Hours away from another budget-less fiscal year, Gov Rauner repeats goals
Is Peru with our Lobbyist helping the stalemate as the Democrats including our Mayor Harl and Lobbyist McAnarney fundraising with Madigan. Co conspiraters actually hurting the entire state.
Seems that 3 of the 4 yes votes are total yes men to the Mayor. Figure it out yourselves.
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
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Monday, June 27, 2016
Current Legislative Lobbyist Report January 0 May 2016
TO: Scott
Harl
City
of Peru, Illinois
FROM: Tim McAnarney
McAnarney
Consulting
DATE: June
23, 2016
SUBJECT: Legislative
Report for January - May, 2016
Despite the Legislature’s failure to reach a budget
agreement, over 400 bills were passed and many of these have an impact on
Peru. A lot of my time is spent meeting
with Legislators and staff of both the Governor’s office and Legislative
Branches. Since my office is located by
the Capitol and I live in Springfield, all year I have a great relationship
with many of the government employees who actually try to keep our system
working. These contacts enable me to
inform Mayor Harl of what is happening and allows me to immediately arrange for
meetings that Peru requests.
On January 6, I contacted the Lieutenant Governor’s point
person on consolidation. Brian Costin
and I went over the Consolidation Report he helped write and set up a later
meeting with Mayor Harl.
On January 8, I met with Senate President John Cullerton’s
Chief-of-Staff, Dave Gross, to go over Peru’s agenda. Specifically, I stressed the need for local
government distributive fund to be kept intact and given to Peru. We also talked about pensions, grants that
were being withheld by the Governor’s office, and our enterprise zone
application.
On January 13, Mayor Harl and I had a long meeting with the
Lieutenant Governor’s office (Brian Costin) on the specifics of some
consolidation between Peru and the Township, and received some suggestions on
how to proceed,. Mayor Harl emphasized
that if the Peru City Council and Township officials agreed, we believed over
$100,000 a year could be saved. He said
he would help us in our effort.
On January 26, Mayor Harl and I met in Springfield to
discuss the solar panel situation at the Airport. I agreed to ask U.S. Senator Durbin for his
help. On February 3, I met again with
U.S. Senator Durbin’s office and they informed me that the FAA indicated that
the height of the building and the reflexivity of panels are okay.
On January 28, I met with IML officials to go over our
legislative agenda.
I attended every Legislative Session in January (January 11,
13, 14, 15, 20, 22, 26, 27, 28). I also
did a political talk show in Springfield (WFMB) where I discussed the
Springfield political scene.
On February 5, I also was a guest political commentator on
CBS (Champaign, Springfield, Decatur market).
This exposure allows me to talk about government and politics and give
me the opportunity to discuss issues important for our future requests. (The politicos watch these shows.)
On February 8, I met with Representative Jay Hoffman, who
had successfully passed legislation to consolidate Belleville Township and the
City. He said if Peru wanted to do the
same that he would help.
On February 9, I met with IDOT Secretary Randy Blankenhorn
to discuss Peru’s requests.
On February 12, I again was a political commentator on CBS
TV (Champaign).
On February 18, I had dinner with IDOT Secretary Randy
Blankenhorn and Assistant Secretary Rich Brauer. Again we talked about our future TIGER Grant
request.
On February 18, I met with IEPA officials (at Mayor Harl’s
request) to get clearance for cattle to graze on the landfill. On February 19, IEPA informed me they would
approve if the final closing permit was filed.
On February 24, I met with Mayor Harl in Springfield and we
discussed the IML’s inclusion of some “turn around” agenda ideas they were
supporting, which many Legislators do not.
We have to be careful.
On February 29, I met with lobbyists for the cities of
Rockford, Aurora, Elgin and East St. Louis to discuss a joint lobbying effort
on the tax credits and enterprise zones.
There are 14 tax credits expiring in June and these are valuable tools
cities need to help attract business.
In February I attended every Legislative Session (February
1, 5, 8, 10, 11, 16, 17).
On March 3, I met with the Governor’s Budget Director, Tim
Nuding, to talk about enterprise zone applications, tax credits and grants that
still were not funded. I also stressed
the City’s need for LGDF funding.
On March 11, I did another CBS TV political talk show.
On March 15, the Primary election was held. There were two major battles and over $9
million was spent on just two races.
Governor Rauner lost both of these contested races. It was an intense election night. CBS (Champaign) broadcast statewide
(Champaign, Peoria, Rockford, Rock Island, etc.) all night from my office. Many Legislators, staff from the Executive
and Legislative Branches were at my office all night and a lot of good
discussion and ideas were exchanged.
On March 18, Bob Vicery asked me to help a local business
get its liquor license. I was able to
get it done.
On March 19, I met with the Department of Natural Resources
staff regarding their letter on our $250,000 grant being held. It is still there.
On March 21, I met with staff and Legislators on our request
for support on S.B. 3019. This bill
would make all local, non-general revenue funds subject to automatic
appropriation authority – very important for Peru. (This bill is still in Committee.)
On March 23, I met with Illinois Municipal Electric
Association executives regarding Peru’s electric cap on industries. I also met with Illinois Manufacturers
Association executives on this matter with Mayor Harl and we agreed on how the
City would proceed. (We have to be
mindful that there are some who want to pass legislation to eliminate
non-competition for municipal utilities.)
On March 28, I met with Wal-Mart executives to request money
for Peru’s TBM Avenger Reunion. They
told me there was not time to arrange for this year, but call earlier next
year.
On March 31, Mayor Harl and I lobbied S.B. 2241 (limit fees
that a land management company can charge for access to railroad
right-of-way). This effects Northern
partners. We met with staff and bill
sponsors
I attended all Legislative Sessions (March 1, 2, 3, 8, 9,
10, 16, 17, 18).
On April 7, I met staff and Legislators to lobby S.B. 0571,
which would extend to three year (now two) the starting date our enterprise
could begin the renewal process and also shall become effective on date of
certification. (This directly impacts
Peru’s zone.)
On April 11, I met with Bill Houlihan, U.S. Senator Durbin’s
Chief-of-Staff, for update on our request for the Army Reserve Building. He said they are still working with U.S.
Department of Defense.
On April 12, S.B. 2241 passed the Senate,
On April 14, S.B. 0571 passed the Senate.
On April 14, I attended the House Revenue Hearing on tax
credits. Bills were sent to
Subcommittee.
On April 26, I met with U.S. Senator Durbin’s
Chief-of-Staff, Bill Houlihan, to lobby for our TIGER grant. He promised the Senator would push hard for
us.
In April, I attended every Legislative Session and
Committees (April 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22).
On May 2, Mayor Harl asked me to check on the legality of
Peru tearing down the old city Public Works building for Dollar General. On May 3, I met with Peggy Snyder,
Legislative Liaison for Illinois Department of Historic Preservation. She said she would get the approval done in a
few weeks.
May 4 was the IML Lobby Day and Mayor Harl and I met with
Legislators and staff. We had another
meeting in the Lieutenant Governor’s office on consolidation. We also met with Representatives Skoog and
Hoffman on S.B. 2241 (railroad crossing fee).
On May 5, Mayor Harl and I attended House Revenue Committee
Hearing on S.B. 0571 (enterprise zone effective date). Mayor Harl sat at the witness table. This bill was again sent to Subcommittee. We lobbied the Legislators after the
Hearing. We were promised it would get
called again.
On May 7, I attended U.S. Senator Durbin’s fundraiser and
again thanked him for his efforts on securing the Army Reserve Building and for
his help on our IDOT TIGER grant request.
On May 9, Mayor Harl and I attended Speaker Madigan’s
fundraiser in Springfield and met with many Legislators and staff.
On May 10, I had a follow-up meeting with Bill Houlihan of
U.S. Senator Durbin’s office and gave him a formal copy of our TIGER grant
application.
On May 12,
I attended the House Revenue Committee and our bills were sent back to
Subcommittee again.
On May 18,
Mayor Harl, Representative Skoog and I attended the Revenue Committee, again
with the same result. We then met with
some other City lobbyists about a fallback plan for Peru’s Enterprise Zone if
the bill failed to pass. But we were
hopeful of success, so we kept “Plan B” quiet.
I also met
with Assistant Secretary of Transportation, Rich Brauer, and personally gave
him our TIGER grant application.
On May 26,
the House Revenue Committee finally passed S.B. 2241. On May 29 it passed the House and on May 31
it passed the Senate.
On May 29,
House Revenue passed S.B. 0571. On May
30 the House passed it and on May 31 the Senate concurred. Great victories for Peru.
I attended
every Legislative Session in May (May 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, n18, 19,
20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31).
Saturday, June 25, 2016
On the Agenda for Monday June 27, 2016 Lobbyist Renewal Contract
Committee Reports
!. Finance and Safety Services Chairman Potthoff, Ferrari, Radtke, Payton Mayor Harl
On the agenda for Monday June 27 is the following: Motion to renew 1 year contract with lobbyist Tim McArney for $2000 per month.
This is coming up a bit earlier on the calendar year than last year when it was questioned by residents as to why the city the size of Peru needed a lobbyist
We just had wonderful volunteers clean up our city but what if the volunteers had not donated their time, would Peru have left the dirty, weed infested areas as is because we did not have the extra money to properly do the work on our own or perhaps not enough personal to do the job that was needed to make the city look clean.
This is all about using your tax dollars wisely and not for personal needs or wants.
I will be adding to this post later when I have a minute.
Meeting minutes from last July.
Alderman Radtke made a motion to renew 1 year contract with lobbyist Tim McAnarney for $2,000 per month. Alderman Lukosus seconded the motion. Alderman Payton reported that he spoke to Mr. McAnarney personally and asked why we should retain him and that he supports the continued support. Alderman Radtke stated that he supports Mr. McAnarney based on feedback for Peru from staff members including City Engineer Eric Carls. Alderman Potthoff noted his issue with paying money to someone else to listen to our views. Alderman Ferrari stated we have elected legislators to represent us. Alderman Sapienza supports the contract based on the size of our budget. Mayor Harl stated the consultant gets the City in front of people we would never get in front of. Mayor Harl stated he has queried other mayors at a recent IMEA meeting and they confirmed current state economic conditions require extra effort in order to make contact with decision makers. Mayor Harl invited members of the Council to visit Springfield and meet with Mr. McAnarney. City Clerk Dave Bartley called the roll with Aldermen Lukosus, Radtke, Sapienza and Payton voting aye; Aldermen Potthoff, Ferrari and Mueller voting nay; Alderman Waldorf absent; motion carried.
Curious as to whether the aldermen have changed their minds with the encouragement of the mayor or not. I would believe the yes votes from last year are still in the mayors camp.
This is a link to a posting on this blog from LAST YEAR on the lobbyist.
http://perutownforum.blogspot.com/2015/06/last-year-lobbyist-reports-to-city-of.htmlhttp://perutownforum.blogspot.com/2015/06/last-year-lobbyist-reports-to-city-of.html
!. Finance and Safety Services Chairman Potthoff, Ferrari, Radtke, Payton Mayor Harl
On the agenda for Monday June 27 is the following: Motion to renew 1 year contract with lobbyist Tim McArney for $2000 per month.
This is coming up a bit earlier on the calendar year than last year when it was questioned by residents as to why the city the size of Peru needed a lobbyist
We just had wonderful volunteers clean up our city but what if the volunteers had not donated their time, would Peru have left the dirty, weed infested areas as is because we did not have the extra money to properly do the work on our own or perhaps not enough personal to do the job that was needed to make the city look clean.
This is all about using your tax dollars wisely and not for personal needs or wants.
I will be adding to this post later when I have a minute.
Meeting minutes from last July.
Alderman Radtke made a motion to renew 1 year contract with lobbyist Tim McAnarney for $2,000 per month. Alderman Lukosus seconded the motion. Alderman Payton reported that he spoke to Mr. McAnarney personally and asked why we should retain him and that he supports the continued support. Alderman Radtke stated that he supports Mr. McAnarney based on feedback for Peru from staff members including City Engineer Eric Carls. Alderman Potthoff noted his issue with paying money to someone else to listen to our views. Alderman Ferrari stated we have elected legislators to represent us. Alderman Sapienza supports the contract based on the size of our budget. Mayor Harl stated the consultant gets the City in front of people we would never get in front of. Mayor Harl stated he has queried other mayors at a recent IMEA meeting and they confirmed current state economic conditions require extra effort in order to make contact with decision makers. Mayor Harl invited members of the Council to visit Springfield and meet with Mr. McAnarney. City Clerk Dave Bartley called the roll with Aldermen Lukosus, Radtke, Sapienza and Payton voting aye; Aldermen Potthoff, Ferrari and Mueller voting nay; Alderman Waldorf absent; motion carried.
Curious as to whether the aldermen have changed their minds with the encouragement of the mayor or not. I would believe the yes votes from last year are still in the mayors camp.
This is a link to a posting on this blog from LAST YEAR on the lobbyist.
http://perutownforum.blogspot.com/2015/06/last-year-lobbyist-reports-to-city-of.htmlhttp://perutownforum.blogspot.com/2015/06/last-year-lobbyist-reports-to-city-of.html
Friday, June 24, 2016
Up in the air - LaSalle News Tribune - LaSalle, IL
Up in the air - LaSalle News Tribune - LaSalle, IL
I am not sure what an Airport Authority is so hesitate to personally comment on this. Like the issue with Peru Twp, I am not sure what the agenda is for the politically involved Peru Mayor and City Council.
As I was awakened by the constant drone of the crop dusting airplane this AM, my thoughts on the airport were extremely negative. To the average citizen, the benefit of the airport seems to be zilch. To those who own private planes it could be a gift. And the cost of becoming an Airport Authority is????
From the Illinois Municipal Code:
Airport Authority" means a municipal corporation created and established .... Act, including the power to levy the tax authorized by this Act for airport operation and .... with the advice and consent of the governing body, of a municipality located ...
Question is Peru in favor of eliminating the Peru Twp. (a taxing body) in order to creade another taxing body calle the Airport Authority: I am suspicious that this is the reason it has all come about. Am I wrong?
I am not sure what an Airport Authority is so hesitate to personally comment on this. Like the issue with Peru Twp, I am not sure what the agenda is for the politically involved Peru Mayor and City Council.
As I was awakened by the constant drone of the crop dusting airplane this AM, my thoughts on the airport were extremely negative. To the average citizen, the benefit of the airport seems to be zilch. To those who own private planes it could be a gift. And the cost of becoming an Airport Authority is????
From the Illinois Municipal Code:
(70 ILCS 5/2a.1) (from Ch. 15 1/2, par. 68.2a1) |
Question is Peru in favor of eliminating the Peru Twp. (a taxing body) in order to creade another taxing body calle the Airport Authority: I am suspicious that this is the reason it has all come about. Am I wrong?
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Peru Township talks consolidation - LaSalle News Tribune - LaSalle, IL
Peru Township talks consolidation - LaSalle News Tribune - LaSalle, IL
I would like to see a job description for each twp. position that would be attached to the salary they receive.(if this is not already in place) An evaulation of the time spent on twp. business and an evaulation as to whether this could be accomplished by another entity within the city without problems at less cost.
This township issues has been joked about for many years and we all accepted the money paid to the inidivduals knowing full well that they were overpaid for the hours spent on the job.
The road commisioner duties are: ??? beside the snowplowing in the winter.
What about the cost to maintain the bldg. heat in the winter and cooling in the summer?
As to the bldg. If consolidation occurs do we sell the bldg and land or does it become an income source? Who does the bldg belong to and if sold who gets the money?
I would like to see a job description for each twp. position that would be attached to the salary they receive.(if this is not already in place) An evaulation of the time spent on twp. business and an evaulation as to whether this could be accomplished by another entity within the city without problems at less cost.
This township issues has been joked about for many years and we all accepted the money paid to the inidivduals knowing full well that they were overpaid for the hours spent on the job.
The road commisioner duties are: ??? beside the snowplowing in the winter.
What about the cost to maintain the bldg. heat in the winter and cooling in the summer?
As to the bldg. If consolidation occurs do we sell the bldg and land or does it become an income source? Who does the bldg belong to and if sold who gets the money?
Monday, June 20, 2016
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Saturday, June 11, 2016
McSweeney-Cullerton Measure to Curb Local Government Spending Headed to the Governor
McSweeney-Cullerton Measure to Curb Local Government Spending Headed to the Governor
If signed this could directly impact Peru because we have several people who are on the payroll whose name we see frequently on the expenditure accounting. You know who they are if you read and keep track of their jaunts about on unnecessary "business" trips.
If signed this could directly impact Peru because we have several people who are on the payroll whose name we see frequently on the expenditure accounting. You know who they are if you read and keep track of their jaunts about on unnecessary "business" trips.
Thursday, June 09, 2016
“I’m Smarter than Everyone Else” | Arthur Foulkes
“I’m Smarter than Everyone Else” | Arthur Foulkes
The symptoms come in many shapes and styles, but the “I’m smarter than everyone else” disease is a result of disrespect for individual freedom and private property rights combined with an overconfidence in one’s own knowledge of what is best for everyone else. America became the wealthiest place on earth because it was also the most free place on earth. The “I’m smarter than everyone else” sickness—found at all levels of government—is antagonistic to individual freedom and a threat to future prosperity for everyone.
READ THE ARTICLE FOR MORE INFORMATION, possibly you will see a resemblance to government on all levels.
The symptoms come in many shapes and styles, but the “I’m smarter than everyone else” disease is a result of disrespect for individual freedom and private property rights combined with an overconfidence in one’s own knowledge of what is best for everyone else. America became the wealthiest place on earth because it was also the most free place on earth. The “I’m smarter than everyone else” sickness—found at all levels of government—is antagonistic to individual freedom and a threat to future prosperity for everyone.
READ THE ARTICLE FOR MORE INFORMATION, possibly you will see a resemblance to government on all levels.
Sunday, June 05, 2016
Belleville votes to dissolve township, save taxpayers $260,000 per year starting May 2017
Belleville votes to dissolve township, save taxpayers $260,000 per year starting May 2017
If Bellevue can do it (dissolve their twp), let's see Peru do the same and SOON.
If Bellevue can do it (dissolve their twp), let's see Peru do the same and SOON.
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