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
There is a rumor flying around town that the fireworks that where supposed to be shot off at the river are now going to be shot off at the airport during the next "concert for a profit." People are saying that the City donated them to help boost attendance at the concert.
Anon 216 That is a rumor, the cities backup is Labor Day weekend, talk to The City Clerk, he will give you the facts, or are you just trying to start a controversy with the city and Noonan?
Anon 9:21, that's fine, talk to the Mayor, but the City Clerk is also an elected official that is in charge of taking all minutes of meetings where transaction, meaning changes that take place using tax payers money, for public record.Also check with Rec. Board, they have to ok the timeline because the fireworks falls under their derective.
As a novice to social media; I apologize for the airport blog whoisadamil16.blogspot.com being down yesterday afternoon. I anticipate keeping the readers updated on my journey for accountability.
The rumor around town is that the fireworks contract was written with only a 30 day window. So it is shoot them off at the concert or not at all, either way we will pay for them. But, it might just be people "talking." But I found lately that there is a lot of truth to the "talking."
Thanks Kristy for letting those of us who care about both you and the work you do know whats going on with the blog.
In my opinion, you never need to apologize to any of us, because you have more guts and fight than most all of us, and whether I always agree with you or your style... I still respect the hell out of you. Good luck getting answers.
i have a little experience in Emergency Action Plans. I am sure the City Attorney has covered Peru and the Concert Promoter sufficiently in their legal opinion.
What Kristy seemed to run into is not unique to the Illinois Valley area. In fact, the lack of regulation for large outdoor concerts, compared to the strict regulations for indoor concerts, has been kicked about for many years, usually after some storm, or stage collapse or stampede kills or injures a bunch of folks.
There truly is no federal or state mandatory requirement for a safety plan, yet the stats show these types of gatherings are some of the most dangerous and deadly events there are. Even the promoter is not unique. As a rule, they only get involved or really interested in these kinds of events safety planning kicking and screaming. Or once the lawsuits hit afterwards. You see, when governments throw parties like fourth of July, they get a whole lot more legal indemnification and protection. But when private parties do it, gets to be more of a grey area. This case in particular is really interesting, because the city by ordinance tosses the liability on the promoter, and the FAA makes it kinda a stipulation that the grounds be safe... but they seem more important planes can take off and land safely and none of the instruments on the ground get busted. usually, it comes down to insurance companies saying thy will insure for a given activity or not, and they tend to want to review the detailed emergency contingency plans before agreeing to pony up the rider for a special or unusual event.
And thats where this one gets curiouser and curiouser. Because these things never seemed to happen before Kid Rock.
you see, if you have them where they should happen, say a stadium, those generally have to have evacuation plans and safe areas during storms. But this one seems to be totally run by one single food and beverage provider, and if I were her defense attorney i would be scared down to my socks if the injured parties claimed she had not trained all the workers (volunteers) in proper evacuation, nor held any drills . See a small business just needs to post signs and a few fire extingushers, but OSHA and civil law get a helluva lot more iffy when you plan to invite 150000 guests. It is kinda expected you take every safety precaution that is reasonable or prudent. And if I were the person hired instead of chamlin, i would have come up with a much lower max capacity and a very different plan than the good folks at the police department did. But hell. Im no fun :) Too many people point to insurance like its some kind of protection against disaster. It isnt. It picks up the scraps and broken bodies after. No insurance brought the drug dog back. no insurance will bring back a kid who ODs and cant get to an ambulance of tent fast enough. I truly want everyone to be safe and have a good time there. I really do. And I hope it goes off without a hitch. This crap is not about I told you so later on. I prayed after Kid Rock and that storm event they would step back and say hey, we need professional help, and maybe need to scale back. But then this hard rock double stage gets announced. Somebody on that council better have the nads to stand up and say enough is enough, and stop treating these things like ordinary civic parades. I guarantee the gangs are not looking at them that way. And mother nature fired her warning shot once. Two ladies nearly got blown up on that dark winding road gas main that literally dozens of cars crashed through the warning tape around. Cars poured out directly on plank road, not by any planned exit. Prove me wrong and tighten this one down tighter than a drum, and everyone can laugh at the worrier. If everyone get home safe and sound and theres no ODs I could give a crap what anybody thinks of me.
Why would you give a crap about what people think of you? You facts are far from the truth. You are relying on the blog to give you the actual concert details.
It reads that the Kristi comments are geared toward the airport as a viable place to have a concert. Not about safety plans.
The accident with the drug dog had no bearings or involvement with the concert. You want to bring the drug dog accident into the concert, but the concert had nothing to do with the chase that resulted in the accident.
12:03 PM The accident did not directly come as a result of the concert but there is a maybe of indirectly and that has been discussed on this blog several times.
12:03 I used the dog only as an example of how insurance does not restore life, not as a causal factor due to the Concert itself.
I assure you, the facts of which I spoke regarding written safety plans and everything else had no source in this blog or any other blog.
I offer opinion only. I believe the safety plans to have been poorly communicated or developed, and the review of them minimal. I would encourage you to FOIA all correspondence with the Insurance Company and the City of Peru, particularly regarding coverage for non aeronautical events at the City. In addition, ask for all copies of insurances supplied by the Promoter to the city. You could request all pre and post event safety meetings notes and actions. where the promoter was in attendance You could also request copies of all safety response plans paid for by the Promoter and submitted to the Police and Fire department in preparation for said concerts. You wont have to wait long for them, or pay any copying fees. I assure you, this blog has nothing to do with the many entities interested in Concerts for a Cause. It is read by officials however, and so I use it only to suggest a more prudent, different approach. But I fear they, like you, will just deflect, call conspiracy, and mock the blog. I dont care if they at least take one additional step to "prove" me or Kristy wrong. If it gets safer, I am happy with people like you calling me ill informed.
1:12 your close to having the same arguments as you do with your support of closing the pool because of a vortex. Every aspect of any event has a threat. You rely on the professionals in Peru to handle the event safety. They have the experience with details in a event. If you don't have the confidence in the hired Chiefs, then say so.
Well, for many of the events there was no written plan. Zro. Nada. Zip. It is hard to have confidence in the 'professional' when they have no real experience in such areas. Few do.
And yes, there is risk in every event. I didnt know you had such advanced risk calculations to equate vortex risk with concerts not drug sniffing and not having controlled near stage areas and monitors. Good to know we have experts like you watching out for our risk management. But risks are expected to be mitigated and handled professionally. If you got into a car that had a one in one thousand chance of blowing up everytime you drove it, you would be in one of the most unsafe cars in history. And 999 times you would be walking around bragging about the damn thing being safe.
Police forces are only one component of event management. usually considered more a failsafe, with involvement once the plan has broken down. I dont get my information from blogs. I get it from professional concert venues. They are VERY cooperative. And they do not like outdoor amateur events.
You left out a word 3:34 "APPOINTED". Appointed is different then a fair process whereas a city accepts and advertises for job openings, with a interviewing process, where a resume is required for all applicants for all job descriptions. Appointing is more of a professional way of putting it, some might use the word given.
Anon 5:25, I don't know where you get your information from, but the procedure is advertising for a position, then excepting resumes, then interviews are scheduled through the city H. R., who presents the top candidates to the committee that the job applicant is applying, then they have to go through more interviews trying to find the best candidate to present to the Mayor who still has to get approval by the council.
To 7:01 pm - You cite the proper procedure for hiring or appointing, but you fail to mention that in Peru the process always becomes tainted when the elected officials put their corrupting influence on who the eventual hire will be. Only one time in the past 40 years has an outsider been allowed to enter the inner circle of corruption in Peru's top jobs and that was Sean Mikos, who was hired as City Engineer / Superintendant of Public Works. only months after signing on and becoming familiar with "the Peru way of doing business" Mr. Mikos was last seen "running" not walking, "running" out of town faster than you can say, Chamlin billable hours", in order to rid himself of the stink that he had uncovered during his very short tenure. That was a one-time experiment that your city council will never let happen again. That is why outsiders will never be allowed into Peru's inner circle again. That is why you have a Police Chief and a Fire Chief in charge of city departments for which they have no expertise whatsoever. Chaos means cash for some in this town. We are an ongoing joke to those looking in on this mess.
10:28 When will you retire from your conspiracy quest? Most of us have tired of your insane blogs about corruption. How can you look in the mirror and accuse people and business of being under the table. Have you ever had any facts to back up your claims, any that are accurate? What is this mess you are attempting to conjure up? You have screamed WOLF to many others and government agencies? Why has nothing ever been validated? Its only rumors that are fun to read, tabloids at best. We all like to make fun of those elected and those successful businesses. Satire is fun, accusations about corruption need to be factual. And you need to back up your story with your signature and sources. That's the difference between facts and fiction.
11:21 hey, stop your complaining about false rumors. We all like the left field stuff and even if it has no fact we still like to get a good laugh. Let the fool keep writing, and don't worry about his medication levels. Next topic---Peru officials linked with the Kennedy assassination!
To 11:27 am, Wrong. He's a local kid who was hired with very limited duties and limited authority to practice any real engineering duties. He will not be allowed to cut into the billable hours of Chamlin & Associates. Dave Waldorf and Jim Lukosus (Public Worst Committee) will never let another Sean Mikos disrupt that gravy train.
To 11:21, I'm not claiming any conspiracy. I'm pointing out a pattern of behavior that is well known to anyone who pays attention and anyone who looks at the monthly expenditures. I always pay attrention and I always look at the monthly expenditures to see who is feeding at the city of Peru "Hog Trough". Finally, like you you, I prefer to remain anonymous.
Before you make comments about the new city engineer know that he is well qualified and handling real engineering work. Those billable hours you write about are coming from major projects that Peru is involved with like sewer separation. If you understand anything about major government projects you know that they require engineering work. Major projects take a great deal of time and most smaller towns must hire firms for the scope of the project. The cost is reflected on the % of the project for engineering. I guess if you have no major projects your town wouldn't need any of those billable hours. The city picks out a firm based on their experience and ability. If you have a problem with the choice of the firm, point out the mistakes. If you distain is based on cost, then your argument has little value. Firms charge based on a percentage of the project. Typical government officials have little or no effect on daily operations of the city, that is the responsibility of the Mayor and department heads. Your unwarranted labels for Waldorf, Lukosus are childlike. Mr.Mikos was in Peru for a short time, not even rumors were whispered that had anything to do with Waldorf or Lukosus.
2:37, how can a person be on a committee when they have little to no knowledge of the department in which they are on? Common sense tells one that. Maybe some people can't smell the coffee.
Committees do not manage day to day activity. Common sense would explain. Does the library Board check out books? Do alderman supervise employees? No. Surprise! Your city official has no involvement with who is arrested, or which fire to put out, or who is taking your payments at the window. Or how to dig a manhole, or how to fix a watermain. Or which songs to sing at a concert. They will tell you why the city needs to maintain your infrastructure or how much the city can afford and what projects they need to be done with the money we have.
3:08 - Simple, we live in a Republic. There is no prerequisite for any elected official to have any knowledge. It is up to the people that vote to determine if they can perform their job - an Alderman could potentially serve on any committee.
To 2:37 pm, The newly hired "Engineer" "should" be utilized to the fullest extent of his knowledge and abilities up to and including gradually increasing his duties and responsibilities while providing him the latest tools and technology that a progressive city needs to maintain and improve its infrastructure. Now, will the elected officials have the forethought and vision to nurture this young man and allow him to grow and improve the physical operations of Peru? Will they support and enable this young man to provide the engineering for larger and larger and more complex projects? Will Peru's aldermen on the Public Works Committee have the courage and interests of the majority of citizens in mind and direct the young engineet to provide engineering for the kind of projects that Chamlin considers their birthright and their Gravy-Train? I am sorry to have to say that the answer to all these questions is a resounding NO! In fact, I am convinced that one of the reasons Sean Mikos could not wait to get out of this town was that he received "Zero" suppoort from Waldorf, Lukosus, and Harl, as well as "Zero" support from other aldermen when he attempted to expand his duties into the "exclusive" areas of engineering dominated by Chamlin. It's the truth the way I observed it and you feel free to tell me what you know about it. This is not hard to figure out at all. The history and the facts of how this city has done business in the past make my point for me.
7:52 I doubt that there any exclusive engineering projects that a city engineer can't handle, and I do agree with 2:37 that major projects require more than a office of 1 can handle. Even Chicago a city with dozens of engineers has to shop out major projects. Your wrong with your comments about Waldorf, Lukosus not supporting the engineer. That's just silly. What are these so called exclusive engineering areas? Please highlight.
Whatever happened to the GIS equipment that was voted on to be purchased for Sean Mikos? Was it ordered and received and not being used, or was the order cancelled once Sean resigned?
Again you under the assumption that city alderman supervise city staff like the city engineer. Its crazy to think that they sit down and tell staff what to work on day to day. Its crazy to think that a few of these elected people come into city hall and give employees direction. I can't imagine any of them telling a engineer to not get involved with a problem because we have a outside firm. That is some imagination. Sean Mikos will tell you quite the opposite of what you want to believe about the Public Works committee.
Just an update on Kristys blog, felt bad for the typical Peru government communication, but had to laugh when one of our illustrious leaders referred to the legitimate questions surrounding the concert as a "Witch Hunt". I may personally question many of the decisions Merry Noonan has made, but I have never called her a witch. That one made me laugh:).
but the aldermen do award contracts to their friends. That is the problem. We need to get them out of the loop all together - no sense in having representation if the voters don't pay attention to the crony contracts. For instance - why are we using our current trash hauler? Ottawa has Waste Management - a publically traded company that is on the up and up and has 100% "reportability" to their share holders. They also provide trash and recycle cans - very large I might add. What does Peru have for recycle? Uncovered bins that where handed out many years ago. If it gets windy on recycle day it all blows away. Per Aldermen DO NOT THINK! WE NEED TO CHANGE TO A COUNCIL MANAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT NOW! GET THE ALDERMEN OUT OF THE WAY AND STICK TO LEGISLATIVE ITEMS ONLY!
Will Kristy FOIA the timesheets to see how much time and money was spent putting up the fence by city workers and how much the taxpayers are donating to the concert cause?
There is not a single dime donated to the causes from the sponsor when you factor in sponsor payments, city goods and services given away, and quid pro quo sales and labor required from the "donation" recipient. Wasn't that way in the first concerts, only once everyone in the Valley got suckered in. The only person getting a donation is the promoter, your tax dollars! While the money from tickets bleed out of the valley into some rich band and Chicago event management team. And the money from single vendor sales pours into a Pizza shop that gets it all in cash.
Oh I forgot the tiny per ticket fee and parking fees the city gets now, only because Kristy kicked and screamed at the bureaucrats who are SUPPOSED to be doing their damn jobs, but prefer to write snide comments to her and call her nuts. Its so much easier to do that than stand up to a popular pizza place.
Waste Management provides a better service and is a publically traded company, which means they are subject to Sarbains Oxley and other disclosure laws. They also have a dim view of corruption at the local level.
Anon 10:23 PM Good questions? Feel free to join in on "FOIA for a Cause" by FOIA'ing yourself to get these answers and than informing all through the blog. Kristy, Lois and many others already contribute a significant amount of time to distributing info and I am sure more than happy to accept help. As elections become near additional help will be needed to raise the bar of Peru representation. In fact I expect more camouflage, less controversy and shorter counsel meetings in the near future.
No 11:47 am. You are under the assumption that Peru aldermen have little or no influence in how engineering contracts, or any other contract or work is "steered" and "manipulated" in the city of Peru. If you are naive enough to believe that the aldermen on the Public Works and Finance Committees have no influence on these matters then your head is planted firmly in the sand and there it will stay. Funneling city engineering work or any other work to a connected company or business doesn't take a massive conspiracy by elected officials. It plays out one job at a time, over and over again in committee meeting after committee meeting. It's all very subtle and very commonplace in Peru politics. These aldermen don't have to conspire to do what they do. This is just business as usual in Peru and the majority of aldermen and other officials including the mayor are complicit in the way it all plays out. Just like the night the TEST contract was given away. They knew how the vote would play out. They also knew that what they were doing was contrary to "honest and ethical standards" of practice of fairness and accountability to the taxpayers of Peru. But they did it anyway. That was the choice they made. That speaks volumes about the lack of character of Peru's elected officials. These are facts that cannot be disputed.
2:37, since you seem to know so much, please answer this question? WHAT QUALIFICATION DO THE APPOINTED POLICE CHIEF, AND APPOINTED FIRE CHIEF HAVE FOR ALL THEIR JOB TITLES?????? Has this been blogged many times? Maybe you should interview them and let the bloggers know. Would it be safe to say that the bloggers won't be hearing from you? Thank you.
10:04, I couldn't agree more. Let's not forget how a local company was given a website contract for economic development without going out to see if any other company could provide the same service. Turns out the company owner is on the board of directors of the YMCA, and Alderman Potthoff is the alderman who presented and pushed for this company to get the work.
3:50, That was Bobby V. all the way. "Never give up a chance to feed at the public trough" is his motto. The relationships at this local "marketing" company go way back to Bobby's tenure at the newspaper.
Thank you 10:04 am for explaining the ease at which Peru elected officials take care of their friends and supporters with lucrative contracts and unlimited billable hours. The "Head in the Sand" crowd that claims Cronyism and Graft don't exist in Peru are surely a big part of the problem in this city. Like any "12 Step Program", if you don't acknowledge the problem you will never achieve political sobriety in Peru. We have too many citizens who don't want to admit the protectionist philosophy of Peru's elected officials that are designed to promote the financial interests of politically connected companies and individuals over the financial interests of the average taxpayer in Peru. Sad but true.
I've been informed that Bobby V. is the owner of the local marketing company that Peru employs at his desire. Positive process in assuring the rent is going to be paid. Incidentally what is taking place with our $2,000/month Springfield lobbyist? Has it been determined whether his contract will be renewed or not? Peru also has representation from the Illinois Valley Area Chamber of Commerce, Senator Rezin, Representative Mautino and Mayor Harl and his appointments plus aldermen, interested citizens and businesses. What are they producing in jobs for Peru?
49 comments:
There is a rumor flying around town that the fireworks that where supposed to be shot off at the river are now going to be shot off at the airport during the next "concert for a profit." People are saying that the City donated them to help boost attendance at the concert.
Anon 216 That is a rumor, the cities backup is Labor Day weekend, talk to The City Clerk, he will give you the facts, or are you just trying to start a controversy with the city and Noonan?
Well Kristys blog is down. Wonder if the threats and intimidation got to her. Too bad really. Others were just starting to get interested.
How about talking to the mayor? The city clerk is just that, a clerk!!!!!!!
Anon 9:21, that's fine, talk to the Mayor, but the City Clerk is also an elected official that is in charge of taking all minutes of meetings where transaction, meaning changes that take place using tax payers money, for public record.Also check with Rec. Board, they have to ok the timeline because the fireworks falls under their derective.
Neither of them can be trusted. That's why!
7:02
As a novice to social media; I apologize for the airport blog whoisadamil16.blogspot.com being down yesterday afternoon. I anticipate keeping the readers updated on my journey for accountability.
Kristy Mrowicki
The rumor around town is that the fireworks contract was written with only a 30 day window. So it is shoot them off at the concert or not at all, either way we will pay for them.
But, it might just be people "talking." But I found lately that there is a lot of truth to the "talking."
Thanks Kristy for letting those of us who care about both you and the work you do know whats going on with the blog.
In my opinion, you never need to apologize to any of us, because you have more guts and fight than most all of us, and whether I always agree with you or your style... I still respect the hell out of you. Good luck getting answers.
i have a little experience in Emergency Action Plans. I am sure the City Attorney has covered Peru and the Concert Promoter sufficiently in their legal opinion.
What Kristy seemed to run into is not unique to the Illinois Valley area. In fact, the lack of regulation for large outdoor concerts, compared to the strict regulations for indoor concerts, has been kicked about for many years, usually after some storm, or stage collapse or stampede kills or injures a bunch of folks.
There truly is no federal or state mandatory requirement for a safety plan, yet the stats show these types of gatherings are some of the most dangerous and deadly events there are. Even the promoter is not unique. As a rule, they only get involved or really interested in these kinds of events safety planning kicking and screaming. Or once the lawsuits hit afterwards.
You see, when governments throw parties like fourth of July, they get a whole lot more legal indemnification and protection. But when private parties do it, gets to be more of a grey area.
This case in particular is really interesting, because the city by ordinance tosses the liability on the promoter, and the FAA makes it kinda a stipulation that the grounds be safe... but they seem more important planes can take off and land safely and none of the instruments on the ground get busted.
usually, it comes down to insurance companies saying thy will insure for a given activity or not, and they tend to want to review the detailed emergency contingency plans before agreeing to pony up the rider for a special or unusual event.
And thats where this one gets curiouser and curiouser. Because these things never seemed to happen before Kid Rock.
you see, if you have them where they should happen, say a stadium, those generally have to have evacuation plans and safe areas during storms. But this one seems to be totally run by one single food and beverage provider, and if I were her defense attorney i would be scared down to my socks if the injured parties claimed she had not trained all the workers (volunteers) in proper evacuation, nor held any drills . See a small business just needs to post signs and a few fire extingushers, but OSHA and civil law get a helluva lot more iffy when you plan to invite 150000 guests. It is kinda expected you take every safety precaution that is reasonable or prudent.
And if I were the person hired instead of chamlin, i would have come up with a much lower max capacity and a very different plan than the good folks at the police department did. But hell. Im no fun :)
Too many people point to insurance like its some kind of protection against disaster. It isnt. It picks up the scraps and broken bodies after. No insurance brought the drug dog back. no insurance will bring back a kid who ODs and cant get to an ambulance of tent fast enough.
I truly want everyone to be safe and have a good time there. I really do. And I hope it goes off without a hitch. This crap is not about I told you so later on. I prayed after Kid Rock and that storm event they would step back and say hey, we need professional help, and maybe need to scale back. But then this hard rock double stage gets announced. Somebody on that council better have the nads to stand up and say enough is enough, and stop treating these things like ordinary civic parades. I guarantee the gangs are not looking at them that way. And mother nature fired her warning shot once. Two ladies nearly got blown up on that dark winding road gas main that literally dozens of cars crashed through the warning tape around. Cars poured out directly on plank road, not by any planned exit. Prove me wrong and tighten this one down tighter than a drum, and everyone can laugh at the worrier. If everyone get home safe and sound and theres no ODs I could give a crap what anybody thinks of me.
Peru has a hired safety officer, what accountability does this position have regarding this. Our taxes pay salaries.
anon 7:18
Why would you give a crap about what people think of you? You facts are far from the truth. You are relying on the blog to give you the actual concert details.
It reads that the Kristi comments are geared toward the airport as a viable place to have a concert. Not about safety plans.
The accident with the drug dog had no bearings or involvement with the concert. You want to bring the drug dog accident into the concert, but the concert had nothing to do with the chase that resulted in the accident.
12:03 PM
The accident did not directly come as a result of the concert but there is a maybe of indirectly and that has been discussed on this blog several times.
12:03 I used the dog only as an example of how insurance does not restore life, not as a causal factor due to the Concert itself.
I assure you, the facts of which I spoke regarding written safety plans and everything else had no source in this blog or any other blog.
I offer opinion only. I believe the safety plans to have been poorly communicated or developed, and the review of them minimal. I would encourage you to FOIA all correspondence with the Insurance Company and the City of Peru, particularly regarding coverage for non aeronautical events at the City. In addition, ask for all copies of insurances supplied by the Promoter to the city. You could request all pre and post event safety meetings notes and actions. where the promoter was in attendance You could also request copies of all safety response plans paid for by the Promoter and submitted to the Police and Fire department in preparation for said concerts.
You wont have to wait long for them, or pay any copying fees.
I assure you, this blog has nothing to do with the many entities interested in Concerts for a Cause. It is read by officials however, and so I use it only to suggest a more prudent, different approach. But I fear they, like you, will just deflect, call conspiracy, and mock the blog. I dont care if they at least take one additional step to "prove" me or Kristy wrong. If it gets safer, I am happy with people like you calling me ill informed.
1:12 your close to having the same arguments as you do with your support of closing the pool because of a vortex. Every aspect of any event has a threat. You rely on the professionals in Peru to handle the event safety. They have the experience with details in a event. If you don't have the confidence in the hired Chiefs, then say so.
Well, for many of the events there was no written plan. Zro. Nada. Zip. It is hard to have confidence in the 'professional' when they have no real experience in such areas. Few do.
And yes, there is risk in every event. I didnt know you had such advanced risk calculations to equate vortex risk with concerts not drug sniffing and not having controlled near stage areas and monitors. Good to know we have experts like you watching out for our risk management. But risks are expected to be mitigated and handled professionally. If you got into a car that had a one in one thousand chance of blowing up everytime you drove it, you would be in one of the most unsafe cars in history.
And 999 times you would be walking around bragging about the damn thing being safe.
Police forces are only one component of event management. usually considered more a failsafe, with involvement once the plan has broken down. I dont get my information from blogs. I get it from professional concert venues. They are VERY cooperative. And they do not like outdoor amateur events.
You left out a word 3:34 "APPOINTED". Appointed is different then a fair process whereas a city accepts and advertises for job openings, with a interviewing process, where a resume is required for all applicants for all job descriptions. Appointing is more of a professional way of putting it, some might use the word given.
Anon 5:25, I don't know where you get your information from, but the procedure is advertising for a position, then excepting resumes, then interviews are scheduled through the city H. R., who presents the top candidates to the committee that the job applicant is applying, then they have to go through more interviews trying to find the best candidate to present to the Mayor who still has to get approval by the council.
To 7:01 pm - You cite the proper procedure for hiring or appointing, but you fail to mention that in Peru the process always becomes tainted when the elected officials put their corrupting influence on who the eventual hire will be. Only one time in the past 40 years has an outsider been allowed to enter the inner circle of corruption in Peru's top jobs and that was Sean Mikos, who was hired as City Engineer / Superintendant of Public Works. only months after signing on and becoming familiar with "the Peru way of doing business" Mr. Mikos was last seen "running" not walking, "running" out of town faster than you can say, Chamlin billable hours", in order to rid himself of the stink that he had uncovered during his very short tenure. That was a one-time experiment that your city council will never let happen again. That is why outsiders will never be allowed into Peru's inner circle again. That is why you have a Police Chief and a Fire Chief in charge of city departments for which they have no expertise whatsoever. Chaos means cash for some in this town. We are an ongoing joke to those looking in on this mess.
Does anybody know the status of the FBI investigation? Does anybody know if Mr. Mikos was interviewed by the FBI?
Has anyone heard why the FBI is still in Peru?
10:28 When will you retire from your conspiracy quest? Most of us have tired of your insane blogs about corruption. How can you look in the mirror and accuse people and business of being under the table. Have you ever had any facts to back up your claims, any that are accurate? What is this mess you are attempting to conjure up? You have screamed WOLF to many others and government agencies? Why has nothing ever been validated? Its only rumors that are fun to read, tabloids at best. We all like to make fun of those elected and those successful businesses. Satire is fun, accusations about corruption need to be factual. And you need to back up your story with your signature and sources. That's the difference between facts and fiction.
Anon 10:28, what about the new engineer? He came from an outside private firm.
10:58 Why do you think the FBI is in Peru? Last I heard they have been gone for weeks.
11:21 hey, stop your complaining about false rumors. We all like the left field stuff and even if it has no fact we still like to get a good laugh. Let the fool keep writing, and don't worry about his medication levels. Next topic---Peru officials linked with the Kennedy assassination!
To 11:27 am, Wrong. He's a local kid who was hired with very limited duties and limited authority to practice any real engineering duties. He will not be allowed to cut into the billable hours of Chamlin & Associates. Dave Waldorf and Jim Lukosus (Public Worst Committee) will never let another Sean Mikos disrupt that gravy train.
To 11:21, I'm not claiming any conspiracy. I'm pointing out a pattern of behavior that is well known to anyone who pays attention and anyone who looks at the monthly expenditures. I always pay attrention and I always look at the monthly expenditures to see who is feeding at the city of Peru "Hog Trough". Finally, like you you, I prefer to remain anonymous.
12:34 again?
Before you make comments about the new city engineer know that he is well qualified and handling real engineering work. Those billable hours you write about are coming from major projects that Peru is involved with like sewer separation. If you understand anything about major government projects you know that they require engineering work. Major projects take a great deal of time and most smaller towns must hire firms for the scope of the project. The cost is reflected on the % of the project for engineering. I guess if you have no major projects your town wouldn't need any of those billable hours. The city picks out a firm based on their experience and ability. If you have a problem with the choice of the firm, point out the mistakes. If you distain is based on cost, then your argument has little value. Firms charge based on a percentage of the project.
Typical government officials have little or no effect on daily operations of the city, that is the responsibility of the Mayor and department heads. Your unwarranted labels for Waldorf, Lukosus are childlike. Mr.Mikos was in Peru for a short time, not even rumors were whispered that had anything to do with Waldorf or Lukosus.
2:37, how can a person be on a committee when they have little to no knowledge of the department in which they are on? Common sense tells one that. Maybe some people can't smell the coffee.
Committees do not manage day to day activity. Common sense would explain. Does the library Board check out books? Do alderman supervise employees? No. Surprise! Your city official has no involvement with who is arrested, or which fire to put out, or who is taking your payments at the window. Or how to dig a manhole, or how to fix a watermain. Or which songs to sing at a concert. They will tell you why the city needs to maintain your infrastructure or how much the city can afford and what projects they need to be done with the money we have.
3:08 - Simple, we live in a Republic. There is no prerequisite for any elected official to have any knowledge. It is up to the people that vote to determine if they can perform their job - an Alderman could potentially serve on any committee.
To 2:37 pm, The newly hired "Engineer" "should" be utilized to the fullest extent of his knowledge and abilities up to and including gradually increasing his duties and responsibilities while providing him the latest tools and technology that a progressive city needs to maintain and improve its infrastructure. Now, will the elected officials have the forethought and vision to nurture this young man and allow him to grow and improve the physical operations of Peru? Will they support and enable this young man to provide the engineering for larger and larger and more complex projects? Will Peru's aldermen on the Public Works Committee have the courage and interests of the majority of citizens in mind and direct the young engineet to provide engineering for the kind of projects that Chamlin considers their birthright and their Gravy-Train? I am sorry to have to say that the answer to all these questions is a resounding NO! In fact, I am convinced that one of the reasons Sean Mikos could not wait to get out of this town was that he received "Zero" suppoort from Waldorf, Lukosus, and Harl, as well as "Zero" support from other aldermen when he attempted to expand his duties into the "exclusive" areas of engineering dominated by Chamlin. It's the truth the way I observed it and you feel free to tell me what you know about it. This is not hard to figure out at all. The history and the facts of how this city has done business in the past make my point for me.
7:52 I doubt that there any exclusive engineering projects that a city engineer can't handle, and I do agree with 2:37 that major projects require more than a office of 1 can handle. Even Chicago a city with dozens of engineers has to shop out major projects. Your wrong with your comments about Waldorf, Lukosus not supporting the engineer. That's just silly. What are these so called exclusive engineering areas? Please highlight.
Whatever happened to the GIS equipment that was voted on to be purchased for Sean Mikos? Was it ordered and received and not being used, or was the order cancelled once Sean resigned?
anon 752.
Again you under the assumption that city alderman supervise city staff like the city engineer. Its crazy to think that they sit down and tell staff what to work on day to day. Its crazy to think that a few of these elected people come into city hall and give employees direction. I can't imagine any of them telling a engineer to not get involved with a problem because we have a outside firm. That is some imagination. Sean Mikos will tell you quite the opposite of what you want to believe about the Public Works committee.
Just an update on Kristys blog, felt bad for the typical Peru government communication, but had to laugh when one of our illustrious leaders referred to the legitimate questions surrounding the concert as a "Witch Hunt".
I may personally question many of the decisions Merry Noonan has made, but I have never called her a witch. That one made me laugh:).
the aldermen should not be supervising anything - they are legislative.
but the aldermen do award contracts to their friends. That is the problem. We need to get them out of the loop all together - no sense in having representation if the voters don't pay attention to the crony contracts.
For instance - why are we using our current trash hauler? Ottawa has Waste Management - a publically traded company that is on the up and up and has 100% "reportability" to their share holders. They also provide trash and recycle cans - very large I might add. What does Peru have for recycle? Uncovered bins that where handed out many years ago. If it gets windy on recycle day it all blows away.
Per Aldermen DO NOT THINK!
WE NEED TO CHANGE TO A COUNCIL MANAGER FORM OF GOVERNMENT NOW! GET THE ALDERMEN OUT OF THE WAY AND STICK TO LEGISLATIVE ITEMS ONLY!
Anon 1:55, we are using our current trash hauler because he presented a bid and was the low bidder, waste management wasn't close.
City workers did a good job of getting the fence up at the airport for the concert.
Will Kristy FOIA the timesheets to see how much time and money was spent putting up the fence by city workers and how much the taxpayers are donating to the concert cause?
There is not a single dime donated to the causes from the sponsor when you factor in sponsor payments, city goods and services given away, and quid pro quo sales and labor required from the "donation" recipient. Wasn't that way in the first concerts, only once everyone in the Valley got suckered in.
The only person getting a donation is the promoter, your tax dollars! While the money from tickets bleed out of the valley into some rich band and Chicago event management team. And the money from single vendor sales pours into a Pizza shop that gets it all in cash.
Oh I forgot the tiny per ticket fee and parking fees the city gets now, only because Kristy kicked and screamed at the bureaucrats who are SUPPOSED to be doing their damn jobs, but prefer to write snide comments to her and call her nuts. Its so much easier to do that than stand up to a popular pizza place.
Waste Management provides a better service and is a publically traded company, which means they are subject to Sarbains Oxley and other disclosure laws. They also have a dim view of corruption at the local level.
Anon 10:23 PM Good questions? Feel free to join in on "FOIA for a Cause" by FOIA'ing yourself to get these answers and than informing all through the blog.
Kristy, Lois and many others already contribute a significant amount of time to distributing info and I am sure more than happy to accept help. As elections become near additional help will be needed to raise the bar of Peru representation. In fact I expect more camouflage, less controversy and shorter counsel meetings in the near future.
No 11:47 am. You are under the assumption that Peru aldermen have little or no influence in how engineering contracts, or any other contract or work is "steered" and "manipulated" in the city of Peru. If you are naive enough to believe that the aldermen on the Public Works and Finance Committees have no influence on these matters then your head is planted firmly in the sand and there it will stay. Funneling city engineering work or any other work to a connected company or business doesn't take a massive conspiracy by elected officials. It plays out one job at a time, over and over again in committee meeting after committee meeting. It's all very subtle and very commonplace in Peru politics. These aldermen don't have to conspire to do what they do. This is just business as usual in Peru and the majority of aldermen and other officials including the mayor are complicit in the way it all plays out. Just like the night the TEST contract was given away. They knew how the vote would play out. They also knew that what they were doing was contrary to "honest and ethical standards" of practice of fairness and accountability to the taxpayers of Peru. But they did it anyway. That was the choice they made. That speaks volumes about the lack of character of Peru's elected officials. These are facts that cannot be disputed.
2:37, since you seem to know so much, please answer this question? WHAT QUALIFICATION DO THE APPOINTED POLICE CHIEF, AND APPOINTED FIRE CHIEF HAVE FOR ALL THEIR JOB TITLES?????? Has this been blogged many times? Maybe you should interview them and let the bloggers know. Would it be safe to say that the bloggers won't be hearing from you? Thank you.
10:04, I couldn't agree more. Let's not forget how a local company was given a website contract for economic development without going out to see if any other company could provide the same service. Turns out the company owner is on the board of directors of the YMCA, and Alderman Potthoff is the alderman who presented and pushed for this company to get the work.
3:50, That was Bobby V. all the way. "Never give up a chance to feed at the public trough" is his motto. The relationships at this local "marketing" company go way back to Bobby's tenure at the newspaper.
Thank you 10:04 am for explaining the ease at which Peru elected officials take care of their friends and supporters with lucrative contracts and unlimited billable hours. The "Head in the Sand" crowd that claims Cronyism and Graft don't exist in Peru are surely a big part of the problem in this city. Like any "12 Step Program", if you don't acknowledge the problem you will never achieve political sobriety in Peru. We have too many citizens who don't want to admit the protectionist philosophy of Peru's elected officials that are designed to promote the financial interests of politically connected companies and individuals over the financial interests of the average taxpayer in Peru.
Sad but true.
I've been informed that Bobby V. is the owner of the local marketing company that Peru employs at his desire. Positive process in assuring the rent is going to be paid.
Incidentally what is taking place with our $2,000/month Springfield lobbyist? Has it been determined whether his contract will be renewed or not?
Peru also has representation from the Illinois Valley Area Chamber of Commerce, Senator Rezin, Representative Mautino and Mayor Harl and his appointments plus aldermen, interested citizens and businesses. What are they producing in jobs for Peru?
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