This morning at 8 AM, candidates could come to city hall, petitions in hand to announce their official candidacy. Those that did not come today have until December 26 to submit petitions.
Mayor Scott Harl and Mike Hart brought their petitions in at 8AM for the office of Mayor of Peru.
This morning Tony Ferrari came in at 8 AM and later Becky Mueller came in with a petition for First Ward alderman. They will both be automatically elected unless someone else should come in out of the blue by 12/26.
Second Ward brought current alderman Sherry Mayszak, Mike Radtke and Megan Keeney in at 8 AM
Third Ward, Mike Sapienza came with his petition at 8 AM. Ald. Ankiewicz came in later.
Fourth Ward, Ald. Jim Lukosus and Steve Weberski brought their petitions in at 8 AM.
For the 1st, 2nd, and 4 th ward and mayoral contests there will be a lotto drawing to determine placement on the ballot.
In a conversation with a friend this morning, I thought wouldn't it have been interesting to have former Mayor Baker on the ballot running for alderman in the First Ward. With his experience, I believe he would have been a shoo in and it would have been interesting how the members would have aligned themselves no matter who was mayor.
61 comments:
Isn't alderman Radke in a win-win situation? Isn't it true that he would remain an alderman even if he loses the election? Why then would he run against a fellow alderman? Doesn't seem ethical to me. How do you feel?
12:55 pm
Initially Ald. Radtke said he would not run against his fellow alderman but... we have found out that Mike mostly supports Mayor Harl with decisions and when Alderman Mayszak began to assert her independence and showed that she could think and decide for herself and could not be told how to think, it appears that the First Ward alderman might have been encouraged to run against her and try to remove her from the council. Yes win or lose, he retains his seat, losing he has a seat for 2 more years, winning gives him 4 but in the at large position, he would then be forced to run against Ald. Perez.
Not directly related to this post, but I got a chuckle out of the article in the Trib where Harl is taking credit for the Trader Joe project proposal that his minions first read about on this BLOG. No need to thank the citizens who contacted Trader Joe's long before Harls revelation and pitch. I would just be happy to see it come to the Jewel location. Vickrey, just keep reading, we will be sure to update you on the other ideas and proposals we have been working on for the new City Manager. If they work out, you can put them in your next campaign brochures.
We are volunteers, just like you. Only we don't need to get paid, or have our name in the paper. You should try it.
That sounds about right! The boys are trying to put the boot to anyone who's not hanging from the Harl puppet strings. They originally had the Keeney put up against Mayszak and decided not to take the chance of Mayszak beating Keeney so They decided to double team Mayszak figuring votes would be stripped from her going to either Radke or Keeney. I don't think that plots going to work. Mayszak will beat both of them. Wasn't there a 3rd person running in the 1st. and 4th ward? Ferrari needs to GO!!
We agree 3:19 Ferrari does need to go. Will someone please, please get a petition on line and run for lst ward alderman???
Why do we need another place to eat and drink? Harl, Bring in some factories!!! Lets make money not have another place to empty our pockets, you do that enough.
6:18 Trader Joes is a specialty super market that would bring in visitors from all of central Illinois, not an eating and drinking place. The comment above was that Harl jumped on the bandwagon once he found out via this blog that area residents had already been petitioning for the chain to consider placing an outlet here. There was no mention of that in the article LOL. It was brought up on the blog a few weeks ago when talking about the uses for the KMART building.
We have been trying to get them here since Jewel closed, he is just trying to take credit if it works out. I actually am encouraged by his efforts, if it gets them to come here great. Not everyone needs their picture in the paper. Let him close the deal.
It would bring about the same number of jobs that Aldi provides, but has a tourist draw (opposite of leakage) that would put the concerts to shame- with much less risk of impaired drivers and property damage. It would be a great upscale addition to the area.
I guess this is just one more example of how this blog has ZERO influence on policy. Right , no influence at all.
I would not hold your breath waiting for a TJ's. This area has much to do before attracting a store like that. From a retail industry trade journal: “The target audience that Trader Joes wants to attract are people who are well-educated, well-traveled and appreciate good value who live in densely populated high-income (affluent) areas with homes valued in the $500,000+ range.”
According to the article in Mon's paper, Harl discovered Trader Joe's while on vacation. That's how the Ambassador brought pickleball to Peru. Looks like "the connected" have to go away & then return with ideas.
Personally, I wish they'd just go away.
Just heard Jim Giordano is definitely throwing his hat into the ring for the mayor's race. I wonder if Baker will run now. I like Lois' idea of him running for 1st ward alderman. It's shaping up to be an interesting April election in all positions!
8:20 Wasn't it in paper a while ago that Mayor Harl stated that he was out of the country and was in conversation with a mayor or someone in that country and got the idea about performing marriage ceremonies and brought it up at council meeting? I can't remember exactly. Dementia setting in.
5:37 That pretty much summed up the TJ middle managers response to me, although he was more tactful. But the Destination store had some appeal, as well as our liquor tax figures. They focus on wines primarily, but we have very high liquor consumption here and from an insider there, that accounts for much of their profit in the higher profitability stores.
It would be a first for them, and would maybe require a city incentive.
With the present trend of added interest would political efficiency in Peru be increased if the city had a primary any time more than two candidates are running for the same office.
Presently there could be at least four running for Mayor. In 1961 there were six candidates for Mayor. The number of candidates at times has a definite determination on the choice of the winning candidate. Very similar to stacking the deck.
Trader Joes is much loved where I live and always, always busy and people do drive many miles to shop there........it would be wonderful if they are interested and would provide a lot of good jobs, hopefully they would be warmly welcomed if this should happen
Our thoughts and prayers should go out to the community, families, children, school faculty and first responders in Newtown, Conneticut. God bless them in their time of sorrow.
I agree that a destination store must be on the target list and the City should be doing everything to attract one... it could be Tradder Joe's but it could be one of the others like Cabela's or Bass Pro Shop. We should understand what they need and demonstrate a plan to meet those needs.
Second that 6:17
Makes many of these issues seem a little less important now. Hopefully will remind all of us to come together and build a better future for our little ones.
Target is a destination store and I predict they may leave in 2013 unfortunately.
7:59. What are you basing that prediction on? Do you have inside knowledge or is it merely a guess?
Is Trader Joe's a subsidiary of Aldi?
Trader Joes is a subsidiary of Aldi. And 8:39 , it is an insiders fear, not knowledge.
To those of you who are fantasizing that Trader Joe's would seriously consider locating a store in Peru....Please snap out of it! Their target market is not here and in fact not within 50 miles of here.
To the person or persons who are fantasizing that they have had any impact or influence on anyone at the Trader Joe's corporate level....Please snap out of it!
If you want to be an activist run for public office. Corporate America simply dismisses you as a bunch of "kooks". And they are right in doing so.
To those same people who continue to fantasize that this blog has any meaningful impact on public policy in Peru....Please continue with your self-serving rants and un-qualified commentary as we continue to find it all quite entertaining.
Although, it is a bit sad that eventually you will all be forced to accept this one very unhappy realization.
Turns out you really are just as insignificant and unimportant as you always feared you were.
Have a good day everybody!
Please continue with your self-serving rants and un-qualified commentary as we continue to find it all quite entertaining.
Although, it is a bit sad that eventually you will all be forced to accept this one very unhappy realization.
Turns out you really are just as insignificant and unimportant as you always feared you were.
___________________________________
Thank you for your opinion and I do notice that you do not have the courage to attach your name to your post. In that case since you say you are speaking for "we", I will assume you are connected to the Peru city government in some way. I will certainly encourage all readers to come to their own conclusions as I already have.
8:42 please review the posts above. They pointed out, correctly I might add, that the Mayor magically started a Trader Joe push AFTER it was mentioned on this blog. It was after others in the area had contacted Trader Joes and been told it was unlikely they would come here.
Perhaps it was coincidence, but of all the stores why that particular one.
The level of embarrassment of the members of the government, if they are capable of it, will only increase as the election nears. Unlike you, I will find no entertainment in it.
If you want to be an activist , run for public office., by 8:42.
Think about that attitude. You hate activists, period. Maybe we would be better off if only the people in office were allowed to speak, even vote for that matter. They are , after all, the only ones who do anything or should be allowed to comment on their government.
You would do very well in a dictatorship. Please move to one. I'll help you pack.
There was an article in the paper on the mayor and the trader joes. I believe and correct me if I am wrong, but it stated that the mayor was on vacation and there was a store in that city. He questioned the mayor and was told to send out post cards to residents and get feedback whether they would like a store in Peru.
Who do you mean by He questioned the mayor? Who do you mean by He?
8:42 Seems to me that you have quite a pompous attitude which leads me to believe that you could possibly be a member of Peru's government. As far as Trader Joe's goes if they feel that Peru is not good enough for them why would we want one here?
Mayor Harl questioned the mayor of the city he was visiting. Sorry about the confusion.
It just seems amazing that of all the stores in the world, the Mayor noticed and asked about Trader Joes. The very same store that others had inquired about and long before his inquiry.
I am sure those Mayors will keep their stories straight lol. Seems a bit silly, and no one of us meaningless, no talent, loser citizens ever said that Trader Joes had responded positively. We said we thought it would be great and asked about it.
The only thing I can agree on with 8:42 is that it is a long shot. And I don't care who started it, if Harl can bag it and close the deal it would be good for the Valley. That is all that matters.
Does Trader Joe's take the LINK card or feature video gaming ? Their attractiveness to most people is otherwise able to be found in the aisles of our present grocers. Perhaps it's the designer label on the products that appeals to the elitists. I've been to a Trader Joe's and was totally unimpressed.
I have not been to a Trader Joes so I have no comparison but we go to Peoria more often than we do toward Chicago and I definitely enjoy going to the Fresh Market store especially the meat, produce and specialty items. Anyone that has been to both stores, are they similar or not?
It does seem like it could be a good central location, folks could come from Quad Cities,, Bloomington, etc. I know folks from Eastern Iowa that drive to Des Moines. Great for those of us who don't cook much as well, good party snacks, ready made meals, and of course reasonably priced good selection of wine, cheeses, etc.
Both Bloomington and Peoria have the Fresh Market Stores and if I lived in the Quad Cities, I would be going to Iowa City where there is a store called the Pioneeer Co Op with 2 stores with great meat, produce, and make their own bread and draw from the farmers of the area for fresh and organic stuff. Any store that comes here would have to depend upon the multitude of small communities maybe including Ottawa and Streator.
Trader Joes features many generic high end foods , similar to those found at places like Whole Foods at excellent prices, as well as many excellent wine choices at lower prices. They would be complimentary to local grocery stores, not damaging their business that much and drawing visitors.
I imagine by elitist around here you mean good spellers and people who graduated high school. If want more link card outlets, tattoo parlors, cheap smokes, and video gambling you might want to check into moving to South Carolina.
Occasionally I shop in Joliet, Oswego, Aurora now. However about 15-17 years ago (before super Wal-mart) my family would often go to Joliet (Larkin Ave.) and shop at super-Wal-Mart, SAMs Club. At the corner of Larkin and Jefferson Street in Joliet there was a store called Del-Ray Foods, known for fresh foods. Along the same line as Trader Joes. GUESS WHAT? It stayed in business for maybe five+years. Then went out of business! This was Joliet! Look at populations of surrounding towns and cities. I find it hard to believe that Trader Joes would take a leap of faith in Peru. It will be years before we will see population growth in this area or even in the remainder of my life time. Honestly, what does Peru have to offer families? No jobs, no park district, no outdoor pool. Good Schools. Is about it. Oh yeh, Peru has a beautiful city hall, lots of bars, couple of ok restaurants. Just read the paper of people who get married, grew up in L-P area, take note in whereas so many of them live and work. OUT-of-town!! This should tell us something. Sad to say, but true and my opinion.
Trader Joes would hire part time employees, no benefits. Therefore those employees would qualify for food Illinois food assistance program known as Link Card. Not at all pertaining to their work ethic but circumstances of wages and benefits they don't receive. Don't knock Link card recepients who work hard. Not all have zillion of
Kids and sit on their butts all day. You could be in a
Situation someday where you need help! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Aldi would see a drop in sales revenue if Trader Joes came to Peru.
I have to disagree that alot of people come
To Peru from Bloomington and the Quad Cities to shop. Both those have great malls, come to Peru mall? I don't
think so! Really?? Peru gets people from the surrounding small towns that have nothing. I personally know several people in Bloomington and the Quad Cities and they never come to Peru to shop. That's tooooo funny. Peoria people don't come to Peru either!
Put a casino on the Illinois river(south side), right between 251 and 351. Now, that would create jobs, tax revenue.
10:30 AM
You are right but the problem is that we don't have people running this city that see the same thing that you and I do. Along with the weddings, you might look at the obits and see where the children of the individual reside.
This is a huge issue but until we get some vision at city hall, things won't change and neither would a Trader Joes make a difference. Every time we drive down 251 and I glance over at the empty Jewel building,in fact it is almost an entire empty strip mall because CVS is the lonely occupant and some loan place in the end building, it seems to be a symbol of what is happening. City hall is concentrating "up north" while the rest slides downward "down south"
Aldi and Trader Joes are always in close proximity. They are complimentary stores, Aldi is about 30 percent less than traditional grocery stores prices, Trader Joes is 30% less than Whole Foods and other organic food stores.
They both have the same model, just target different products, Trader Joes is more selective in placements and growth because they appeal more to higher income people. But many shoppers find they can get many things there of very high quality for very low prices.
There is enough base, just look at the organic And specialty sections at Walmart and HYVEE. Trader Joes just makes those things affordable for average incomes.
Even in the burbs, few shoppers do their weekly grocery shopping solely at a Trader Joes.
There are enough households with target incomes within the 90 mile radius, but within 30 mile radius it does not cut it, yet. However , alcohol consumption per capita is very high here, which makes the store potentially very profitable. I think it would be Rudys that would take the biggest hit, and possibly HyVees. If enough people want it and Peru gives it a break of some kind (used to be low electric, but sounds like not anymore) I think it could work.
I agree with you Lois that Peru is concentrating their efforts "up north" but I believe way up north like Eakas. I still cannot understand why we are spending so much money on that expansion project and yet we seem to ignore those businesses along Venture drive. To me, those businesses are the backbone of our community and yet we refuse to make a simple change to accommodate them.
Now that would put Peru on the map 11:12, unlike the so called Charity Concerts that was said to put Peru on the map.
It amazes me that because of advertising people think "organic". is better and healthier for one to eat. People have bought into this without really investigating it. Several months ago I was watching a tv special on this subject. And If I remember correctly, the public has been fooled and their pocketbook is lighter to buy organic. Do people live longer because they eat organic food? It's called healthy eating habits. A banana is a banana. A carrot is a carrot. A tomato is a tomato. A potato is a potato, a cucumber is a
Cucumber. Clean and wash your vegetables and fruits from Aldi, and save money!
I can't imagine any franchise or big box store. etc.. ever being interested in the abandoned eagle/jewel store. That's a dead corner. Look at the 4 way stop by Heartland Bank aka Citizens now, imagine the problems if something big went on that property. It would be worse than venture drive with fender benders, and people flipping drivers off as it is already. It wouldn't surprise me if a car dealership went in there. If anything is gonna come to Peru, it will be north on 251. I think growth in businesses in Peru is going to be at a stand still for years. Hope I'm wrong!
2:46 PM
I hope I am wrong but unless a few other small businesses decide to locate in the parking lot of the Peru Market Place, I don't see much more retail business coming to Peru.
We have all learned it is so easy to sit at our computer and go online and order what we want without fighting traffic, bad intersections and the weather. So many offer free shipping and easy returns sometimes locally that it is hard to turn away from. This is especially true when items are not available locally. I think we have also found out that the big box stores we have do not carry the same merchandise that they do in the suburbs or even Bloomington and Peoria. This is one thing I finally realized when Kohls came here to Peru.
The location of the Jewel is very attractive for a small shop like Trader Joes. They are not big. And they do well because of specialty foods and liquor much more than organic foods. Have you ever tried to get in and out of the Trader Joes in the burbs? It is not high volume big box store.
One of the benefits to organic foods is generally that they taste better, much like local produce, both featured in Trader Joes. They are not big organic food pushers, just natural, unique and specialty.
In agreement that all the stores in Peru don't hold a candle to the same ones in the suburbs. Alot of people don't travel outside of this area. JCP is a joke in Peru. Fashion Bug, GONE. Quizno's, GONE, KFC, GONE. The future will be interesting. I find it amazing that so many motels are in the area. I think a megaplex cinema might do well in Peru. Of course a smaller scale then in Joliet. There are cinemas north that have reclining chairs and serve alcohol. Venues that serve alcohol seem to do well in this area. Don't forget the adult bookstore would be perfect at the sight of the closed Off Track Betting. I still have yet gone to Olive Garden, small local eating establishments get my business and will continue to do so.
3:38 PM
You are correct about organic food, even something like potatoes which I would not have considered a big deal until I brought some home from out of town and found out what better tastes like and even the local what they call organic does not compare. I lean toward buying organic when available but have found much of what is locally called and marked organic in the supermarkets is not quite up to what I find elsewhere which is very disappointing.
Organic is a big scam! Wake up people, they ALL use fertilizer for crop production - herbicides for weed control - insecticides for bug control - and fungicides for diseases. Just another way to charge more for the product.
I have been involved with sourcing organic for retail for 15 years and can tell you 7:57 post is an absolute lie. The differences in organic growing and standard farming are clear and available for anyone to see if they bother to research it. It is no scam.
With that said, I believe no claim that it has been proven to be more nutritious or assist in extending life. Many times they just taste better and the farming is more sustainable and less polluting to groundwater and surrounding properties.
Many environmental activists complain that the organic restrictions are not strong enough, but they are there and readily available for your review. Also the list of allowed additives for prepared foods claiming to be organic are also easily researched. Don't believe it because someone on a blog makes a simplistic statement supporting their own rigid belief system. Look it up and make up your own mind.
7:57 AM
There are small farmers that do organic. The big mega farms or agri businesses are not included. You do have to watch for labeling which not all food has and also watch the codes. To be organic requires a 9 to be the first number in the code. And yes they definitely do taste better. I am not trying to convince anyone to eat organic as this is purely a personal choice and a lifestyle choice.
8:46 AM
Thank you for the well written and honest post. Because of the extremely hot summer, I did not get to any farmers this year and I have to say I did not get one tomato with any taste this year from supermarkets. In October we were in Peoria and stopped at the Fresh Market for a few things and got the only tomato that tasted like the ones I remember from my uncles garden and yes it was organic. those of us who have eaten from a local garden know the difference.
Maybe some items that are labeled organic taste better because peoples mindset is the more one pays the better. The show the Doctor (4-5 phd's) discussed this and had both organic and non-organic. Basically the end result was the same. To clean and wash products. There is even a spray to put on fruits and vegetables before rinsing. Take a loaf of whole grain bread, take a loaf of a
whole grain bread labeled "organic.". The
Consumer is being scamed to pay the price for the "organic " . End of story. Kind of like tasting wines and not knowing which one is the $50 one compared to the $15 one. There are so many stupid consumers, I have to laugh.
9:36 AM
Fortunately I have done my homework and made lifestyle decisions and eat organic when possible. I have learned where I can buy good organic and where I can't and mostly I have to go out of town. By the way, I no longer eat bread unless it has no wheat in it or any other product with it in it either. I don't like to pay more for it but mostly these are not big agri business I am buying from. I am not in the business of trying to convince my readers like you to change their lifestyle choices. If you want the pesticides and herbicides with you produce, that is fine with the rest of us.
9:36 How is anyone being scammed because it costs more? Your statements make no logical sense. You are denying truths that people in blind taste tests prefer organic when distance and freshness are identical. Costs are higher due to the differences in yield and pest control methods period, things you say do not even exist.
No one hear is claiming magically life extending properties. Argue with the points here, not your personal issues with hippies or people who make different lifestyle choices.
No one here has called you stupid because you are clearly both prejudiced an uninformed. You feel the need to insult because you apparently are incapable of logical debate and prefer to focus on irrelevant claims.
9:36 Looks like you are the only common sense intelligent person on this subject!
1:03
The difference between an intelligent person and a "common sense" intelligent person? Meaning they think like you, don't use them big words and let you just keep thinking what you always thought?
Common sense is not the same as simple minded mob mentality.
Don't be so hard on yourself!
8:45
Not sure , but was that your childish Pee Wee Herman attempt at a burn...
I know you are but what am I?
It is not that hard to logically debate. You should try it sometime.
I got the last word ---- WORD!
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