Meet and greet McGraw passes raise money for the March of Dimes « AM1220 WLPO News
Is this something the city of Peru should continue to be involved with? Thanks to the Miller Group the March of Dimes, the intended cause, did receive 10,000 after the concert failed to produce enough money.
Again for the next concert, it looks like bids will be taken for a chance to meet the concert performers before the concert.
Yes Peru Little League does get the cell tower money from the Washington Park tower.
50 comments:
Well lets see if Noonan continues to have these concerts. If she does, then you know at least she is making money even though not much is going to the "cause".
Why would concerts continue? Her profits are from food and drinks! Right?? Why wouldn't they continue? Duh!
Who pays for electrical usage? For concerts. Every little bit is a cost.
I for one hope they do continue! It's about time we get something to do in this area
Some concerts may be good, others may not be profitable. Why do we invest in stocks, real-estate, etc. Some maybe good, others not so good.
Did the City receive their portion for ticket sales and how much?
The former Democrat state representative for Chicago’s 34th District pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of wire fraud. The government accused her of spending money raised through a golf “charity.” The prosecutors say that she told donors that the money would pay for scholarships. But she only gave a small portion of the $76,000 she raised. She faces up to 20 years in prison.
Did the city receive their portion for ticket sales and parking, and what expenses did they incur. Did the city make a profit?
How much does Little League {LL} have saved in their finances? Is their a cap on their savings that stops money to be given to them from the tower at a certain amount? Does anyone realize that LL is a organization that all money is to be spent on the league of the existing year because of the continuous turnover of children and only enough put away for the next year to start it up. Knowing that the pool was going to be demolished why were not the diamonds moved to get away from the short right field fence which has to be so high. Today the trend is to move the fences further back because of the size and strength of the children. This should have been done before the light poles were set in. What finaces does this league have accumulated?
Another bag of lies. Noonan has pocketed tons from these concerts thanks to the 10's of $1,000's the City hands over to her every year in security, electric, parking, setup, cleanup, etc. We are fools for allowing this to happen at the expense of all the things this city really needs. Oh I forgot, the complimentary tickets to the council and mayor that vote to allow this BS every year!! Only in Peru, the very finest of the Illinois Valley! LOL LOL LOL LOL
Why does it not concern anyone that the local news media, the one possible source to investigate this very strange concert city connection, is so deeply entrenched and slanted in their bias toward these concerts? They have covered them and called them as Charity concerts, fund raiser concerts, white washed any of the possible questions raised here on the blog and by concerned citizens.
Now they even sponsor them and fill in when the event does not do what it was supposed to do?
The city props it up, the police excessively support and seem to bend over backwards for them, giving glowing safety and drug use reports unlike ANY concerts anywhere in the country and the local news media is bought and paid for by the Mayor and promoter. When are people going to start waking up and asking some hard questions around here?
When bloggers say we all should lighten up and party, that's when I know something is wrong.
How can the Mayor think that a concert brings money to businesses in town when it actually takes business out of town?
Anon 9:28 The local newspaper bottomed out years ago and has stayed there. It has a real need of competition and the area needs a 2nd source of the news besides Miller Media.
928. That's funny, when are more than 10 people going to start attending the council meetings?
I encourage everyone to read the article that Lois has listed under popular posts dated almost three years ago today. It is titled Peru alderman suggest tax hike to fund municipal pool.
How many volunteers worked from the March of Dimes at the event? Does anyone realize if 30 people volunteer 10 hours Ms. Noonan has saved approx. $2500.00 in wages (minimum)? Subtract organization volunteers and the Miller Media donation and in theory Ms. Noonan ONLY donated $2600.00 to March of Dimes!
8:32, 9:28 More of the same shouting for a conspiracy. The concert promoter pays for the security. Pays for the porta potties. Has clean-up. Back to the same adage, the more crap that you throw at the fan the better chance something will stick.
Nothing presented in your response has any validity to the operation of the concert. Are you feeling bad about your lack of success in life? I would suggest that you request this to be a self-help session. I am sure Lois and her co-author would play a little Dear Abby with your and that little voice that keeps shouting CONSPIRACY.
7:35 probably the same one that wanted a tax increase for sales tax. Don't complain he's consistent.
10:14-------taxpayers haven't really been given concrete truth in regards to concert expenditures,etc... Since to are throwing crap at bloggers, feel free to give us facts on concerts. From reading all these blogs, I still haven't seen who paid all the fireman, in which one blogger said they were paid $10 a hour. Did city pay? Liberty Fire Company pay? Concert promotors. Enlighten us if you so choose 10:14. I encourage you to read ALL blogs from the last two+ years pertaining to these concerts. And they should make any persons have concerns and rightfully so, due to the FACT they are taxpayers!!!!!!!
TRANSPARENCY=TRUTH
TRANSPARENCY=TRUTH
Why do they ban lawn chairs? I'll never go to one again. The last show I went to I tried to sit on a blanket and was constantly getting stepped on by drunks. Then I got harassed by "security" while giving myself an insulin shot - as the smell of marijuana permeated the air. They They are nothing but a big drinking party if you ask me.
12:27 PM
Those are things that the city officials wish you would not tell anybody because they would probably deny it if they were confronted with the truth. Last year I did ask our police chief if he would use drug dogs at the concert and he and said NO. So that to me means an accepted form of behavior and if you attend that type of concert, be prepared for some drugs to be present with no drug enforcement.
I have a friend who has attended two concerts and was told that people were smoking pot all around her and that a police/security walked right by it and did nothing. And several other people also said the same thing. So 12:27, there are many others that support your claim. And to say no problems at concerts. What a bag of bologna.
Hush! HUSH! About the truth 12:27! No problems at concerts. Lol. Think of revenue from arrests. Supplemental income for the city.
10:14 I am always amused that whenever anyone points out a concern about the unusual support given to one business , and points out the economics of each concert possibly create a net leakage of funds from the area and very little percentage given to charity , the response is conspiracy. Drawdowns raise 10 k. And they don't need a dozen cops, and dozens of volunteers. Do the math on the ticket sales.
False and/or misleading advertising is not a conspiracy. A city that encourages and gets involved in this unusual set up, and goes to strange lengths to support and protect it naturally should raise the interest of people who are concerned citizens. You would think the newspaper would ask those questions as well, but it has been explained that it is not a news paper as much as an ad paper.
I do not think anyone has said conspiracy. False presentation of facts, reimbursements not made, risking grant money, excess use of city services , lack of attention to safety... These things are not calls for conspiracy. I personally doubt many palms are being greased. I think the promoter (s) keeps most of the cash for themselves.
Attacking people who don't like it , and claiming they are not a success is a smokescreen. If we all need to throw concerts and rent port a potties to be able to comment on poor news coverage and city negligence, I missed that memo. There is a great deal of false pride taken that big name entertainment comes, and people "support" the cause. Some people just think it's a load of crap.
1:16 please tell us more about the theory of net leakage of funds for the area as a result of the big name concerts.
I guess many of your questions should be submitted to the concert promoter. Why does the promoter give to charity? Why does she request the charity to return the favor by providing volunteers? Those would be questions for the concert promoter. Personally most of us see this a win for the charitable causes.
You mentioned lack of attention to safety as a concern. We hope you bring up your concerns to those professionals who deal with safety 365 days each year. When you deal with a crowd, you always have a potential for danger. Maybe your vast experience in public safety will assist the Peru Police Department?
Excess use of city services was another point that you highlighted. At what point is public safety excessive? From all the material that has been disclosed to the public media, all indications are that Peru will benefit from ticket sales, parking proceeds, sales tax, motel tax and reimbursement of public safety.
Your complaints about the local media not covering your suggested conspiracy theory may be a slanted look from your viewpoint. Is it possible that the local media may have actual sources and real material instead of your vivid imagination of events.
Granted we all agree that there are a few that feel the concerts are not worthwhile. Have a little fun, life's too short for such a dismal view on everything. Some people like soft-serve ice cream, air-conditioning, cold water and even local concerts.
12:27 why do you think they say no videotaping at the concerts lol? Oh yes I forgot , it's because of the artists. But there are so many cell phone videos of the Kid rock partying, they were talking about the rowdiness and the pot on the La Grotto web site right after the concert! And it was by people who LOVED it, not us old party poopers. Sure the drug comments came down magically in a few days, but I saw it all. And they never really go away. And as much as I like Rodney, he came on here a few days after and said he saw nothing. not a thing. To his credit, he was the only one who even admitted maybe a couple doobies were smoked here and there. But it was ok, it was for a catholic school.
Concerts have high drug use. Concerts have drunks. Concerts have cars driven by drunks that illegally pile out onto roads not using access roads, with fender benders, road rage and drunks busting through caution tape to pass within 2 feet of an exposed above ground gas main ( they kinda fixed that a little for the Tug concert, since two little old ladies almost blowed up at the airport a few months after.) Only the promoters, aldermen , cops and Newspaper seem to think the concerts are safe wonderful magic bean fields where everyone plays nice, cause it's the Illinois Valley and nothin bad ever happens here.
Not every cop in that department keeps quiet.
3:16
a lesson on leakage
When a majority of ticket sales goes to California nashville detroit or wherever the entertainer is from , and security stage goes to Chicago, you need to have almost 70 percent attendance from outside the Illinois valley to even come close to breaking even on dollars flowing in here. Since most of the outside visitors are day trippers, because we don't have that many rooms, it gets pretty obvious pretty quick. You seem to think the only people who have a problem with these Charity concerts are a few malcontents. There are real concert promoters and real venues that have been getting pissed off about them for a while now. They KNOW what is going on. It hurts their venues.
Look at the last concert. It allegedly did not even cover costs. Since the big fixed and variable costs head out of this area. The profits are supposed to go to charity? Or they go to one business. How much bump in sales tax does that business give to the city that month?
3:27 PM
It is very said that the mayor and other officials put Peru in such a bad light and for what? Is it for a few bucks or something else I am not aware of?
How many of you go around telling people you live in Peru, the land of big and important airport concerts? More than likely you do like I have done at times when I find myself in conversation with new acquaintances...I live in La Salle County or I live in the Illinois Valley and if specifics are needed I go no further than the La Salle Peru area.
Is requiring the charity to provide workers a form of illegal quid pro quo in exchange for the donation?
@3:27 Disappointed with Alderman Perez with his laid back attitude in regards to pot smoking. At least his sniffer was working. This is another reason to cease these concerts. Guarantee if there was a k-9 at the entry gate a lot of concert attendees would go back to their car get rid of their stash and return to gate! Who wouldn't do that if they had drugs on them?
3:46 if it were a requirement to get the funds or implied that work is expected to get the funds, it would in the least reduce the legal deduction of the amount given to charity by the fair market value of the labor. Labor laws could also be in violation if the volunteers were working for the private business and they were doing work that others were being paid to do. There are many requirements even for unpaid interns at businesses. If it were a pure charity event, then that would not apply.
If the volunteers were working only to assist at the activity that was specifically raising funds for their charity, and there was no coercion or mandatory requirement that they work or sell tickets, then the only issue would be was the activity entirely for them. If anyone else profited from the net proceeds of activity, the amount of net market value of their labor could NOT be deducted from that business income tax.
5:04
Where I am confused:
If the charity only received proceeds from the Meet and Greet passes that Ms. Noonan specifically stated people needed to speak with her at the restaurant to place a bid; how does that involve the assistance of volunteers? Clearly working or volunteering at the actual event was of no monetary benefit to the charity since the Meet and Greet bids were determined prior to the event. From this rationale one could conclude the only person who benefited was the promoter from the free labor?
8:01 I think the passes were directly connected and dependent on the concert occurring, and If the concert was a net loss, it is kind of a moot point. The promoter would claim that they donated the 5 k and just increased the loss on the whole fundraising event.
If they made any money off the activity supported by the donated labor, then donated only part of the profit, then claimed all of that donation as a deduction, then the quid pro quo comes into play. They would only have actually given the donation MINUS the fair market value of the labor.
Hot Mess. Go full charity and stop trying to make a for profit concert a charity concert when it is convenient (volunteers, advertising, getting special breaks)
If Noonan isn't making money on these concerts, she won't continue having them. All that work for a $5,000 donation? Incredibly low. I'm sure she takes her cut off the top and whatever is left, she gives to the charity. Remember Alan Jackson's charity would have got zero except he made a $20,000 donation personally. The pool fund got a $26,000 donation from the Big Time Rush concert. Big differences in the amounts of money given to charity.
Anon 9:44 You have to give Mary Noonan credit. The concerts have worked well for those that she has intended them to work well for.
She has nothing to lose and everything to gain by using the airport and city services on the other hand what in the long run will the city gain by entering business with Mary because of the concert.
In the future what has the city government set themselves up for when other businessmen (Peru citizens or not Peru citizens) approach those responsible and want to use the airport for other legal ventures. Has a door been opened that will be extremely difficult to shut.
Besides another upcoming concert at the airport United Way is going to have a activity at this site.
I've heard that this airport is designated as a emergency airport which is financed by federal funding. How can local small town officials designate it as a private concert center, beer garden and recreational facility non of which it is intended for and not risk needed finances from the federal government for maintenance and future development?This question cannot be answered with the start "I think" it has to be answered with a 110% guarantee "I know". Peru has had a good thing going in the airport why would a local politician be allowed to risk it when he is only responsible for his actions for four years at a time but the airport could be handicapped by them for a lifetime. I am not against progress but am against stupid.
10:50 p.m. FAA approves the concerts. FAA and IDOT Aeronautics give strict guidelines of where these events can be held on airport property so air traffic is not affected. The airport is in no way shut down during these events. I'm not against the concerts, but saying money goes to a charity and only giving $5k to the charity is ridiculous.
10:50 I don't really have to give her a damn thing, because I don't like any business or individual who uses kids, soldiers, causes as a tool to make money for themselves.
If it ever goes full on charity concert, I will be happy to show up and help with clean up. Till then, I just think it is wrong. Only one opinion.
7:42
Yes and the Div of Aero also classifies these events as charity concerts...and the IRS targeted tea party groups...and Madigan used his political clout on the Metra scandal...
Point being because it was allowed to occur does NOT indicate it was LEGAL!
Anon 8:15 The possiblity of the concert at the airport being a 100% chairty event are slim to none. There is no one , I mean no one who is going to work that amount of time and accept the tremendous amount of responsibility for no financial return in todays world.
The city being the owner of the airport could hire a promoter to stage a venue but they would have to pay the individual which eliminates the thought of a 100% full charity.
The city could also agree to a set salary to Mary for her expertise as a promoter and keep the entire net from the concert or vise versa and absorb the entire loss.
Being that the citizens of Peru own the airport there are many business avenues which can be travelled at the airport even as far fetched as flying planes in and out of it.
imagine that. We could fly airplanes in and out of our airport. Who'da thunk?
12:49 The most important question to ask is why would any charity or Peru take a chance that the concert may lose money? The way it is handled with the charity&Peru is that are guaranteed to only gain from the event.
9:22 your comment and comparisions are ridiculous. Metra, tea party target? Please subscribe to The Conspiracy Times, it's a concert at the airport thats all it is. I doubt the concert will be with the shot from the grassy knolls or the Lockness Monster
12:49 do you understand that charities DO pay promoters? They pay all kinds of people to work for them. Have you checked out the books for Tim Mcgraws other charity concerts, or the Farm Aid breakdown. I have. Charity concerts have been very popular over the last ten years. There have been some that have gotten negative PR and attacked pretty hard.
The difference is that the public can see how the funds break down. There is a board that makes the decisions. There is accountability. No one is suggesting that the promoter do it out of the kindness of their heart.
Just stop pretending that they do it out of the kindness of their heart.
1:50
The only conspiracy I see is the Conspiracy To Defraud....and that sweetheart is not ridiculous.
Anon 2:47 PM You are missing the point in that once you hire and pay a promoter or anyone else it is no longer a 100% charity. To be a complete charity you would have to have all volunteers and only the charity receiving the net.
Most of the charities that are contributed to also have someone in charge making a big chunk of do re me also. There are some true charities but very few by the strict definition of charitable organization.
8:41 I am not missing the point. You are are describing exactly what I would I would volunteer for, a real charity event like farm aid. I know that that not every penny donated to a charity goes to a charity, but the books are open and you can see what is going on, and there is a board that has responsibility.
I am not asking that concert series be run by all volunteers like a bingo night. This should not be so hard for you, when you say you are throwing fund raising concerts or charity concerts, just BE that, not a private business throwing whatever money they seem to see fit. Or since you have to pay a buck a ticket to the city now anyway because enough people pointed out the city was being hosed, including the FAA, why not call it the IV concerts series say 5 bucks of every ticket goes to the charity? Clearly state it like all the other businesses do when they run a campaign for charity.
It is the implication over the years that the proceeds go to charity that is what is just wrong, and the fact a city government is involved is even crazier. You say that NOBODY expects that the proceeds go to charity because NOBODY expects anyone to to do all this for free. I do not believe that is true, I believe that many people over the years have believed these were fund raiser events with the proceeds going to a cause. That is how they were advertised, sold, presented and only recently has there been a few articles or news coverage saying a portion of the proceeds go to the charity. Do the math on the ticket sales and estimate the concession sales and see just how low that percentage is. Why can't they just be concerts and not the BS about charity? Nobody would mind a concert promoter in the area? The only reason I can think of is to get special breaks from city or artists. No other concert venues get to say they are charity concerts without being an organized charity. Why does it get to happen here? The two biggest acts have now seen the littlest donations. How low can a donation go and STILL be a benefit concert? Who benefits?
Are the promoters of the concerts considered professional fund raisers? If so what are the implications.
An organization that raises funds on behalf of a Charity , over a certain amount, is considered a professional fund raiser. Fundraising need not be their ONLY business activity. There is no restriction on the amount of the funds the professional fundraiser keeps for themselves as long as they file the necessary forms and do not say that they give any more percent than they agreed to give. They must file with the department of revenue a full breakdown of their fundraising activities.
If a business only states that they are giving a portion of the sales of their goods or services to charity in a commercial activity in keeping with their normal business, they generally do not file. Example, a special sale at Kohls giving a portion of sales to a charity.
If the business simply collects funds and keeps them entirely separate ( the can at the register) , they generally do not file a a pro fund raiser. Some choose to do so, some Walmarts have filed for specific campaigns.
This was explained to me by an attorney for a charity and it was their informal opinion that the concerts would classify as a distinct fund raising campaign. They would recommend filing. I do not know whether Concerts for a Cause files or not, but I am certain their attorney advised them of their legal obligations. They are not stupid. Blogs are generally not the best place for anyone to formulate their final legal opinion on anything, and I encourage contacting the Attorney Generals office for clarification or official opinions.
Anon 9:09 You are becomming way to sophisticasted, professional and serious plus taking all the fun out of blogging. ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE FOR CLARIFICATION OR OFFICIAL OPINIONS. Next thing is that you will be wanting to shut down all corner coffee shops in Peru leaving nowhere to buy Bears tickets for the upcoming season.
9:03 Sorry. Did not mean to take the fun out of blogging. Occupational hazard I guess in my profession. Just wanted to try and answer the question Lois posed.
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