Would You Believe Another Water Main Break??

Photos were taken about 7:30PM and this was several hours after the break was discovered.

Why Do We Call Council Members Alder man/woman?

Definition of ALDERMAN

1 : a person governing a kingdom, district, or shire as viceroy for an Anglo-Saxon king

2 a : a magistrate formerly ranking next below the mayor in an English or Irish city or borough b : a high-ranking member of a borough or county council in Ireland or formerly in England chosen by elected members

: a member of a city legislative body — al·der·man·ic \ˌȯl-dər-ˈma-nik\ adjective

Definition of COUNCILMAN>br> : a member of a council (as of a town or city) — coun·cil·man·ic \ˌkau̇n(t)-səl-ˈma-nik\ adjective

We are governed by a mayor and city council and I like the sound of calling them councilman or councilwoman instead of alderman and alderwoman. The term of alder is very old and women at that time were not serving in any type of government. We are now in the 21st century and maybe it is time to modernize what we call our council members. Any thoughts on this.

News Tribune Election Guide or Not

When I received todays newspaper, I scanned through it as usual and came across a heading titled Election Guide and a large picture of a pinback button VOTE.

A brief glance told me that the so called Election Guide was not exactly that because I immediately noticed that some of the candidates were not listed. Looked over it several times, trying to figure out what the problem was. Then I noticed a small paragraph stating that their election guide was only a section of political paid advertising.

Excuse me News Tribune if you are going to publish something in your paper and call it an election guide, it should be exactly that and not just the candidates that were willing to pay for it. Tacky to say the least.

Before the election I hope you will publish a complete unpaid for information section of ALL candidates in the towns you service. This was definitely a sham and misleading.

Fact Check Peru Street and Alley Committee

Committee meetings are all to be posted prior to the actual meeting and to be public.

It has come to my attention that the Street and Alley Committee has not recorded the minutes of any meeting held this year and that would be in violation of the open meetings act if they were holding non public meetings. See below.
"Meeting" is defined as "any gathering of a majority of a quorum of the members of a public body held for the purpose of discussing public business.

"Public notice of any special meeting except a meeting held in the event of a bona fide emergency, or of any rescheduled regular meeting, or of any reconvened meeting, shall be given at least 48 hours before such meeting, which notice shall also include the agenda for the * * * meeting." 5 ILCS 120/2.02(a).

The above quotes are excerpts from the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

I have gone through the minutes on the city web site and did not find even one meeting that was held by the Street and Alley Committee this past year. The committee has Dave Waldorf as chairman and members are Jamey Mertel and Tony Ferrari.

Considering that our roads are a vital part of a functioning community and with the condition of our roads it would seem that it might be even more important.

Ald. Waldorf is called upon to give a committee report at each City Council Meeting. If this committee is not meeting where does he get the information to give a report.

Of course this leads to the question where is this committee meeting and not making themselves available to any resident of the city to ask questions. If they are meeting without notice, without keeping minutes and without an agenda also posted, they again would be violating the open meetings act.

I will foia information asking when was the last time that the Street and Alley committee had a meeting. I do realize this is a committee that is not scheduled on a regular basis like Finance. But Sewer and Water and Recreation also meet on an "announced basis" and those committees do have minutes available on the city web site whereas Streets and Alleys have NOTHING.

Is It Time to Dismantle the Peru Swimming Pool and Plant Grass?

This will be the second summer the Peru swimming pool has remained closed and is it time for the city to start the process of demolition? The deterioration has continued through the past 2 seasons and it is looking pretty bad. I wonder if any of the materials are salvageable, like some of the ladders, diving boards or water toys or even the bricks in the building. There are people that like to use old bricks for landscaping. Are you interested in any of the materials or whatever might be remaining? What about the equipment that kept it running?

Potthoff Weberski Stachowiak Ward 4

This was removed at the request of the LaSalle New Tribune as they believe it is an infringement upon their ownership of the article.

Ward 2 Candidate Perez

Ward 2 Candidate Hurst

This was removed at the request of the LaSalle New Tribune as they believe it is an infringement upon their ownership of the article.

Ward 2 Candidate Borostowski

This was removed at the request of the LaSalle New Tribune as it is an infringement upon their ownership of the article.

Prosecutors say Peru plane held drug money - MyWebTimes.com

Prosecutors say Peru plane held drug money - MyWebTimes.com

Third Ward 3 Candidates & Their Views

This was removed at the request of the LaSalle New Tribune as it is an infringement upon their ownership of the article.

N.T.East Side First Ward Candidate Responses

This was removed at the request of the LaSalle New Tribune as it is an infringement upon their ownership of the article.

Interesting contrasts between 1st Ward candidates / Let the comments begin

On Our Way to a Smooth Ride on Rte 6 Through Peru

During the past several weeks Mayor Harl took the initiative and contacted the right people and he got the job done, Route 6 through the city of Peru will be repaired. This time he did not have to deal with the council members that have attempted to stymie him every inch of the way from hiring a city engineer to closing the out dated and damaged swimming pool. He stepped up to the plate and hit a home run with the deal to pave Rte 6 curb to curb through Peru. A round of applause please for a job well done.

Congratulations to the New Alderman for the Fourth Ward of Peru

Extending our congratulations to Jim Lukosus who was chosen by Mayor Scott Harl to be the new Alderman from the Fourth Ward. He takes the seat formerly held by Ron Wren who unexpectedly passed away earlier this year. We wish him an easy transition into this new position and believe he will add a new dimension to the Peru City Council.

At the City Council meeting Wednesday March 23, the aldermen will vote on whether they will approve Mr Lukosus to fill the seat.

Do You Have Questions About The Operation of the Peru Airport?

Just recently Peru found that activity at the airport had created local headlines. Chuck Studer who manages the airport offered to answer any questions you might have and with that in mind I am opening up this topic. Ald. Mikyska is head of the airport committee and Roger Chamlin frequently gives us updates on construction or problems at the airport.

"Chuck Studer said... Lois,
If you have questions about the operation of the airport, why don't you make a separate post with some of those and I will try to answer them.

To ANON 1:13, There is nothing to stop planes from coming and going as they please. Just like there's nothing to stop people from driving around all night long. What keeps oversize and overweight trucks from driving on our roads at night after you go to sleep?

In Honor of All Women on International Womens Day

Changing Face of Peru City Government

Mayor Harl has received 11 notices from people wishing to take the empty council seat in Ward 4. I don't ever remember a time when so many people were interested in being a part of the Peru City Council and although only one will be chosen, I do hope that the others will continue to take an interest in the city and perhaps keep an eye on the election in 2013. The city will continue to have many problems to work on and we need to find ways for citizens to continue to communicate and make contributions to solving them. I also hope that the City Council will begin to be more receptive to citizen involvement and look upon it as an advantage that they have so many minds trying to solve problems and not as a disturbance to them and to the social clique that has developed between the current council and the outside contractors hired by the city who regularly meet outside of the council chambers.

Getting to Know the Candidates

We are very fortunate this year to have so many quality candidates running for alder/man/woman and their signs will identify who they are and for more information, some have established web sites and some have pages on Facebook to keep you updated with their campaigns. But for some reason the Illinois Valley has never developed a forum for the candidates to tell us what their views are. Please reference the article I posted on the Streator elections where organizations did host a forum, not a debate.

As they make their door to door journey while they campaign for votes, if you have time to talk to them you will get answers to your concerns. Some have posted phone numbers and email addresses to make themselves available to you. We will be glad to help anyone if they don't have the information needed.

I am writing this because there are a small number of people who are trying very hard to use this blog to spread untruths and malicious comments to scare people into not voting for people they don't like and/or to push their candidate while bashing the other. Those comments will never ever be posted. I have been accused of denying them their right of Freedom of Speech. I always say when someone is being rude, ignorant or unbearable with their behavior that their right to speak like that ends at my ears and in this case it ends at my eyes. I have been asked before to be considerate of others reading the blog to not post that type of comment, so if it offends me and not because of any political views but just from a common sense point of view, it offends others. So to those people, I say don't waste your time writing and my time deleting your posts.

This is a very important election and I hope that a great percentage of voters in Peru will avail themselves of the opportunity to express their opinions on election day and to learn all they can from good news sources and from the candidates themselves and hope you will continue to view the blog also.

Elections Also in Streator. Good Points in this Story

Jerrilyn Zavada, jzavada@mywebtimes.com, 815-673-6371

City Council candidate Bruce Hart (left) shakes hands with Mayor Jimmie Lansford as county board member Don Jordan watches before the Streator Leading Ladies Candidates Forum at the Streator Country Club on Thursday.

Mayor Jimmie Lansford and opponent David "Moose" Conner laid out their visions for Streator's future Thursday night.

The two were part of a forum with city council candidates hosted jointly by the Streator Leading Ladies and the Streator Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Streator County Club.

In Lansford's opening remarks, he spoke of his accomplishments since being appointed mayor in the wake of the late Ray Schmitt's death.

"In the past 12 months Ihave provided leadership through two major disasters:the June 5 tornado and the February blizzard,"Lansford said. "In a 12-month period, we have seen the recruitment of Results, Inc. in Westgate Plaza, working with ALMon the revolving loan fund, an agreement with a wind farm for 165 units and currently working on an agreement with another wind farm. Walmart broke ground. With these four businesses, we will have created 500 new full- and part-time jobs."

Later, in the question-and-answer portion of the forum, Lansford was asked where he saw Streator in five, 10 or 25 years.

"If we don't take the necessary steps today, there may not be a Streator as we know it in 25 years," he said. "We can no longer market ourselves individually. We must market ourselves regionally through networking on state, federal, city and county levels.

"I have done that at this point. I have also spoken with economic development officials in Livingston and La Salle counties and the Illinois Valley. ... If we don't do that and take the necessary steps to plan for the future, it will be extremely difficult for Streator to survive."

Conner, who worked for 30 years in the wastewater treatment plant and Public Works Department, said working for the city has allowed him to see its operation from different views.

"If elected, Iwill work with the city manager, city council and SACCIto bring more businesses to downtown,"he said. "Iwould like to find ways to increase revenue while the state is decreasing funds."

Conner spoke of potential programs, such as combining fire and ambulance service, the cost of annexation to the city; making the town safer and free of drugs and implementing a "helping hand" system, where residents with background checks can put a card in their window, indicating they are a safe place for people in danger to go for help.

In the question-and-answer portion of the forum, Conner was asked his thoughts on improving economic development.

"Iknow Streator is already active in the La Salle County Mayors Association,"he said. "We have to work with towns like Pontiac, La Salle-Peru and Ottawa to see if business don't go there, if they will come here. It's working together to not only get jobs in town but in the area too."

In closing remarks, both candidates spoke of their desire to serve the community.

"I think the question that should be asked of anyone running for city government is 'Why do you want the job, since it is a little-respected job?' "Lansford said. "Iwant to give back to the community that has been good to me and my family. I'm asking for your vote to give me the chance to continue to do that."

"(There should be) accountability in city hall,"Conner said. "Iwill treat people with respect. Iwill work for you, the taxpayers. Fourteen thousand people working together, we can make a difference."

Illinois Valley Political Campaigns

During the last mayoral election in which Scott Harl ran against sitting Mayor Don Baker, there was a lot of what I thought was unethical campaigning. I won't go into the politics of the last 40 years as they have been rehashed enough. During the heated campaign of that year (09), several of the seated aldermen chose to make numerous political campaign efforts with radio ads endorsing Don Baker and I am sure they also put signs in their respective yards. It amounted to friends and buddies helping another buddy attempt to be re-elected.

We are very acutely aware of what happened in that election and what the post election effect has been. Much to the surprise of the then current council which is still in place at this time, Don Baker lost the election. I'm sure several of the aldermen were stunned by this defeat and could not bring themselves to in anyway cooperate with the new mayor.

All this brings me to the point of the present aldermanic election in Peru. Four seats are being contested one in each ward and campaign signs are springing up like the first flowers of Spring. I understand that friendships can develop between council members who spend a lot of time together in order to make the city function but it is time to put some space between each other at election time.

Is it appropriate for the sitting aldermen to be placing signs in their yards for their friends, the fellow council members? Is it appropriate for contractors who work for the city to also host signs for the seated aldermen. What happens if one or more of the contenders win the seat instead of the friends? Will they be welcomed with open arms or will there again be animosity to the new members.

I do believe we would have a better functioning City Council if the members would keep their nose out of the election if they are not running. Let the candidates run their own campaign and the non running members keep a semblance of propriety and stand back and let the people of Peru decide who they want to represent them.

I will check on who is blatantly putting the signs in yards and this will be both for aldermen and contractors and let you know.

Enough Already

Overheard last night at a city council meeting. "This has to stop, we meed to cut down on the number of meetings a month"

Meaning getting together for 30 minutes is a waste of time and money. Last night the city spent $630 for the 7 aldermen to get together to discuss nothing of importance. Nothing that could not have waited for another week. The Mayor would like to cut back to 2 a month, the aldermen have up to this point said NO.

This is a reminder that city elections for 4 aldermen will be April 5. Mark it on your calendars. Absentee ballots are available, if you cannot be in town on April 5, call the County Clerk for your absentee ballot. If you are not a registered voter, email me.