“It doesn’t take a majority to win, just a tireless minority that will keep starting brush fires in the mind and hearts of their fellow men.”

Samuel Adams

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Malicious Mischief or Dirty Election Politics






First time in 10 years I have had a political sign removed from our yard. Do you suppose it is because the 3rd ward alderman has opposition that is working the ward and meeting people and telling them about what he would like to work for in this city if elected. Or perhaps he is angry about your blogging posts.

BTW this is the only sign in my yard.

This election was only going to be a watch and let the people decide but  .....

#Peru IL
#elections
#aldermen
#municipalelection

57 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would like a better explanation of this? Is someone taking sign down? Putting one up?

Peru Town Forum said...

The 1st picture as we found the sign after it was thrown into the ravine by someone, the second shows it being taken up from the ravine and the third is that we put it back in our yard.

Anonymous said...

Looks like somebody is very worried about losing! Go Travis Nelson!!!

Anonymous said...

unless you have proof the opposition did this, please stop. this blog is now becoming nag nag nag.....please use the medium to a good cause and help make change...not bitch and moan about whose signs are where and whose cards say what...real change come from real discussion...

Anonymous said...

7:00pm that wont come from W, he isnt open to questions or dialog from public..remember that?

In fact he likes the 9am slot for public works meetings, avoids the real complaints.

Where is city in lawsuit over basement flooding, its evident W ego got in the way of a settlement there....only person going to make money on that deal is attorneys

Anonymous said...

7:00 pm, Alderman Potthoff has put up signs that exceed the size limit as established by the ordinance that he approved. I will not stop moaning and bitching until things in Peru are done fairly. Deal with it!

Anonymous said...

Agreed 7:00. Remember when the blog was not going to be about political candidates? Except for the ones the blog supports.

I'm sure Dave Waldorf went in Lois' yard and threw it in the ravine. This is the same gimmicky crap of Rodney posting about people stealing his signs. election signs sometimes get stolen or vandalized and I know for a fact this has happened with other aldermen and local races. Quit whining, step up and talk about the issues. Stop falsely accusing people of doing something with zero proof. I don't care which side you are on stop with this.

Anonymous said...

@7:00, please read the caption, malicious mischief or......, I appreciate the photos and I do wonder myself. Happy Saint Patrick's Day. How about the mysterious campaign headquarters for a person running for Alderman in Chicago that mysteriously caught fire. HUM, dirty politics possibly.

Peru Town Forum said...

8:40 PM

No one is accusing Waldorf of taking the sign, lots of people are working for each candidate. I have not heard of any other signs disappearing but if I do it will be blogged. Some of this kind of stuff needs to be brought into the light and people should not pretend it is not happening in Peru. If someone had not taken it, this would not be a conversation. This is not a closed session.

Anonymous said...

Amen 7:00

Anonymous said...

maybe it was the wind.

Anonymous said...

8:40 What about the verified proof that alderman Waldorf and alderman Potthoff both disobeyed the sign ordinance and had 2 signs in l yard (including waldorf's own yard).

Anonymous said...

Maybe it was a set-up to stir things up, to me if mischief or underhandedness is occurring they wouldn't single out just this one, you would see many others.

Anonymous said...

Alderman Perez had placed his signs up in December and he claimed he could. Now, Alderman Waldorf placed his signs up and all are outraged!

Anonymous said...

8:50 In case you are unable to understand, no one is complaining about Waldorf putting up signs. It's about how many he supposedly put up in a given area. It's one of those ordinance things that no one pays attention to. You know, one of those things that if you are not a "favored" person, you can get a fine. All the rest are classified as "I didn't see it".

Anonymous said...

I believe that the majority of the alderman act like kids in grade school. Grow up and act accordingly. Stop all of the "mischief" and conduct a good clean race. And may the best man win!

Anonymous said...

Signs. Its bad if people are damaging signs. If they put them up in December, have two on a property? No big deal. Election is right around the corner.

Anonymous said...

Can you have electric ones in your yard? I don't see that addressed in the ordinance. Since we can have them 365 days a year now, I'd like to put up one that is lighted.

Anonymous said...

It is going to get windy tonight. I bet a number of signs go missing after the wind blows through the area.

Anonymous said...

Things will also definitely change in 2017, the next mayoral election. Wonder if any city employees will be dismissed from their job? The thought has crossed my mind in being an avid participant on this forum.

Anonymous said...

Don't be fooled on bar talk people. Vote for Alderman Perez. If you don't it's my opinion things will get worse. If Alderman Perez is your Alderman, call him, ask questions and you will get honest answers. Then ask for a sign for your yard.

Anonymous said...

I want to know if any Alderman would consider sponsoring an ordinance to change all public meetings to Saturday between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM.
I think you would get more people involved. To do this, you would need to make Saturday a workday for the City. But you could easily do this by shutting down on Mondays.

7:30 PM council meetings and committee meetings during civilian working hours tends to limit how much somebody can be involved. That is unless you are retired, self employed, or unemployed.

Anonymous said...

What are the aldermen doing to act like children? This is just more speculation and rumors. Completely ridiculous. No talk of real issues. Just business cards and sign placement. Pretty sad. Waldorf is not intentionally misplacing a sign. He gains nothing by doing so. Let's move on.

Anonymous said...

Lasalle has had its street sweeper cleaning streets since this morning. I drove past it going out of town and again coming back into lasalle on my way to illinois valley foods. Is our vactor truck running today?

Anonymous said...

Are any of the machines running.

1. Fancy Sewer Sucker (do we own it yet? )
2. Street Sweeper
3. Asphalt Machine for potholes

Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in this equipment - yet they are rarely seen.

Peru Town Forum said...

2:17 PM

No street sweeper but the streets sure need to be done. Just came back from walking and I wonder where the street sweeper is today. Would have been a great day to work on getting the town spiffed up a bit.

Anonymous said...

Nah. I'm good 1:01

Anonymous said...

Wonder if it would be a good idea to sweep our street. It is all broken up and in pieces along the edges. Might not be much road left after a good sweep job.

Anonymous said...

Lois if I remember all the things you are looking for Street Sweeper, compost, chipping, park clean-up etc etc, starts April 1, it's been that way since I can remember. I could care less about LaSalle, it was that date to get the equipment out of storage and maintenanced, just because we have a nice day here and there doesn't mean we should change the schedule to your liking.

Anonymous said...

2:07 PM signs and business cards may seem trivial to you, but it speaks of the character of the aldermen. Illegal sign size and placement and an attitude of I can do what I want no matter the rules - that is the character of a man I do not want representing me.

Anonymous said...

4:05 so what about Rodney? Why don't you talk about his sign size? The bottom line is people are responsible for their own signs in their yard. Dave W did not do anything unethical with his signs at all but if you didn't know better a person would come here and think he was committing crimes and stealing them. That's exactly what some people want people to think. It's ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

Street sweeper? We should NOT have it out until we KNOW winter is over! Since when did LaSalle become the standard bearer for what is smart. Don't you realize how crazy most people think these types of comments are?

Peru Town Forum said...

4:44 PM

Don't you remember the heavy snowfalls we have had in April and snow even in May. One year it was April 1 and then another a week later and I am talking huge snowfalls. So when should we designate winter as being over. Maybe June 1. La Salle evidently has a different schedule and there is no need to compare Peru to La Salle.

Anonymous said...

Street sweepers can operate in the winter. Just need to be sure it is above freezing if you are using the water. The machine doesn't give a hoot in holler what the calendar says.

Anonymous said...

The point I believe is waiting until the dirt of winter is over. No magic day. Just good common sense. It doesn't need to me out yet.

Lois as far as comparing Peru to LaSalle that is what you do. You want Peru to be LaSalle. Or Ottawa. Or Streator. Nothing against those towns but how we do things is not necessarily the wrong way. As for me I like our town and the direction we are moving. Our community is bigger than a few politicians.

Peru Town Forum said...

5:58 PM

There are many people who suggest that Peru become more involved as a community and we try to nudge them forward by showing cities than can do both, run an effective city government and to be a part of the community and encourage community activities and involvement. I am not alone in this but the government is becoming more and more closed and wants the citizenry to get out of their way and don't ask questions. This election is proving that point.
We ask people to run for office and then seated aldermen work against them when they do. A sure way to keep this city the way the same group wants it.

Anonymous said...

I didn't hear anything on the radio about Peru hiring any summer help and which positions they are hiring for and where applications can be picked up. But, last week Olgesby advertised this on the radio. Are we secretive who gets jobs, and how they can be applied for? Just another excuse for our streets not being cleaned when WEATHER DOES PERMIT, BY BLOGGER SAYING WAIT UNTIL WINTER IS OVER. Sounds like a lack of supervisory skills.

Anonymous said...

It is my opinion that the kids that are going to be hired this summer are already juiced in. Why waste money on advertising?

Anonymous said...

7:22, I checked withe the clerks office. They don't start taking applications until this month, and will start hiring in late April early May, as far as summer help.

Anonymous said...

Anon 1:01, met Mr. Payton last night, never knew him. I can tell you I'm impressed, he is not the puppet of the mayor some of you people believe, he has great ideas, knows what he wants for the city and what direction to take it. I'm not his campaign manager as some of you will blog, I'm a citizen in the second ward looking for someone with the intelligence and business experience to take the city to the next level. I'm willing to bet everyone who knocks this guy has never met him and asked the hard questions.

Anonymous said...

4:42 what about Rodney's signs? They are all legal in size and one per yard. Dave Waldorf and Dave Potthoff are both using illegal tactics with their signs and they know it and won't do anything to change it. Both Daves need to go! Can't wait till April 7. Bye, bye, bye!!

Anonymous said...

This is 1:01. Why direct your blog towards my comment? The first sentence of my blog was just a statement, meaning get to know the candidates and ask questions. I don't personally know Mr. Payton and my blog was not derogatory towards anyone. ALDERMAN PEREZ IS DOING A FANTASTIC JOB. Curious as to why you directed your blog to mine? Was it the word "bar?"

Anonymous said...

Sorry 8:40, I think Waldorf will win and like man I support him. He does what he thinks is best and does not hide behind anything or anyone. He may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I find his honesty refreshing.

As for Potthoff who is beating him? and on what basis do you think he should be beat? I love how so many people lump all of the alderman together except for one. This just shows how clueless you truly are. Potthoff is an outstanding alderman.

Peru Town Forum said...

8:45 PM

I searched thru the posts and don't see where I made a comment toward your post but I did comment to 8:01 PM.

If I missed something I apologize.
Your post did not need my reply but I see that someone else did reply to you re: T. Payton.

Lois said...

9:29 PM

Mr Waldorf does not answer questions publicly ever and he constantly reminds us NO QUESTIONS, ONLY COMMENTS. How can I possibly know what his reasons are or how honest he really is.

Anonymous said...

@8:18 are you really going to meet someone in one night who is campaigning that you never met before and be sold he is your answer for Peru? If so you are the reason Peru is in the shape we are in. Too many uneducated voters.what bar do you frequent I'd like to stop in and tell you about a condo over looking the ocean in Scottsdale Az. that I have for sale. If you don't think that Tom guy isn't Harl and Clubs wing man then I may have two condos for the price of one for you.

Anonymous said...

A10:03 PM As any evaluator will inform you if something is consistent rather than here and there it is easier to understand.
Your comment is very inconsistent and so is the reasoning that you use to support it.
Mr. Payton, whom you refer to as "that Tom guy", is a very kind person with characteristics and qualifications that would enable him to be a outstanding councilman.
I do hope that neither Mr. Travis Nelson or Mr. Tom Payton do not have the misfortune of meeting people with tunnel vision such as yourself. For years the interest in Peru politics was such that only one person per ward run which was normally the incumbent. Finally since Mayor Harl has become Peru's CEO there has been a increase in interest and the number of candidates running. This is a positive for Peru as would be if you were to move to your condo overlooking the ocean in Scottsdale Az. rather than selling it.

Anonymous said...

11:56. You crack me up! The reason more people are interested in Peru politics since Harl got in is because we sit back and see what is happening with our mayor and council and can't wait to vote them OUT!

Anonymous said...

7:33 your comment makes no sense whatsoever.

I liked what Mr. Payton had to say in the NewsTribune. I don't care about family fun days, or at least I don't need an alderman organizing them. I want good common business sense.

Anonymous said...

11:38 Then apparently you don't care about kids, families, and community involvement in your government. How boring and typical! Look at our surrounding towns and see the activities they have continually for young and old alike. And, their administrators not only approve but participate. Novel idea isn't it??

Anonymous said...

This is 7:33 and it makes perfect sense to me.

Anonymous said...

@ 7:33 AM To claim that we (you and others) can't wait to vote Mayor Harl and council members out.

The number of terms each has been in office:
Mayor Harl - 2 terms
Alderman Potthoff - 6 terms
Alderman Ferrari - 2 terms
Alderman Waldorf - 2 terms
Alderman Perez - 1 term
Alderman Miller - 1 term
Alderman Radtke - 2 terms
Alderman Sapienza 1 term
Alderman Lukosis - 2 terms

Please correct any mistakes in no. of terms. It appears that the voters are not eager to vote anyone out as the majority of incumbents have been reelected at least once.

Anonymous said...

11:38 After reading your comments, I went back and reread the article in the paper. I was wondering if all the papers had the same article. In my copy, I saw nothing that gave me anything to cheer about. Sounded like probably 50,000 other political speeches for office, across the USA. “Tell ‘em what they want to hear.” Maybe there is someplace on the internet where you can copy these speeches, and just fill in the blanks with your town’s name. I am sticking with the one with the PROVEN set of Kahunas. The one that I feel will stick to his guns come hell or high water. Someone that you would like backing you up. A person who physically gets out and does things for the town he loves. We need more like him, in this voters opinion.

Anonymous said...

ALDERMAN POTTHOFF IS PUTTING UP ILLEGAL SIGNS IN SEVERAL PLACES AROUND TOWN. WILL HE BE TOLD TO REMOVE THEM AS OTHERS WERE? AND YES, I'M ANGRY BECAUSE HE SHOULD KNOW BETTER. HE WAS A PART OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RULES OF THIS ORDINANCE.

Peru Town Forum said...

3:49 PM

IF they candidates were running city wide against viable opponents you might have a point. But many times they are unopposed or there are 2 many candidates running for 1 position and the vote gets split just like the last mayoral election. Harl did not win because he was well liked, he won because 4 people were running for the same office and 1 of the 4 was a sham put in by somebody but he got just enough votes to screw up the election.

Anonymous said...

It's called stacking the ballot. No different than stacking a team.

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:49 PM There is no such thing as too many candidates running for one position. This shows a area in which there is a lot of political interest. What you are referring to is inefficient election procedures. Wouldn't you love to see 6, 7,8 etc. candidates run for Mayor if Peru had a primary in which the two top vote recipents would run off for Mayor.
The solution is simple getting it enacted is what is next to impossible.