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
Sunday, September 13, 2015
This Is How We Should Be Looking At Our Government
AND AT WHAT THEY DON'T DO
51 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Andrew Carnegie was a robber baron and enemy of the working man. We need to pass laws against making so much money.
Very interesting piece in the Ottawa Times about pay scales for Township officials. It appears that our local Township officials have well exceeded the lawful salary wages allowed by statute. When is it enough with this group? When you have set laws that limit excess by township officials its a problem. When you violate those same laws for your personal purpose its a crime.
11:02, I like that part where our States Attorney, Mr. Towne, said: "We deal in criminal activity. To charge someone with a crime, we have to prove they knowingly acted unlawfully."
Time to consolidate small townships. Too many large salaries WITH BENEFITS AND RETIREMENT for 20 minute meetings once a month. Should be a crime and the board members know it.
Latest group ran with the platform that they were going to straighten this corruption out. Are they making any progress in the proper direction? How many people were aware that the alderman were building a pension until recently and the township still is? Recently the Head of the County Board was complaining that on account of veterans the county is to lose $68K but he forgot to mention with him getting beat in the last election the county board has him and 29 members although the people voted for a huge reduction in membership years ago. How much more is it costing the taxpayers over and beyond $68K/year to ignore a legal vote? I am speaking of wages, expense accounts and benefits plus whatever else is being received. These costs must be illegal unless you forget the reason the pilgrims came to America. Sadly the only way I would come to Illinois to start a business is if I was broke to begin with because if your not broke when you start certain corrupt individuals will have everything you own by the time you finish. Illinois has way to many levels of government bodies to function properly.
Townships cannot be consolidated. They are a geographical subdivision, generally 36 square miles in area. They where enacted by the first Illinois Constitution to endure that land was available for a public school - one section of every township was given to the local school district.
Like many things in government, they exist because nobody has taken the time to eliminate them. After the invention of the telephone, these governments have become obsolete. There is absolutely nothing that they do that can't be done at the municipal or county level. But, we are stuck with them. The only way to do away with them is to change the format of the County government - all the townships in a county must be eliminated at the same time. There are two or three counties in Southern Illinois that have take the bold step to eliminate townships. No others have even considered it. No. It will never happen - to many paychecks in involved. To much money involved. To many retirements and medical plans involved.
Personally, I'd rather burn $100 bills on route six then continue contributing money into the bottomless township pit.
I think it's time for LaSalle and Peru to consolidate into one town. There is too much duplication of services and too many high paying salaries for two small towns. Combine them into one, and there is still only about 20,000 people. Many towns have more population than 20,000 and are still considered small towns. We are neighbors and we should be one unified town.
Anon 10:05 We are not neighbors. We simply live next to one another as Utica lives next to LaSalle. What Peru and Utica have in common is that LaSalle annexed land from both of them and because of this I do not want any part of LaSalle. LaSalle recently grabbed all land east and north of Marquette Street which was Peru's and put it immediately into a TIF. You call that a neighbor? Consolidation, Hell No!
It will never happen 10:05. To many paychecks on the line. To many retirement plans. To many medical plans.
Government is the largest growth industry in the Illinois Valley. More people around here work for government in one form or another than any other single business. Here is a short list of our local government employers:
City of Peru City of LaSalle City of Oglesby City of Spring Valley
Each with police, fire, ambulance, public works, clerks office, economic development, engineers, grass cutters, plumbers, bottle washers, mechanics.
Schools - you can't move more than a mile around here without entering a different school district.
We have an IDOT detachment here.
We have a State Police headquarters here.
We have a Sherriff's Department here.
As mentioned - every Podunk town in the county employs at least one municipal police officer.
We have the Army Corps of Engineers here.
Our local hospitals would not exist without Medicare.
Water Districts, Reclamation Districts, State Parks, County Parks, IDNR, the Post Office
County Jail, Regional Office of Education, US Farm Services,
River Rescue Stations, EPA, IEPA,
I'm guessing that 75% of our local professionals work for the government!
Then there are the TIF suckers and Grant Getters all working on government projects.
I know the landowner of the land north of Wenzel east of Peru's Marquette Rd and the land was not in Peru proper but could have been in the twp. (not sure on the wording of this). I do know the landowner went to Mayor Harl about annexation and the mayor was not interested and the landowner took it upon himself to contact La Salle who gladly took his large parcel of land into La Salle. So you see the reason it happened was because of Peru leadership and who can blame La Salle for taking what was offered to them.
When a municipality annex's land, it is not like the Oklahoma Land Rush. It costs real money to annex land into the city. So Peru only does this when they are directed to by the developer. We know who that is. The developer likes to keep it in the unincorporated part of the county to save on taxes until the last minute. They save on taxes that way.
That is precisely why we have corn fields in the middle of the city.
reading the NT today. LaSalle is getting new stop lights. Why does Peru insist on nothing but 4-Way stop signs with flashing red lights? So with the new 4-Way on Shooting Park Road, traffic is going to be backed up from Church Street to Pulaski Street. Nobody knows how to drive through these intersections.
11:17 Lois is absolutely right. Do not blame La Salle for grabbing this property. Blame your government. They were given the first opportunity to acquire this land and refused.
Lois, The Clear Farm has been annexed into La Salle. Peru could have annexed the farm into the city many years ago if there was someone that wanted to improve the land. If there was a commercial or industrial customer that purchased the land then it would make sense to annex. The reason it was not was because of the issues that constantly appear on this blog, money. When the property was annexed wenzel road is now the responsibility of the City of LaSalle. If you drive down that road you are well aware that it will need to be improved at a cost of millions of dollars. Peru has saved money by allowing La Salle to have that additional property.
1:14 Wenzel road is NOT entirely the responsiblity of La Salle. It has always been my impression that both towns are responsible for their portion of that road.
6 of one, half a dozen of the other. 11:17 says no consolidation because LaSalle "stole" property from Peru. 1:14 says Peru did the right thing because it would cost too much money to maintain. I say consolidate the two towns, consolidate police, fire, mayor, aldermen, city workers, and we'd all save enough to pave Wenzel Road and then some. Some people are stuck back in the old days of one town being better than the other. Both towns have their negatives and positives. If it was one town, there would be much less government waste. It could be named "LaPeru".
The property owner has the option where to annex their property providing the property borders the city. In this case it appears that this property borders both towns. If I was a land owner I would consider the following. Which has the lowest city tax rate? All other tax rates are already determined including schools, townships, etc.
The property owner has the option where to annex their property providing the property borders the city. In this case it appears that this property borders both towns. If I was a land owner I would consider the following. Which has the lowest city tax rate? All other tax rates are already determined including schools, townships, etc.
4:31, the people that own the land don't care which city. They just avoid taxes until the last minute. They want it out of the municipality until it is subdivided and sold. "J" makes those decisions - none one else. Not Aldermen, Mayors, or Voters - "J" decides when the property is brought in to the city and to which city it is brought in to. Period, end of story.
Lois and other bloggers, you ask why not take what is offered to you. There are many ways of obtaining what is offered to you. Being that the two Mayors seemed to be combining many aspects so well to lower costs I believe Mayor Grove definitely owed Mayor Harl a personal notification of the possibilities that Peru could lose the Clear Farm and that LaSalle would annex it if Peru did not want it. This could have been handled as always a gentleman's agreement. Mr. Clear should have been made aware of all negotiations as well to make sure he was satisfied. Those that worry about what the Wenzel Road repairs will cost should take a look at long range profits rather than today's costs. Peru is presently going gang busters in a highly successful road program which is updating the city. I have been a advocate of LaSalle and Peru combining for years but after following the attitude of each to one another I think it is best to continue with the many life long stand offs.
La Salle "stole" the land.....that's funny. LaSalle and Utica have visions and they are competing for annexation of land for growth. Spring Vally annexed up to Dalzell. Peru can now only go north and south.....there was a vision at one time but I don't see it anymore.
I firmly believe that those who advocate a combined La Salle Peru city government realize that it's great that the idea is at least being talked about as this is recent news.
In all likelyhood, the possibility of a one city government will be the last and a combined police, fire and ambulance would precede that as being the most financially responsible thing to do for the residents of both cities and all of those units already work together well.
Future generations will determine the outcome as old ideas of my town is the best don't matter to the 18 to 35 year old residents on the whole. Changing loyalties will diminish with time and economics will play a great part in all of this.
The property ownder DID talk to the mayor of Peru numerous times and it was only when the mayor finally said NO, the city is not interested La Salle came into the picture. I believe it was at that time La Salle made the initial contact. I don't believe that Grove needed to inform Harl of what was taking place, he knew when the owner could not make a deal with Peru that he would go naturally to the other city that abuts his property.
Lois you are correct in your logical and economic theorems but they do not apply to the combination of LaSalle and Peru.Both towns have always had future generations and 18-35 tear old residents without change. As for your example of a ambulance service the combined LaSalle Peru effort was thrown out the window only a few years ago as a few aldermen in Peru wanted to show that they were in charge, It simply appears that the two towns would rather challenge one another than combine. I am not speaking of government representation but believe that "Joe Plumber" is born with this characteristic attitude with the only difference being is if he is from Peru or LaSalle and he is raised further in this thought. We must remember it is not a case of whether it is right or wrong but a discipline of this is how it always has been and will be. The perfect example is when a lifelong, well known resident of Utica at the start of its development said to me that he hated the thought that the village would end up like this. He said this in disguist. We both understand that change is hard to accept for most.
Maybe we could get LaSalle to annex Peru. Or maybe we could succeed from Peru and create our own city. Time to raise the Bonny Blue Flag and send the Boss packing!
Low taxes, no utility taxes, new schools, low utility rates, low crime rates, shopping areas, highways, airports, river area, factories, low cost of living, senior areas for housing, parks, recreational opportunities, local hospital services. Anything your missing?
Low taxes - please define this. I think we have a high total tax bill when you consider everything together. The only difference is that Peru is able to "outsource" most of our revenue requirements to other cities.
No utility taxes - not true. Read your power and water bill.
New schools - big whoop. One could argue that we have an excess in this area considering the City's population trend. You also can't drive a mile without entering another school district. Most people living here are over 40 and getting older. Young families are on the decline due to the lack of actual work that attracts young educated people. But, if you want bread sticks or a new pair of mom jeans, Peru is your place.
Low utility rates - True, but the water department is being subsidized by the electric department. Electric rates are high for industrial users - which caused one employer to move next door for a better deal with Ameren.
Low crime rates - might be true. But I have a feeling much of this is just under reported.
Shopping areas - big whoop. Only vanilla big box retail establishments that park themselves every 50 miles or so along the Interstate. The fundamental change in this industry is happening right before our eyes. Twenty years from now, on-line retail will divert local sales taxes to the customer's home. We will not be able to exploit our neighbors much longer.
Highways - not the result of any Alderman or Mayor of Peru.
Airport - Nothing to do with the current administration. In fact, he tried to shut the thing down his first year in power. He would still rather use it as a party pavilion.
River area - totally under developed. This is one area that needs concentration. Water Street should be a row of barge terminals and warehouses. Instead, we have dreams of Gourmet Burger Joints.
Factories - we need more. Instead we try to give $800,000 to a private developer to build a movie house and rent it to the theater chain - all the while knowing that most people no longer go to the theater to watch a movie.
Low cost of living - do to the overall low income of the average person.
Senior areas for housing - thriving business for the next 25 years. When the Baby Boomers fade away - this will turn into Section 8 Housing.
Parks - sort of. If you like junior baseball.
Recreational opportunities - like what, falling off Starved Rock with the eco tourists from Chicago? Try taking a walk in Peru. Can't be done. Residential streets are clogged with parked cars and the sidewalks are deplorable. Cant walk to the shopping area.
Local hospital services - Packaging and shipping only. No Trauma Center in the local area. ER Staff consists of interns from Chicago. Any common geriatric emergencies need to be shipped to Peoria. Any Trauma requirements are shipped to Chicago, Peoria, or Rockford. Surgical capabilities are limited to elective procedures, knee and hip replacements, etc. Our hospital is constantly being investigated by Federal Authorities - from the Tax Man to the FDA, to the Social Security Administration. They just can't seem to follow the rules.
5:43 - why? Despite all that - it is better than any other city in a 60 mile radius. That is the nature of the Illinois Valley and LaSalle County. Just listing the facts as I see them. The facts our leaders should use as a task list of things that need to be improved.
Read you tax bill. Peru tax rate is .26044. Ottawa rate is 1.90161. LaSalle is 2.68393. Do you need more information?
City of Peru does not charge a utility tax. All other cities do!
Your census data concludes that Most are over 40? That is not factual and its evident that new schools attract young families. Do you have some other gripe about the educational process?
Airport and highways have not disappeared. They are a vital economic point.
Shopping areas are here. The online may have a negative effect in the future. Will you buy a car on-line? Will you buy you grocery on line?
Factories are open. Your state will have to change direction to get more manufacturing. In Peru they are still alive. Did you know we have MAZE NAIL, American Nickeloid and others like James Hardee, Eakas, Unityte, etc.
I was not aware that any movie house got $800,000? We could use a good one.
Senior Housing. Well, you contradicting yourself by saying we are turning into a over 40 community. Do you really believe we won't have enough seniors to fill the Strough or Liberty Village area?
Your comments about having a local hospital are off the wall. You have a abundance of specialist that are available through the hospital. Most of us want the small town services and they are very good. Health care has changed and consolidation is on the horizon. Would you feel better if your local hospital was OSF? I would not.
Recreational activities. You have some great parks, located next to one of the most popular areas in Starved Rock, and more.
You people keep talking about Peru's low tax rate. You are only looking at property tax. Overall - everyone in the Illinois Valley is being raped by the various governments. You need to look at the overall tax rate paid for everything.
Census Data is correct - average age is in fact 41 - this applies to all of LaSalle County. Peru is a little older.
Never said that highways and airports have disappeared. I said our current crop of government officials had nothing to do with getting them.
On-line shopping will redirect sales taxes to the buyers home town vice the town that they purchase in. It is only a matter of time. Walmart is setting up local home delivery. Even the Hy-Vee has on-line purchasing available now. The sales tax is paid at for the location of the delivery for on-line orders.
I'm not contradicting myself. The population is getting older and smaller. Count all the people living in "Senior Housing" now. In 15 years, there will only be half - not enough Gen X sticking around to replace them.
Our local hospital sends everyone somewhere else. There is NO TRAUMA CENTER within 60 miles!
Big Whoop on Starved Rock.
I bought my last car on line. It was delivered to my house by the dealership. And my sales taxes stayed local.
6:02 just because you have time for long-winded responses that wear people down does not mean you are correct.
Fact: Peru's population is higher today that it was in the 2000 census and it is not dropping.
Fact: Peru's sales tax collections were at a record high in 2014 and are on pace for another record in 2015 (source - IL Dept of Rev)
Fact: Urban areas are where the trauma centers are all across the country. You accept that when you live in a more rural area. IVCH has saved many lives and I am glad they are here. So will you, if you need them. If you don't use IVCH then why do you care.
Question: Local governments are largely funded by property taxes, so how are they "raping" us to borrow your stupid term? Are they raising your income tax? Nope. No such thing. Are you going to try to tell us you pay a high sales tax rate when you don't? How about services? Nope. So when you admit that property taxes are not the problem, then you are no longer talking about local governments. There can be a million local governments, but you are ONLY paying for the ones on your property tax bill. You do NOT pay for the others. I like my property tax bill in Peru.
So please explain. Wait. On second thought, skip that. No one cares what you think anymore than they care what I think. Facts are good to interject instead of the same old propaganda though, don't you think?
People like you, at least based on your comments, are a cancer. You have nothing to do but complain. Please at your earliest convenience, move to a place that is so much better. We will continue to live in the horrible misery you describe.
Or you could just man (or woman) up and quit bitching and make a life for yourself that will make you happy. Please. You are killing the blog.
11:42 - you need to look at future trends - not past performance. People are changing the way they purchase daily items. This is going to cause a fundamental change in the way Peru funds itself. Not tomorrow. But 25 years from now. Sales tax will not be the Golden Goose and property taxes will rise. Other forms of taxation will also need to be considered, such as a "delivery tax." Just sit back and think about how you purchased products in 1985. The same degree of change can reasonably be expected in 2045.
Peru's population increased due to the sudden influx of residents at the new retirement communities that where built between 2000 and 2010. Take a look at the under 25 to 30 year old population. That will tell you the trend for 25 years out. If these trends continue, 25 to 30 years from now, the population is going to decrease. This will snowball rapidly. The entire region is getting older with fewer young people staying. Why? Because of Employment. Our leadership is concentrating on short term infusions of sales tax through retail development schemes and kickbacks and tourism dreams. Both can only grow so much in this area and the residual effect they give to other professions is probably maxed out. Meaning - 10 more stores is not going to require 10 more plumbers or 10 more electricians. Sand mines and processing / transport plants aside, our leadership is short changing us on industrial development.
I am trying to get people to think about what is going to be here 30 years from now. Not 30 days. And the key to success in the future is maintaining and growing population and that requires jobs. What we do today needs to be for the kids being born today. Not the retired Baby Boomers or even the 41 your old moms and dads.
If you don't believe my concerns over the aging and decreasing population, fine. If nothing is done, I'll say I told you so in the middle of the empty lot that used to be the Peru Mall in 2045.
6:02 Your upset about who you elected to office in Peru. Your reaching for anything to make others believe your nonsense.
The facts are that Peru has ways to improve, just like any other city. Please don't give us the real-estate tax baloney. Ask any realtor and they will tell you Peru homes are hard to find!
Please don't tell us that having a large retail area is not a positive. And if you bought your last car on-line, your local sales point got the tax. It probably was Peru or Ottawa.
Collectively you have/had a number of elected officials that have done a good job with Peru. Some understand the value of a strong economics and spend wisely. Thank God for that.
You make what you want out of where you live. If you don't like it run for office. But please don't waste you time with short fictionalized stories that only those with feeble minds will believe. Your giving this site a bad reputation for inaccurate data.
2:31 - do you have a problem with the English Language? I never said having a large retail base is negative. It is positive. What I said is the impact on local tax revenue is going to change over the next 35 years and we need to be ready for the change.
In the 1970's somebody said people will never drive all the way up to Wenzel Road to go shopping. Don Baker saw the future of retail and went to battle with the Council to extend utilities and annex land all the way up to I-80. He saw the influence that the Interstate Highway was going to have on Retail. Others held on to the belief that people would only shop "down town." We all know what happened after that. LaSalle did the opposite - the held on to that belief.
Skip forward 35 years from now. How are you going to buy your products? Are you going to schlep yourself up to Kholes and search for pants that fit? Or are you going to have yourself completely measured at home - click a few buttons to transfer the measurements to the Kohls warehouse in Ottawa or California or anywhere in the world. At that point you can dress a virtual avatar with whatever clothing you want - verifying how it looks and how it fits, complete the transaction, and the next day a package will show up on your front porch delivered by a drone. With existing sales tax laws - they will be taxed at your local rate - not the rate for the place you purchased them. So... all those people in LaSalle will be paying the local portion of sales tax to LaSalle. Not Peru. So in this scenario, you can see that Peru's Great Golden Goose (collecting sales tax from the entire Illinois Valley) could die. What then? Only residents of Peru will be paying the local home rule sales tax.
People that hold on to the belief that things will never change generally loose.
Nobody has a crystal ball to tell you what will happen to the tax codes, population, jobs or anything else in 2045. What would you plan for?
2:19 if you know what industrial development will look like in 25 plus years, lets us know. The sand industry has been here for many years, they have made creative ways to use the resource available.You mention short change itself? I call it maximizing the opportunity.
Jobs are the most important aspect of any city of any economy. What is a good job and what do you consider a bad outdated job? A soda jerk was actually a job and it became out dated. We are in the center of transportation and those will be required in the future.
The aging population will relate to increased buying powers and tourism along with medical. The area has avoided the congestion of a large city and has some low cost of living available.
Its very hard to be critical of a city for not planning for 2045. Many very close cities have no clue on how they will meet the next payroll, pension payment or sell their soul for a few sand mining jobs. Will the USA be a industrial power in 30 years? What we will produce in 30 years? Will there be a population boom in the Midwest in 30 years? Should your city plan for space stations in 30 years?
article in the paper yesterday. Peru Public Schools new kindergarten class is much smaller than anticipated. The superintendent can explain it, but says it will get larger by the time they are in third grade. What it tells me is that five years ago, our population started the slide down. Prediction - Peru population on the next census - 9,500.
8:53, it is easy to explain. People are leaving this area in droves.
From the Illinois Policy Institute: "Illinois’ massive out-migration under Madigan has cost the state dearly. In the last two decades alone, Illinois has lost 1.4 million more people to other states than it has gained. This net exodus of Illinoisans has resulted in a loss of nearly $8 billion in annual state and local tax revenue."
According to the US Census Bureau the average age in the City of Peru is 45.5 years old. Peru's population is declining at a rate of 2.7 percent. People over the age of 65 comprise 22% of the city population - twice that of the overall state population.
Really 4:39? Even though it went up in the last two census counts? Since when? The 1970s? Everyone downstate has seen a population decline since that timeframe. Is our data any different than Ottawa? LaSalle?
3:05, our population decline is between the last official census (2010) and now. In 2010 it was roughly 10,300. It is now projected to be just above 10,000. The projections are based on a number of factors, including age, employment opportunities, migration trends, etc. The average age of our population is going up because established mid-career people are the majority of the working class. We also have a larger than normal number of retired individuals (as compared to the state average). The numbers are there is you care to read through them. 22% of Peru's population is retired. Average age is 45.5 years old. Entry level opportunities outside the retail industry are rare. Even the school district reported that kindergarten enrollment is very low with "no explanation." Well, the explanation is that 45.5 year old people don't have kids in Kindergarten and younger couples can't afford to have a kid because they are both working 6 hour days in retail (if they are lucky) and they are barely getting by.
51 comments:
Andrew Carnegie was a robber baron and enemy of the working man. We need to pass laws against making so much money.
Very interesting piece in the Ottawa Times about pay scales for Township officials. It appears that our local Township officials have well exceeded the lawful salary wages allowed by statute. When is it enough with this group? When you have set laws that limit excess by township officials its a problem. When you violate those same laws for your personal purpose its a crime.
11:02, I like that part where our States Attorney, Mr. Towne, said: "We deal in criminal activity. To charge someone with a crime, we have to prove they knowingly acted unlawfully."
12:17
good point. I guess that purposely violating a law would not be criminal?
Anon 2:50 not unless you know about it.
Time to consolidate small townships. Too many large salaries WITH BENEFITS AND RETIREMENT for 20 minute meetings once a month. Should be a crime and the board members know it.
Latest group ran with the platform that they were going to straighten this corruption out. Are they making any progress in the proper direction?
How many people were aware that the alderman were building a pension until recently and the township still is?
Recently the Head of the County Board was complaining that on account of veterans the county is to lose $68K but he forgot to mention with him getting beat in the last election the county board has him and 29 members although the people voted for a huge reduction in membership years ago. How much more is it costing the taxpayers over and beyond $68K/year to ignore a legal vote? I am speaking of wages, expense accounts and benefits plus whatever else is being received. These costs must be illegal unless you forget the reason the pilgrims came to America. Sadly the only way I would come to Illinois to start a business is if I was broke to begin with because if your not broke when you start certain corrupt individuals will have everything you own by the time you finish.
Illinois has way to many levels of government bodies to function properly.
Townships cannot be consolidated. They are a geographical subdivision, generally 36 square miles in area. They where enacted by the first Illinois Constitution to endure that land was available for a public school - one section of every township was given to the local school district.
Like many things in government, they exist because nobody has taken the time to eliminate them. After the invention of the telephone, these governments have become obsolete. There is absolutely nothing that they do that can't be done at the municipal or county level. But, we are stuck with them. The only way to do away with them is to change the format of the County government - all the townships in a county must be eliminated at the same time. There are two or three counties in Southern Illinois that have take the bold step to eliminate townships. No others have even considered it. No. It will never happen - to many paychecks in involved. To much money involved. To many retirements and medical plans involved.
Personally, I'd rather burn $100 bills on route six then continue contributing money into the bottomless township pit.
I think it's time for LaSalle and Peru to consolidate into one town. There is too much duplication of services and too many high paying salaries for two small towns. Combine them into one, and there is still only about 20,000 people. Many towns have more population than 20,000 and are still considered small towns. We are neighbors and we should be one unified town.
Anon 10:05 We are not neighbors. We simply live next to one another as Utica lives next to LaSalle.
What Peru and Utica have in common is that LaSalle annexed land from both of them and because of this I do not want any part of LaSalle. LaSalle recently grabbed all land east and north of Marquette Street which was Peru's and put it immediately into a TIF.
You call that a neighbor? Consolidation, Hell No!
It will never happen 10:05. To many paychecks on the line. To many retirement plans. To many medical plans.
Government is the largest growth industry in the Illinois Valley. More people around here work for government in one form or another than any other single business. Here is a short list of our local government employers:
City of Peru
City of LaSalle
City of Oglesby
City of Spring Valley
Each with police, fire, ambulance, public works, clerks office, economic development, engineers, grass cutters, plumbers, bottle washers, mechanics.
Schools - you can't move more than a mile around here without entering a different school district.
We have an IDOT detachment here.
We have a State Police headquarters here.
We have a Sherriff's Department here.
As mentioned - every Podunk town in the county employs at least one municipal police officer.
We have the Army Corps of Engineers here.
Our local hospitals would not exist without Medicare.
Water Districts, Reclamation Districts, State Parks, County Parks, IDNR, the Post Office
County Jail, Regional Office of Education, US Farm Services,
River Rescue Stations, EPA, IEPA,
I'm guessing that 75% of our local professionals work for the government!
Then there are the TIF suckers and Grant Getters all working on government projects.
It is mind boggling!
11:17 AM
I know the landowner of the land north of Wenzel east of Peru's Marquette Rd and the land was not in Peru proper but could have been in the twp. (not sure on the wording of this).
I do know the landowner went to Mayor Harl about annexation and the mayor was not interested and the landowner took it upon himself to contact La Salle who gladly took his large parcel of land into La Salle.
So you see the reason it happened was because of Peru leadership and who can blame La Salle for taking what was offered to them.
When a municipality annex's land, it is not like the Oklahoma Land Rush. It costs real money to annex land into the city. So Peru only does this when they are directed to by the developer. We know who that is. The developer likes to keep it in the unincorporated part of the county to save on taxes until the last minute. They save on taxes that way.
That is precisely why we have corn fields in the middle of the city.
reading the NT today. LaSalle is getting new stop lights. Why does Peru insist on nothing but 4-Way stop signs with flashing red lights? So with the new 4-Way on Shooting Park Road, traffic is going to be backed up from Church Street to Pulaski Street. Nobody knows how to drive through these intersections.
11:17 Lois is absolutely right. Do not blame La Salle for grabbing this property. Blame your government. They were given the first opportunity to acquire this land and refused.
Lois,
The Clear Farm has been annexed into La Salle. Peru could have annexed the farm into the city many years ago if there was someone that wanted to improve the land. If there was a commercial or industrial customer that purchased the land then it would make sense to annex.
The reason it was not was because of the issues that constantly appear on this blog, money. When the property was annexed wenzel road is now the responsibility of the City of LaSalle. If you drive down that road you are well aware that it will need to be improved at a cost of millions of dollars. Peru has saved money by allowing La Salle to have that additional property.
1:14 Wenzel road is NOT entirely the responsiblity of La Salle. It has always been my impression that both towns are responsible for their portion of that road.
6 of one, half a dozen of the other. 11:17 says no consolidation because LaSalle "stole" property from Peru. 1:14 says Peru did the right thing because it would cost too much money to maintain. I say consolidate the two towns, consolidate police, fire, mayor, aldermen, city workers, and we'd all save enough to pave Wenzel Road and then some. Some people are stuck back in the old days of one town being better than the other. Both towns have their negatives and positives. If it was one town, there would be much less government waste. It could be named "LaPeru".
1:14, Peru did not annex the land because "J" did not own it and "J" did not tell them to annex. That is how things are done in Peru.
The property owner has the option where to annex their property providing the property borders the city. In this case it appears that this property borders both towns. If I was a land owner I would consider the following. Which has the lowest city tax rate? All other tax rates are already determined including schools, townships, etc.
The property owner has the option where to annex their property providing the property borders the city. In this case it appears that this property borders both towns. If I was a land owner I would consider the following. Which has the lowest city tax rate? All other tax rates are already determined including schools, townships, etc.
4:31, the people that own the land don't care which city. They just avoid taxes until the last minute. They want it out of the municipality until it is subdivided and sold. "J" makes those decisions - none one else. Not Aldermen, Mayors, or Voters - "J" decides when the property is brought in to the city and to which city it is brought in to. Period, end of story.
Lois and other bloggers, you ask why not take what is offered to you. There are many ways of obtaining what is offered to you. Being that the two Mayors seemed to be combining many aspects so well to lower costs I believe Mayor Grove definitely owed Mayor Harl a personal notification of the possibilities that Peru could lose the Clear Farm and that LaSalle would annex it if Peru did not want it.
This could have been handled as always a gentleman's agreement. Mr. Clear should have been made aware of all negotiations as well to make sure he was satisfied.
Those that worry about what the Wenzel Road repairs will cost should take a look at long range profits rather than today's costs. Peru is presently going gang busters in a highly successful road program which is updating the city.
I have been a advocate of LaSalle and Peru combining for years but after following the attitude of each to one another I think it is best to continue with the many life long stand offs.
La Salle "stole" the land.....that's funny. LaSalle and Utica have visions and they are competing for annexation of land for growth. Spring Vally annexed up to Dalzell. Peru can now only go north and south.....there was a vision at one time but I don't see it anymore.
8:23 PM
I firmly believe that those who advocate a combined La Salle Peru city government realize that it's great that the idea is at least being talked about as this is recent news.
In all likelyhood, the possibility of a one city government will be the last and a combined police, fire and ambulance would precede that as being the most financially responsible thing to do for the residents of both cities and all of those units already work together well.
Future generations will determine the outcome as old ideas of my town is the best don't matter to the 18 to 35 year old residents on the whole. Changing loyalties will diminish with time and economics will play a great part in all of this.
8:23 PM
The property ownder DID talk to the mayor of Peru numerous times and it was only when the mayor finally said NO, the city is not interested La Salle came into the picture. I believe it was at that time La Salle made the initial contact.
I don't believe that Grove needed to inform Harl of what was taking place, he knew when the owner could not make a deal with Peru that he would go naturally to the other city that abuts his property.
Lois you are correct in your logical and economic theorems but they do not apply to the combination of LaSalle and Peru.Both towns have always had future generations and 18-35 tear old residents without change.
As for your example of a ambulance service the combined LaSalle Peru effort was thrown out the window only a few years ago as a few aldermen in Peru wanted to show that they were in charge, It simply appears that the two towns would rather challenge one another than combine. I am not speaking of government representation but believe that "Joe Plumber" is born with this characteristic attitude with the only difference being is if he is from Peru or LaSalle and he is raised further in this thought. We must remember it is not a case of whether it is right or wrong but a discipline of this is how it always has been and will be.
The perfect example is when a lifelong, well known resident of Utica at the start of its development said to me that he hated the thought that the village would end up like this. He said this in disguist. We both understand that change is hard to accept for most.
Maybe we could get LaSalle to annex Peru. Or maybe we could succeed from Peru and create our own city. Time to raise the Bonny Blue Flag and send the Boss packing!
You want to build a new city?
Low taxes, no utility taxes, new schools, low utility rates, low crime rates, shopping areas, highways, airports, river area, factories, low cost of living, senior areas for housing, parks, recreational opportunities, local hospital services. Anything your missing?
Peru has the list covered.
12:12 - Corruption. Cronyism. Favoritism. Excessive wages. Uncontrolled spending. Yup, Peru has it covered.
To 12:39 & 12:12 - You forgot graft and public officials guilty of elitism, arrogance, ignorance, and did I mention arrogance?
1:28 your list is debatable. 12:12 list is factual.
Low taxes - please define this. I think we have a high total tax bill when you consider everything together. The only difference is that Peru is able to "outsource" most of our revenue requirements to other cities.
No utility taxes - not true. Read your power and water bill.
New schools - big whoop. One could argue that we have an excess in this area considering the City's population trend. You also can't drive a mile without entering another school district. Most people living here are over 40 and getting older. Young families are on the decline due to the lack of actual work that attracts young educated people. But, if you want bread sticks or a new pair of mom jeans, Peru is your place.
Low utility rates - True, but the water department is being subsidized by the electric department. Electric rates are high for industrial users - which caused one employer to move next door for a better deal with Ameren.
Low crime rates - might be true. But I have a feeling much of this is just under reported.
Shopping areas - big whoop. Only vanilla big box retail establishments that park themselves every 50 miles or so along the Interstate. The fundamental change in this industry is happening right before our eyes. Twenty years from now, on-line retail will divert local sales taxes to the customer's home. We will not be able to exploit our neighbors much longer.
Highways - not the result of any Alderman or Mayor of Peru.
Airport - Nothing to do with the current administration. In fact, he tried to shut the thing down his first year in power. He would still rather use it as a party pavilion.
River area - totally under developed. This is one area that needs concentration. Water Street should be a row of barge terminals and warehouses. Instead, we have dreams of Gourmet Burger Joints.
Factories - we need more. Instead we try to give $800,000 to a private developer to build a movie house and rent it to the theater chain - all the while knowing that most people no longer go to the theater to watch a movie.
Low cost of living - do to the overall low income of the average person.
Senior areas for housing - thriving business for the next 25 years. When the Baby Boomers fade away - this will turn into Section 8 Housing.
Parks - sort of. If you like junior baseball.
Recreational opportunities - like what, falling off Starved Rock with the eco tourists from Chicago? Try taking a walk in Peru. Can't be done. Residential streets are clogged with parked cars and the sidewalks are deplorable. Cant walk to the shopping area.
Local hospital services - Packaging and shipping only. No Trauma Center in the local area. ER Staff consists of interns from Chicago. Any common geriatric emergencies need to be shipped to Peoria. Any Trauma requirements are shipped to Chicago, Peoria, or Rockford. Surgical capabilities are limited to elective procedures, knee and hip replacements, etc. Our hospital is constantly being investigated by Federal Authorities - from the Tax Man to the FDA, to the Social Security Administration. They just can't seem to follow the rules.
4:13, you should move out of Peru as fast as you can!
5:43 - why? Despite all that - it is better than any other city in a 60 mile radius. That is the nature of the Illinois Valley and LaSalle County. Just listing the facts as I see them. The facts our leaders should use as a task list of things that need to be improved.
4:13
Read you tax bill. Peru tax rate is .26044. Ottawa rate is 1.90161. LaSalle is 2.68393. Do you need more information?
City of Peru does not charge a utility tax. All other cities do!
Your census data concludes that Most are over 40? That is not factual and its evident that new schools attract young families. Do you have some other gripe about the educational process?
Airport and highways have not disappeared. They are a vital economic point.
Shopping areas are here. The online may have a negative effect in the future. Will you buy a car on-line? Will you buy you grocery on line?
Factories are open. Your state will have to change direction to get more manufacturing. In Peru they are still alive. Did you know we have MAZE NAIL, American Nickeloid and others like James Hardee, Eakas, Unityte, etc.
I was not aware that any movie house got $800,000? We could use a good one.
Senior Housing. Well, you contradicting yourself by saying we are turning into a over 40 community. Do you really believe we won't have enough seniors to fill the Strough or Liberty Village area?
Your comments about having a local hospital are off the wall. You have a abundance of specialist that are available through the hospital. Most of us want the small town services and they are very good. Health care has changed and consolidation is on the horizon. Would you feel better if your local hospital was OSF? I would not.
Recreational activities. You have some great parks, located next to one of the most popular areas in Starved Rock, and more.
You people keep talking about Peru's low tax rate. You are only looking at property tax. Overall - everyone in the Illinois Valley is being raped by the various governments. You need to look at the overall tax rate paid for everything.
Census Data is correct - average age is in fact 41 - this applies to all of LaSalle County. Peru is a little older.
Never said that highways and airports have disappeared. I said our current crop of government officials had nothing to do with getting them.
On-line shopping will redirect sales taxes to the buyers home town vice the town that they purchase in. It is only a matter of time. Walmart is setting up local home delivery. Even the Hy-Vee has on-line purchasing available now. The sales tax is paid at for the location of the delivery for on-line orders.
I'm not contradicting myself. The population is getting older and smaller. Count all the people living in "Senior Housing" now. In 15 years, there will only be half - not enough Gen X sticking around to replace them.
Our local hospital sends everyone somewhere else. There is NO TRAUMA CENTER within 60 miles!
Big Whoop on Starved Rock.
I bought my last car on line. It was delivered to my house by the dealership. And my sales taxes stayed local.
6:02 just because you have time for long-winded responses that wear people down does not mean you are correct.
Fact: Peru's population is higher today that it was in the 2000 census and it is not dropping.
Fact: Peru's sales tax collections were at a record high in 2014 and are on pace for another record in 2015 (source - IL Dept of Rev)
Fact: Urban areas are where the trauma centers are all across the country. You accept that when you live in a more rural area. IVCH has saved many lives and I am glad they are here. So will you, if you need them. If you don't use IVCH then why do you care.
Question: Local governments are largely funded by property taxes, so how are they "raping" us to borrow your stupid term? Are they raising your income tax? Nope. No such thing. Are you going to try to tell us you pay a high sales tax rate when you don't? How about services? Nope. So when you admit that property taxes are not the problem, then you are no longer talking about local governments. There can be a million local governments, but you are ONLY paying for the ones on your property tax bill. You do NOT pay for the others. I like my property tax bill in Peru.
So please explain. Wait. On second thought, skip that. No one cares what you think anymore than they care what I think. Facts are good to interject instead of the same old propaganda though, don't you think?
People like you, at least based on your comments, are a cancer. You have nothing to do but complain. Please at your earliest convenience, move to a place that is so much better. We will continue to live in the horrible misery you describe.
Or you could just man (or woman) up and quit bitching and make a life for yourself that will make you happy. Please. You are killing the blog.
11:42 - you need to look at future trends - not past performance. People are changing the way they purchase daily items. This is going to cause a fundamental change in the way Peru funds itself. Not tomorrow. But 25 years from now. Sales tax will not be the Golden Goose and property taxes will rise. Other forms of taxation will also need to be considered, such as a "delivery tax." Just sit back and think about how you purchased products in 1985. The same degree of change can reasonably be expected in 2045.
Peru's population increased due to the sudden influx of residents at the new retirement communities that where built between 2000 and 2010. Take a look at the under 25 to 30 year old population. That will tell you the trend for 25 years out. If these trends continue, 25 to 30 years from now, the population is going to decrease. This will snowball rapidly. The entire region is getting older with fewer young people staying. Why? Because of Employment. Our leadership is concentrating on short term infusions of sales tax through retail development schemes and kickbacks and tourism dreams. Both can only grow so much in this area and the residual effect they give to other professions is probably maxed out. Meaning - 10 more stores is not going to require 10 more plumbers or 10 more electricians. Sand mines and processing / transport plants aside, our leadership is short changing us on industrial development.
I am trying to get people to think about what is going to be here 30 years from now. Not 30 days. And the key to success in the future is maintaining and growing population and that requires jobs. What we do today needs to be for the kids being born today. Not the retired Baby Boomers or even the 41 your old moms and dads.
If you don't believe my concerns over the aging and decreasing population, fine. If nothing is done, I'll say I told you so in the middle of the empty lot that used to be the Peru Mall in 2045.
6:02 Your upset about who you elected to office in Peru. Your reaching for anything to make others believe your nonsense.
The facts are that Peru has ways to improve, just like any other city. Please don't give us the real-estate tax baloney. Ask any realtor and they will tell you Peru homes are hard to find!
Please don't tell us that having a large retail area is not a positive. And if you bought your last car on-line, your local sales point got the tax. It probably was Peru or Ottawa.
Collectively you have/had a number of elected officials that have done a good job with Peru. Some understand the value of a strong economics and spend wisely. Thank God for that.
You make what you want out of where you live. If you don't like it run for office. But please don't waste you time with short fictionalized stories that only those with feeble minds will believe.
Your giving this site a bad reputation for inaccurate data.
2:31 - do you have a problem with the English Language? I never said having a large retail base is negative. It is positive. What I said is the impact on local tax revenue is going to change over the next 35 years and we need to be ready for the change.
In the 1970's somebody said people will never drive all the way up to Wenzel Road to go shopping. Don Baker saw the future of retail and went to battle with the Council to extend utilities and annex land all the way up to I-80. He saw the influence that the Interstate Highway was going to have on Retail. Others held on to the belief that people would only shop "down town." We all know what happened after that. LaSalle did the opposite - the held on to that belief.
Skip forward 35 years from now. How are you going to buy your products? Are you going to schlep yourself up to Kholes and search for pants that fit? Or are you going to have yourself completely measured at home - click a few buttons to transfer the measurements to the Kohls warehouse in Ottawa or California or anywhere in the world. At that point you can dress a virtual avatar with whatever clothing you want - verifying how it looks and how it fits, complete the transaction, and the next day a package will show up on your front porch delivered by a drone. With existing sales tax laws - they will be taxed at your local rate - not the rate for the place you purchased them. So... all those people in LaSalle will be paying the local portion of sales tax to LaSalle. Not Peru. So in this scenario, you can see that Peru's Great Golden Goose (collecting sales tax from the entire Illinois Valley) could die. What then? Only residents of Peru will be paying the local home rule sales tax.
People that hold on to the belief that things will never change generally loose.
Nobody has a crystal ball to tell you what will happen to the tax codes, population, jobs or anything else in 2045. What would you plan for?
2:19 if you know what industrial development will look like in 25 plus years, lets us know. The sand industry has been here for many years, they have made creative ways to use the resource available.You mention short change itself? I call it maximizing the opportunity.
Jobs are the most important aspect of any city of any economy. What is a good job and what do you consider a bad outdated job? A soda jerk was actually a job and it became out dated. We are in the center of transportation and those will be required in the future.
The aging population will relate to increased buying powers and tourism along with medical. The area has avoided the congestion of a large city and has some low cost of living available.
Its very hard to be critical of a city for not planning for 2045. Many very close cities have no clue on how they will meet the next payroll, pension payment or sell their soul for a few sand mining jobs. Will the USA be a industrial power in 30 years? What we will produce in 30 years? Will there be a population boom in the Midwest in 30 years? Should your city plan for space stations in 30 years?
Get this 30 years off of your mind. Peru should immediately plan for a train station.
9:56 A train station without a train? Interesting concept........
article in the paper yesterday. Peru Public Schools new kindergarten class is much smaller than anticipated. The superintendent can explain it, but says it will get larger by the time they are in third grade. What it tells me is that five years ago, our population started the slide down. Prediction - Peru population on the next census - 9,500.
8:53, it is easy to explain. People are leaving this area in droves.
From the Illinois Policy Institute: "Illinois’ massive out-migration under Madigan has cost the state dearly. In the last two decades alone, Illinois has lost 1.4 million more people to other states than it has gained. This net exodus of Illinoisans has resulted in a loss of nearly $8 billion in annual state and local tax revenue."
According to the US Census Bureau the average age in the City of Peru is 45.5 years old. Peru's population is declining at a rate of 2.7 percent. People over the age of 65 comprise 22% of the city population - twice that of the overall state population.
Really 4:39? Even though it went up in the last two census counts? Since when? The 1970s? Everyone downstate has seen a population decline since that timeframe. Is our data any different than Ottawa? LaSalle?
3:05, our population decline is between the last official census (2010) and now. In 2010 it was roughly 10,300. It is now projected to be just above 10,000. The projections are based on a number of factors, including age, employment opportunities, migration trends, etc. The average age of our population is going up because established mid-career people are the majority of the working class. We also have a larger than normal number of retired individuals (as compared to the state average). The numbers are there is you care to read through them. 22% of Peru's population is retired. Average age is 45.5 years old. Entry level opportunities outside the retail industry are rare.
Even the school district reported that kindergarten enrollment is very low with "no explanation." Well, the explanation is that 45.5 year old people don't have kids in Kindergarten and younger couples can't afford to have a kid because they are both working 6 hour days in retail (if they are lucky) and they are barely getting by.
5:30, but it was up from 9700 to 10300 at that time, still would be a plus of 300 as of the next census from prior 2010
but the regional trend shows continued aging and continued out migration of younger people. If something does not change it will get interesting.
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