This blog is maintained for the sole purpose of allowing the people of Peru and those interested in the cities of the Illinois Valley to express their views.
“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
A long time Peru resident from a family who has long served this city. Joseph Riordan was a Peru Police Officer and 2 of Tom's brothers have been on the Peru PFD.
32 comments:
Anonymous
said...
It's about time someone takes on the city. Peru is more corrupt than Chicago! I left years ago and all I ever see on Facebook is peru's corruption and greed ! Good luck !
No I don't have the letter he read at the mtg., but more interesting is the letter he got from the city. I wonder if that would be available for a FOIA, should certainly should me. Anyone up for that?
Yes the one releasing him. I don't have permission to post it but it surely could be available through a foia. Some of it would not hold up in a court of law. And was very poorly written.
So, here we go, all the City is corrupt choir is coming out of the wood works to cry he got fired. The fire fighter got exactly what he deserved. He violated the city policies, was warned about it and he choose not to follow the rules. I don't know what happened about the flowers and really don't care. What I am concerned with is this talk about corruption, you all have talked about this before and still no evidence showing any wrong doing. Will we see anything or not, if not stop the accusations.
The city of Peru can make all the policies it wants but if they violate ones Freedom of Speech, they can be declared illegal in a court of law. Evidently you did not read the Fire Law blog post that I recently published. Precedent has already been set. With regard to the greenhouse resident, since when do we allow resident complaints to set policy. The referred fireman is one of many on the PFD, so if she is worried about one volunteer fireman not making it to the scene of her fire, I suggest she be more worried about the entire PFD, because most of the firemen are VOLUNTEERS. What she is doing is denigrating the entire department and trying to blame one fireman. Does every volunteer respond to every fire call?
From the Letter..... "We have also received a complaint from a local business owner expressing fear in that she would not receive appropriate emergency response from the Fire Department based on the extremely negative posts that you have placed on Facebook about her business.....................the City cannot have its residents and business owners lose confidence in the public safety we provide.
Move to LaSalle and you can help with real issues like EPA violations for water treatment. Yes, creating higher standards of waste then legally permitted. Yes, that's big. And what about the drug dog and financial problems without any plan. We could go on and on. You Peruvians that complain about flower plantings and such ridiculous items? Please stop your complaining. Pay your property taxes that are a fraction on mine and be grateful for some professionalism with city business.
You call it professionalism 10:31 when the person running the city basically tells volunteers - we don't want your help only your money so we can plant flowers in a better and more professional manner than you did. There were no "thank you's" to the volunteers. No "good job" to the volunteers who gave of their time to make an improvement in downtown Peru. Instead they were stabbed in the back and basically told their hard work was not professional enough for Peru so instead Peru administration will pay dearly to get the job done.
The precedence has been set by the US Supreme Court. No going back now . Why are emergency responders required to not speak negative about their city because of their magic policy. You can make all the policies you want , but they can't infringe on their rights .
Most employees have specific policies concerning social media. I am sure Peru is no different. What in the world would make anybody getting a paycheck to harp on about how bad the employer is? Sorry to say that a command level is in place for police, military and fire departments. Its a way to make sure public safety work. You don't blast the commanders in public. Freedom of speech while holding a gun protecting others, or providing public safety? Please tell your next employer that its your right to express any negative thoughts in verbal form, written form or social media.
This had to do with the use of taxpayer dollars for a project that could have been done by volunteer workers. Spending mucho bucks versus free is the question. Evidently even the plants could have been purchased for less.
Has there been a raise in the pay scale for the Mayor of Peru position from the last term to the present term? What are the yearly salaries of Bernabei and King? Is Bernabei getting paid for his time with the new dispatcher service?
1:39 More of the same......no wages have been raised for any of the elected of Peru. Same wage for the last 12 years. The dispatcher service is no paying the Chief of Police. Try another avenue.....Peru elected and appointed are making less than any other town. Please add the responsibilities together and you get a great deal for the taxpayers.
Nice excuse and polluted water is meaningless? I don't think Peru has any pending lawsuits! None! I guess if the biggest problem in Peru is flowers then you got it made. Again, you have freedom to move wherever you like and if your that upset about a couple of volunteers putting flowers in planters pots then go to the city meetings and tell them you want to plant whatever.
What's bigger than polluted water, lack of drug protection, highest tax rates? Planters?
Your reply simply shows us that you are not aware how much people who are not liked by the people in political positions are simply ignored by Peru. They will give you an answer that is actually meaningless just so you leave them alone. LaSalle and Peru work together on drug protection plus there is Trident. And NO flowers are not the biggest problem in Peru.
I believe they tried this before and were told they'd lose. So they stopped pursuing the matter. Must be feeling lucky now , or Harl's head is so big from winning with 36% of the vote.
Didn't the 36&% Harl landslide take place in 2013, and the 45% claimed majority vote happen in 2017? Whatever the residents assured themselves another 4 years of super majority voting and closed session informative meetings. Possibly Peru voting populace in the next 4 years will become aware of its honest needs and discontinue voting for a self serving machine?
9:22 What is self-serving meaning? I don't think any of them serving as Elected officials do it for the money? I don't think they have any benefits that would make anyone run for office. I understand that the officials hold 6 meetings a month. Some of the meetings last 2-3 hours. What would make you think that this is a machine? Where do you feel left behind? It isn't Peru's property taxes, they are the lowest in the area. It can't be the utility rates, they are very low and compared to others they are very good. It can't be the flooding, it looks like many of the problems have been taken care of. And, the work looks like it will continue. It can't be security, they have their share of criminals, but it looks like they do a very good job of taking care of the problems. Why such a negative tone? Where were you left behind? Most of us want very little from government. We work hard and care for our family. What do you want? A paycheck? Why this tainted obsession with the local Mayor?
The City Council meets twice a month and there are only 2 committees and they are divided half on one half on the other committee.
So that amounts to 4 committee mtgs per month as they each meet once before each regular city council mtgs and not all the aldermen and other officals attend both of the committee meetings.
At one time the city had many more committes but our mayor was not happy with that because he wanted to attend each and every mtg. So he divided them up into 2 (the Public Service Committee) and the Finance Meeting so now if he wants to be at both it is much easier.
Think what you may, that is how this city is controlled.
Add committee meetings= 4 per month, Council meetings 2 per month add committee of whole meeting 2 per month, add executive meetings for contracts, real estate, negotiations. You may have 10 meetings a month for elected officials. Check with the City Clerk! They attend every meeting.
Take a look at the agendas for the public works and finance committees. They tell you nothing so, if you want to find out if something that you might be interested in is going to be discussed, you need to attend all meetings. The public works agendas used to be very detailed and informative but now it's almost like they don't want people to know what they will be discussing or attending their meetings.
Two city council meetings per month lasting 30 to 60 minutes. Possibly two committee of a whole meetings for about 1/2 hour.
Finance committee twice a month with usually about 4 aldermen attending for 30 to 60 min. twice a month.
Public Works committee twice a month with the same time allowance.
Since when do all the other meetings involve aldermen and for what reason. executive meetings are closed sessions and they would occur after the reg. council and last anywhere from 10 minutes etc. to and up to an hour. Our elected officials are not overworked.
I don't think anybody said that public officials are overworked. Your criticism was calling the city self-centered not overworked. What I care about is what is accomplished and with Peru's record of low tax rates, low utility rates, infrastructure improvements and they say a balanced budget it looks like a effective representation.
I'm sure others will have more specifics but it has been known for many many years that yes they have a meeting after city is hall is closed and locked and they head off to another establishment. I don't which one it is now. At one time it was Mike's Bar on Rte 6 but that one is no longer in business.
12:48 May 24th You cannot be serious. You cannot possibly believe a meeting would last until midnight! It's people like you who add spice to this blog (or stupidity). Which one is it?
Ahhhh yes, the official council meeting at a local establishment. Those have been known to last all night. They're even heading out of town now to stay covert ! Alot of drinking and driving going on.
Mrs. Politician when you smell your husbands breath that stale odor isn't mouthwash back to back with orange soda. I've been in bars and drank with them after meetings. you talk about binge drinkers these boys mean business with a glass of alcohol in hand especially when someone else is buying.
In a response to the number of meetings a month. Let's say 10 I asked my Alderman how much he made per month. After tax 394.00 per month. 39.40 per meeting and they have to deal with some hurt feelings about planters, on top of all the other things they get calls on. I wouldn't want those volunteers if they just bashed me for months on end about being a crook. They are not liked so what. The fire Fighter got what he deserved. If I did that at my place of employment and we are pretty liberal I would be FIRED period.
32 comments:
It's about time someone takes on the city. Peru is more corrupt than Chicago! I left years ago and all I ever see on Facebook is peru's corruption and greed ! Good luck !
Lois do you have the whole letter ? I heard he skipped some because of the time rule . Would like to see it all.
No I don't have the letter he read at the mtg., but more interesting is the letter he got from the city. I wonder if that would be available for a FOIA, should certainly should me. Anyone up for that?
Peru Town Forum Blog: Do you mean the letter dismissing him from his duties as a fireman or did he get one after he read his at the council meeting?
Yes the one releasing him. I don't have permission to post it but it surely could be available through a foia. Some of it would not hold up in a court of law. And was very poorly written.
So, here we go, all the City is corrupt choir is coming out of the wood works to cry he got fired.
The fire fighter got exactly what he deserved. He violated the city policies, was warned about it and he choose not to follow the rules. I don't know what happened about the flowers and really don't care.
What I am concerned with is this talk about corruption, you all have talked about this before and still no evidence showing any wrong doing.
Will we see anything or not, if not stop the accusations.
9:11 AM
The city of Peru can make all the policies it wants but if they violate ones Freedom of Speech, they can be declared illegal in a court of law. Evidently you did not read the Fire Law blog post that I recently published. Precedent has already been set.
With regard to the greenhouse resident, since when do we allow resident complaints to set policy. The referred fireman is one of many on the PFD, so if she is worried about one volunteer fireman not making it to the scene of her fire, I suggest she be more worried about the entire PFD, because most of the firemen are VOLUNTEERS. What she is doing is denigrating the entire department and trying to blame one fireman. Does every volunteer respond to every fire call?
From the Letter.....
"We have also received a complaint from a local business owner expressing fear in that she would not receive appropriate emergency response from the Fire Department based on the extremely negative posts that you have placed on Facebook about her business.....................the City cannot have its residents and business owners lose confidence in the public safety we provide.
Suggestion.
Move to LaSalle and you can help with real issues like EPA violations for water treatment. Yes, creating higher standards of waste then legally permitted. Yes, that's big. And what about the drug dog and financial problems without any plan. We could go on and on. You Peruvians that complain about flower plantings and such ridiculous items? Please stop your complaining. Pay your property taxes that are a fraction on mine and be grateful for some professionalism with city business.
You call it professionalism 10:31 when the person running the city basically tells volunteers - we don't want your help only your money so we can plant flowers in a better and more professional manner than you did. There were no "thank you's" to the volunteers. No "good job" to the volunteers who gave of their time to make an improvement in downtown Peru. Instead they were stabbed in the back and basically told their hard work was not professional enough for Peru so instead Peru administration will pay dearly to get the job done.
The precedence has been set by the US Supreme Court. No going back now . Why are emergency responders required to not speak negative about their city because of their magic policy. You can make all the policies you want , but they can't infringe on their rights .
Most employees have specific policies concerning social media. I am sure Peru is no different. What in the world would make anybody getting a paycheck to harp on about how bad the employer is? Sorry to say that a command level is in place for police, military and fire departments. Its a way to make sure public safety work. You don't blast the commanders in public. Freedom of speech while holding a gun protecting others, or providing public safety? Please tell your next employer that its your right to express any negative thoughts in verbal form, written form or social media.
10:13 AM
Your post prompted me to recheck the NT article from the AM and the waste water problem you refer to was from 2013-2015 and has been settled.
Now my question to you, is do you really believe Peru has had no issues with the EPA ? Do you believe Peru has never been sued for anything?
ALL cities have issues and all cities have lawsuits against them. How about the long standing law suit City of Peru vs Dimmick Twp? Cost?
It is all about the what after that matters. Were the problems solved? Did the city in question deliberately and on purpose cause the problem?
Regarding the planters, yes they are a waste of taxpayer money. Unless the Mayor found the Money Tree and forgot to tell us about the "find".
12:24 PM
This had to do with the use of taxpayer dollars for a project that could have been done by volunteer workers. Spending mucho bucks versus free is the question. Evidently even the plants could have been purchased for less.
Has there been a raise in the pay scale for the Mayor of Peru position from the last term to the present term? What are the yearly salaries of Bernabei and King? Is Bernabei getting paid for his time with the new dispatcher service?
1:39 More of the same......no wages have been raised for any of the elected of Peru. Same wage for the last 12 years.
The dispatcher service is no paying the Chief of Police.
Try another avenue.....Peru elected and appointed are making less than any other town. Please add the responsibilities together and you get a great deal for the taxpayers.
12:28
Nice excuse and polluted water is meaningless? I don't think Peru has any pending lawsuits! None! I guess if the biggest problem in Peru is flowers then you got it made. Again, you have freedom to move wherever you like and if your that upset about a couple of volunteers putting flowers in planters pots then go to the city meetings and tell them you want to plant whatever.
What's bigger than polluted water, lack of drug protection, highest tax rates? Planters?
7:54 AM
Your reply simply shows us that you are not aware how much people who are not liked by the people in political positions are simply ignored by Peru. They will give you an answer that is actually meaningless just so you leave them alone. LaSalle and Peru work together on drug protection plus there is Trident.
And NO flowers are not the biggest problem in Peru.
I believe they tried this before and were told they'd lose. So they stopped pursuing the matter. Must be feeling lucky now , or Harl's head is so big from winning with 36% of the vote.
Didn't the 36&% Harl landslide take place in 2013, and the 45% claimed majority vote happen in 2017? Whatever the residents assured themselves another 4 years of super majority voting and closed session informative meetings.
Possibly Peru voting populace in the next 4 years will become aware of its honest needs and discontinue voting for a self serving machine?
9:22 What is self-serving meaning? I don't think any of them serving as Elected officials do it for the money? I don't think they have any benefits that would make anyone run for office. I understand that the officials hold 6 meetings a month. Some of the meetings last 2-3 hours. What would make you think that this is a machine? Where do you feel left behind? It isn't Peru's property taxes, they are the lowest in the area. It can't be the utility rates, they are very low and compared to others they are very good. It can't be the flooding, it looks like many of the problems have been taken care of. And, the work looks like it will continue. It can't be security, they have their share of criminals, but it looks like they do a very good job of taking care of the problems.
Why such a negative tone? Where were you left behind? Most of us want very little from government. We work hard and care for our family. What do you want? A paycheck? Why this tainted obsession with the local Mayor?
12:17 PM
The City Council meets twice a month and there are only 2 committees and they are divided half on one half on the other committee.
So that amounts to 4 committee mtgs per month as they each meet once before each regular city council mtgs and not all the aldermen and other officals attend both of the committee meetings.
At one time the city had many more committes but our mayor was not happy with that because he wanted to attend each and every mtg. So he divided them up into 2 (the Public Service Committee) and the Finance Meeting so now if he wants to be at both it is much easier.
Think what you may, that is how this city is controlled.
12:17 PM
The meetings last anywhere from maybe 30 minutes to one hour at the most.
Add committee meetings= 4 per month, Council meetings 2 per month add committee of whole meeting 2 per month, add executive meetings for contracts, real estate, negotiations. You may have 10 meetings a month for elected officials. Check with the City Clerk! They attend every meeting.
Take a look at the agendas for the public works and finance committees. They tell you nothing so, if you want to find out if something that you might be interested in is going to be discussed, you need to attend all meetings. The public works agendas used to be very detailed and informative but now it's almost like they don't want people to know what they will be discussing or attending their meetings.
Two city council meetings per month lasting 30 to 60 minutes.
Possibly two committee of a whole meetings for about 1/2 hour.
Finance committee twice a month with usually about 4 aldermen attending for 30 to 60 min. twice a month.
Public Works committee twice a month with the same time allowance.
Since when do all the other meetings involve aldermen and for what reason. executive meetings are closed sessions and they would occur after the reg. council and last anywhere from 10 minutes etc. to and up to an hour. Our elected officials are not overworked.
I don't think anybody said that public officials are overworked. Your criticism was calling the city self-centered not overworked. What I care about is what is accomplished and with Peru's record of low tax rates, low utility rates, infrastructure improvements and they say a balanced budget it looks like a effective representation.
That's funny! My husband doesn't get home until midnight or later when he goes to the city meetings. And you say they only last a few minutes?
I'm sure others will have more specifics but it has been known for many many years that yes they have a meeting after city is hall is closed and locked and they head off to another establishment. I don't which one it is now. At one time it was Mike's Bar on Rte 6 but that one is no longer in business.
12:48 May 24th You cannot be serious. You cannot possibly believe a meeting would last until midnight! It's people like you who add spice to this blog (or stupidity). Which one is it?
Ahhhh yes, the official council meeting at a local establishment. Those have been known to last all night. They're even heading out of town now to stay covert ! Alot of drinking and driving going on.
Mrs. Politician when you smell your husbands breath that stale odor isn't mouthwash back to back with orange soda. I've been in bars and drank with them after meetings. you talk about binge drinkers these boys mean business with a glass of alcohol in hand especially when someone else is buying.
In a response to the number of meetings a month.
Let's say 10 I asked my Alderman how much he made per month. After tax 394.00 per month. 39.40 per meeting and they have to deal with some hurt feelings about planters, on top of all the other things they get calls on.
I wouldn't want those volunteers if they just bashed me for months on end about being a crook. They are not liked so what.
The fire Fighter got what he deserved. If I did that at my place of employment and we are pretty liberal I would be FIRED period.
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