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
Was looking at the disbursements on the city web-site today and noticed that in September we paid $205 to Apple Press for "Trader Joe's cards". Does anyone know what this is all about? It was in the general fund.
Probably post cards to survey or try to convince the trader joes corporate developers to come here, so Harl could claim he did it, instead of the private citizens who have been trying to get them here since Jewel closed.
This is pathetic. A rude statement about our very effective state's attorney with nothing to back it up. Because I am sure you could do a better job with the resources available, right?
And a stupid comment about the city sending correspondence to a potential new business. That means the Mayor wants credit? Well tell me what mayor is not on the front of a newspaper when a new business opens? Of course they are. If a business opens under their watch, they are going to be a part of it, but it doesn't mean they don't want what is best for the city. Kudos to them for trying something.
The rudeness, rumors and complete incivility is why no one will ever take forums like this seriously. People actually think because there are 100 people commenting on something that this is somehow "big" even though a bunch are the same people saying different things over and over. And what becomes of it?
There are thousands commenting on news stories on Yahoo and NBC right now, but none of it matters. The only thing that matters is being positive and proactive and getting involved.
Stop the rumors and stop the complaining...unless you are going to get involved or at least be constructive. If you think public office is so easy and they are all so stupid then surely you can do it.
But if your "source" is anonymous rants on a blog, you are doing nothing to help anything, other than maybe feeling a little better about yourself.
All of this is intended to be positive about making a difference. I'm not trying to be critical because people express an opinion but getting involved is what matters. How can people complain when they don't do anything to fix the problem?
Our states attorney may be wonderful, but there has been NO action on the government of Peru, and I believe their should be. It is very difficult to be "positive" about that, and if you think it is rude you need to wake up and look at all the issues that have been presented over the life of this blog and answer why the state's attorney is not even issuing warnings. Lack of resources is no excuse for quietly sitting back for years upon years.
Thank you 9:16 am, You are absolutely correct in your assessment of the impact and influence of this or any other internet blog that allows rumor mongering and false innuendo as its primary source of information. Sorry Lois, but your accuracy rate is single digit at best. So 9:16 am, I know you are not questioning the right of anyone to speak out. I agree. Let them vent. It's all most of them are capable of. Its just unfortunate for the sake of decency and honor that by its very nature, blogging is primarily devoid of "Decency and Honor". I visit this blog for entertainment and because I, like so many others here, I am suceptible to that car-crash kind of curiosity about the latest bitching and complaining by the usual cast of characters sharing the same stale stories of conspiracy and evil doing by the elected officials in Peru. There is no doubt that 99% of the regulars on this blog will never do anything "pro-actively" to promote a worthy candidate for public office let alone get off their asses and run for office themselves. Nope, they are content to sit back and criticize and complain in that very special little "comfort zone" they depend upon, thats right; Anonymous said....................
No disrespect Roy Stone to you. I don't know how long you have been reading and participating on this Blog site. You did state that you do read. However. I see this forum as having alot of accuracy in what the bloggers state. For instance: behavior at council meeting, how the Ventura drive interaction was handled by the city, how pickleball was handled by the city, the shape of our parks and who is in change of that, westclocks clean-up, power plant clean-up, issues with the fire department(blogs from actual members), charity concerts(how city handled it), city vehicles used for personal use that taxpayers pay for, olive garden dinner that tax payees pay for, condition of Perus streets, summer-time help doing their jobs, etc... Need I say more. The are just a few things! Very informative and truths on this blog, pay attention. Observe. And attend council meetings and you don't have to be a chemist to see it. Thanks to all participants on blog site. Unlike the videos of tape recordings of council meetings that may not be available for viewing in a timely manner. At least this blog site gives us information in a very timely manner.
Lois why is it that you don't run for office? Im not trying to be a smart a** in any way so please don't take this question as such. You seem to put the time in going to all the meetings and such.
9:16a.m. AMEN!!!! The only people who should truly be getting asked questions are people getting involved. I've seen it so many times on this blog where there are 50 comments of people going on rants about a topic and then one of the alderman or candidates for alderman just post what is really going on and then it is over. People get all worked up over nothing. For once just try to direct your questions or concerns to someone who is ACTUALLY involved in our local government.
Perhaps if the council meetings were more informative and oficials responsive to people, there would be less people looking for answers. The alderman go through the process with lots of previous information in their packets and through committee meetings, so you take someone that only comes to the council meetings one night and watches when the topic is brought up and then all the informed aldermen vote or agree and unless there is a disagreement with one or 2 of them, the person watching has no clue what is going on. As far as I know, questions from the audience are not looked favorably upon.
Kristy's "Change for Peru" blog four years ago changed Peru politics forever. It was a major factor in the outcome of the election, without it Mayor Baker would still be in office. The administration must realize that their every move, every word, every dollar they spend is being scrutinized by the folks. So you would think they would be on their best behavior.
1:49 pm, WRONG! The "people" who worked to oust Don Baker and Judy Heuser were the major factor in the outcome of the election in 2009. I know because I was one of many who organized and worked to get those two out. Not Kristy. Not a blog. Not a bunch of malcontents complaining anonymously. You have delusions of granduere about the relevance of blogging. It's real people with real identities, people with real values and morals. People with real hopes and dreams striving to improve their community. That's what drives election results. Not blogs, and not you or others like you. Face it!
You are only partly right because many people who worked that election also were involved very heavily on the blog because they realized the impact it was going to have. Not all people who worked for Harl posted to the blog but many did and that was how the information was spread around the town. Because you need a form of communication between voters to have an impact, it had a great deal to do with the election.
What other form of communication is there in this technologically informed world. Talking to each other in the privacy of your own home has become very important in all elections.
I've asked legitimate questions on this blog to the appropriate people who should have the answer and got no response what=so-ever. I recently asked alderman Ferrari who hires the firemen - Liberty or the city? Since he is on the safety committee he should know the answer to that question. I also asked why the mayor order $205 worth of Trader Joe Cards and where they were and what they were for. Again - no response!!
2:57 p.m. Now THAT is funny. If you want any kind of response from them you may as well go to a council or committee meeting and ask them. Those are two people who will NEVER be on this blog.
2:09 and 11:56 It only takes an impartial journalist a few hours to read over the blog and see that the true malcontents are people like you who do not like the truth being exposed. The incredible lack of response by city officials to comments on this blog is what is appaling. The truth from their point of view, well stated, would silence many rumors and stupid comments.
The reason that the individuals called on the carpet do not come here to argue is simple arrogance. It is not because the blog is too cruel. Its because they have no answers and kid themselves that the many blog views are from only a few people. The problem is that there is a lot of BAD going down here, in a town that is very used to getting away with it and very angry that anyone wants to interfere. Many in the suburbs refer to this place as little Cicero, with a strong connection to unsavory elements and a long history of retribution by people in power. I had no idea until I opened my eyes and started looking. This blog is perhaps the last stand of any viable opposition.
3:54 PM I make this comment with tongue in check, so to speak. There are so many closed sessions in Peru, maybe so they don't have to confront the public because who is going to wait for another 30 to 60 minutes for the aldermen to return. And if the aldermen happen to be talking to someone, don't be surprised to see the mayor motioning them to get into the closed session.
This is a novel idea, on the new city website you can contact ANY of the city officials. No one has stated that they have been ignored after posting a question to any city official. Once again a vast improvement, I must say the new website contains alot of info, and it has the city budget readily downloadable!! That NEVER was as easily available as it is now. Kudos to the folks that redesigned it and allow transparency of our city budget available to ALL the public.
Lois you have no reason to make any comment with tongue in cheek as your percentage of coreect vs. wrong is much better than any of the people in charge of Peru. It does appear that closed session is a extremely good method of hiding in the next room until everyone goes home. Yes Anon 3:21 Peru has been referred to as Little Cicero in a very uncomplimentary way. For some reason their is a certain group of people who do not believe that Peru exists under the same set of laws as the rest of the state. This same group are the ones who profit by the existence of illegalities while the majority are being held back.
Ordinarily I would not put this on but it does happen and numerous people including myself have seen it. I was not in any of the establishments and can't verify what they are drinking. We would have to depend upon their integrity in answering that question.
9:16 here who kind of started all of this.........I certainly do not believe in limiting speech and these forums allow for people to say anything the chief blogger will allow to be posted. But just because people can say anything does not lead to any civil discourse, solutions or effort to improve. At the end of the day it is just white noise that does nothing and it never will because there is never any resulting effort or organized plan that happens after the commenters move on to the next topic. Nothing will ever happen unless anonymous people step out into the light and work together to forge solutions if, in fact, solutions are necessary.
But the earlier reference to the train wreck is exactly what brings so many to these places. Most people do not come here to get facts, because this is not where "facts" are posted. This is where anything can be posted, some of which may actually turn out to be fact at some point, but there is no guarantee of authenticity. Look at the past "liberty fire" and "PVAS" discussions, and then try to determine what exactly from those conversations is actual facts.
People get seduced into thinking that a big number of comments about a "scandal" is really huge. In reality, people come here to see what the commenters will say, not to see what is actually going on. It is entertainment.
Think back.........Kristy's blog was always going to uncover some BIG crime. Baker and his "boys" were going to jail. Things were being turned over to the attorney general. There were juicy allegations of scandals and cover ups and high crimes and misdemeanors.
What was the result? Nothing.
I agree with Lois that perhaps some of the people who helped Harl get elected may have been bloggers, but I disagree that the blogs helped get anyone elected. This is just not how politics works. Remember 2008 was an election of change, from the White House all the way down to several local mayor races. Incumbents lost, blog or not.
I'm not discrediting Lois for her effort here at all, I'm just making a comment about blogs in general.
There are a hundreds of comments or more here probably every week, mostly negative. On another blog, there are thousands of comments about Kim Kardashian, mostly negative. Neither makes any difference, accept to make anonymous criticizers of both Peru government leaders and Kim Karshashian feel better.
10:03p.m. You hit the nail right on the head. It saddens me to see so many people hide behind "anonymous" because they don't want people to know who they are. Why? Is the mighty and powerful local government going to throw you out of town if they know you may have some disagreements with them? Most individuals on here are a little too paranoid for their own good. In any case, no one should be too scared to post their name.
5:12 pm makes a great point. Those of you who are always crying about a lack of answers from elected officials are actually letting those elected officials off the hook by expecting them to respond on this blog. We know it aint gonna happen so what should we do? Each and every one of you that navigates to this blog can just as easily visit the city of Peru website and direct a question to any elected official. Just think of the fun you could have with that arrangement. If you are afraid to identify yourself on the city website as is required I believe, you can just give your question to Lois and she can submit it via e-mail to the elected official. How bout it Lois? No reason not to do this! Don't you see the opportunity here? Use the city website to put these elected officials on the spot. Ask them the tough questions. They have to respond in one manner or another. They say they are "accessible" so make them reveal their position or on every issue. Lets smoke them out. If they stone-wall or try to dance around a question we can all have a few laughs at their "lame" responses here on the blog. C'mon people, flush them out of their comfort zone. Hit them with the tough questions and then bring it all back here to the blog for all to enjoy. I can't believe we have given them a pass on this website Q&A since they came out with it. Example: Can you imagine how long it will take Ferrari or Waldorf to respond to a legitimate question when they will be forced to ask the puppet masters with Chamlin or Bernabei or someone with some common sense, how to answer the questions. And if they don't answer at all we will have exposed them as the "Know-nothing Do-nothing" imps we always believed they were. Let's go Lois. Play the game by the rules they have set up. We can beat them, and in the process beat them up at their own game. What do you say? Make them accountable by responding to real questions.
10:03 I respect your comment and am not discrediting it by any means however, I do believe Kristy's blog added to Baker's defeat and Harl's victory. I also believe this blog helped to finally get the council meetings videoed. While it may not and probably cannot get answers to all the controversies posted on it, it does peak citizens interest. Who knows, if we have citizens interested in their government and what is and is not working, maybe they will get involved and get Peru back on the right track. Let's face facts, with government there is always need for improvement and change (change that we were promised but never got).
I understand totally why they post as anonymous and it has been discussed before. Lots of reasons, perhaps you work for the city of Peru or perhaps your boss or supervisor is the mayors best friend, perhaps you live next door to someone at city hall. Could be even wife vs husband. There are always ways the city can make your life difficult. Always remember this is Peru and it is possible. Perhaps you have a local business and criticizing the city would hurt your business because you do work for the city. In Peru you think outside of the box.
10:03 PM If blogs help and bloggers don't, that does not add up because a blog exists when bloggers make posts. I admit there are lots of blogs that are just diaries etc and I don't include those. I'm referring to the ones in Peru.
Page Views Last Mont - 14,181 Would both those who believe that the blog is a political influence and has bearing on local elections and those who differ in this opinion comment on such a high number in a town of 10,000. It would be interesting to hear each Peru candidates personel attitude towards blogs and why.
If you wonder about the very real aspects of retribution, you need not look very far. The good people of Peru do not want to believe the severity of threats made, as well as the lack of protection provided by law enforcement and the states attorney. Many Individuals who work for the city and need their jobs pray that this blog continues. It is not for entertainment only, and while it may be true that the enforcement arm of the attorney general has not acted except for slaps on the wrist, it is a good thing that at least the violations are brought up here. The city officials read this blog , even if they never comment on it. The paper is firmly under control, but this anonymous blog continues to bring up issues -as long as the city officials, organized crime and union officials do not apply so much pressure on Lois that she feels that it is no longer worth it. Little Vegas, Little Cicero, whatever you like to call it, it is not the safe quiet little town that the alderman want you to think it is. It never has been.
Anon 11;25 AM Good Job! A few miles north of Peru is a city operated airport in which over one half of a million dollars was abondoned because no one claimed it when it was in a private airplane. The owners of the plane claimed it was not theirs, over $500,0000.00. Can you believe over $500,000.00 and no one knew where it came from or how it got there. And now their are people who compliment the States Attorney and law enforcement. This gives me more than a case of a little diaper rash! Just as any other form of employment the politician should be held responsible for the job he is designated to do.
It is disappointing that you did not post that message. I am not criticizing you or the blog but I am just making a point about people getting a false impression of what citizen involvement really is. Your blog helps raise some awareness but I actually think it gives people the idea that it means things will get done.
Oh well I really doubt that is the goal here. Just let them keep complaining. Good luck.
Since you did not comment with your name and there are so many anon and I don't know what you are referring to, so if it was sensible and worthy of being read I will consider posting it.
I have heard those stories throughout the years about Peru,11:25, but never wanted to believe it was true. It bothers me that you mention organized crime and union in the same sentence. Sherry and Rodney seem to be the only ones not in lock step with the rest of the administration.
Have not heard any info on Steve's plans (Harl's 2009 campaign manager) for Peru TWP. or the 4th ward. Is he still running? He has a lot of Union friends.
To 6:19 pm, He has a lot of union friends and a lot of friends and supporters in general. Nothing you post on this blog will ever have any inpact on that fact. You should try to be more informed.
Don't understand how last week's video taping of the council meeting was posted the next day. This week's Monday meeting is still not posted and it was a very short meeting. I think we need a better set up because it appears that this one is not working.
Yes, while employed at IDOT, until I was promoted and because I did not have enough subordinates I could not stay in the union. MIKE
My Dad also negotiated contracts with the Glass Bottle Blowers Association when he was employed with Owens and traveled all over the US when contracts expired.
I was just thinking about the relevance, or "lack thereof" of this blog to the average citizen in terms of actual participation in this forum. So I cruncehed a few numbers to help determine numbers of visits to this blog and what that translates into in real percentage of local citizens who are viewing this blog. Here's what I determined. With a running 30 day average of even 15,000 visits we can conservatively assume each visitor logs onto the blog a minimum of twice a day. (I'll bet its a lot more than that though). Therefore, I beleive there are at most "250" regular visitors per month to this blog with each one of those 250 logging on at least twice a day. The math on that looks like this; 250 blog visitors X 2 visits per day X 30 days = 15000 visits. Now, if you take the overall population of the the Illinois Valley: Peru, LaSalle, Spring Valley, Oglesby at a conservative 30,000, those 250 blog visitors make up a whopping 0.835% of the local populace. Next, if you want to assume that all blog visitors are Peru residents, (which of course we know is not the case), but for the sake of argument we will assume they are all Peru residents, those 250 "Peru" visitors would be a less than impressive 2.5% of Peru's total population that visit this blog. And that folks is all the proof anybody needs to see to realize that this blog and every single one of its visitors, including myself, exist only in our own little bubble and in the grand scheme of Peru politics we are in fact just a joke. The numbers don't lie people. Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger You all need to get a life! Sign me,
There is no such a thing as an average day. I use Google Analytics and I could have saved you the time. I can go country by country or state by state and then within the state, city by city. New versus returning readers, even to what browser they are using. The message is getting out there because my readers share with others. I have had complete strangers thank me. I think less than 1/2 of the people in Peru vote in elections also.
To The The Numbers Guy, Congratulations you once again have proven the theory that figures lie and liars figure. Just love the way you ASSUME. You are the one who needs to get a life.
Putting it down in black and white that the city of Peru was unable to have the video of the council meeting of January 28, 2012 posted on their web site by Friday evening February 1, 2012. Why does Princeton have theirs on in 2 days and we can't get ours up in 7 days and that is assuming it will be available on Monday February 4.
I agree it would be in Mr Harts best interest to post directly. Right or wrong there is suspicion that Lois filters commentary to suit her own agenda, so having Mr. Hart speak directly on the blog would help keep the blog posts most relevant.
My post was a direct comment, I don't filter to suit my agenda. When people write something I feel is inappropriate or just totally out of line, I make a decision to not bother my readers with the comment and delete. It has nothing to do with an agenda.
1:34 I was not saying you do filter for your agenda Lois, just saying many THINK you do, so if the mayoral candidate wants to avoid that it might be a good idea for him to post directly. Would be nice if the other candidates answered directly.
I think it would be great for you to ask bloggers to submit questions for the candidates, then each week you post an issue and question for them and let the candidates know they can post their position. All other bloggers could NOT comment on that post, but the candidates could respond, like a blog debate. Response could be limited to position, rebuttal and single comment clarification of their statements. Candidate would not need to worry about being randomly attacked by anonymous bloggers and could take up to a day to formulate response, and civility of discourse would be up to the potential leaders. It would become a true open forum, the Peru Town Forum.
It is an excellent idea but not all candidates are comfortable posting to an internet site. You have already heard from those that are and that is Ald. Mayszak, Ald. Perez and Justin Loger. Our current mayor never even in the early days of his administration when he had so many of the people who worked for him in his camp would he reply to this blog or any blog. Some people believe it is beneath them. They fail to realize it is a form of communication. Ald. Perez initially took a few blows here but people now realize what an awesome individual he is and he seems to have developed a relationship with the bloggers. Ald. Mayszak has put her first sign up and anyone interested in one, let us know. I do hope that mayoral candidate, Mike Hart does reach out to this blogging community with his thoughts for this city.
It is not uncommon for incumbents to avoid debate of any kind. A forum such as the one I suggested is nothing more than another way to publish a candidates formal position for voters who make there choices on more than slogans or more/bigger signs.
I could understand that Mayor Harl or Alderman A might no want to post to this blog under any circumstance because they do not want to publicize the other posts and comments. But the format could be easily set up on a totally separate, neutral blogsite, with no links to this one allowed.
It would be nice to see the Mayors response to some difficult questions, and giving him 24 hours to consult with attorney, English teacher, physchologist, and his union cabal should make him feel more comfortable in making his replies. But I understand it is unlikely.
8:23 AM The number of people who read this blog does not mean anything except to those like yourself who wish to demean the people who read the blog and myself and discourage anyone from reading it. It is like you telling someone not to go and see a movie because it was the pits, it is your view only.The next person might find it just his cup of tea. The numbers only show that people read the blog and you have no clue as to how many read on any specific day and do not read on others days when people have their own life to deal with. I suggest you both get a life and not try to make this a political forum for your own persuasion.
70 comments:
And just like our excuse for a states attorney.
Was looking at the disbursements on the city web-site today and noticed that in September we paid $205 to Apple Press for "Trader Joe's cards". Does anyone know what this is all about? It was in the general fund.
Probably post cards to survey or try to convince the trader joes corporate developers to come here, so Harl could claim he did it, instead of the private citizens who have been trying to get them here since Jewel closed.
That's just sad...
That should come out of the economic developers fund.
This is pathetic. A rude statement about our very effective state's attorney with nothing to back it up. Because I am sure you could do a better job with the resources available, right?
And a stupid comment about the city sending correspondence to a potential new business. That means the Mayor wants credit? Well tell me what mayor is not on the front of a newspaper when a new business opens? Of course they are. If a business opens under their watch, they are going to be a part of it, but it doesn't mean they don't want what is best for the city. Kudos to them for trying something.
The rudeness, rumors and complete incivility is why no one will ever take forums like this seriously. People actually think because there are 100 people commenting on something that this is somehow "big" even though a bunch are the same people saying different things over and over. And what becomes of it?
There are thousands commenting on news stories on Yahoo and NBC right now, but none of it matters. The only thing that matters is being positive and proactive and getting involved.
Stop the rumors and stop the complaining...unless you are going to get involved or at least be constructive. If you think public office is so easy and they are all so stupid then surely you can do it.
But if your "source" is anonymous rants on a blog, you are doing nothing to help anything, other than maybe feeling a little better about yourself.
All of this is intended to be positive about making a difference. I'm not trying to be critical because people express an opinion but getting involved is what matters. How can people complain when they don't do anything to fix the problem?
9:16 Do you have a horse in this race?
9:16 To add to my above comment you do realize that you make 101.
Our states attorney may be wonderful, but there has been NO action on the government of Peru, and I believe their should be. It is very difficult to be "positive" about that, and if you think it is rude you need to wake up and look at all the issues that have been presented over the life of this blog and answer why the state's attorney is not even issuing warnings.
Lack of resources is no excuse for quietly sitting back for years upon years.
Thank you 9:16 am,
You are absolutely correct in your assessment of the impact and influence of this or any other internet blog that allows rumor mongering and false innuendo as its primary source of information. Sorry Lois, but your accuracy rate is single digit at best.
So 9:16 am, I know you are not questioning the right of anyone to speak out. I agree. Let them vent. It's all most of them are capable of. Its just unfortunate for the sake of decency and honor that by its very nature, blogging is primarily devoid of "Decency and Honor".
I visit this blog for entertainment and because I, like so many others here, I am suceptible to that car-crash kind of curiosity about the latest bitching and complaining by the usual cast of characters sharing the same stale stories of conspiracy and evil doing by the elected officials in Peru.
There is no doubt that 99% of the regulars on this blog will never do anything "pro-actively" to promote a worthy candidate for public office let alone get off their asses and run for office themselves.
Nope, they are content to sit back and criticize and complain in that very special little "comfort zone" they depend upon, thats right;
Anonymous said....................
Signed, Roy Stone
No disrespect Roy Stone to you. I don't know how long you have been reading and participating on this
Blog site. You did state that you do read. However. I see this forum as having alot of accuracy in what the bloggers state. For instance: behavior at council meeting, how the Ventura drive interaction was handled by the city, how pickleball was handled by the city, the shape of our parks and who is in change of that, westclocks clean-up, power plant clean-up, issues with the fire department(blogs from actual members), charity concerts(how city handled it), city vehicles used for personal use that taxpayers pay for, olive garden dinner that tax payees pay for, condition of Perus streets, summer-time help doing their jobs, etc... Need I say more. The are just a few things! Very informative and truths on this blog, pay attention. Observe. And attend council meetings and you don't have to be a chemist to see it. Thanks to all participants on blog site. Unlike the videos of tape recordings of council meetings that may not be available for viewing in a timely manner. At least this blog site gives us information in a very timely manner.
Lois why is it that you don't run for office? Im not trying to be a smart a** in any way so please don't take this question as such. You seem to put the time in going to all the meetings and such.
9:16a.m. AMEN!!!! The only people who should truly be getting asked questions are people getting involved. I've seen it so many times on this blog where there are 50 comments of people going on rants about a topic and then one of the alderman or candidates for alderman just post what is really going on and then it is over. People get all worked up over nothing. For once just try to direct your questions or concerns to someone who is ACTUALLY involved in our local government.
1:27 PM
Perhaps if the council meetings were more informative and oficials responsive to people, there would be less people looking for answers. The alderman go through the process with lots of previous information in their packets and through committee meetings, so you take someone that only comes to the council meetings one night and watches when the topic is brought up and then all the informed aldermen vote or agree and unless there is a disagreement with one or 2 of them, the person watching has no clue what is going on. As far as I know, questions from the audience are not looked favorably upon.
9:16 AM
What did the mayor try? We still don't know what was done with the cards, do we?
Kristy's "Change for Peru" blog four years ago changed Peru politics forever. It was a major factor in the outcome of the election, without it Mayor Baker would still be in office. The administration must realize that their every move, every word, every dollar they spend is being scrutinized by the folks. So you would think they would be on their best behavior.
1:49 pm, WRONG! The "people" who worked to oust Don Baker and Judy Heuser were the major factor in the outcome of the election in
2009. I know because I was one of many who organized and worked to get those two out.
Not Kristy. Not a blog. Not a bunch of malcontents complaining anonymously. You have delusions of granduere about the relevance of blogging.
It's real people with real identities, people with real values and morals. People with real hopes and dreams striving to improve their community. That's what drives election results.
Not blogs, and not you or others like you.
Face it!
2:09 PM
You are only partly right because many people who worked that election also were involved very heavily on the blog because they realized the impact it was going to have. Not all people who worked for Harl posted to the blog but many did and that was how the information was spread around the town. Because you need a form of communication between voters to have an impact, it had a great deal to do with the election.
What other form of communication is there in this technologically informed world. Talking to each other in the privacy of your own home has become very important in all elections.
I've asked legitimate questions on this blog to the appropriate people who should have the answer and got no response what=so-ever. I recently asked alderman Ferrari who hires the firemen - Liberty or the city? Since he is on the safety committee he should know the answer to that question. I also asked why the mayor order $205 worth of Trader Joe Cards and where they were and what they were for. Again - no response!!
2:57 p.m. Now THAT is funny. If you want any kind of response from them you may as well go to a council or committee meeting and ask them. Those are two people who will NEVER be on this blog.
2:09 and 11:56 It only takes an impartial journalist a few hours to read over the blog and see that the true malcontents are people like you who do not like the truth being exposed. The incredible lack of response by city officials to comments on this blog is what is appaling. The truth from their point of view, well stated, would silence many rumors and stupid comments.
The reason that the individuals called on the carpet do not come here to argue is simple arrogance. It is not because the blog is too cruel. Its because they have no answers and kid themselves that the many blog views are from only a few people.
The problem is that there is a lot of BAD going down here, in a town that is very used to getting away with it and very angry that anyone wants to interfere. Many in the suburbs refer to this place as little Cicero, with a strong connection to unsavory elements and a long history of retribution by people in power. I had no idea until I opened my eyes and started looking. This blog is perhaps the last stand of any viable opposition.
2:57 here again. I tried that 3:18. They don't even give you the time of day at a meeting.
3:54 PM
I make this comment with tongue in check, so to speak. There are so many closed sessions in Peru, maybe so they don't have to confront the public because who is going to wait for another 30 to 60 minutes for the aldermen to return. And if the aldermen happen to be talking to someone, don't be surprised to see the mayor motioning them to get into the closed session.
This is a novel idea, on the new city website you can contact ANY of the city officials. No one has stated that they have been ignored after posting a question to any city official. Once again a vast improvement, I must say the new website contains alot of info, and it has the city budget readily downloadable!! That NEVER was as easily available as it is now. Kudos to the folks that redesigned it and allow transparency of our city budget available to ALL the public.
They're all too much in a hurry after a meeting to go drinking to answer any questions.
Lois you have no reason to make any comment with tongue in cheek as your percentage of coreect vs. wrong is much better than any of the people in charge of Peru. It does appear that closed session is a extremely good method of hiding in the next room until everyone goes home. Yes Anon 3:21 Peru has been referred to as Little Cicero in a very uncomplimentary way. For some reason their is a certain group of people who do not believe that Peru exists under the same set of laws as the rest of the state. This same group are the ones who profit by the existence of illegalities while the majority are being held back.
5:44 PM
Ordinarily I would not put this on but it does happen and numerous people including myself have seen it. I was not in any of the establishments and can't verify what they are drinking. We would have to depend upon their integrity in answering that question.
Their Integrity, Please you can put a gorilla in a fur coat but your still going to end up with a gorilla.
Is that the same as putting lipstick on a pig 6:28? lol
9:16 here who kind of started all of this.........I certainly do not believe in limiting speech and these forums allow for people to say anything the chief blogger will allow to be posted. But just because people can say anything does not lead to any civil discourse, solutions or effort to improve. At the end of the day it is just white noise that does nothing and it never will because there is never any resulting effort or organized plan that happens after the commenters move on to the next topic. Nothing will ever happen unless anonymous people step out into the light and work together to forge solutions if, in fact, solutions are necessary.
But the earlier reference to the train wreck is exactly what brings so many to these places. Most people do not come here to get facts, because this is not where "facts" are posted. This is where anything can be posted, some of which may actually turn out to be fact at some point, but there is no guarantee of authenticity. Look at the past "liberty fire" and "PVAS" discussions, and then try to determine what exactly from those conversations is actual facts.
People get seduced into thinking that a big number of comments about a "scandal" is really huge. In reality, people come here to see what the commenters will say, not to see what is actually going on. It is entertainment.
Think back.........Kristy's blog was always going to uncover some BIG crime. Baker and his "boys" were going to jail. Things were being turned over to the attorney general. There were juicy allegations of scandals and cover ups and high crimes and misdemeanors.
What was the result? Nothing.
I agree with Lois that perhaps some of the people who helped Harl get elected may have been bloggers, but I disagree that the blogs helped get anyone elected. This is just not how politics works. Remember 2008 was an election of change, from the White House all the way down to several local mayor races. Incumbents lost, blog or not.
I'm not discrediting Lois for her effort here at all, I'm just making a comment about blogs in general.
There are a hundreds of comments or more here probably every week, mostly negative. On another blog, there are thousands of comments about Kim Kardashian, mostly negative. Neither makes any difference, accept to make anonymous criticizers of both Peru government leaders and Kim Karshashian feel better.
Thanks for letting me share.
10:03p.m. You hit the nail right on the head. It saddens me to see so many people hide behind "anonymous" because they don't want people to know who they are. Why? Is the mighty and powerful local government going to throw you out of town if they know you may have some disagreements with them? Most individuals on here are a little too paranoid for their own good. In any case, no one should be too scared to post their name.
12/5/2010 LOL!!!!
5:12 pm makes a great point. Those of you who are always crying about a lack of answers from elected officials are actually letting those elected officials off the hook by expecting them to respond on this blog. We know it aint gonna happen so what should we do?
Each and every one of you that navigates to this blog can just as easily visit the city of Peru website and direct a question to any elected official. Just think of the fun you could have with that arrangement. If you are afraid to identify yourself on the city website as is required I believe, you can just give your question to Lois and she can submit it via e-mail to the elected official. How bout it Lois? No reason not to do this! Don't you see the opportunity here? Use the city website to put these elected officials on the spot. Ask them the tough questions. They have to respond in one manner or another. They say they are "accessible" so make them reveal their position or on every issue. Lets smoke them out. If they stone-wall or try to dance around a question we can all have a few laughs at their "lame" responses here on the blog. C'mon people, flush them out of their comfort zone. Hit them with the tough questions and then bring it all back here to the blog for all to enjoy.
I can't believe we have given them a pass on this website Q&A since they came out with it.
Example: Can you imagine how long it will take Ferrari or Waldorf to respond to a legitimate question when they will be forced to ask the puppet masters with Chamlin or Bernabei or someone with some common sense, how to answer the questions. And if they don't answer at all we will have exposed them as the "Know-nothing Do-nothing" imps we always believed they were.
Let's go Lois. Play the game by the rules they have set up. We can beat them, and in the process beat them up at their own game.
What do you say? Make them accountable by responding to real questions.
10:03 I respect your comment and am not discrediting it by any means however, I do believe Kristy's blog added to Baker's defeat and Harl's victory. I also believe this blog helped to finally get the council meetings videoed. While it may not and probably cannot get answers to all the controversies posted on it, it does peak citizens interest. Who knows, if we have citizens interested in their government and what is and is not working, maybe they will get involved and get Peru back on the right track. Let's face facts, with government there is always need for improvement and change (change that we were promised but never got).
5:13 AM
I understand totally why they post as anonymous and it has been discussed before. Lots of reasons, perhaps you work for the city of Peru or perhaps your boss or supervisor is the mayors best friend, perhaps you live next door to someone at city hall. Could be even wife vs husband. There are always ways the city can make your life difficult. Always remember this is Peru and it is possible.
Perhaps you have a local business and criticizing the city would hurt your business because you do work for the city. In Peru you think outside of the box.
10:03 PM
If blogs help and bloggers don't, that does not add up because a blog exists when bloggers make posts. I admit there are lots of blogs that are just diaries etc and I don't include those. I'm referring to the ones in Peru.
I agree with 8:04. I think he or she has a good idea.
Page Views Last Mont - 14,181 Would both those who believe that the blog is a political influence and has bearing on local elections and those who differ in this opinion comment on such a high number in a town of 10,000. It would be interesting to hear each Peru candidates personel attitude towards blogs and why.
If you wonder about the very real aspects of retribution, you need not look very far. The good people of Peru do not want to believe the severity of threats made, as well as the lack of protection provided by law enforcement and the states attorney. Many Individuals who work for the city and need their jobs pray that this blog continues. It is not for entertainment only, and while it may be true that the enforcement arm of the attorney general has not acted except for slaps on the wrist, it is a good thing that at least the violations are brought up here. The city officials read this blog , even if they never comment on it. The paper is firmly under control, but this anonymous blog continues to bring up issues -as long as the city officials, organized crime and union officials do not apply so much pressure on Lois that she feels that it is no longer worth it.
Little Vegas, Little Cicero, whatever you like to call it, it is not the safe quiet little town that the alderman want you to think it is. It never has been.
Why doesn't Mike Hart post on this blog???
OK, Mike maybe time to say Hello.
Anon 11;25 AM Good Job! A few miles north of Peru is a city operated airport in which over one half of a million dollars was abondoned because no one claimed it when it was in a private airplane. The owners of the plane claimed it was not theirs, over $500,0000.00.
Can you believe over $500,000.00 and no one knew where it came from or how it got there. And now their are people who compliment the States Attorney and law enforcement.
This gives me more than a case of a little diaper rash! Just as any other form of employment the politician should be held responsible for the job he is designated to do.
This blog played a major role on the outcome of the 2009 election. It will do the same again!
Is Super Bowl Sunday the biggest gambling day of the year in the area? Has to be one of the bigest because there are some really big ones.
It is disappointing that you did not post that message. I am not criticizing you or the blog but I am just making a point about people getting a false impression of what citizen involvement really is. Your blog helps raise some awareness but I actually think it gives people the idea that it means things will get done.
Oh well I really doubt that is the goal here. Just let them keep complaining. Good luck.
4:13 PM
Since you did not comment with your name and there are so many anon and I don't know what you are referring to, so if it was sensible and worthy of being read I will consider posting it.
I have heard those stories throughout the years about Peru,11:25, but never wanted to believe it was true. It bothers me that you mention organized crime and union in the same sentence. Sherry and Rodney seem to be the only ones not in lock step with the rest of the administration.
Have not heard any info on Steve's plans (Harl's 2009 campaign manager) for Peru TWP. or the 4th ward. Is he still running? He has a lot of Union friends.
Anon 11:25 Sounds like house cleaning time. A good clean sweep hasn't happened since the days of Edgar.
Did Mike Hart ever belong to a Union??
9:07 PM
Will find out
To 6:19 pm,
He has a lot of union friends and a lot of friends and supporters in general. Nothing you post on this blog will ever have any inpact on that fact. You should try to be more informed.
Don't understand how last week's video taping of the council meeting was posted the next day. This week's Monday meeting is still not posted and it was a very short meeting. I think we need a better set up because it appears that this one is not working.
9:07 PM
Yes, while employed at IDOT, until I was promoted and because I did not have enough subordinates I could not stay in the union. MIKE
My Dad also negotiated contracts with the Glass Bottle Blowers Association when he was employed with Owens and traveled all over the US when contracts expired.
I was just thinking about the relevance, or "lack thereof" of this blog to the average citizen in terms of actual participation in this forum.
So I cruncehed a few numbers to help determine numbers of visits to this blog and what that translates into in real percentage of local citizens who are viewing this blog. Here's what I determined.
With a running 30 day average of even 15,000 visits we can conservatively assume each visitor logs onto the blog a minimum of twice a day. (I'll bet its a lot more than that though).
Therefore, I beleive there are at most "250" regular visitors per month to this blog with each one of those 250 logging on at least twice a day. The math on that looks like this;
250 blog visitors X 2 visits per day X 30 days = 15000 visits.
Now, if you take the overall population of the the Illinois Valley: Peru, LaSalle, Spring Valley, Oglesby at a conservative 30,000, those 250 blog visitors make up a whopping 0.835% of the local populace.
Next, if you want to assume that all blog visitors are Peru residents, (which of course we know is not the case), but for the sake of argument we will assume they are all Peru residents, those 250 "Peru" visitors would be a less than impressive 2.5% of Peru's total population that visit this blog.
And that folks is all the proof anybody needs to see to realize that this blog and every single one of its visitors, including myself, exist only in our own little bubble and in the grand scheme of Peru politics we are in fact just a joke. The numbers don't lie people. Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger
You all need to get a life!
Sign me,
"The Numbers Guy"
There is no such a thing as an average day. I use Google Analytics and I could have saved you the time. I can go country by country or state by state and then within the state, city by city. New versus returning readers, even to what browser they are using. The message is getting out there because my readers share with others. I have had complete strangers thank me. I think less than 1/2 of the people in Peru vote in elections also.
To The The Numbers Guy, Congratulations you once again have proven the theory that figures lie and liars figure. Just love the way you ASSUME. You are the one who needs to get a life.
Hey numbers guy....never assume, because you know what happens.
Putting it down in black and white that the city of Peru was unable to have the video of the council meeting of January 28, 2012 posted on their web site by Friday evening February 1, 2012. Why does Princeton have theirs on in 2 days and we can't get ours up in 7 days and that is assuming it will be available on Monday February 4.
Why didn't Mike Hart post directly and is speaking thru Lois, just seems kinda odd. Why hasn't he commented on any of these posts??
Specifically what comments do you believe Mike Hart should post on?
I agree it would be in Mr Harts best interest to post directly. Right or wrong there is suspicion that Lois filters commentary to suit her own agenda, so having Mr. Hart speak directly on the blog would help keep the blog posts most relevant.
1:27 PM
My post was a direct comment, I don't filter to suit my agenda. When people write something I feel is inappropriate or just totally out of line, I make a decision to not bother my readers with the comment and delete. It has nothing to do with an agenda.
1:34 I was not saying you do filter for your agenda Lois, just saying many THINK you do, so if the mayoral candidate wants to avoid that it might be a good idea for him to post directly. Would be nice if the other candidates answered directly.
I think it would be great for you to ask bloggers to submit questions for the candidates, then each week you post an issue and question for them and let the candidates know they can post their position. All other bloggers could NOT comment on that post, but the candidates could respond, like a blog debate. Response could be limited to position, rebuttal and single comment clarification of their statements.
Candidate would not need to worry about being randomly attacked by anonymous bloggers and could take up to a day to formulate response, and civility of discourse would be up to the potential leaders.
It would become a true open forum, the Peru Town Forum.
4:52 That is a GREAT idea! In my opinion that is something this blog truly needs.
4:52 PM
It is an excellent idea but not all candidates are comfortable posting to an internet site. You have already heard from those that are and that is Ald. Mayszak, Ald. Perez and Justin Loger. Our current mayor never even in the early days of his administration when he had so many of the people who worked for him in his camp would he reply to this blog or any blog. Some people believe it is beneath them. They fail to realize it is a form of communication. Ald. Perez initially took a few blows here but people now realize what an awesome individual he is and he seems to have developed a relationship with the bloggers. Ald. Mayszak has put her first sign up and anyone interested in one, let us know. I do hope that mayoral candidate, Mike Hart does reach out to this blogging community with his thoughts for this city.
10:27 Lois
It is not uncommon for incumbents to avoid debate of any kind. A forum such as the one I suggested is nothing more than another way to publish a candidates formal position for voters who make there choices on more than slogans or more/bigger signs.
I could understand that Mayor Harl or Alderman A might no want to post to this blog under any circumstance because they do not want to publicize the other posts and comments. But the format could be easily set up on a totally separate, neutral blogsite, with no links to this one allowed.
It would be nice to see the Mayors response to some difficult questions, and giving him 24 hours to consult with attorney, English teacher, physchologist, and his union cabal should make him feel more comfortable in making his replies. But I understand it is unlikely.
Read the Numbers Guy post.
He nailed it.
8:23 AM
The number of people who read this blog does not mean anything except to those like yourself who wish to demean the people who read the blog and myself and discourage anyone from reading it. It is like you telling someone not to go and see a movie because it was the pits, it is your view only.The next person might find it just his cup of tea. The numbers only show that people read the blog and you have no clue as to how many read on any specific day and do not read on others days when people have their own life to deal with. I suggest you both get a life and not try to make this a political forum for your own persuasion.
8:23 You are the numbers guy. And you assume!
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