“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

Monday, December 23, 2013

Peru at-large referendum unchallanged « AM1220 WLPO News

Peru at-large referendum unchallanged « AM1220 WLPO News

42 comments:

Anonymous said...

The end of an era is near...though I'm sure some enjoy the eye rolling and facial gestures. I will make sure to be attendance after the election when the clerk is required to read the newly voted on by the great people of Peru that say all 8 of you have to re-run for election and only 6 will win. You must declare at time of taking petition whether you will be running as an at large or ward alderman. Those alliances that once were are no longer.

Anonymous said...

Lois Congrats to your group I'm sure it to some work and organization to accomplish this. Now we must elect 6 that will move our city forward and stop this mess we are in. I am disappointed to not see Justin Loggers name in this group, I voted for him last time but I have to believe he was not supportive in this change which was huge to who I will be voting for next time

Anonymous said...

Interesting statement from Bartley about the city of Peru certifying the petitions provided they they were submitted according to "the rules". I am curious as to exactly what rules the clerk is referring to. It sure sounds like the local election authority of Bartley, Harl, and Potthoff are scrambling to create some some special "rules aka "road-blocks" to stop the question from appearing on the ballot. I think they are sneaking around behind the scenes trying to kill the At-Large initiative child in its cradle.

Anonymous said...

Bartley's time hopefully will come and he will be out also. Since when did he become king?

Anonymous said...

The group initiating and supporting this referendum know their politics. All rules were followed and this referendum will be on the March ballot!

Jennifer Nagle said...

I wrote this story and at no point was I trying to make it sound like Bartley or anyone was creating rules to keep this from going to the ballot. I paraphrased him. He needs to certify that the petition was turned in and meets the rules that any referendum would have to follow. This story was about it being unchallenged and nothing more.

Linda said...

I'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and to extend my thanks and gratitude to Lois for teaching us, informing us, and allowing us to explore avenues we would not be aware of if it were not for this blog. A special Merry Christmas to you (Lois) and Bob. Continued health and happiness throughout the holiday season.

Anonymous said...

Jennifer how about WLPO and the Paper ask the mayor and all the alderman what position they have on it. That's news! Do they support smaller government with more representation? Remember the Harl slogan once was it is Time for Change. Many people are still lookin at the clock.

Anonymous said...

Thanks jennifer for clearing that up much appreciated coverage of the city circus

Anonymous said...

Heard at the grocery store today that CVS workers were told that a new CVS is going to be built out in front of their current store on Shooting Park Road. Anybody hear about that?

Unknown said...

7:00 I did support this change, as I said in a previous post I am not one to say it shouldn't have a fighting chance. When Steve came to my house to ask for my signature, I had asked for petition papers as well, but unfortunately I became ill and couldn't get out there to gather any.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Jennifer, I think what 9:15 is suggesting is that the "election authority" as described in the state statute, has the authority to create rules regarding referendum and petition matters. With that being the case, if that election authority has a political motivation to prevent a referendum from being certified and therefore preventing it from making it on the ballot, that would be quite possible in a city like Peru where elected officials are well known to be "ethically challenged".
Happy Holidays y'all!

Anonymous said...

When is the info complied by Judge Balestri going to be decided upon and released to the public? Who than makes a decision as to the results and who is it appealed to if politics overrules good judgement. I have seen poor, young children handed over to the grand jury for stealing 2 candy bars. If I have a city official who has misappropriated tax money and he is turned loose the countries representation is failing the cause it is set up for and should be told face to face. The Mayor, all city employees on the giving and receiving ends of misappropriated tax money and anyone else involved should be highly punished. If they aren't a effort should be made to force this Judge to never do another investigation, and all questionable parties to resign and not to run again. Keep politics out of small town politics!

Anonymous said...

More of the same from the "factually challenged" conspiracy crowd on the blog. The local election board has no authority to create rules for filing petitions. The rules are defined by state statute. The election board is required to certify the rules established by the state are followed.

Anonymous said...

If a individual is found guilty , any individual, of tax evasion in one case of which there are probably more what would be the state and federal penalties?
How is the misappropriation of taxpayers monies any different?
I don't have to go to a retired judge to get the answer for this and I am sure you don't either?
A man who will steal will also lie, these sins are twins!

Anonymous said...

8:47 your credibility is shot when you say you have seen poor young children handed over to a grand jury for stealing two candy bars. No, in fact, you have not. You are lying. If I am wrong, please cite the specific case.

Whatever the results of the investigation (which should take a considerable amount of time) you aren't going to like it anyway. You and many on here have taken the position that the judge is biased and it is all a conspiracy. The city council unanimously approved moving forward with an investigation. Please let it run it's course. They don't owe you or me any explanation until it is done but like you, I look forward to hearing the results.

I love how people rip this judge and saying he can't be unbiased, and yet he was entrusted with the local bench and presided over far more important cases for many years. Despite the constant criticisms on here, kudos for the council for getting to the bottom of it. I hope we find out the truth when it is done.

Anonymous said...

10:28 I agree with most of what you said, except for the importance of the case. Violation of public trust and potential malfeasance generally ranks up there with the most heinous of non violent crimes, as it is where we are most vulnerable. We must trust in our leaders to protect our interests, for it is impossible to have checks and balances as you would in private business.

Anonymous said...

To 10:28 am, I know you are not lumping all of us who read and comment on this blog as conspiracy theorists so I am not at all offended. As a clear thinker, I believe I am able to understand pretty well where you are coming from with your comment and I am happy to provide my analysis.
You beleive that because the Peru council unanimously voted in favor of hiring Balestri it must mean that each and every alderman wants to get to the bottom of the alleged scandal. I could not disagree more. I beleive that at least half of the aldermen did not want to proceed with an investigation and only agreed to hire the judge because they were afraid to vote against it in open meeting because they lack the courage of their convictions. They are essentially cowards. They are either closet Harl backers like Sapienza, Lukosus, and Waldorf. Or, they just want this whole mess to go away asap so they can protect their phony-baloney do-nothing elected positions, because the whole mess is actually a failure and proof of the lack of due diligence on their part.
There doesn't have to be a huge conspiracy for justice to be "slighted" in Peru. The simple fact that the city council decided not to consult with an actual law enforcement agency is all the evidence I needed to realize from the start that the good judge would return with a whole lot of nothing. I don't call it a conspiracy. I just say the fix is in! Here is my prediction and I hope you will understand that I witnessed this same type of "act" play out the same way about 30 years ago with Don Baker and a city council that hired George Leynaud to "look into alleged improprieties" regarding conflicts of interest on the part of Mayor Baker and the city purchasing hundreds of thousands of dollars in products and services from Complete industrial, Inc. That council also voted unanimously to hire "independent" council and that investigation went absolutley "NOWHERE".
The fix was in back then, and the fix is in again.
There is only one alderman who wants this scandal exposed and his name is Rodney Perez. Just like everything else the current council has done, they will not allow Perez to achieve a victory. Even if it means once again demonstrating how ethically challenged they really are. Ther will be no justice in this matter. Not now, not ever.
The judge will say, "Move along folks, there's nothing to see here". So to you 10:28 I say, "You don't really want the truth. You can't handle the truth".

Anonymous said...

No my credibility is not shot.The Grand Jury voted in favor of the States Attorney, Joseph Naverro to prosecute in court two minors, both boys and if I remember correctly brothers. The boys were from Streator and it took place during the same time as a past Sheriffs investigation.How do you know I am not going to like the results of the retired Judges investigation of the present Peru Mayors payroll policies?
The considerable amount of time which you believe it should for the Judges investigation will be finished and results announced shortly after January 1st.
Now who is uninformed or a liar because the specific case you asked for is cited. If you want to defend , defend justice and the truth.

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:28 AM What cases are far more important that Judge Balestri sat over than this present Mayors investigation to the City of Peru? This town has been corrupt for too long . If they are not satisfied there are those who will make all other illegalities being presently sanctioned by those in the system who are both elected and appointed to stop these illegalities running to hide much greater than what is taking place today.

Anonymous said...

Does payroll go through the finance committee?

Anonymous said...

The Finance Committee provides oversight and approval for all expenditures made by the city of Peru. A lot of responsibility for an elected official. Would you want it exposed to the public that you were asleep at the city of Peru financial wheel? Would you want all to know that this went on under your watch for more than four years? Would you want to lose your re-election bid because you failed to protect the tax dollars of the citizens of Peru?
If you lack the ethical standards you will certainly want thjis payroll scandal to just go away. So we must ask ourselves. Who wants it to go away and who wants it exposed? Not much of a surprise to me. It's 7 to 1 all over again.

Anonymous said...

1:20 please understand I do not think this issue is not important. You said very well why it is and I will leave it at that. I do think murder trials when someone's life hangs in the balance is of greater importance than employees being overpaid. Again that is not to say this is not a critical issue.

1:52 why do you think I cannot handle the truth, or do want the truth? I'm all for a good movie quote but that does not apply here and I said I want the truth. What I don't want is your rumors or conspiracies. Why every time that someone has another viewpoint do they get ripped or get accused of being a supporter of the mayor? I simply said that I trust this particular person to do the job. This is not the same as the situation you cited from years ago.

If you want the truth I think Harl approved overtime that was not worked for a handful of employees and I think he should suffer whatever consequences go with that. I do not think this is the fault of the city council because if it is, it will be all eight who are responsible. The city council does not approve payroll, I am pretty sure of that.

2:56 as for you, you have proven or cited nothing. Tell us all since the grand jury handed down indictments for the two little candy bar thieves, how did their trial turn out? Were they found guilty or innocent? Did they plead down to a lesser charge like stealing bubble gum? Enlighten us.

If two juvenile boys were in fact charged for theft, it was because they had a mile long rap sheet when it happened. Which of course ruins your ridiculous "argument" of whatever it is you are trying to argue. You clearly have no idea how juvenile justice works so let's move on.

Anonymous said...

A lot of our judicial system is corrupt. Go to the court house and observe the rat race of attorneys in and out of courtroom. Quite comical, who makes $200 just for showing up to court. The judiciary disiplinary board through the illinois bar association is very interesting.

Anonymous said...

8:56 You state that you are "pretty sure" the council does not approve payroll, so who does approve payroll? Is it on the disbursement sheets that comes before this committee? These are just questions that need to be cleared up and if you are pretty sure that is not good enough.

Anonymous said...

Blind Faith is the topic of the at-large referendum. Truly this referendum is a diversion from those long-time Harl supporters. A look at the Newspaper and many will be able to place together the characters of this Mayoral diversion. The petition creators were the Harl Campaign Manager and others very close to Mayor Harl at one time or another. The goal of it is to place a diversion in the investigation process. If it was truly about more representation it would have 8 at-large representatives. And if they were truly about decision making it would be to re-call Harl. Diversions are common place in political handbooks, its embarrassing to see some of these people jump into the personal agenda of a few.

Peru Town Forum said...

10:27 AM

Are you really that naive? The Harl issue just emerged weeks ago and do you have any idea how many months that the Peru At Large Initiative has been worked on?
That should answer your questions. It sounds like perhaps you are the Harl supporter as the people behind the PAL have not been Harl supporters for years.
The investigation is a new comer on the scene and hopefully it will come to an honest conclusion with just punishment for those involved. You really shouldn't venture into waters when you don't know how deep they are.

Anonymous said...

8:56 I am still waiting for your reply on whether the payroll goes through the finance committee. I feel this is also a crucial piece of information regarding this mess at city hall.

Anonymous said...

@ 8:56 You have proven that your true talent is in the comic arena. That you do not accept answers that directly answer your own questions and that it is you who even if it is your professional field do not have a complete idea of how juvenile
justice works. Did you sit on this grand jury. You seem to have so much knowledge about it!
No the children did not have a mile long rap sheet. Yes lets move on because you have proven that the only means of expression that you have is the 'Art of Insult" which is the sign of a loser. Are you also extremely loud?

Anonymous said...

Come on people 12:16 wants a simple answer to a simple question = DOES PAYROLL GO THROUGH THE FINANCE COMMITTEE?

Anonymous said...

Come on people, do you honestly believe any supervisor would just hand over ghost hours because an employee may or may not have supported them during election? There is more to this story and you all know it. Please move on to a new topic.

Anonymous said...

Potthoff has said that all expenditures are already paid before the finance committee sees them, except for amounts over $20,000. Payroll amounts are set and are public knowledge. How could an employee get extra money for overtime not worked?

Harl has said he doesn't micro-manage his department heads. However, he approved ghost hours.

Who exactly is in charge at city hall? All seems to be running amuck!

Anonymous said...

so if the bills are already paid what is the point of them going through the finance committee? is this what is referred to as a "rubber stamp"?

Anonymous said...

5:00 p.m. if you want answers stop asking anonymous people who don't know the answer and you wouldn't know if it was the right answer if they gave you one. Go ask and find out. I'm pretty sure that payroll would not be approved because a committee should not be able to stop someone from being paid their regular hours and they would not know who worked overtime anyway. As for the extra "ghost" hours that is a different issue. No way did a "committee" approve that.

Anonymous said...

12:44 you still have not cited a case and you are correct about on thing. I do not just accept answers until you give us the specifics. Try to spar all you want but you will not name a case outside of your vague generalization. You have answered NO questions at all. I asked you how did the trial turn out? Were they found guilty or innocent? Did they plead down to a lesser charge? If they were charged by a grand jury for stealing two candy bars, then one of these things happened.

In fact I do know that in NO CASE have two previously innocent minor children with no criminal record gone before a GRAND JURY and then to TRIAL for stealing two candy bars. This would be a landmark case that would make national news on its absurdity alone. So, make your snide comments but please validate them with the case or docket number so we can all look it up. We will be here waiting.

No comments on here should ever be considered factual until they are backed by proof and facts. Rumors and innuendo do nothing to solve a problem. They just destroy your credibility, which in turn harms what could be good things that come from a forum like this. But no, just continue standing by your two candy bar crime story and all of the other silliness instead of sticking with those stubborn things called facts.

Anonymous said...

so 9:21....you are pretty sure that payroll does not go through the finance committee, so then who does approve payroll? what kind of check and balance system is there within the committee and who signs the pay checks? simple questions should have simple answers. no need to be sarcastic.

Anonymous said...

1:32 the entire point is that the answers are not on the blog. Ask someone at the city. Most businesses or governments do not have a committee that approves payroll. I'm not sure who acts as the comptroller or who does payroll, but the timecards should be approved by a supervisor and then turned in for payroll. The person in charge of payroll would have to make sure that they are paid at the correct rate for the time approved on the card.

Anonymous said...

6:06 thank you for trying to explain the process to me and for doing it without being nasty. I will call Rodney to see if he can answer my questions.

Anonymous said...

Isn't the finance committee involved in union negotiations? If so, wouldn't they be aware of the rules that govern collective bargaining?

Anonymous said...

Being that a Dept. Hd. dose not have to appear to the make purchases under $5,000 it dose not appear that the final approval of individual payroll is the responsibility of the Finance Committee.
Has anyone ever declared that a project that has purchases of $4,000, $4,000 and $4,000 at 3 separate times for a total of $12,000 have to be approved by the finance committee because it is evident the final total purchases for the one project will be 2X's + $2,000 more than $5,000 but each individual purchase will be under $5,000.
.

Anonymous said...

I still think Bartley should have caught the extra unworked hours a long time ago. What does he do just pay the payroll without looking into it?

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:33 Do you realize that the person cited you a case which I also know to be true. Just because you do not believe and want proof does not make someone your slave to have to obey your orders. You have been informed of where to go for the docket now go get it if you want proof.