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
The one time Payton steps up to disagree, and it's the wrong time. I agree with Mueller. Are there restrictions on taverns/bars? Why place restrictions on gambling? Is drinking alcohol a better way to waste one's money rather than gambling it away? A little old lady friend of mine likes to gamble, but won't go into a bar to do it. She likes the little gambling parlors around town. I commend the council for seeing that restrictions are not needed and for not wasting money on unnecessary legal fees by having another ordinance drawn up. Is Payton trying to help his bar owner friend?
Once again most of Peru's elected officials "Flip-Flopping" on an issue that they themselves just last week were saying required an "ordinance". It's quite evident that the knuckleheads trying to legislate morality must have gotten an earful over the past week from business and bar owners to "back off". Peru's city officials can't see the forest thru the trees and they always seem to have a knack for creating a problem where none existed before. The blind leading the blind!
What a profound and moving statement by the new 3rd ward guy Payton. There is no doubt that Payton has come out from the shadows to speak in favor of regulating and restricting the competition of the establish he frequents. Mr. Payton has emerged from the weeds to reveal himself just as political and just as corrupt as the mayor who helped launch his political career. I have been waiting for months for Payton to make good on his election night promise stating "I have some ideas". Instead, it's clear Mr. Payton is not only lacking in actual ideas, he doesn't even know when he should keep his mouth. How quickly he has forgotten what enabled him to become an alderman and what happens to the "dissenters" in Peru government. A slap on the knuckles from Harl's ruler. Note to Tom Payton: No idea at all is better than a really "bad idea".
That was not my comment as I happen to agree with Ald. Payton. Every storefront occupied with gambling discourages any needed small town business from wanting to oprn next door. I remember being in another state and going into a business that served food but also alcohol and I was told I could not come in with a child under 16 or 18, I don't remember. Happened to have my young grandchild with me.
Sorry, Lois, but I can't think of any commercial property owner ANYWHERE that would turn away a paying tenant. Any of the storefronts in discussion have been vacant for years. Legal gaming in Illinois IS a small town business
Rodney Perez was the most self-righteous elected official in LaSalle County since Harlen Warren. He would not have missed an opportunity to legislate morality. Especially if it got his name in the paper.
These five machine storefronts will shut down on their own accord. There is not enough money in the Illinois Valley to support a slot machine parlor every block. Once the initial craze is over, they won't be able to pay the rent and they will shut down. To be sure, several will remain. They will most likely have some other sort of gimmick to entice people to dump their social security checks. The problem, if any, is short term. Unless of course your problem is allowing the machines at all.
My only objection to the entire thing is the backdoor tax nature of this program. Most people will only dabble with these machines. Maybe drop a $20 bill while waiting for a dinner table to open up. And that is fine. I do it myself. The problem is that the state has set it up to essentially rip off poor people.
@ 8:49PM Lois your memory is serving you well. As for the comment that you received in response to yours. In many states you cannot enter certain businesses until reaching the legal age of that state, which is most likely 21. In Peru, Illinois anyone under 21 is not allowed to be legally in a on site liquor establishment unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. As for off-site such as gas stations or grocery store which are selling alcohol they can enter. No one under 21 can legally purchase alcohol. Now why not update to today's problem - ILLEGAL DRUGS
Are comments referring to gambling referring to legal or illegal gambling? Why the big deal in LP about legalized gambling which started 4 years ago while illegal gambling has been around for lifetimes and far outdraws legal gambling. How much does the city get from illegal gambling to finance necessary programs or is this allowed because of illegal payoffs to politicians. No politician is going to ignore the amount that some obtain on illegal gambling without putting his hand out for the big share. The one thing I do believe is that Harl is not on the take. Who is?
I doubt anyone is getting paid off. Illegal gambling has been around since Prohibition. It's an accepted norm in the area. But I think its days are numbered. I predict within 10 years you won't be able to buy "tickets" in town. "Tickets" divert money away from the state's legalized gambling activities. The casinos and race tracks are dying, and the state needs to protect those tax revenues. They need the money to keep increasing those union wages and pensions. Make no mistake about it folks, illegal gambling won't stop because of some state's attorney's moral compass. It will stop because the state can't tax it. And it's only a matter of time.
Yes... we need more local gun shops, and an ammo dump, and a place to buy reasonably priced shoulder missiles. Only guns and more guns will keep us all safe. I saw it on Roy Rogers. The News Trib has a really cool picture of a good guy killing a bad guy with a pipe. Only the guy is a lady, but you can tell she is gonna shoot the bad guy dead before he can hurt the good guys. But its a little confusing because the bad guy is wearing a support the troops shirt. But it is black... and maybe the troops he wants to support are bad guys and communists or the army from Chicago.
All I know is if I shoot somebody they are the bad guy. And not true Americans.
So what if illegal gambling has been around since Prohibition and it is a accepted norm in the area think about your comment and fairly ask what this has to do with someone getting a payoff. Historically there has been a payoff and the city mayor appointed whom he wanted in charge of the gambling. Yeast, yeast and more yeast.
So what exactly are you rambling on about 10:08? Do you suggest that we try to become like England or Australia. No thanks. Oh, and I'm one of those guys that has a gun with him almost all the time.
Making laws against things don't prevent them from happening. Gambling is just one of the many "things" people do that are not legal. And sports "tickets" are not just an Illinois Valley thing. I can take you to bars in Chicago that sell them. You just have to look harder, that is all.
The State's recent entry into the vice business based purely on economics. They want and encourage retired people to gamble most of their pension on slot machines while living in the haze of "medical" pot.
The thing that sickens me is the people that think it is good when government comes up with scheme upon scheme to increase tax revenue. I'm beginning to think that everyone that gets elected to office becomes a socialist on their first day. The State of Illinois is collecting more revenue than it ever has.
We need to think of ways to stop spending money - not ways to get people high and pick their pocket.
Government needs money. The more creative we get the better. I lived up in the suburbs and we had to buy a car sticker every year. Peru needs to do that - it was only $150 and won't break anybody's bank.
I've also been hearing "delivery taxes" being kicked around in other places. This is a fee that the state charges to anyone making deliveries - FedEx, UPS, or even the Pizza delivery guy. I think $5.00 a box is reasonable. Part of this would be given back to the city in which the item is delivered.
Water and sewer fees are very inexpensive. We should consider raising the amount to what they charge in the suburbs.
I've noticed our local taxis don't need an inspection sticker and they don't pay for a medallion. Peru really needs to get a handle on this - they are loosing out on several thousand dollars a year for each taxi cab that operates locally.
Then there is the amusement tax that they failed to pass. They should take another stab at that.
I know 11:26, why don't we charge a Citizenship Fee. Government works for us right? Whey not charge each citizen of Peru and few hundred dollars a year as a separate Citizenship Fee. I mean, the renters don't pay taxes so they should be required to kick in some to. Doing this has other benefits as well. It keeps people that can't afford it out of Peru. That way, there would be fewer issues for the city to deal with. It is a win, win.
3:34, is has to do with the age of our population and the general nature of the economy around here. Most of the retired community where very pro-union in their working days and hold on to some of these socialist views. Our local economy is generally poor, which leads to a great number of people receiving government assistance. Those that do have good employment are generally associated with the government in some way - be it the contractors that work on roads, school teachers, or even medical professionals. They all rely on government payments. Even the farmers around here would fold without government payments. There is hope. We do hold on to some actual private businesses in the manufacturing and transportation sector.
7:45 Your theory is that the smaller of anything receives the largest amount of government assistance. My thought is that the larger you are the more you receive through one form or another or all. A individual may obtain job training and unemployment from the government while a business is receiving a TIF and financial assistance.
8:22, I am against TIF's. The laws regulating them have been adulterated to such a degree that they are nothing but handouts to connected businesses. We should repeal every law regarding the establishment of a TIF and start over.
The use, misuse and overuse of terms like "socialist" and "communist" eliminate any and all credibility you make in an argument. Now people who work for local units of government are socialists? You are one weird dude.
Tell you what let's do an experiment. You create an Illinois Valley with all government jobs eliminated. Police, teachers, fire fighters and all government workers. Gone.
I'll keep the one we have.
Let's fast forward ten years and we will ask 100 nonpartisan economists which economy is doing better. Want to do an over/under on who wins? I will go in with about 97 percent in for what we have.
A sensible balance is needed. Stop with the bullshit talking points. You argument, if you ever had one, is completely wasted but please feel free to keep entertaining us.
5:24 PM, I am in total agreement with your assessment of the nitwits that waste our time with such comments. They are not worth "our time" to even acknowledge them as legitimate. Therefore, I will not and I hope you will no longer waste yours. They try to drag us into the dark and twisted world in which they reside and I will not go there.
"Everyone" does not work for the government. Never has and never will. And for the record government employees pay the exact same taxes as everyon else.
12:20. I guess you are having a little trouble with math. The question posed by 5:58 was simple. If everybody is paid by the government, then how does the government get paid? The government collects some percentage of income from every working person. When you add it all up (sales tax, income tax, property tax, and all the others) it ends up being around 40%. For simplicity, lets call it 50%. Still with me? So if everybody received their income from the government - the government would only get half of it back in taxes. At that rate, it won't take long for all the money to evaporate.
Now, lets take a look at who works for the government. Most of your better off people around here do. Naturally, we have the police, fire, and other direct employees of our federal, state, county, and municipal governments. Then you have everyone that works for the schools. Now it gets interesting. If it was not for the Medicare and Medicade programs - our hospital and nursing homes would close down. So everybody that works for the hospitals and nursing homes in being paid by the government. Now look at construction. I'd say that 80% of all construction projects in the local area are paid for by the government. Therefore, 80% of all construction workers are paid by the government. There are a few local business in the retail, IT, and marketing that frankly would not exist if it was not for local government contracts. Therefore, all those employees get paid by the government.
So - the point is - almost all the "good" jobs held by professionals are paid for by the government. These people are primarily being supported by the private sector employees in manufacturing and transportation. The guy or gal making $8 to $20 an hour is essentially paying the wage of the $70K and over "professionals" which are almost all being paid for by tax dollars.
Unless you have significant growth in purely private employment, the house of cards will eventually fall.
Sure. The poor downtrodden 20 percent are solely financing the overpaid 80 percent, with the portion of their taxes that go to taxes. It's so funny reading comments from people who are clueless about economics and also fail miserably at math. Hilarious and sad all at once.
34 comments:
The one time Payton steps up to disagree, and it's the wrong time. I agree with Mueller. Are there restrictions on taverns/bars? Why place restrictions on gambling? Is drinking alcohol a better way to waste one's money rather than gambling it away? A little old lady friend of mine likes to gamble, but won't go into a bar to do it. She likes the little gambling parlors around town. I commend the council for seeing that restrictions are not needed and for not wasting money on unnecessary legal fees by having another ordinance drawn up. Is Payton trying to help his bar owner friend?
wow. voices of reason seize the day for once.
Once again most of Peru's elected officials "Flip-Flopping" on an issue that they themselves just last week were saying required an "ordinance". It's quite evident that the knuckleheads trying to legislate morality must have gotten an earful over the past week from business and bar owners to "back off". Peru's city officials can't see the forest thru the trees and they always seem to have a knack for creating a problem where none existed before. The blind leading the blind!
What a profound and moving statement by the new 3rd ward guy Payton. There is no doubt that Payton has come out from the shadows to speak in favor of regulating and restricting the competition of the establish he frequents. Mr. Payton has emerged from the weeds to reveal himself just as political and just as corrupt as the mayor who helped launch his political career. I have been waiting for months for Payton to make good on his election night promise stating "I have some ideas". Instead, it's clear Mr. Payton is not only lacking in actual ideas, he doesn't even know when he should keep his mouth. How quickly he has forgotten what enabled him to become an alderman and what happens to the "dissenters" in Peru government. A slap on the knuckles from Harl's ruler. Note to Tom Payton: No idea at all is better than a really "bad idea".
I suppose if Rod Perez had been the lone voice of opposition on the gambling he would have been the only correct opinion in the room.
5:44, can't speak for him. But I think he would be on the side of letting the free market determine how many parlors survive.
That was not my comment as I happen to agree with Ald. Payton. Every storefront occupied with gambling discourages any needed small town business from wanting to oprn next door.
I remember being in another state and going into a business that served food but also alcohol and I was told I could not come in with a child under 16 or 18, I don't remember. Happened to have my young grandchild with me.
Sorry, Lois, but I can't think of any commercial property owner ANYWHERE that would turn away a paying tenant. Any of the storefronts in discussion have been vacant for years. Legal gaming in Illinois IS a small town business
Rodney Perez was the most self-righteous elected official in LaSalle County since Harlen Warren. He would not have missed an opportunity to legislate morality. Especially if it got his name in the paper.
Lois you are dead wrong downtown LaSalle is booming with small business and they have twice as many gambling parlors as Peru.
Guns, tattoo parlors, vap houses, bars, and gambling. Illinois Valley or Pottersville?
The only morality left in this area seems to be legislated. There is little or none I see in the free will of the people or leaders around here.
These five machine storefronts will shut down on their own accord. There is not enough money in the Illinois Valley to support a slot machine parlor every block. Once the initial craze is over, they won't be able to pay the rent and they will shut down. To be sure, several will remain. They will most likely have some other sort of gimmick to entice people to dump their social security checks. The problem, if any, is short term. Unless of course your problem is allowing the machines at all.
My only objection to the entire thing is the backdoor tax nature of this program. Most people will only dabble with these machines. Maybe drop a $20 bill while waiting for a dinner table to open up. And that is fine. I do it myself. The problem is that the state has set it up to essentially rip off poor people.
I think we actually need more locally owned gun shops.
@ 8:49PM Lois your memory is serving you well. As for the comment that you received in response to yours. In many states you cannot enter certain businesses until reaching the legal age of that state, which is most likely 21.
In Peru, Illinois anyone under 21 is not allowed to be legally in a on site liquor establishment unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
As for off-site such as gas stations or grocery store which are selling alcohol they can enter.
No one under 21 can legally purchase alcohol.
Now why not update to today's problem - ILLEGAL DRUGS
Are comments referring to gambling referring to legal or illegal gambling? Why the big deal in LP about legalized gambling which started 4 years ago while illegal gambling has been around for lifetimes and far outdraws legal gambling.
How much does the city get from illegal gambling to finance necessary programs or is this allowed because of illegal payoffs to politicians. No politician is going to ignore the amount that some obtain on illegal gambling without putting his hand out for the big share.
The one thing I do believe is that Harl is not on the take. Who is?
I doubt anyone is getting paid off. Illegal gambling has been around since Prohibition. It's an accepted norm in the area. But I think its days are numbered. I predict within 10 years you won't be able to buy "tickets" in town. "Tickets" divert money away from the state's legalized gambling activities. The casinos and race tracks are dying, and the state needs to protect those tax revenues. They need the money to keep increasing those union wages and pensions. Make no mistake about it folks, illegal gambling won't stop because of some state's attorney's moral compass. It will stop because the state can't tax it. And it's only a matter of time.
Yes... we need more local gun shops, and an ammo dump, and a place to buy reasonably priced shoulder missiles. Only guns and more guns will keep us all safe. I saw it on Roy Rogers. The News Trib has a really cool picture of a good guy killing a bad guy with a pipe. Only the guy is a lady, but you can tell she is gonna shoot the bad guy dead before he can hurt the good guys. But its a little confusing because the bad guy is wearing a support the troops shirt. But it is black... and maybe the troops he wants to support are bad guys and communists or the army from Chicago.
All I know is if I shoot somebody they are the bad guy. And not true Americans.
So what if illegal gambling has been around since Prohibition and it is a accepted norm in the area think about your comment and fairly ask what this has to do with someone getting a payoff.
Historically there has been a payoff and the city mayor appointed whom he wanted in charge of the gambling. Yeast, yeast and more yeast.
So what exactly are you rambling on about 10:08? Do you suggest that we try to become like England or Australia. No thanks. Oh, and I'm one of those guys that has a gun with him almost all the time.
Making laws against things don't prevent them from happening. Gambling is just one of the many "things" people do that are not legal. And sports "tickets" are not just an Illinois Valley thing. I can take you to bars in Chicago that sell them. You just have to look harder, that is all.
The State's recent entry into the vice business based purely on economics. They want and encourage retired people to gamble most of their pension on slot machines while living in the haze of "medical" pot.
The thing that sickens me is the people that think it is good when government comes up with scheme upon scheme to increase tax revenue. I'm beginning to think that everyone that gets elected to office becomes a socialist on their first day. The State of Illinois is collecting more revenue than it ever has.
We need to think of ways to stop spending money - not ways to get people high and pick their pocket.
Government needs money. The more creative we get the better. I lived up in the suburbs and we had to buy a car sticker every year. Peru needs to do that - it was only $150 and won't break anybody's bank.
I've also been hearing "delivery taxes" being kicked around in other places. This is a fee that the state charges to anyone making deliveries - FedEx, UPS, or even the Pizza delivery guy. I think $5.00 a box is reasonable. Part of this would be given back to the city in which the item is delivered.
Water and sewer fees are very inexpensive. We should consider raising the amount to what they charge in the suburbs.
I've noticed our local taxis don't need an inspection sticker and they don't pay for a medallion. Peru really needs to get a handle on this - they are loosing out on several thousand dollars a year for each taxi cab that operates locally.
Then there is the amusement tax that they failed to pass. They should take another stab at that.
I know 11:26, why don't we charge a Citizenship Fee. Government works for us right? Whey not charge each citizen of Peru and few hundred dollars a year as a separate Citizenship Fee. I mean, the renters don't pay taxes so they should be required to kick in some to.
Doing this has other benefits as well. It keeps people that can't afford it out of Peru. That way, there would be fewer issues for the city to deal with. It is a win, win.
Why do we have so many socialists in the Illinois Valley area?
3:34, is has to do with the age of our population and the general nature of the economy around here. Most of the retired community where very pro-union in their working days and hold on to some of these socialist views. Our local economy is generally poor, which leads to a great number of people receiving government assistance. Those that do have good employment are generally associated with the government in some way - be it the contractors that work on roads, school teachers, or even medical professionals. They all rely on government payments. Even the farmers around here would fold without government payments. There is hope. We do hold on to some actual private businesses in the manufacturing and transportation sector.
7:45 Your theory is that the smaller of anything receives the largest amount of government assistance.
My thought is that the larger you are the more you receive through one form or another or all. A individual may obtain job training and unemployment from the government while a business is receiving a TIF and financial assistance.
8:22, I am against TIF's. The laws regulating them have been adulterated to such a degree that they are nothing but handouts to connected businesses. We should repeal every law regarding the establishment of a TIF and start over.
The use, misuse and overuse of terms like "socialist" and "communist" eliminate any and all credibility you make in an argument. Now people who work for local units of government are socialists? You are one weird dude.
Tell you what let's do an experiment. You create an Illinois Valley with all government jobs eliminated. Police, teachers, fire fighters and all government workers. Gone.
I'll keep the one we have.
Let's fast forward ten years and we will ask 100 nonpartisan economists which economy is doing better. Want to do an over/under on who wins? I will go in with about 97 percent in for what we have.
A sensible balance is needed. Stop with the bullshit talking points. You argument, if you ever had one, is completely wasted but please feel free to keep entertaining us.
5:24 PM, I am in total agreement with your assessment of the nitwits that waste our time with such comments. They are not worth "our time" to even acknowledge them as legitimate. Therefore, I will not and I hope you will no longer waste yours. They try to drag us into the dark and twisted world in which they reside and I will not go there.
If everyone works for the government - how do the taxes get paid?
"Everyone" does not work for the government. Never has and never will. And for the record government employees pay the exact same taxes as everyon else.
12:20. I guess you are having a little trouble with math. The question posed by 5:58 was simple. If everybody is paid by the government, then how does the government get paid? The government collects some percentage of income from every working person. When you add it all up (sales tax, income tax, property tax, and all the others) it ends up being around 40%. For simplicity, lets call it 50%. Still with me? So if everybody received their income from the government - the government would only get half of it back in taxes. At that rate, it won't take long for all the money to evaporate.
Now, lets take a look at who works for the government. Most of your better off people around here do. Naturally, we have the police, fire, and other direct employees of our federal, state, county, and municipal governments. Then you have everyone that works for the schools. Now it gets interesting. If it was not for the Medicare and Medicade programs - our hospital and nursing homes would close down. So everybody that works for the hospitals and nursing homes in being paid by the government. Now look at construction. I'd say that 80% of all construction projects in the local area are paid for by the government. Therefore, 80% of all construction workers are paid by the government. There are a few local business in the retail, IT, and marketing that frankly would not exist if it was not for local government contracts. Therefore, all those employees get paid by the government.
So - the point is - almost all the "good" jobs held by professionals are paid for by the government. These people are primarily being supported by the private sector employees in manufacturing and transportation. The guy or gal making $8 to $20 an hour is essentially paying the wage of the $70K and over "professionals" which are almost all being paid for by tax dollars.
Unless you have significant growth in purely private employment, the house of cards will eventually fall.
12:20. You are right. Only about 80% of our local population receives their income from the government. That leaves 20% of us to pay them.
Sure. The poor downtrodden 20 percent are solely financing the overpaid 80 percent, with the portion of their taxes that go to taxes. It's so funny reading comments from people who are clueless about economics and also fail miserably at math. Hilarious and sad all at once.
2:28, you sure the 20 percent isn't the people on Soc. Sec. which would make everyone relying on the government, get real!
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