Our view: Police step out in front of heroin scourge
Since we in the Illinois Valley have a similar problem, is this something out PD might consider to help remedy the situation?. I say that because while it is a physical problem, it is also a mental health issue and the number of places offering mental health is very limited here in the IV.
140 comments:
I think a large part of the problem is the economy in this area. If people have a decent job, they tend to settle down and don't usually abuse drugs. It is hard to generalize. But unless kids go away to college or the military - they don't have much of a future here and they fall prey to drugs.
I just copied this from Facebook pot. You must have missed this Lois. Sounds like they are on it. Good work PPD.
Press Release
Peru Police Department
October 12, 2015
Chief Doug Bernabei
For Immediate Release
The city of Peru and the Peru Police Department is hosting a roundtable discussion addressing in part the heroin epidemic that is taking place across the country as well as here in the immediate Illinois Valley. The purpose of this forum is to bring together the various stakeholders and community leaders in the LPOS area to have a discussion regarding what arguably is the most serious drug problem we have ever faced.
This round table is to be held in a public forum starting promptly at 7:00 pm on Tuesday November 17, 2015 at the La Salle Peru High School Auditorium.
Mr. Rod Thorson, WLPO morning radio host has agreed to moderate the discussion.
Many past forums both here locally and outside our area often times focus on the issue from a global perspective. Please know that the goal here is not to “solve” the drug problem or to try to “bite off more than we can chew.”
Rather it is our belief that if by bringing this group together we might identify, acknowledge, and focus on some relatively small and specific things we might be able to do or lend our support towards that might offer some form of outreach for addicts, their families or their friends.
Invited panel members are:
Victims who have suffered personally from this devastating drug
Mayors of LPOS
Health Care Administrators @ NCBHS, IVCH, SMH
Superintendents of Schools @ LP and Hall
State’s Attorneys of La Salle and Bureau Counties
Police Chiefs of LPOS
The public is invited to attend!
There is an article in the NT this morning about how the police are using money confiscated from drug traffickers to supplement their budget. Am I the only one that thinks that the police spend more time looking for cash to confiscate than they do looking for speeders in the residential areas of town?
No, 7:42, you are not the only one thinking that. After reading the article I felt as though the police force thought it was more important to confiscate drug money so they could buy new vehicles rather than getting the drug dealers off the streets.
Let's see, what would we rather have our police force do? The work of real police and get drugs and therefore criminals off the streets? Or play traffic cop and give out speeding tickets? I will bet I am in the huge majority that want the mt to get the bad guys first and if they get the cars or cash, more power to them. The funny thing is they do both and so much more.
Police work is complicated and our Peru Police Department does a phenomenal job, as I think most do in our area. Reading a few paragraphs in an article and forming some big conclusion about police work is really a stretch.
To our local police in the area, keep up the great work.
1:03 you nailed it. This is just a few of the remaining anti Peru folks that are negative about everything. They are fading though. I have a very good friend on the force and knows that the majority of the citizens think they are doing great work.
Over the past four decades, federal and state governments have poured over $1 trillion into drug war spending and relied on taxpayers to foot the bill. Unfortunately, these tax dollars have gone to waste. In 1980, the United States had 50,000 people behind bars for drug law violations – now we have more than half a million. The U.S. is now the world’s largest jailer, drugs remain widely available and treatment resources are scarce. Not only have billions of tax dollars been wasted, but drug war spending has also resulted in the defunding of other important services. Money funneled into drug enforcement has meant less funding for more serious crime and has left essential education, health, social service and public safety programs struggling to operate on meager funding
About 570,000 people die annually due to drug use. This breaks down as follows:
440,000 from disease related to legal tobacco
85,000 due to legal alcohol
20,000 due to legal prescription drug abuse.
20,000 due to illicit (illegal) drugs
Source: US Government’s National Institute for drug abuse. www.drugabuse.gov
In contrast, there were 30,057 fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2013 in which 32,719 deaths occurred. This resulted in national motor vehicle crash death rates of 10.3 deaths per 100,000 people.
I would rather they protect and serve the citizens of Peru - not randomly stop people on the interstate that have out of state licenses and shake them down for cash.
The only reason we have Trident and the other "task forces" is to confiscate cash and property. Not one dent has been put in the drug trade around here. There is only one way to win the war on drugs. Take away the customer, either through education or the alternative. When there is no customer, there will be no trafficking.
The war on drugs is not winnable without instating 100% autocratic rule. Even then, there will still be illegal drugs.
Then let's have a separate post and having a meaningful debate on the "war on drugs."
As for this post, the police do a phenomenal job enforcing the law and dealing with serious crimes in our area. 1:03 said it very well.
As for the comments about it not making any difference or putting a dent in anything, just try to imagine what it would be if our police did nothing. They are getting a lot of the customers.
As for I-80 (1) they don't randomly stop people with out of state licenses and (2) I-80 is in the city. It is totally within their jurisdiction.
I hope they keep grabbing all the cash and cars they can. Every time they do it, lives are saved.
1:56
I agree with you. Why are my tax dollars being used to patrol an interstate highway. I thought a local police force was to protect the citizens. This phony war on drugs is only to put some feathers in someone's hat. Don't the State Police already patrol 80 ?? The enforcement of speeding and stop sign violations in the residential areas is pathetic. You have to be blind, not to see this. People have given up calling in and complaining, as nothing is done other than maybe a complimentary drive by, by a patrol car. Traffic enforcement is VERY sorry in this town. Out of Towner's even mention the speeding and lack of people stopping at stop signs. These are my thoughts.
It is not a question of our police doing a good job or a bad job. I think our force is awesome.
It is a question of what we are telling them to do. The organization, in general, has been conditioned to go after big drug busts. Around here, that usually ends up being pot. But not all the time. Anyway - I don't see a U-Haul full of pot as a threat. I do se an SUV blowing off a stop sign at 7th and West Street as the bigger threat.
I wish I could make a citizen's arrest. I see lots of people on their cell phones and it makes me mad. It's dangerous. People make mistakes when they're driving, that's ok, it happens, but when the mistakes are made because they're busy looking at their cell phones, it would be great to be able to arrest them!
Peru police have always done a great job. If they can get money from illegal drug trafficking, all the better. It saves us taxes because they have money to buy new cars and equipment that we would be paying for with taxes if they didn't have the drug money.
You people have no clue. My spouse is a peru officer. Peru is not in trident which is the unit on I 80. Peru is not allowed to go on 80 for drug interdiction unless asked by state to assist. They have there own drug unit siu and have the highest drug arrest rate in the county. All in the city. Get some facts before you run your mouth.
Our Peru cops do a great job in many ways. They help on lockouts and assist residents and motorists in need. To catch speeders they would have to be at the location of the speeder and they can't be everywhere. One thing I wish they would reconsider is the stop sign in front of Northview School on Shooting Park Road. It is only needed a couple times a day, five days a week. Gasoline is wasted every time you have to stop.
The Peru PPD has an excellent police force and I don't think that anyone has personally might light of their work. Different people have different views on how drug enforcement is conducted but that was not the intended topic.
5:53 PM, October 23, 2015 - The conversation has evolved beyond just Peru. It is a fact that "local" law enforcement patrols I-80 looking for easy money to confiscate. They generally pull over small trucks and cars with out of state license plates for some trumped up reason in the hopes that they will smell pot. Then they go to town. One person stoop up to this treatment - the police searched his car for hours and found nothing. Then they left him on the side of the interstate to pick up all his possessions. He brought a lawsuit against LaSalle County and Brian Towne and won. What did Mr. Towne say - "I know he had drugs and if we had enough time we would have found them. I mean, who travels across the county with all their "shit" packed in their car." His exact words.
The police should not be assisting with lockouts. Local towing services can do that.
1:03
Phenomenal job ?? I agree, police force does a great job of directing traffic and taking care of emergency calls. What I think the subject is about, is the lack of traffic law enforcement, that they were supposedly trained for. An officer wouldn’t have to be at any certain place to catch law breakers. About any street is a unregulated speed way. (Ever been on Peoria St. ??, Shooting Park ??, West St. ??, North Peoria ?? ) Stop signs are a joke. How about the fire lanes around the big stores around 80 ?? Couldn’t even count how many times I have seen patrol cars drive right by and not even give a look to the pickups and cars parked there. Handicapped parking is for the “Special” people in town. They pull up, look around, and pull their card out of glove compartment, and hang it on their mirror. Then get out and walk, with no visible handicap into the store. Thought cops had the authority to pull those cards on the spot, if they were being misused. About two years ago, the big hot Chief, had an article in the paper about giving those using cell phones a break, and then he would start enforcing the law. Doesn’t seem to have happened. No problem seeing people with cell phone stuck in ear, or on the steering wheel texting, while driving. Seems that the only tickets issued , are after an accident. Maybe if some of these people would get tickets, they would obey the laws and might save someone being hurt or killed in another accident. Why couldn’t some of this drug money be used for cameras, to watch certain areas around town. Not like the radar speed thing, which is maxed out most of the time and no one watching anyway. Don’t even see why the waste of time to put this up. As far as drugs are concerned, I hear that they are readily available, all around the area. Whether this is true or not, I don’t know. Just passing on what I heard. (Not heard from anyone in Peru)
I personally do not think we should be bragging (and yes, that's what I feel we are doing in this article) about how we can pay for police vehicles entirely with drug money we've confiscated and be the only town able to do so. I really don't care about the money I care about getting the drugs off the streets. And no, I don't think we should be on I80 stopping vehicles. I think that's the state police's duty. I thank all our policemen for risking their lives daily to protect us but I do agree that local police forces should be concentrating more on local problems and let the state police handle their jurisdiction. We have drug task forces and specialized teams to handle the drug problems. Once again thanks to the men in blue and be safe. These are just my opinions.
You can all waste time and comments arguing about the quality of Peru's police force if you wish. That's not really the point. Peru's force is doing fine as far as I'm concerned. That does not mean PPD does not have issues. My opinion is PPD is terribly over-staffed. That over-staffing cajuses a huge portion of Peru's overall city budget to be dedicated to the PPD. Peru's Police Department costs a tremendous amount of tax dollars to run and to feed the police pension system. This phenomenon continues because elected officials are unwilling and or unable to reign in the political power base of the police chief or whatever current title Mr. Bernabei may currently have on his letterhead. Pure unchecked and absolute power is an intoxicating thing for some people and in Peru it is rapidly becoming a monster with an insatiable appetite for fame, fortune, and notorieity. Every working department in Peru is at present dominated and controlled by a single personality with unchecked power and authority. This is the result of a weak and indecisive grloup of aldermen who have allowed Peru's mayor to consolidate almighty power in a single individual who is dependent on that same mayor to maintain his "appointed position". For any of you who consider me a "Peru hater" or see my comments as negative I say this. Any government, company, business, or organization that consolidates power as Harl and Bernabei are doing in Peru will never stand the test of time. Peru's aldermen are spineless and totally ineffective and actually have nothing to offer. Their only purpose is to ensure that consolidation of power continues and to vote as needed to maintain that power. They do not initiate policy, they vote as they are told on policies that come from the Peru establishment of big money and influence. The bottom line is that when city leaders are more concerned about grabbing and maintaining power and wealth for themselves and their friends there is no time or energy left over for the trivial things like sound city management or fiscal responsibility. And forget about accountability to the citizens. Peru is a city that has no clue where it is going. It's like a Boom-Town during the Gold Rush with speculators sifting every penney they can out of the taxpayers pockets to feed their greed and corrupt ambitions. It's Boom or Bust for a political scenario like we see in Peru. Right now it's Boom, but it's just a matter of time before you know what.
10:38 What are you on?
Please describe the money and influence in Peru. Who gets wealth for themselves? If you talking about Salaries of public officials or Peru manpower you may be overextending what you think big money is.
I would agree that Peru may be more conservative with its finances than any other earshot city. My only complaint is that a few of them throw nickels around like manhole covers. I don't know how the police chief or mayor are getting rich in Peru. I am also unable to define what corrupt ambitions are. I don't think any of them are running for higher offices and in government as opposed to the private sector your wages are lower without much room for advancement.
I love the new 4 way stop at SPR and West Street by Northview School. Best stop sign change since they added the one on North Peoria at Midtown Road by Hyvee!
When we were there a couple of evenings ago after dark, there was traffic backed up on SPR coming from the east at West and again at North Peoria.
11:03
That stop sign was not put there to save you gas. If that was the case, they should take down all stop signs so you could save more gas. You don’t mention that when you left the stop sign on Peoria, or the stop light on 251, you tromped on the gas as if you were at a drag strip. Burned 10 times more gas there, than what you used to stop at the stop sign. Probably came up to the stop sign in the school zone doing 35-40 MPH, in a 20 MPH zone. I was always under the impression, that speed zones and stop signs were put up for a reason. So, don’t use the cheap excuse that you are wasting gas.
1:19 government wages are higher with better benefits than the private sector.
OK 1:19, then everyone should work for the government. That is the solution!
I think Peru is finally getting a clue. I support the Pride in Peru signs and it's about time the Gay community was recognized in Peru. Each year I attend the Pride parade in Chicago and support equal rights for all. We have a voice! Finally we have some recognition.
I think the point made on here before was that people imply that the mayor and council members get rich off of "working for the government" and they do not. None of them could begin to live on what they make. It was one of many lies that are left to perpetuate here and most people know they are lies. Agree or disagree with them or their decisions, we all can at least admit that they have a thankless job that we would not want. If we did we would run for office.
As for the stop sign near Northview that was a very good move and the school distict pushed to make it happen. How would it be safe if it were only used at certain times? People don't pay enough attention as it is. People need to relax and slow down. If you have to bitch about stopping at a stop sign near a school then life is apparently very good for you.
9:37 That's called socialism. Management wages for the private sector are generally higher than the government.
2:09...Remember five days a week and three months during the summer. Get it? I doubt it because you think everyone is a 'tromper'.
To 8:28 AM, Peru elected officials are responsible for "enriching" friends and connected businesses by steering lucrative city contracts to these friends and businesses, ex. TEST, Inc @ $3.5 Million and Janko via TIF money and sweetheart deals. Peru elected officials are also responsible for providing excessive salaries to appointed city officials, ex. ASM @ approx. $115,000 and PSM @ approx. $100,000. I never said Peru's elected officials are getting rich. They just sit there and do as they are told and play the "bigshot" role. In fact they are the ones that look so ridiculous because they are so easily bought and paid for with free cocktails after meetings and free meals and a couple of "nights on the town" in Chicago each year. That is not to say they aren't "rewarded" for their votes in other ways less noticable by their "friends" doing business in Peru. If anyone is telling lies it's you lying to yourself about the character of Peru's elected and appointed officials. Wake up!
Lois - Please start a post to encourage discussion about the current state of Peru's Public Works Department. I see the newspaper reported that despite the city having spent about $300,000 on a Vactor Truck earlier this year, our brilliant city council just hired Michelini to clean our sewers. Waldorf and Lukosus said there would be no need to hire out this work to Michelini if we bought our own truck. This is the kind of crap that people need to know. These elected officials and department heads are clueless and flushing out tax dollars down the crapper so Michelini can suck them up. This scam needs to be revealed to the public.
8:03 Your right---Peru is one of the most progressive cities and thanks for the signs that recognize our Gay Pride in Peru. Who would have been able to post those signs up 20 years ago? We come a long way!!!!!We might not be ready for a parade, but were out there.
10:16 am, I saw a driver on SPR going east and totally blew the new stop sign. I can't imagine how confusing it would be for drivers if the stop signs were operational only at certain times, when some drivers can't even get it right now.
You know, somebody should invent something that will indicate when traffic may flow through and intersection. This device would be able to adapt to changing conditions or even have different rules at different times. My vision is that vehicles would be able to flow freely through the Shooting Park Road intersection without having to stop if there are no cars waiting on West Street. This device would be able to sense when vehicles are waiting on West Street and tell drivers on Shooting Park Road that they need to stop for a few minutes and let them through. Oh wait.... I just invented the Stop Light.
Another thing to think about. This was never a problem when the school's driveway was a half a block to the west of its new location. Perhaps this new 4-Way Fiasco is simply a way to allow helicopter moms easy access in and out and allow them to turn left with ease.
Get a Clue Peru - 4-Way Stop Signs do not work on busy streets!
The new stop sign has nothing to do with safety. It was put in place to make it easier to exit the school.
"Get a Clue, Peru"
hmmmmm..... "sewer relief at 7 Baker Park Avenue."
Are the Democrats going to wait until next month before the make the lifetime appointment to the legislature?
This is why they are moving the Police Station "up north" to "Area 51." There is nothing to confiscate down in the residential part of town. The police department gets more bang for the buck patrolling the commercial area - looking for suspicious out of towners to shake down.
"Get a Clue Peru!"
Looked through the new disbursements online. That Oval Wacker guy is costing us a fortune! Check out new furniture and the IML expenses. Also why are we buying candy for the clerk's office? There are separate items for candy and Halloween parade candy. I don't mind paying for Halloween parade candy, but I think people at city hall should be buying their own candy. They make more money than I do.
I like the new tag line "Get a Clue, Peru." Can we get yard signs made? Would they be considered "political" signs and thus subject to the "recommendation" in our code of ordinances that they only be posted 30 days before an election? Who was the clueless one that wrote that nonsense knowing it was contrary to State law?
I read in another post that the "Vactor" truck has been sitting idle almost all summer. "Get a Clue, Peru" people remember this stuff. I hope the Boss moves to Springfield soon so we can start sweeping out 4th and Fulton. I figure in one year we can make a clean sweep of everyone from Bobby V. to the new Mayor Mc Cheese (aka "W").
Not to change the subject, but I saw, what I think, is another problem. Was coming to Peru, yesterday on Rte. 251, South of the Bottom Road. I was headed North approaching the stop sign for the Bottom Road. A car was heading South and was in the new right turn lane. He was not slowing down and all of a sudden swung back out onto the highway into the South bound lane. What had happened, in my estimation, is that when you are going South on 251, you are making a gentle turn to the left as you approach the Bottom Road. Before you get there, you see two white lines, beconing you to come straight ahead. They look extensions of the South bound Rte. 251 lane. He probably was not from the area, and mistook those lines as the the lane he should be in. When he realized what was going on, he swerved back onto 251. Wonder how many more are going to do this before someone sitting at the stop sign, gets “T-Boned”. When sitting at the stop sign, if you look North, you are dead center of the new turn lane. Sort of like a deer in the headlights. I have no answer for fixing this, but someone should take a look at this, and come up with a way to notify the South bound traffic that this is a turn lane, NOT an extension of the South bound right lane of 251. Hope you can understand what I am trying to explain.
Last night the Michelini Vactor Truck and crew were pumping out a city-owned storm drain on the west side of Peru Mall along North Peoria Street at 6:30 PM. So the city is paying a premium to Michelini's Illinois Valley Excavating on an Overtime Sunday while Peru's Vactor Truck sits hidden away somewhere. Now there's an example of some of that "cracker-jack management" we've got going for us as described by the Peru cheerleaders on this blog. What say you cheerleaders now?
10:43 - it was probably less expensive to pay the "Fresh Tomatoes" guy to do the work than pay our own employees overtime.
Also note. I was driving around town on Saturday morning running the normal weekend errands. That was during the brief but heavy rain. There where quite a few large puddles on Shooting Park Road, Marquette Street, North Peoria Street, Wenzell Road. Peru continues to suffer through drainage problems. These puddles where large and quite fun to run through with my 4x4. I was shooting water up above my truck on Shooting Park Road. But putting the fun aside, I thought the plan was to clean out all the storm drains this summer. I haven't seen it once since they purchased it. The only time I saw the pothole crew was when I complained about all the holes on my street.
We also spent around $70K with a connected tree service to try to save some city owned Ash Trees that are infected with a silly bug. They could have chopped them all down and burned them in place for about a grand. But I guess we don't have anybody working for the city that knows how to chop down a tree. Some of the things the city does is amazing.
Turns out that the State has now lifted the restrictions on transporting firewood. By spring they are going to say don't even bother trying to contain the spread - just chop and burn.
11:34
Chop down all those trees for $1,000? Wow that's a stretch. That silly bug is mandated control. Tell your State and Fed reps to lay off the financial mandates for the taxpayers.
10:15
Like that vactor truck? Ask them how much it has been used this past year, that should clarify any questions. Peru Mayor is staying here. No reason to start the "W" recall.
10:29
You must be smarter than the many professional engineers our state employees.
Not sure what the Get a clue is about and still wondering about the Pride in Peru. Must be a limited very small family organized effort to sound off.
11:27
Puddle jumper, you know its dear season and you should be driving through the fields chasing deer with that 4x4. The city should have the sewer grates cleaned with all those leaves.
9:18
I object to the candy and free bbs for bb guns. They may have been giving out the candy for the parade. I don't think the free candy has contributed to the drug epidemic or put the city in financial straits. And I don't think that your city officials are millionaires like congress. There must be more expense to complain about than candy?
12:24 did you see the expenses for the IML conference? How about complaining about that?
11:34 I agree that they should just cut the trees down. They're all eventually going to get the bug. Even the treated ones now will eventually get the bug and have to be cut down. Waste of money to save them, any money used for treatment should instead be used to cut down and plant new trees.
Treating the trees is not mandated by anyone. If my memory is correct, the city had about 28 trees that they are dumping $70 K on trying to "save." It would take somebody about 10 minutes each to cut them down. Then burn them. That might be costly. Somebody would have to tend to the fire for a couple of days. Better yet, just dump them in the slough.
"City of Peru invests in battling ash borer" - 7/30/2015
The term "invest" implies that there will be a return. If you "invest" a dollar, you expect to end up with more than a dollar.
Anyway - the mislabeled article from the summer states that Peru was going to spend $80,000 on a local tree service to try to cure 130 of these weeds from the dreaded bug. Why on earth we would want to save these trees when it is much cheaper just to kill them. In the long run, that is the only way to get rid of that cute little bug.
The tree program is nothing but butter. That is how government works. Tell me - if you had an Ash Tree in your front yard and it had the little critter in it, what would you do. Spend a couple grand trying to kill the bug, or get out the chain saw and cut it down? I know what I would do.
I just heard from reliable sources that Harl is indeed the Democrats choice to take over for Mautino. However, he is asking for some concessions in case he can't win an actual election.
Finally someone has contacted reliable sources to gain knowledge of who is to be the next local Representative. Word from Springfield has been that it is Harl and has been Harl all along as it should be. What I don't like is Peru losing a hell of a good Mayor to go to Springfield where no one is sure of how much voice he will have initially.
As Peru's Mayor Scott Harl has reached out successfully to all branches of government and been heard for Peru's betterment. He has made many city improvements at the correct time of low interest rates and during a labor and supply recession when wages and goods costs have remained steady.
Mayor Harl is bringing the infrastructure up to date along with a city government full of young talented professionals who are saving the city bundles of money and providing a internal check and balance system. His concept of teamwork within today's council shows highly of his management skills especially in comparison to what he initially inherited 7 years ago. Yes I am speaking of the group of alderman who could not accept that they had a new Mayor who was not going to do all the thinking they themselves were elected to do. 7 years ago the majority of aldermen were incapable of thinking on a aldermen's level and were only to happy to be told how to vote. Peru was promised CHANGE and they got it.
$80,000 wasted on dead trees. Cut them down and be done with it! Waste, waste, waste!
2:45, your reliable source is full of it, he is campaigning for Skoog as we speak
3:52 P.M.
And how much did they pay you for your comment?
Don't worry. The Boss has a plan for that. He will still run Peru. Don't think for one minute that the council will appoint anyone that he cannot control.
You should start a blog about what we want Harl to do when he is sent to Springfield. I want him to get us a new pool and a new community building. Then I want him to lower property taxes and give electricity out for free for retired people. If he can do all that in his first year, I will vote for him.
No matter who gets sent down there, I have four words for them. "Show me the money."
Anon 5:12 I, as I am sure 3:52 also believes your comment is a
unnecessary insult in a attempt to disgrace pro Harl supporters from using your blog.
The comment does show how this blog has changed from its days of being they Scott Harl supporter to its present direction for whatever reasoning of which many believe is only because Harl did not allow himself to be led around by the blog.
Mayor Harl is now on his second four year term and most believe he will once again increase his number of votes from his 1st and 2nd terms if he chooses to remain as Mayor rather than accepting the Democratic offer to Springfield.
And how much will you pay me for my comment?
Anon 7:35 PM
What makes you believe that you should be granted additional entitlements because you have simply lived long enough to be retired?
You have been shown the money and it is no one elses fault if you haven't taken care of it for your latter years.
As a younger person I have to live with less because your age groups biggest success has been to kick the can down the road which you have never repaired. In a changing economy created by a global market started years ago by Japanese imports , now Chinese and all other 3rd world economic powers building products bought by the American consumer thereby eliminating American jobs for my age group, Thank you for a unfair start.
8:34 P.M.
If you believe honestly what you posted, then you don't know any of the early Harl supporters who put him in office and most of them would like their votes back. He fulfilled nothing he promised and when someone said shortly after his election that he had become quite the politician, I was shocked to hear that and at first did not believe. Now I know he is a politician and nothing more. Promises made and not kept and using people to reach his own goals. People that have worked with him have also come to the realization he is not a Leader and that is something Peru desperately needs.
I believe the 7:35 PM comment was sarcasm crafted to show everyone how a segment of out population views government.
For me - My vote will go to the first man or woman the promises to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I would donate to the campaign of any politician the promises to repeal laws and defund programs. I do not want any more HELP from the government. I want our government to leave everyone alone so they can go about living their lives. I don't need anyone to tell me Kielbasa is bad for me. I don't need a guy in a fancy suite to tell me to put a helmet on when I ride a bike. I don't need some meddling nanny to tell me not to drink a gallon of sugar water a day.
There is big news brewing in Peru. Things are moving rapidly.
2:45
Your reliable source must be smoking that medical marijuana that the state legalized. The Bureau County Demogods were not that impressed with the Skoog ticket, that's not surprising. Skoog is still the ticket for the Rep. spot. He quickly will have 3 political positions in just a few years. Free beer and chicken wings!!!!
2:45 I hope Harl is picked to go to Springfield. What concessions could he ask for? Help with campaigning for re-election? Money? If he was to lose, he wouldn't be in Springfield and he wouldn't be Peru mayor. Is he willing to give that up?
Bureau County effectively VETO'd Skoog. It is clear sailing for Harl now.
Like what 7:27??? When you make a statement like that back it up with some detail.
The concessions are a politically appointed job with the state government. Illinois has many boards and commissions that pay the equivalent of a full time job for virtually no work. Once you weasel your way in, they forget about you unless something goes wrong.
No one has ever lost re-election in this district since the current constitution has been in effect. Once Harl is appointed, he will remain in office until he decides to leave. There is a remote possibility of gerrymandering the district in such a way that he would need to move - but that might prove more difficult and - in my opinion - impossible.
This is how it is done in Illinois folks. Once you are in it is a lifetime appointment. Gotta love Democracy don't you?
Several reliable sources out of Springfield claim that Peru Mayor Scott Harl is a definite pick to fill Representative Frank Mautino's chair as state representative. He is not only Mike Madigans favorite choice but also the choice of most others in charge of filling the seat. Harls 2 terms and Springfield interviews plus his ability to build a war chest for campaigning have made him a run away choice. Beware of local know it alls who don't even know the direction to Springfield as well as never being there. The position is Harls to take.
11:28
The position is a lock for Skoog and Harl is not in the running. Your argument makes sense but not in the same bulldozer as those who actually make the decision. The lock is the simple bartender from Utica who has had a quick rise to fame without any resume. He is Frank's choice and the good old boys from the Democratic party. He also might be the choice of the republicans.
Ps. If Skoog gets a GPS he will be able to find Springfield. The problem is our residents won't get squat.
I heard somebody from Chicago purchased a house in Peru for cash. This happened several months after the last election....
PJ Star Reporter tweeted "Harl"
Even Madigan takes orders. The word from Local 150 and AFSCME is that it must be Harl.
I love to hear all the differing opinions on Harl going to Springfield. Some are adamant he's going to Springfield, some are adamant Skoog is the one. Both sides claim to have insider knowledge. It will be interesting to see who actually gets chosen.
Now come on Skoogs hometown of Utica dose not know what inside information is as well as have it. Peru's Mayor Harl knows most of the mayors from the state, has walked into important political offices in Washington D.C., plus having Local 150 and AFSCME supporting him. The Mayor has a knack of advancing in government organizations as evidenced by his being chosen for the Illinois Municipal Leagues Board and the local Chambers Board plus his personal presense at the IMEA meetings. Also it must be remembered that he knows how and has distributed some of his war chest to people who count in this appointment and as of yet Skoog has never put together a war chest.
Harl has prepared himself for advancement by keeping a very clean record while his opponentes' strung a wire line across his business upper backbar to openly sell illegal paraphernalla. It must be remembered that ones backgroung travels with him for life and it is a deciding factor in the decision of advancement.
These misguided mopes who are trying to "wish" Harl into the Illinois legislature are amusing and very much like Harl himself. They stumble through life with little real intelligence or skill-set and pretend to know things the rest of us don't. There is no truth to any of the claims that Harl is going to replace Mautino. In fact, Harl was ruled out very early in the selection process after his first interview. If you have ever attempted to have an intelligent conversation with the narcissistic mayor of Peru you would understand my point. The only thing more amusing than the Harl nitwits on this blog are the phony county democrat party officials who make comments to the newspaper suggesting they are the people who will choose Mautino's successor. Now that's funny. Skoog IS NOW, ALWAYS HAS BEEN, and WILL BE, the choice to replace Mautino. Harl has reached the pinnacle of his political career and since he has alienated the core group of supporters who made him, he will go no further. Harl can take money from every special interest in the state as far as I'm concerned. Without a solid base of supporters to do the grunt work of running a good district campaign, Harl is dead in the water. Harl's money can buy the office of mayor of Peru but without dedicate "people" behind him, Harl's career in state politics will never get off the ground. Sorry Peru you're stuck with him until you get your "stuff" together.
9:50 P.M.
Harl was not selected for the IMEA, I believe he selected himself .His clean record?
9:50 are we forgetting the payroll scandal?
7:27 I believe the current aldermen would do the grunt work for Harl's district campaign. They seem to come together as a group to work for people they like, going out door to door for their chosen candidate, writing letters, and making phone calls. I think Potthoff would offer to be his campaign manager.
Big write-up in the Ottawa Times about Skoogs this morning.
Anonymous 8:21 AM
No we are not forgetting about the payroll situation in which retired Judge William Balestri and the Federal Bureau of Investigation could not find any illegalities performed by Mayor Hatl after a long and through investigation. Mayor Harl did no more than compensate a few city employees whom were assigned additional duties and a promotion title in a normal manner that most Mayors practice in the same situation.
If any of those who investigated were in question the question was why were they even called to Peru, after a retired Judges investigation and the 7 to 1 agreement of the city council in favor of the Mayors decision, which to them was a waste of their valuable time and nothing more than a witch hunt promoted by someone who did not understand the legal practices of city governments.
Thankfully this situation has been put in the past where it belongs and the Mayor and City Council are moving Peru in a progressive direction.
I think it is funny that the only time you hear about the government doing its job is when a politician is running for something. Big write-up in the NT today about how Andy Skoogs is doing his job by collecting the fines owed by local citizens.
Who are they trying to fool? Next we will hear about how Dave Bartley is putting stamps on the utility bills every month.
The Payroll scandal gives Harl "Street Cred" with the Democrat Party. They look for little things like that when selecting a coconspirator.
There's a nice article on Skoog in the Ottawa newspaper online. Sounds like he's the chosen one.
I don't know folks. It appears that Skoog got himself juiced in somehow. Will "The Boss" settle for Township Assessor for no work, high pay? "Mr. B" is no longer eligible to run.
Anon 8:21
You nailed it! As long as the Mayor, city council, city employees and city vendors back a candidate in Peru he/she has a sure win. Alfred E. Neumann would win a election in Peru with the above mentioned backing. Admit it folks, in most elections, the inner circle knows who is going to win before the campaign starts. What they don't know is how much money they are going to have to spend and how hard they are going to have to work.Better than that is to see a incumbent vacate his seat so that someone from his party obtains it before the next election.
10:08 AM, October 28, 2015 -
Wow! You should write History text books for Soviet Russia. That is quite the little story you sun.
First off, the "Retired Judge" and the FBI both acknowledged what Harl did was not legal. The reason no charges where filed by the FBI was because no FEDERAL laws where broken. The "Retired Judge" recommended to sweep the issue under the carpet because Harl had "good intentions" and didn't know what he was doing was a violation of the ordinance. Our esteemed county State's Attorney (a member of the same political party that the mayor belongs to) agreed with the "Retired Judge" and did not bring charges. And our Council wanted the issue buried because it "looked bad" for Peru.
The LaSalle County Democrats have a history of questionable practices. I look forward to that party loosing control. We now have two Republicans challenging the APPOINTED FOR LIEF Brian Towne - time to break the chain on that appointment.
As far a State Rep. goes, I don't care if it is "Skoogy Do," "The Boss," or "Joe the Rag Man" that Madigan appoints. That person will only be there for a few short months. The tide is turning in our little valley. The home grown "Great Society" Liberal Hippies are all fading away. The Naperville Limousine Liberals have been halted at Morris. Hopefully the "Starved Rocky Country" nonsense will die a quick but painful death and we get back to digging things out of the ground and building things in the Illinois Valley.
Heavy Industry! Sand! Coal! Zinc Plating! River Transportation! Truck Transportation! Plastics and Petro-Chemicals! That is what made this area great and will make this area greater. Keep your Corn Dog Jobs and Over Priced Clothing Stores. We need smoke stacks - Not VAPE Shops!
10:08 AM, All who investigated agreed Harl "deliberately and knowingly"" violated the Wage Ordinance. The only reason the FBI did not press charges was because they could not prove that Harl benefitted financially from the situation. However, Harl likely did benefit financially in the form of campaign contributions.
BTW, isn't it funny how how easily the Daily Dish-Rag and the Ottawa Times are manipulated by government entities and political parties. The democrats want to condition the readers of the Rag to recognize Skoog's name in advance of the formal announcement of his appointment to Mautino's seat so they instruct the newspapers to right up a story recognizing Skoog for this or that. Very sad and very poor journalistic ethics.
The new public works building is moving forward. It's definitely needed. There is an article about it in the news tribune online. What I'm not in favor of is wasting money making it look like city hall. It's a storage facility for vehicles. It's for the workers, not visitors. I think it should be built with the thought that this is a storage building and forget the bells and whistles, and keep the cost down.
Good thoughts 8:25 but don't you find it interesting that they are hoping to lay the foundation next month but the council will not be considering bids for the actual construction of the building (as stated in the news trib article). Completion is mentioned for July 2016 even though the same article indicates we haven't even negotiated costs with Vissering, the chosen vendor.
After looking at the agenda from Wed.'s Finance and Safety meeting I see no mention of the new public works building going to be discussed. It would be nice if it was going to be discussed to let people know what's happening in that corner of town and, by the way, where is this new building going to be located? Why does it need to duplicate city hall?' Why aren't the two alderman in that ward looking out for their residents? Are they being updated as to what will go into the old public works site and how it will affect them?
8:25, yes. Our "leadership" has finally made a public statement regarding Area 51. But it is funny how they are talking about how it will look before disclosing the budget. We are a few days away from spending $25 million on "Harl's Boondoggle". They want to poor the foundation in November! It is always a hurry to spend money in Peru. Don't give the people time to think. Spend, spend, spend....
8:03, there you go again making statements without proof, typical, the only person to get hurt over the FBI deal was the 2nd ward alderman who went to far and the bulk of the citizens were outrage over that .
It is so nice to see that when all the other local governments and citizens are barely getting by, Mayor Harl has so much money to toss around to local contractors.
The sad part of it is, 12:49, that the city doesn't even know how much money they will be tossing around. Oh well! I suppose we could give some (union) construction company a blank check and tell them to fill in the amount!
So predictable to see Peru's phony elected officials sneaking around while planning to spend a massive amount of taxpayer dollars on a Taj Majol of a public works building. This boondoggle is unnecessary and they are hiding every aspect as they sneak through the process behind the scenes. There has been no public involvement and no opportunity provided for the taxpayers to review any of the plans. It has all been done in Closed session meetings to avoid public scrutiny of the wasteful spending. They show a total disregard and lack of respect for the people of Peru. They should all be voted out of office for running these secret scams against the people they are supposed to serve.
OMG, what a bunch of phonies these aldermen are. Their comments in the newspaper and the comments of city enginneer Carls are obviously scripted and rehearsed. What's the rush, rush rush? They are playing the people of Peru for absolute fools (again). Where the hell did this idea come from? This is the first I have heard of this new building. What? Where? When? How? Who? And most importantly, How Much? God these people are such damn phonies! Just riduculous.
Anon 11:33
and you should write legal textbooks for followers of Adolph Hitler
With what you truthfully know of the law you could express it on the back a a postage stamp and have room left over. Your personal challenge to a Judge, the FBI, the States Attorney and the Peru City Council without any laws being broken which by the way you admit is humorous. If you have any intentions of playing on the Supreme Court don't be suckered into buying a basketball uniform.
read the report 4:38 - the "Judge" said it was illegal, but not worth prosecuting. The FBI said no federal law was broken. Brian Towne said it was not worth his time to investigate. It is all published in the Ottawa Times and the News Tribune.
Anonymous 6:58
Thank you for your comment clearing Mayor Harl of any wrongdoing, Each perso involved claimed it was not worth going on any further and to drop it.
It was still a crime. Just a little one in the eyes or our government. That is usually the case when it is one of their own.
Now - what do you think would happen if, on their own accord, an employee and his immediate supervisor started putting in bogus overtime and it was not noticed for several years? I'm thinking they would come down on them like a ton of bricks. But when the politically connected do it with the blessing of our Ruling Class - it is not worth the time to look into.
I'm sorry folks. Our government has failed. The question is - is this government worth fixing or do we simply tell them all to go to &^%$ and start over again?
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - John F. Kennedy
11:25 PM - the statement was that the Mayor broke that law but nobody cares. I guess in our local system of government, it is OK for the Ruling Class to do as they please.
God Save the King!
11:25 he was not cleared of wrongdoing. He did wrong, just not wrong enough to prosecute. He not only violated an ordinance, but he violated a union agreement. That's wrong, just not wrong enough to arrest him.
Who cares at this point in time, he got re-elected and probably will again, which is telling me the people are over it.
"Violent revolution" 6:40? Please don't quote JFK out of context. He was not talking about a city council you don't agree with. Run for office, or help someone else run for office. Comments like this are sick and ridiculous.
"The Judge" was / is a Democrat and has donated to the Harl Campaign.
@11:11 AM - I care. And I shake my head in wonder when people think what he did was ok.
So 11:11, so what you are saying is..... "What difference does it make now anyway?"
I will not vote for a criminal.
The only reason Harl is still the Mayor is because the vote was divided. Harl received 35 percent of the votes. Mike Hart had 27 percent, Don Baker had 26 percent and James Giordano had 12 percent. Count the numbers - 65 percent of Peru voters cast their vote AGAINST Harl.
Unless Harl goes out there and gets a few shills on the ballot, this will not happen again.
Peru does NOT want this man running the City.
JFK was not quoted out of context. His meaning was that any country that practices democratic principals needs to allow the people to alter the government through peaceful means or face the consequences. The current structure in the City of Peru does the bare minimum to keep the people informed of their decisions. This leads to a loss of confidence in the government.
3:37 that is ridiculous. You can change with it your vote. I agree that the city is not as transparent as it needs to be. I believe they will pay the price politically at some point but please stop with the violence reference as that is so very uncalled for here. There are enough crazy people and that kind of talk does not belong in this conversation.
3:15, just looking at your numbers, Harl won by a landslide in a 4 man race.
James Giordano was a shill put in the race by Harl to take votes away from Mike Hart - it worked. That is how the Democrats do things.
11;14 AM
This is a political practice that will only be stopped when Peru utilizes a run off primary reducing the final race to 2 candidates for Mayor. Unfortunetly , and this is no reflection upon Mayor Harl, the city populace would rather keep the same than change.
Evidence of the no change atitude was a couple of years ago a referendum was presented and defeated to reduce the council to 6 with 1 per ward and 2 at large. This was a exremely progressive idea but was unwanted by a former Mayor and many past and present alderman who ran large newpaper ads and spent a lot of money to defeat progress.
Sadly most citizens of Peru do not have knowledge of the vendors and others who have created large fortunes by contolling Peru politics and will for a long time in the future, To be brief the game is not played with a round ball.
1:20. You lost me when you said "progressive." That is a code word for Socialism.
Anyway - the existing law requires a runoff if there are FIVE people running. And you are correct. We could have nocked Harl out before the actual election that year if one more person would have turned in a petition. Most likely, we would be complaining about "Boss Hart" right now.
Anonymous 3:03 PM
Webster's Dictionary defines progressive as 1. progressing 2 favoring progress, reform etc. Nowhere is a code word for Socialism and I assure you no matter how much you believe you know you and I are not a Webster.
Where are you finding proof that the law requires a runoff if there are 5 people running for Mayor. I think you would have had Don Baker as Scott Harls opposition not Hart.
Remember that Don Baker set up meetings for someone to run for Mayor and he would not run. No one came forward so he ran dividing the vote between him and Hart. If Mike Hart would have said he would run at one of these meetings Mayor Baker would not have. Sadly Mike pooped in his own hand.
11:04 - it is in the Illinois Municipal Code. And the Socialists have stolen the word Progressive.
11:04 - it absolutely is a new word for Liberal. Modern liberals started calling themselves progressives because it polled better than liberal. The Democrat Party, which once stood for democratic principals and individual rights, has been overrun by the extreme left. The party now officially stands for socialist policies, less freedom, and more extreme government control of all facets of life. Anyone using the term "Progressive" today is trying to confuse voters. The modern Progressive is not the Bull Moose Party of Teddy Roosevelt. They are the Party of Karl Marx. Even the Roosevelt progressives leaned toward socialism - but not the extend to which the modern progressives under the leadership of people like Hillary Clinton and Bernard Saunders.
Today, Progressives believe that the Bill of Rights in antiquated and should be overturned. They endorse restrictions on all forms of speech, believe that social reforms trump individual rights, and high taxation is necessary for a centrally controlled economy. Very much like the teachings of Karl Marx.
Look for Mayor Harl to be a very long term Mayor if he wants to be. The Mayor in Peru has many things going for him that makes him hard to beat. To those that believe Harl was truly interested in leaving Peru to travel to Springfield to enter a almost immediate race and many more races should place themselves in his position. Presently he is his own man with much more say so than any newbie will have for years in a House of Rep position.
Mayor Harl is a very likeable individual who enjoys his position and understands it. Proof of this is his ability to change the council to a tie vote so that he is the tie breaker vote.
8:54, in the last election, the vast majority of Peru voters voted against Mayor Harl. The vote will not be diluted in the next election - and 35% will not be the winning number.
If he was so likeable, why would only 4 aldermen vote his way so he's the tie breaker. If he was so likeable, all 8 would be voting his way.
8:54 When has there been a tie vote?
8:54, you are probably right. Simply because most of the residents of Peru are easily bamboozled. However, if the Golden Goose ever dies, watch out. Then they will storm 4th and Fulton with Pitch Forks and Torches.
All you have to do appease the residents (I don't call them citizens) of Peru is:
1. Keep residential property taxes low.
2. Keep residential electricity low.
3. Keep residential water low.
The residents of Peru like having everything paid for by visitors.
12:47
Your creed is what every resident in every city wants. I don't think those 3 items are that simple and easy to accomplish. We take for granted that Peru is safe to live in and has good schools in addition to low rates. Not sure you are being critical of Peru residents because you don't like your viewpoint that they like everyone paid by visitors.
My point is that the average City of Peru resident is cheep. They want everything paid for by sales tax. They don't want to pay an honest rate for electricity and water - therefore the Commercial and Industrial rates are higher than average. In one instance, this forced a factory to expand their operation in LaSalle instead for Peru.
2:30 PM, The point is that Peru takes in so much money from sales tax that the average resident could care less what they spend it on. What will happen if / when they restructure how sales tax is collected and distributed?
First one must give some thought on who would benefit the most and the least from a restructure of sales tax? If Chicago gains look out if downstate losses so what.
as the city with the largest population, Chicago would benefit. The plan is to distribute it based on population.
You can't think of it as a city or region that will benefit. This is Illinois. Every tax scheme - and every on of our Illinois taxes are definitely schemes - benefits individuals. Now they are not often so blatant as to take the money directly. Rather, they dip around the edges. Tax revenue spent in the Cook County Region will allow higher government wages, projects for connected construction companies, etc. This in turn means campaign donations and votes. One must also keep in mind that the Government of the State of Illinois is, for the most part, a criminal enterprise.
6:44 are the taxes in other states schemes? Is that fact that Illinois has the second lowest total tax burden in the Midwest a scheme? What? You didn't know that. It is a fact but you would never know it by the drivel you read. Our real problem is not that we have "tax schemes" but that we have politicians who cannot work together to get the right things done that need to get done. That is what does the most damage.
About the only thing I pay local sales tax on is purchased at the grocery store. I shop on-line for all of my clothing and consumer goods (except daily needs items that can be purchased at the grocery store).
I recently purchased a new winter coat and hat from Duluth Trading Company. Arrived in three days. Total bill with free shipping about $250. NO SALES TAX. That is $19 I can keep in my pocket. Based on what I see at FedEx and UPS - many people are thinking the same way I am.
I don't know about you, but I'm guessing that as the boomer generation shops less at local stores and the younger generation embraces on-line shopping - Peru is going to suffer.
6:05. Illinois has the highest total tax Burdon in the Midwest. The average burden for state and local taxes is $9,006. Only five states in the nation have an average tax bill over $9,000.
"Working Together" resulted in the mess we have now. The only way out of this mess is to start over. We can do that by voting against every Democrat on the ticket. Period - end of story. If they are a Democrat, they are wrong and deserve to be fired. Madigan needs to be retired next election. I encourage everyone in the local area to find out who is running against Madigan and send that person a campaigned donation. The only way out of this mess is to break the back of the Chicago Progressives (AKA Democrats, Socialists, and Communists).
The trouble with Illinois is that you can't grab a dead cat by the tail and toss it across the road without it landing in the jurisdiction of another unit of local government.
Driving between Ottawa and Peru you pass through SEVEN school districts. This is a totally unsatisfactory burden on the tax payers. All that "administration" for such a small population of students. Waste, waste, waste, waste.
We have a County Board with move members than the Cook County Board!
We have townships who's only purpose is to tax. They actually DONT DO ANYTHING ELSE - They just collect taxes and fill out forms on collecting taxes. MY GOD - Are we insane?
We have Township Road Districts with 7 MILES of ROAD! A Full Time HIGHWAY COMMISSIONER and Full time employee to administer 7 MILES OF ROAD! My GOD - Are we insane?
By my count, we have FOUR fully staffed Economic Development Agencies!
How do you unwind all this waste? This is totally crazy! One in Three People in the Illinois Valley WORK FOR THE GOVERNEMNT!
6:05. Your statement is false. Illinois is one of the highest taxed states in the country. The total tax paid by residents of Iowa, Indiana, and Wisconsin are much lower than Illinois. The total tax paid by businesses in these states does not even compare.
Meanwhile, Michael Madigan is smoking Cuban cigars and lighting them with YOUR $100 bills.
Hey 9:28, since you cannot think for yourself and spew off nonsense like that, I will use a quick Internet search to prove you wrong. Ready? Get those $100 bills out!
FACT - Illinois has the 5th highest population and GDP (that's gross domestic product for you) in the nation. We have the 12th highest GDP per capita in the country.
FACT - Illinois ranks 49th out of 50 states in number of workers per 1,000 residents. WHAT? It's true, unless we have since dropped to 50th.
FACT - Illinois has the second lowest total tax burden in the Midwest, second only to Missouri (that's right, Wisconsin, Indiana and the others are higher).
FACT - Since you still won't believe me on that last one, Iowa is number 10 in the country with 17 percent of local and state tax burden as a percentage of income. Michigan ranks 12th, Wisconsin 16th, Indiana 17th and Ohio 26th.
FACT - Where does Illinois rank? 42nd! That's right! We are at 14.2 percent and only Missouri is less at 13.5 percent.
By the way. I can't stand Michael Madigan. I vote pretty conservative, almost always Republican. But I also hate lies and the liars who tell them. I'm a little more sensitive to uniformed people like you who read talking points and assume what politicians say to be true, so that is why I wanted to share this with you.
These are unbiased sources. These are facts. Sucks being lied to all the time, doesn't it? I will let you scratch your head for some time before responding, but this is why you NEVER get your facts from politically-based "news" organizations or politicians. They are one and the same.
1:52, imagine what Illinois would be if it was not run by criminals.
Your fact about the tax burden is a lie. We have the fifth highest individual tax burden in the US. You need to account ALL TAXES paid by each individual.
We have more units of local governments - almost 6,0000 - all demanding tax revenue.
Illinois GDP is shrinking while the entire region is growing. More business close every day than open.
4:18, I agree we have had our share of criminals. Most are not. Some are. Particularly the governors.
Our agreement will end there and we will stick with those stubborn facts. No lies here. All facts and these facts are readily available from the following sources:
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy
The Bureau of Economic Analysis, the US Department of Census
The Annual Survey of State Government Tax Collections
The Federation of Tax Administrators
What are your sources again? By the way, mine includes ALL state and local taxes and fees. Don't forget fees are taxes too.
As to the fact that we have 6,000 units of government, I think we should have less but that does not disprove any of these facts and has nothing to do with the argument because all but a handful of those have nothing to do with you. You only pay for the local ones.
Finally, just to put an end to a debate that you lost the second you posted, let's talk about those corporate tax rates (I think that is what you meant by "businesses") which are as follows:
Illinois was at 7 percent until the rate slid back down to 5.25 percent January 1 of 2015. Indiana is at 8.5 percent, Wisconsin 7.9 percent, Missouri 6.25 percent. Iowa is in a range of 6-12 percent, depending on the income, but it hits 12 percent at $250,000. Other states our size are all higher than ours, including the personal income tax free state of Florida, which weighs in at 5.5 percent for the corporate rate.
What would you like to talk about next? Personal income? Again, these are facts. No lies. Look it up. Unless you still want to believe what you want to believe. I can't help you there. Sadly, that is what most people do. They here talking points and don't know the facts.
Corporations are not leaving Illinois because of taxes. It is other things that impact the business climate, such as worker compensation costs and regulations. It's not taxes. They will tell you the same thing.
So give me a good strong talking point from your favorite politician of any stripe. Any party. I'll just stick to the truth. The republicans lie just as much as the democrats.
Frustrating, isn't it?
5:49, not frustrating. not worth looking everything up. Illinois is run by criminals for criminals.
An article on heroine and see what you get more crap. You all get what you deserve
To stop a problem one must have a understanding of the problem. Chief Bernabei is offering all a opportunity to understand the problem now it is our responsibility to attend.
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