support, the small group of Marines pushed forward and broke the enemies’ spirit as many of them dropped their weapons and fled the battlefield. At the end of the battle, the Marines had reduced an enemy stronghold, killed more than 50 insurgents and wounded several more.

“I didn’t realize how many bad guys there were until we had broken through the enemies’ lines and forced them to retreat. It was roughly 250 insurgents against 30 of us,” the corporal said. “It was a good day for the Marine Corps. We killed a lot of bad guys, and none of our guys were seriously injured.”

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. Now, I don’t usually post about how it’s this or that holiday. I figure my readers know it’s Thanksgiving, and they don’t need me telling them what I’m thankful for, or what they ought to be thankful for.

But I will say this: I am damn thankful for the men and women in uniform who are in harm’s war in foreign lands making it safe for “no-first-blow” libertarians spout off on their blogs, secure in the fact that others are fighting and dying to ensure the enemy doesn’t get over here to strike that blow … again.

It’s better we fight them over there rather then to wait for them to strike another blow here, then chase them around trying to arrest them.

So, kudos to Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan, and everyone like them in all branches of the military. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Be safe and come home soon.

Cross posted to Peoria Pundit.

Via Merle Widmer:

Peoria County Board Chairman William (Bill) Prather called me Monday to inform me that for health reasons, he will not run for reelection at our Full Board Meeting Monday December 1, at 6:00. I had previously announced I would not run for a third term as Vice-Chairman. These two Chairmanship office positions will be determined next Monday evening. I understand Bob Baietto, a Republican and Tom O’Neill, a Democrat are interested in the Chairman’s position. While the VC is often considered merely a title, I did conduct four full board county meetings and four Executive Meetings. The VC is automatically a member of the Executive Committee.

Merle has more details here.

All Blog Peoria sites — including Peoria Pundit — will be down for emergency maintenance tonight. The “window” will be from midnight tonight to 6 a.m. Central time. The emergency notification I just received states that “no one customer” will be down for longer than 30 minutes. The downtime is required to fix the issues that kept knocking this site and others down last week.

You can read the letter below:

Read more »

The Schaumberg Freedom Coalition explains itself:

The Schaumburg Freedom Coalition is a group of concerned citizens who are keeping tabs on the government of the Village of Schaumburg to ensure that the people’s rights are protected from overreaching government. We focus on issues such as corporate welfare, tax policy, government transparency and eminent domain abuse.

And their “blog” is organized like a news organization Website. And the reporting on freedom-related issues is top notch, including this piece that provides evidence against the benefits of stop-light cameras.

And kudos to PioneerLocal.com’s Blog Buzz for alerting me to this new site. Amazing … a newspaper Website that routinely informs readers of new and interesting citizen journalism.

Cross posted to The American Guesser.