The Peru City council held 2 meetings last night, one was the Committee Meeting of a Whole and that was followed by the regular city Council Meeting. I know there were only a few people attending the meeting plus the news reporters. Since I was not there and hardly anyone else was, I looked to the local news sources to find out what took place.
It was reported that the Mayor said we are continuing to receive more requests for more video gaming licenses. At this time we are getting $9,000 per month as the cities portion of the allowed return. Perhaps we are going to become the Las Vegas of Illinois. There are 2 possibilities for all the gamers and that is they just enjoy the activity and no matter what was available they would be taking part in it. Or are people so bored and gas so expensive that they must stay in town and that is what is available and they use it.
But wait, I just read that Hard Rock is coming to the airport on August 16. Will this be handled as all the others have been with no drug control? Are there more likely to be drugs at a concert as this? Is this something that a very large percentage of Peru residents will be drawn to?
Well personally I am off to the Farmers Market in La Salle today and Oglesby is working on their summer fest.
You might like to ask your aldermen about the letter sent to the city by someone that claims the circus coming to the airport does not have a good safety record. I have done a foia but I have not heard back yet. Also waiting for information on the recent land sale made by the city.
34 comments:
IN TONIGHTS PAPER IS ANOTHER CONCERT VENUE AT THE AIRPORT. I'M COMPLETELY APPAULRD AT THE NAMES OF BANDS: GODSMACK, POP EVIL, ESCAPE THE FATE, SUICIDE GIRLS, REDLIGHT KING, and a couple others. These are not geared towards family entertainment. Where are our alderman? Why would the city agree to this type of venue? I understand bands have names of such, but, this doesn't belong at the airport and the city should not condone this. I'd rather see more gambling licenses(which I'm actually not in favor of) allowed then this type of venue. Shame on the city of peru and it's elected officials!
If you give this concert promoter an inch....
Anyway, I think it so amazing that the city has determined airports are so good for things besides landing and taking off planes.
Who knew?
Hey! For one of the first times ever the Miller group said "some" of the "profits". Sure it was not in the Headline, but thats a start!
Slowly, now that the business has charity and benefit firmly in the minds of everyone, they will start to act like it has always been a for profit concert.
I wonder if the wholesale donation of Ipads will equal the recipients hours selling tickets and working the concert this time. Everybody wins.
Lois , you really need to print the lyrics of songs from the bands coming here... separate blog entry. Just need to have a link to it the next time someone claims the pizza house is being bashed for being progressive and bringing culture to the Valley.
Watch all of our superintendents, our city leaders, our clergy all remain nice and quiet, hoping they get the scraps of the next BIG concert. They tested the waters with Kid Rock, and low and behold not a priest or minister stood up. So, all is fair now. Selling tickets with Harls help is what they are about, and liquor, lots and lots of booze. Hey Rodney, you want to have the next fun festival for families in the hangars.
I wonder if you will wander the tarmac with our state's attorney this time, maybe smelling a doobie here or there. There is only one alderman now who even had the stones to pose the question, are these things worth it? Somebody shut him up quick.
I wonder if the FAA paper pushers who look the other way on this town making fools of them at least get some free tickets or suicide girls posters?
I am not a fan of hard rock or circuses so I won't be attending either of these events. Circus' are cruel to animals. All circus' should be shut down, or at least have no animals.
What's happening with the township budget? Doesn't it have to be approved by June 30?
I support the First Amendment. If the Bible Thumpers decide to protest or raise a stink, I will have to change my mind and start siding with the Pizza Lady. The point is not the type of music, he point it the concerts in general. Our local government should not be part of this - that includes allowing them at the airport and providing labor in the form of security, etc. The point is that these are "for profit" events.
As far as drugs go, I would be more concerned about that if the band was playing Baby Boomer 60's classics.
6:41 PM
I just went into you tube and looked for some of the acts. When I searched Suicide Girls, I actually was told I needed to sign in to view which I did and my first thought was Will the patrons be carded?
Personally found this group and several others to be disgusting and if our city unknowingly agreed to sponsor this group at our airport, it really does show how ALL are incompetent to run this town.
Did Ms Noonan give them a list and did they go to You Tube like I just did and see what they are presenting to all ages of this city. If and when anyone would protest this show, I would be willing to join unless the city made sure that all people who go are carded to prove age and that drug sniffing dogs are present plus other protections.
If drug dogs are present, the concert will fail. The patrons will not attend if it is made public that they will need to be screened before entering the concert.
I am a male in my late 20s. I went to uproar last year. Uve seen godsmack and many of these bands live. With the beer. The drugs. Mostly weed. And the moshing. No way this will be contained. All book bags should be checked. No wallet chains or spikes should be allowed etc. i agreed with her shows. This is a rough one. Just youtube avenged sevenfold from last years uproar and you will see what i mean. This is a bad. Very bad idea
I am appalled that the mayor and aldermen are agreeing to allow these bands into our airport. Someone at city hall please, please, please put a stop to this....now!
&;14 Its good to see a small amount of reason here. Some blogger thinks you have to be a bible thumper to be disgusted that the City promotes and strongly supports this type of concert. You can support free speech and still be offended by it. You can say you don't want it blaring in your classroom and try to keep your kids from buying it. Just be thankful it pays for your damn Ipads. Cities make decisions about what is best for the majority of citizens every day.
Yes, there are dozens of reasons why the city should never have responsibly supported and subsidized this private profiteering. But it is not bible thumping to research the number of incidents and visitor profile of the attendees based on the type of act. Its how real venues add extra staff, medical support, and security. And how they stock their bars, which I guarantee you is the sole thing on the Pizza Lady.
This group still thinks they are throwing a big old high school kegger or fourth of July festival.
In this case, they are in way over their heads.
I would like to ask Alderman Ferrari and Alderman Waldorf both of whom have teenage daughters, "Are you going to buy them tickets to the concerts?"
and
to the Streator schools,"Are sure you want to accept money for your schools from this type of bash and were you informed about what this would be?"
Better yet, anybody who has grandchildren, would they buy tickets? Disgusting!
It is a music concert with well known, popular bands. Some people actually enjoy their music. I agree the city security should be reimbursed but really, get over it. You people are too narrow minded If you do not want to see it, feel free to avoid the airport on that day. Stop trying to infringe on the enjoyment of others.
we can't get side tracked by the type of music at these concerts. When that happens it turns into a question of taste (at best) and freedom of speech (at worst). The issue is that the concerts are being allowed at a transportation facility with financial support from the government. I would be just as disgusted with these events if a Christian rock group was playing.
I agree that the MAIN ISSUE is that the concerts are being allowed at a transportation facility with financial support from the government.
I also now believe that there are also many additional issues to this main issue.
Sadly the government of Peru appears to judge the worthiness of any and all issues as to the amount of financial gain that can be achieved.
As a previous blogger mentioned, not one local spiritual leader came forward to express their beliefs of the topic. Could it be possible that the modern idea of not becoming involved has reached the religious communities? Spriritual beliefs and guidence have always ventured into contoversy openly in the past, especially when government representation becomes involved beyond its abilities.
Remember years ago when we had the Taste of the Valley in Centennial Park. I believe it started out as a nice family event with different foods from the local restaurants and a few small activities for the children. Over the years, they took in different types of bands, beer gardens, and larger amusement rides. Didn't we learn our lesson there?
I am confused that the statements on the front-page article from Alderman Potthoff regarding the wretched evils of gambling and how "every red cent" is being sucked out of Peru. Has the senior alderman and his family coverted to an Amish lifestyle? Why is it that Mr. Potthoff has not weighed in on the specific influences and life-style promotion the upcoming "Rock" concert will be bringing to his hometown? Could it be that Dave Potthoff and most of our elected officials are just hypocrites? Do they "pick and choose" which issues to find distasteful based on the political ties of those who sponsor such activities? Why would Potthoff have a problem with legal gambling which continues to provide Peru with revenue while at the same time he remains totally mute while city resources and city property are being utilized for a rock concert extravaganza which is not exactly shall we say "family friendly"? Why is it that Peru's mayor and aldermen assign different moral and ethical standards on different issues based on which way the political winds are currently blowing? Why is it that Alderman Potthoff's moral sensibilities are assaulted by legalized gambling yet he has no problem whatsoever voting in favor of a $3,500,000 no-bid contract for a politically connected local company?
I believe I know the answer to all of these questions. It's really interesting to watch these characters play politics. They're all quite bad it it actually.
Black Sabbath sang it best:
"Who do you trust when corruption and lust, creed of all the unjust, leaves you empty and unwhole?"...
"Do you believe a word the Good Book said? Or is it just a holy fairy tail and God is dead? God is dead "
Again, it is NOT side tracking to analyze the type of act. It is professional and critical when implementing security!
I would also be appalled if it were a Christian Rock group, mostly because they would be complicit in the "charity" component,but would alter the security plan a bit.
There are real statistics about incidents based on crowd size, type of entertainment, etc. I guarantee you the promoter is being fed the concession sales stats from the Chicago company that makes these things happen for her.
They have NOT had video monitoring near stage, with a professional security group and sufficient crowd control police staged there in the past. They better have it this time. No assigned seating near stage, no higher priced tickets to limit the crowd density there. Handling raves and mosh pit incidents, especially if they get near 8 k or more, is not the job of a small town police force.
Since the City puffs up its security chest and says it can handle everything, they damn sure better make decisions on what type of event and crowd capacity. Most Police Departments and City governments would be skeptical and borderline hostile to a private company bringing this in. They would want to see proof of safety and positive economic impact. Ours just giggles and says can I get a picture.
I say we get the Hell's Angeles to run security. Just like they did for the Altamont California concert in 1969. All the "Boomers" are senile now, so they don't remember what happens at concerts anyway.
But seriously - this is bad business for Peru. These events need to be held at a facility that knows what they are doing. We do not have the expertise or the proper facility to handle large concert events. It is just a matter of time before a riot breaks out or somebody wigs out on bad drugs or somebody just keels over from the heat and lack of shelter, shade, and a place to sit.
8:38 more name calling? I'M with Potthoff on the gambling issue. Do we need every block to be a bar and casino? I remember this movie called FOOTLOOSE and these old village folks made rock and roll a satanic cult. Does the City of Chicago review every song listing at every concert in the public park? No. They have heavy metal and many other acts. I am sure that the local concert has no reponsibility to call Potthoff to approve a song list. However, the city does have a responsibility to control liquor licenses and quality of water.
You must be targeting Alderman Potthoff for the next election cycle. Let's hope he will continue to represent us with his conservative agenda.
8:38 I don't think that White shirt red tie Potthoff will go with you to the concert. He looks to be more of a conservative and probably more in tune with "right wing" than Black Sabbath.
This type of concert may actually bring in more external dollars and have less leakage out of the community. But you have to judge realistically where do those dollars go and is it the type of tourist dollar we want to attract.
Like always, the vast majority of the ticket sales dollars bleed back to the out of town artists and event management. The concessions are all cash and held tightly by one local business. The retail sales taxes hardly seem to bump up those months? Where does the money go?
I would love for the City treasurer to actually do a leakage vs economic benefit study for those weeks where concerts occur. Maybe Ferrari could ask to see it?
What insurance coverage is being purchased for this hard rock concert? Past history of rock concerts indicates they will provide everyone with a wake up call.
Remember how your Mayor, City Clerk and aldermen vote for your decisions in all upcoming elections.
Lois
Schools take money from everyone. I heard people complained to the Catholic Bishop over taking money from Kid Rock and nothing ever happened.
Cash is king.
To 11:16 am, Your comment proves how little you actually know about your alderman and local politics in general. You tout his "consevative agenda" as something you support yet you are totally ignorant that his voting record identifies him and most of his family as SD's. Strong Democrats. Dave Potthoff has you right where he wants you. Uninformed and ignorant of his true positions. He plays you and others like you in Peru for fools and you don't know the difference.
Your entitled to your opinion of legalized gambling in Peru. My take on Dave Potthoff is that he likes to play "Holyer than Thou" in order to appease the Tea Tottling oldster conservative voters while at the same time he will gladly continue to accept that $9,000 plus per month in sales tax from legal gambling machines and find new ways to spend it. He can fool you but he can't fool me.
Perhaps they should set up joint police task force stops like they did for Chlicothe summer camp music fest Memkrial Day week end.
9:05 i DON'T know if Pothoff is a democrat or republican. It does'nt make any difference to me or the city. he does have a record of making sure the budget is balanced, understands the finances, favors busineess, won't approve hiring more employees, won't spend city money. From a social issues standpoint he might be a little square. I don't know if thats democrat or republican but over the last 20 years that what i know about him.
9:05 A few weeks ago the city determined that they would utilize the gambling revenues to pay off obligations-bonds, pensions. I understand Potthoff was behind that idea. I thought those revenues should be for IVCC tuition for Peru residents.
I do know that he should run for Mayor.
To 10:15 am, Like I said. He can fool you, but not me.
11:03 - that was an idea from Alderman Sappy. I don't think it was ever passed.
Personally - I think the $9K per month should go to the homeless shelter because at the rate the Baby Boomers are dumping their social security checks into the local slot machines, they will all be homeless soon.
If you haven't gone to a local bar in the afternoon lately, you should do it. You will see the Boomers dumping $20 bills one after another.
11:03 - that was an idea from Alderman Sappy. I don't think it was ever passed.
Personally - I think the $9K per month should go to the homeless shelter because at the rate the Baby Boomers are dumping their social security checks into the local slot machines, they will all be homeless soon.
If you haven't gone to a local bar in the afternoon lately, you should do it. You will see the Boomers dumping $20 bills one after another.
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