Cost of China trip sparks online ire for Peru

Cost of China trip sparks online ire for Peru

Ice Skating in the Illinois Valley Locations and Times

Ice Skating in the Illinois Valley

Click on the above link

Merry Christmas From My Home to Yours

Sincerely hope all the people in Peru are having an enjoyable and blessed Christmas, wishing you all the best. That includes everyone even if we disagree on many political decisions taking place currently in Peru. It is freezing cold so keep your eyes open for anyone that might be in distress from the cold. That means neighbors and friends and those who have no home .

Appears We Have A First Class Mayor and Economic Director

While we all wondered why the cost for the Mayor of Peru and Economic Director to take a flight to China to attend an economic conference was so costly at 10 thousand plus dollars, it now appears that it was because they chose to fly First Class on your dollar.


The Mayor of Ottawa and his companion made the trip for a bit over 1 thousand dollars and traveled Coach..

Personally not surprised that our mayor would take advantage of our city for his own personal preferences. What is going to be the response of the Peru City Council who voted 7-1 to approve of this trip? So now we wonder when they knew of the cost of the trip for the two and why they would approve such an outrageous expense.

LaSalle 2017 LBA Christkindlmarket

Not Only Peru, It Is A Statewide Problem with People Leaving and Taking Their Money With Them

http://www.mywebtimes.com/news/editorial/statewise-it-s-illinois-birthday-hey-wait-come-back/article_50e6903a-18ca-5038-b662-ff87b96a5127.html#tncms-source=block-behavioral

Unless something dynamic happens to improve the status of the state of Illinois, the stats are not going to change.  All towns will be affected and more than likely small towns in particular. The young and educated are looking for more than we offer to them and their young families. My point is that cities need to look for ways to make their cities inviting to those very same people. After awhile this sounds like a broken record and that is because nothing is changing.

I expect other cities to release their expenditures on the recent trip to China and will they have had good economic sense in not abusing the expenditures of taxpayer money?

How Much Do You Think a Plane Ticket for Two is For A Trip to China Is?

Gathering the information.

Actual information from the city of Peru web site, disbursements.

From the disbursements on 11/15:
Harl visa fee 965.07

From 11/29:
Airfare to China $10, 704.28
Travel to/from OHare $250.00

From 12/13
Vickrey phone China $1,190.12
Hotel Beijing China $617.10

Taxpayers spend tens of thousands on Illinois municipal conference

Taxpayers spend tens of thousands on Illinois municipal conference This is one of numerous articles by the same source doing some investigation of the needless cost to taxpayers by officials going to the IML yearly. We have been writing this up since the first Harl administration and I am sure you can find comments on previous trips in our archives. This is the first I am adding and will follow with the one about Peru and La Salle.

La Salle IML trips

Peru taxpayers pick up the $3,500 tab for three officials to go to the two-day conference

Peru taxpayers pick up the $3,500 tab for three officials to go to the two-day conference



City of La Salle holds tight on IML expenses

Peru Prancer to Peru Weekend Schedule and Locations

http://www.newstrib.com/free/on-prancer-to-peru

Surprise Surprise An Expected Contribution

Most of you have probably seen this picture of what is the Scott Harl campaign contributions as required by law to be sent to the state of Illinois.

Significance is this is typical Pay to Play.  The month before that the McAnarney contract was not sent to the Peru City Council for approval or disapproval but was instead listed in disbursements as a monthly expenditure in the Administrative section. Sadly to see it looks like it was at the same time that our Lobbyist gave a $300.00 donation to the Scott Harl political campaign fund.

I never expected this from Scott Harl when he ran for Mayor of Peru and again I was one of many who supported him and now feels so much regret. Political gain has taken over what we thought was a sincere desire for this city to progress and improve. Crickets at City Hall because of politics.

More Details China Ottawa Web Times

http://www.mywebtimes.com/news/local/business CHINA TRIP

Here Is the Answer That Peru Did Not Give to its Residents.

http://www.mywebtimes.com/news/local/ottawa-streator-officials-to-pitch-region-in-china/article_fe456474-474f-58ff-ab05-97bdb9df4725.html

Peru Mall wants a 42 percent cut in taxes

Peru Mall wants a 42 percent cut in taxes



We all would like to large percentage of our property taxes cut also and with the continual increases more people will move on to states and cities where this does not happen and business is doing well.

Read Between the Lines on This Discussion

Just a few weeks ago a comment by me, that at one time Peru wanted very much to have a City Engineer to be the Public Works Director which would eliminate any differences between having both a City Engineer and Public Works Director working on some of the same projects in this small city as seems to show up in this news article. Maybe there is too big of an overlap in some areas of the job description. And along the same lines, I see that someone from Chamlin engineering still attends city council meetings and sits at the table with other Department Heads. Now that Peoria Street resurfacing is finished and the sewer project is completed. Does Public Works need more people for city maintenance and fewer being paid at the top?  Asking this not as a blog writer but simply as a resident of this city

.http://www.newstrib.com/free/peru-committee-puts-the-freeze-on-baker-lake-disc-golf/article_8e03ee24-c3d1-11e7-a8c3-f7e2a912067d.html#tncms-source=article-nav-next

My notes from the Peru City Council Meeting 10/30

First time in a long time I decided to attend a Peru city council meeting. The usual residents present and a few people who were there because their requests were being considered by the city.

They did not discuss the closed session minutes.  Ald. Potthoff said it all was about employee negotiations and no vote was taken on opening them to the public or not.

I think the City Administrator may have responded to one question. Director of Public Works said nothing. Eric Carls our City Engineer spoke about projects and everything pertaining to the Public Works of the City and it reminded me that at one time the city had hired a qualified engineer, in fact they insisted that we hire an engineer and he handled the entire Public Works Dept. for the short time he was here.  Why is Eric Carls not handling our Public Works Dept as he certainly understands all aspects of the work involved.

Definitely a different atmosphere at this meeting, a definite lack of cohesiveness is the only way I can say it felt. New bldg inspector was not present.  This was the first time I ever heard anyone on the council or even the mayor talk about bringing investment into somewhere in the Illinois Valley, it did not matter if it was in Peru or any other town.

Retail sales tax is down but motel tax is up so it seems to balance it out. Maybe this is the reason.

COLUMN: A mandate for openness

COLUMN: A mandate for openness

Published Agenda for the Peru Public Works on Oct. 25, 2017

This is the agenda from the Peru web site for the meeting to be held last Monday.  As you can see there is nothing special to be discussed.  This is transparency Peru Style.           

This is actually what was discussed as written in the News Tribune of La Salle.  As you can see there was a great deal to be discussed that related to the residents of the city.  They consistently do this with no honest agenda being put forward by any of the City of Peru Committees. Transparency Peru Style.

Actual Meeting of Peru Public Works

Peru to Hire a Community Service Officer

Yes Peru We Do Still Have a Lobbyist in Springfield

I believe this would have been the third year the Mayor would have brought to the City Council a request to continue to retain a Lobbyist for Peru at the cost of $24,000 per year. To be truthful I never thought it necessary but continue to follow the work done by obtaining the quarterly reports sent to the city by the Lobbyist. If you are interested in past comments just put the word  MrAnarney into the search bar on this blog and you will get those posts and reports from past years.

Last year there was some hesitation on the part of several of the Aldermen but they agreed to see what happens in the next year spanning July 2016 to July 2017. This year I began watching City Council minutes to see when a discussion about this hire would appear and it did not but a friend told me that is was strange that the amount of $2000 a month was appearing on the disbursements to the Lobbyist but no contract was found or any discussion about the issue was found or heard.

This was my foia to find out why we were paying an individual each month but we did not renew the contract.  Now how many people would look to the budget under Administrative Expenses for the Mayor to find the answer.  Evidently the Mayor did not wish to bring up the hire up at a City Council meeting. And we should all be asking Why. I believe I know Why but you are free to make up your own mind.

A Look Back at The City Council and Gambling Two Years Ago

05959a232293.htmlhttp://www.newstrib.com/news/local_news/peru-committee-folds-on-gambling-restrictions/article_83e64974-95ba-56fb-9197-05959a232293.html



Interesting to look back and see who thought what 2 years ago and then read the new outlook in todays News Trihune.

Harl says Peru employees are bogged down by Freedom of Information Act Requests

Harl says Peru employees are bogged down by Freedom of Information Act Requests


I have to admit I filed one today, not on a whim, but because the city has failed to provide the information I have been waiting to see in the minutes of one of their council meetings and it has never appeared.

The Mayor should be pleased that so many people are interested in Peru City Government.

Mayor Harl Would Like You to Pay for a Trip to China

Public comment criticizes City of Peru

Public comment criticizes City of Peru

So only the Financial Officer of 2 years is commenting.  What aldermen who have held their seats for 15 years or more?


Relative to the first post is this link that I wanted to publish.  It is dated but that is immaterial as I doubt it was changed.

https://www.iml.org/file.cfm?key=1288

Contentious City Council Meeting This Evening

 " What we've got here is failure to communicate" 

The quote is from a well known movie of the past years and seems appropriate.

If you have been recently following this blog, you will recall my concern for lack of communication between the city and its residents.

I understand the settlement of the recent lawsuit   between Peru and a resident of the city in which the city was ordered to pay a sizeable sum of money for not repairing home damage caused by the cities sewer issues.  At that time our City Atty told the home owner to sue the City, when they did not agree to pay for the repairs.  Well she did and I understand won many times the requested $12,000.

That lady attended the meeting this evening and expressed her feelings.

Additionally there are currently issues with the City Credit card being used improperly. I will not detail this issue because this is one that our Peru news reporter should cover in detail.

Peru's splash pad is heading toward home

Peru's splash pad is heading toward home


Certainly more than most people anticipated for a city the size of Peru but also adds more questions, at least from me.????????????

Lots of room for lots of little kids, middle sized kids and I bet even some bigger kids on a hot day. This leads me to the question of whether we now will need supervision or more explicitly, people hired by the city to keep everything on an even keel. Especially interesting in that now there will need to be showers open to the public which are more maintenance and definitely paid people to make sure there will be no problems there.

Will there be enough parking in the lot for all the anticipated users? And last but not least are all the nearby residents on board with this? Maybe that does not matter to the city.

Maybe all needless Mom and Dad worries which I hope is the case.  Any thoughts? Constructive ones please.

Krug: FOIA lawsuits a threat to our democracy, insult to our time

Krug: FOIA lawsuits a threat to our democracy, insult to our time

This is lengthy but definitely a good read if you are interested in the dangers that might be lurking around the corner. Foia is how we learn about what our government is up to on all levels but some officials think there are things we should not know or don't need to know. Sound familiar?

Please Sign Your Name If You Expect Me To Be Considerate of Your Disappointment

So people with no name are expecting me  to take their comments seriously when they are telling me how disappointed they are  that we allow politicians to be criticized about what they do and don't do.  Our elected officials in Peru do not show they have any respect for many of the people living in Peru but some expect us to take it all in stride and to continue to think highly of them.
 So if you write in with more of the same I will not put on the blog without your name attached.

I fail to understand the gist of your comment.  You write in anon with a request to not allow people in Peru to criticize their officials because they do it an anonymous manner and you do the same .

When elected officials are using tax dollars with excess employees to make decisions affecting all or most of the residents and yet they do not act in a respectful manner when a resident or more than one is affected in some manner, they are ignored. I have seen this and heard more of this. Do you really believe all these comments written to be posted if there was not a great deal of disappointment about many decisions that have been made and continue to be made.I am also aware of numerous  things going on that people will ultimately become aware of in which the city will be forced to answer for.

The lack of respect to the residents has reached a pretty high level and most are just giving it back to them.

In case you were not aware of it, I worked to elect Mayor Harl in 2009 and expected him to be a peoples mayor and he is not. Time after time I have seen just the opposite.

Does Peru Really Care?

Here it is a beautiful Monday on a warm and sunny Fall day and what is that sound I keep hearing especially when I open my windows.  Not the birds singing or splashing in the bird bath and kids coming home from school, not even a car with a noisy muffler, it is the "beep beep of a large construction truck backing up on 6th St. The trucker think that makes a difference in how I feel about the "crap" they are dumping into almost my back yard.

Peru has been blessed with 3 plots of wooded ravines and at one time former Mayor Baker published a pamphlet that had pictures of the one on 7th St. between Monks and Chambers.  He pictured walking trails and horseback riding paths and generally a very lovely and peaceful park. Well we know that never happened but the thought was at least there. People move to the country to get out of town to be near wooded areas and the city has it right in its midst. This is the kind of place that should be preserved for future generations but how well is Peru doing its preservation.

Not very well, it appears since I keep hearing the "beep beep".  What is being dumped, is it anything beside concrete slabs and dirt.  Is it clean fill, clean soil? I don't know and the city doesn't know and evidently does not care.  All that matters is that it is on private property and that is the only qualifier.  Do the truckers go through the city approval process  and agree to be legally responsible if anything happens to the sanitary sewers? Or some other environmental problem? I talked to the Dept. of Public Works, the PPD and the City Clerk. Do my aldermen know, if they are aware of their ward, yes they do.

Peru officials, do you care?  Remember you are allowing this in a residential area? Does that matter?  Should this area be rezoned to industrial to accomodate the heavy truck traffic on these streets? Are the dumpers telling other associates "I know where you can get rid of this load and it won't cost you a dime"?

City Council Meeting Sept. 5, 2017

Posting a title early because I believe there might be some comments coming up.  Just watching a video on FB of a resident expressing his concerns to a silent Mayor and City Council. Also heard that there might have been a closed session Meeting of the Whole prior to the regular Council Mtg. No update from the N.T. this evening.



_________________________________________________________________________
Ancel Glink Question of the Month

Municipal Q&A - September 2017:

Question: Can a unit of local government pass a policy limiting public comment to residents only?

Answer: According to a recent PAC opinion, public bodies may not restrict public comment to residents only, as Section 2.06(g) of the Open Meetings Act provides that "any person" shall be permitted an opportunity to address public officials under the rules established by the public body 

Do You Really Think I Write All That Appears on the Blog

I am a life long Peru resident and have many friends, acquaintances and relatives living here. We have great residents.  I don't criticize people but oft times do criticize government for what they say and do. Everyone should do a bit more of it.

 I have no clue why people keep writing in saying I make all the comments here that criticize the city, don't you understand the way in which a blog is administered? Some of you constantly complain and criticize comments made by others also.  I like to think that most of you have good intentions.

Do you ever criticize the Gov. of Illinois?
Do you ever criticize our local Senator or Representative?
Do you ever criticize our state legislature?
Do you ever criticize our Senators in Washington.
Do you ever criticize Congress?

Evidently there are people in Peru who believe the elected officials in Peru should never ever be criticized.  If you believe that then you are not a very good citizen of this community.

They don't need constant pats on the back and handshakes, they get their fair share of that. They deserve to know what people think of how the government is working or not. The taxpayers are funding this government very well on all levels

I am sure that there are those who will throw this back at me who don't realize that criticism at times is justified and criticism and suggestions made to the government make a better city, state and federal government.

New Comment under Old Headings

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Anonymous said...

The reason Peru does not have a swimming pool is that the people who have wants in Peru are not willing to participate in long term battles and all the politicians are aware of this. Peru is full of great starters and lousy finishers who are nowhere around at the end.
Peru is a town full of people waiting for the next guy to do it. If it had a active citizenship there would not be a tower in Washington Park limiting the potential of the park.
Peru has become a spoiled baby in regards to a sales tax which was initially started from income of the Peru Mall resulting in low property taxes. Yes this is the same empty mall, which now is known for outdated facilities and overcharged leases. From all appearances the day has arrived for local leadership and the economic director to prove their worth. Hopefully being handicapped by a self made late start is not going to cause a lousy finish.
Now please lets see how many people will invite me to move out of town rather than staying and making a effort to improve Peru

10:14 PM, August 30, 2017 

What Is The Limit of What the City Allows To Be Dumped in The City?

If you drive on 7th St. in the East End of Peru, you may have noticed a new owner at the property located in a residential part of Peru that will be come a new Peru business. I have no problem with the business but I do with the manner of construction that has been taking place.  Or I should say deconstruction.

A concrete block bldg on the property was taken down which left a huge pile of concrete bricks soon to be followed by the breakup of the old driveway.

Where does the city want this dumped? With the permission and the cities knowledge the entire bldg and driveway was dumped into the large ravine area between Monks Avenue and 6th Street on the east side. Of course you all know that a sanitary sewer runs through the center and the creek really fills up during periods of rain. To the north private ownership on both sides has kep it in its natural state and is a natural worded area with all that entails.

But south of the "'fill" which is the road  made to traverse across the ravine which was built many years ago. South is where there is a long standing issue of people trying :"to fill it up" which in some parts has caused Mother Nature to take over and cause land slippage and cause slides. It has been stabilized by allowing trees and foilage to keep it mostly in place but sometimes it continues moving, yes nature is alive.

A large section of the land which has been stable for years has now had tons of broken concrete slabs dumped onto it day after day and yes with the approval of the city of Peru. That includes our Public Works Supervisor and whomever he has told about it. Heavy dump trucks over the city streets all day daily.  I thought we had ordinances on the books to prevent this type of thing from happening but evidently not. The fact that I have complained is probably part of why no help was received.

Yes the land owner wants this debris and maintains he has the right to do this and the Peru Police Dept. agrees also. I am writing this so if some time in the future people have problems with the drainage and a whole new generation is inhabiting this town, someone may find these words and know why it happened.

THE BUZZ: Tracy's comes to Peru Mall

THE BUZZ: Tracy's comes to Peru Mall

Well last week it was Bailey's a new slot place in downtown Peru and next month it will be a new slot place at the Mall. A bit of overkill, is this all Peru is capable of bringing into the city.? It's not like every other town in the area doesn't have their share of these businesses we are drowning in slots and I certainly don't know anyone who would travel to Peru just for that purpose. Every tavern, every restaurant almost.

New Sign Posted at the Playground Near the New Park

Canton police and fire departments soon to have same leader

Canton police and fire departments soon to have same leader

Interesting. This post was also put on the Peru Town Forum FB page and yes you may make a comment there.

Why did I make changes to not allow Anon to post any longer?  Well lets just say the privilege was abused and "crude and rude" was becoming the order of the day. There are people in town who don't have a problem signing there name but most tend to hide behind anon just because they find it a way to not be honest and make rude comments.

There is a lot going on in the city that the city fathers are not pleased with and it will not be discussed on the blog.

Evening hours could boost Ottawa retailers: '70 percent of retail spending takes place after 6 p.m'

Evening hours could boost Ottawa retailers: '70 percent of retail spending takes place after 6 p.m'

In other the way that towns used to exist is what the younger people of today really want. Peru has always said we can't do this or that because of the location of businesses along that line of travel I have always wondered and don't know if it would work but the 2 main streets in Peru also have parking lots in the back, is there any way we could utilize them and encourages businesses to build on the adjacent streets and on Peoria? Constructive ideas only needed.

Work by numbers

Work by numbers The good things about living here and the things that fall short.

Past Peru pool committee member: 'Isn't it about time credit should be given to the committee?'

Past Peru pool committee member: 'Isn't it about time credit should be given to the committee?'

There has been quite a FB discussion about this news article and yes people use their names..  So many people care about what is taking place in Peru but as usual are shut out of decisions even when it is for them and this park and splashpad are only one of them. Evidently another way for the city to show Volunteers, we will use you only when it benefits us and we get the credit.

Some has been posted on the Peru Town Forum FB page.

Peru Playground

If retail is failing, why don’t numbers show it?

If retail is failing, why don’t numbers show it?


Peru will be fine because of
WalMart, auto dealerships
and hardware stores.

Peru Township considers storm alarm presentation, purchases an emergency alarm for the office

Peru Township considers storm alarm presentation, purchases an emergency alarm for the office

If you subscribe to the N.T., can you give us an explanation for this purchase which on the surface does not make much sense.  What has the TWP been using all the years he has been located on Peoria St?

Woman IDs officials who 'bullied' her

Woman IDs officials who 'bullied' her

City officials and local resident in conflict. Maybe there needs to be special classes for people who are elected to city offices in how to communicate effectively with the residents of the city.

Surprise hit to local agencies tucked into the budget

Surprise hit to local agencies tucked into the budget

More on the hit to the cities and this time Gov. Rauner gets the demerits for encouraging this bad idea.

State Now Charging Communities a Fee So They Can Get Their Own Money

State Now Charging Communities a Fee So They Can Get Their Own Money

Please read, the state will now be charging local municipalities a fee to get the sales tax money owed to them, a processing fee.

Childrens Playground Equipment Unavailable to Kids of Peru

I was recently told about the fact that the recently purchased equipment that the  younger children of Peru were using which was located next to the former Washington School was no longer available to the kids in town.

Drive by the equipment now which is located directly west of the parking lot.  You will see unuseable newer equipment unused because it is fenced off from use and surrounded by weeds and all kinds of residue.


Anyone know why this wasn't moved over to where the rest of the playground equipment is on the west side of the park?

I see that the northeast corner of the new park has a layer of asphalt down. I thought that was the future home corner for the new Peru swimming pool.

Anyone see a layout available to the public yet?

Four Illinois House Members Break Taxpayer Protection Pledge With Vote In Favor 32% Income Tax Hike

Four Illinois House Members Break Taxpayer Protection Pledge With Vote In Favor 32% Income Tax Hike


Will Peru lose people and business because of this tax increase? We now have over 100 properties for sale here in Peru according to Zillow, will this encourage more to leave the area?

Bruxton Analytic Company Peru is Considering Hiring Them

The cost of using the analytics company would be $50,000 a year.  The council will make the decision at a later date.  

Peru is evidently concerned about the many closures of retail occuring in the city especially in the Peru Mall. For $50,000 per year the company will research who comes to Peru and what they are looking for. This would be a 3 year deal I was told.

Help me make a list of who we currently pay to bring retail into the city. We can start with the economic director Vickery and his Oval Wacker Co. We currently have a Lobbyist in Springfield for 24,000 per year. His contract is due to be renewed in a short time. We also pay to maintain a web site for x amout of dollars. And...

Peru’s water may look like milk during hydrant flushing

Peru’s water may look like milk during hydrant flushing

If I understand this correctly all of Peru may experience "awful" water for the rest of the summer.  You will get NO warnings.  Ok our water turned to "crap" yesterday, rusty, milky and I will certainly not drink anything that looks like that. Who in the city knows when water is safe to drink?  Is Test testing this every day?  OK, so the Water Store should be doubling or tripling their business like now.  To be honest I never drink Peru water and have not for many many years but I at least want to be able to rinse my fruit and veggies in the water, well so ends that.

A new police station could be in Peru's future

A new police station could be in Peru's future

What happened to the new Illinois Valley Regional Dispatch Center at IVCC? I thought that La Salle and Peru would be dispatched out of that center?

Now we know for sure that Mayor Harl found the money tree .

An updated version is now online speaking to the cost, the Mayor said they have the funding. Location would remain in downtown Peru and no specifics given.

June 12, 2017 Peru City Council

Peru Council meets at 7 p.m. today. There is a committee of a whole meeting before hand, but it is closed session only.

Illinois Local Governments own more than 270,000 vehicles –

Illinois Local Governments own more than 270,000 vehicles –


How many times have you seen this in Peru?  Through the years this has been brought up and nothing done by our city government, especially in years past but possibly still taking place. Would you agree with this?

This Is My Country Starring the Blue Angels

Court Strikes Down Police Department Social Media Policy In Ho-Hum Non-Precedent Setting But Widely Discussed Decision - Fire Law Blog

Court Strikes Down Police Department Social Media Policy In Ho-Hum Non-Precedent Setting But Widely Discussed Decision - Fire Law Blog

Former firefighter's speech heats up Peru council (WITH VIDEO)

Former firefighter's speech heats up Peru council (WITH VIDEO)

A long time Peru resident from a family who has long served this city.  Joseph Riordan was a Peru Police Officer and 2 of Tom's brothers have been on the Peru PFD.

Volunteers wanted for Avenger fly-in and veterans salute

Volunteers wanted for Avenger fly-in and veterans salute

Best Practices in Event/Festival Planning

Best Practices in Event/Festival Planning  Ok now this gives us the "how to do" from a successful city, any ideas about what type of event Peru can host in its city and not at the airport.

What it means to be civically engaged in the age of Trump

What it means to be civically engaged in the age of Trump


Will that movement ever happen in the Illinois Valley? Recently saw that happen in La Salle where the people wanted the "drug dog" that the Mayor had said he was going to eliminate from the P.D.

I don't believe I have seen it happen at least not recently in the city of Peru because people are afraid of retribution. A little respect on both sides does help and I hope the next generation of Peru residents does not sit back and let it happen as usual.

This is a good article that was intended primarily for national level governance but it would also appy to government on any level from municipal on up to the federal level.

America, Your Malls Aren't Coming Back

America, Your Malls Aren't Coming Back

Long-time Iowa farm cartoonist fired after creating this cartoon

Long-time Iowa farm cartoonist fired after creating this cartoon

Again talking about Free Speech.

I have been frequently criticized for exercising my free speech on this blog and after reading this article, I can surmise that that free of allowing free speech is spreading.

L-P chat: Drug-testing, tale of two cities, and coffee talk

L-P chat: Drug-testing, tale of two cities, and coffee talk

Why The Chicago Area's Powerhouse Economy Can't Jumpstart Stalled Illinois

Why The Chicago Area's Powerhouse Economy Can't Jumpstart Stalled Illinois


OK whom do we believe?  Our local government which definitely does not share well with the general populace or people who like the BGA who look at a broad range of issues to give us the answer.  Frankly I was surprised at the draw that Chicago has for jobs and thus that is where our young will be going after graduating from college.

And maybe it is more than the jobs that pull the young to Chicago. It could be professional sports, entertainment, education availabilties, transportation. Cities do work to do some things for families like the proposed splashpad, but will it be enough. Are the journalists over reacting just to write a story and none of this is true?

Peru cracks down on ordinance-violating signs

Peru cracks down on ordinance-violating signs



What's the big concern, election signs were up  for about 6 weeks, and now they are gone.  It is a once every 4 years event and it will happen again and again. Peru has more important stuff on its plate, maybe it needs the residents to tell them what is really important and what is trivial.

Stores are closing at a pace that rivals the last U.S. recession

Stores are closing at a pace that rivals the last U.S. recession

Is the city of Peru preparing for this eventuality? Is it time to guard your finances for the absolute necessities?

Opinion | Time to start taking political ignorance seriously

Opinion | Time to start taking political ignorance seriouslyThis was written for the purpose of reviewing the recent national election but I  do believe it can be about any election on any level of government. Why did the county of La Salle turn blue this recent election and why did our township turn very blue?  Without getting into personalities what is going on?

Peru City Council approves $1.79 million splash pad

Peru City Council approves $1.79 million splash pad


And the rest of the story. My version would be very different.

Peru City Council approves $1.79 million splash pad

Peru City Council approves $1.79 million splash pad


True political performance by real politicians doing this on the eve of the Peru Municipal Elections. Daddy knows what is best might be the only way to phrase this. Neither the City Council, the Mayor or the Administrator ever called together the people of Peru and asked their opinion. They never asked them what they wanted and as usual assumed that they know better than you. And as far as I know they never told you how they would pay for it, other than the grant and the Happ donation.

http://www.newstrib.com/news/peru-city-council-approves-million-splash-pad/article_81679a0e-18d6-11e7-835e-9b3b9ce0c909.html

Peru Mayoral Debate at the Peru Public Library

Mayor Harl, Candidates Rodney Perez and James Giodano debated public policy, ordinances etc. yesterday at a very well attended event in Peru. Yes I went and the only new comment I hears was that suddenly Mayor Harl always said he would like to serve 3 terms.

Wrong Mayor Harl and I am NOT the only one who adamantly remembers that you said probably in your campaign in "09.

I will not comment on the content of the debate which was  series of questions asked by the audience because it would be only my opinion and we are more interested in yours and not political slogans but coming from you heart as a resident of this city of 9, 952.

JUST A WARNING FOR COMMENTS:  I WAS AT THE DEBATE AND HEARD ALL OF IT AND IRREGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU BELIEVE I LISTENED CAREFULLY TO ALL OF THEM.
IF YOU START TROLLING WHILE BASHING THE OTHERS YOU COMMENT WILL NOT BE POSTED.
I SAY THIS BECAUSE OF ONE OF THE MAYORS FANS WROTE THIS MORNING AND DID NOT MEET MY STANDARD FOR THIS ELECTION AND IT WILL NOT BE PUT ON THE BLOG. BASHING THE OTHER CANDIDATES WHILE GLORIFYING YOURS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.

In less than 48 hours we will know whether Peru will take a new path or continue on the same one as the past 8 years.

That reminds me that I must contact the city about a blocked sewer grating and damage to the berm on Prospect and 6th because I do not know who is responsible for damage and who is responsible for repair and almost forgot pinecones were blown all over the roadway. Is that the same as blowing grass clippings on the street?

From Mayor Harl and City of Peru

Mayor Scott J. Harl
Statement of closing of JC Penny store
Friday March 17, 2017

Today’s announcement of the pending closure of JC Penny stores across the state and nation including the Peru mall store is a great disappointment to all of us at the city of Peru. On behalf of everyone at the city of Peru, we are especially saddened for the many employees of the Peru store who may lose their employment.

While retail sales in Peru was at a record 600 million dollars last year and with Peru having one of the highest retail sales per capita in Illinois, the loss of any business and their employees is very sad.

The city of Peru, like all cities across the state and nation must be prepared to work towards a sustainable plan to maintain and grow our economic retail base. While that plan has been a continued work in progress, we are committed to not only attract new business but also work with existing business to maintain their local presence both in the north retail section and equally in our Rt 6 downtown business corridor. One need only look to these areas to see the many businesses that have either expanded or opened but we will not sit back and wait for business development. We will continue our aggressive business friendly plan that has benefited not only Peru but also the entire Illinois Valley area.

With that in mind the council members, all city department heads, the entire economic development team and I have been working diligently to continue to have the city of Peru to be recognized as a business friendly community.

We have been working with many developers to bring business to the north retail section with many pending development in the works. We also have had discussions with the ownership of the Peru Mall to lend our support towards any rebranding of the Peru Mall area to maintain existing business.

At the same time, we implemented our Rt 6 business incentive program that has been in existence these past three years and has been discussed for the past several months this new budget year is expected to have a major expansion of the program. We have also started the process of a downtown business TIF district to support our current and future businesses in downtown corridor.

These efforts as well as others will continue on behalf of everyone in the city of Peru.

Best Places to Start a Business in Illinois - NerdWallet

Best Places to Start a Business in Illinois - NerdWallet


Is this a good political campaign issue?

  Seems the only thing we have going for us is "affordable housing" and businesses that pay their employees.  Have we acquired any new businesses as a result of this top notch status?.

Please give us the new businesses that started up in Peru as a result of this. We have Harbor Freight and Cricket but don't know if they included retail in their assessment.

Did any of you read the recent Illinois Policy article about border cities in Illinois losing population to adjacent states due to lower taxes = lower cost of living. I do remember our former Superintendent of the Electric Dept. making the decision to do that.

Just a reminder I am not posting any rah rahs about candidates. Also there was an article in the Peru Pride that some people found offensive and sorry I can't put that online either, just common decency on that as he  is no longer holding office and I would not have enough space to include all the former Peru politicians that also did the similar things.

Pride in Peru You Either Have It Or You Don't

Received the magazine put out by the city of Peru, lovely magazine but sure it will hit the waste basket by many as soon as brought into the house but that is the chance they take, isn't it?.   Except like everything, the cost is on the taxpayer.

If you have leafed thru it, you surely have seen the diagram of our future park to be located on the site of the former Washington School. Location is appropriate as it is close to the general population.

I have a question.  When it was first thought the city  might rebuild the swimming pool which they anticipated removing, they brought in several different developers and designers to give us a "look see" at what they might be able to develop for this city at same location. There were pictures of the planned project and the needed info and cost available. The company they chose was definitely not one that was good for Peru because they were used to developing high end projects in or close to larger cities. They did spend a lot of time with city officials but nothing came from it because in my opinion they were good people but wrong for this city whereas there was a company that had developed pools in many smaller cities in IL and IA that if chosen, we might in my opinon have designed a pool appropriate for a town the size of Peru and with the right resources to build it.  Again my opinion.

The same might be said about the splashpad.  Last couple of years we didn't even have money to build a small one and now we are building a million dollar project.
Have they held a Public Forum for the citizens to find out what they would like in a new park?

Have they even invited you to a council mtg where you could ask the questions with time dedicated to only that topic?

Has the city decided to design and build this park without going to developers of such projects?  From no money to a million dollars, anyone know this is an Election Year for Mayor?

Do you even care or are you interested?  Lot of data has not been put out to the public, you know the people who will actually use this facility.

Illinois has higher property taxes than every state with no income tax

Illinois has higher property taxes than every state with no income tax

And the Illinois population is finding ways to move to those states.  Local governments need to carefully use their funds because that will also be reduced with less population.

newstrib.com | Serving the Readers of North Central Illinois

newstrib.com | Serving the Readers of North Central Illinois

Surprise, suprise, the Public Works is getting its first big write up in the News Tribune.

Peru expects splash pad to be finished for summer 2018

Peru expects splash pad to be finished for summer 2018

There should be a lot of questions asked by the population about this project in a city the size of Peru 10,0016 (2014) and probably under the 10,000 now. Don't get me wrong, a splashpad is a wonderful idea but the size and making it the biggest and best in Illinois leaves me wondering why.

Ottawa has a splashpad, have you seen it? The next closest one that I am aware of is Chillicothe. Of course all the other local cities like LaSalle, Oglesby, Ottawa, Princeton, Mendota and Spring Valley have swimming pools.

This splashpad will be free to all, I assume so there will be no return on the project unless we are counting on sales tax revenue coming into the city from all the visitors.

Illinois has largest loss of union membership in region, Indiana and Missouri have largest gains

Illinois has largest loss of union membership in region, Indiana and Missouri have largest gains


We can add to that that Missouri just signed the laws to become a "right to work" state. That now means we are literally surrounded by "right to work" states: Wisconsin, Indiana, KY, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota. Nothing new in Springfield and the state is making NO progress toward a budget and would like to add more taxation. The folks in Springfield just don't get it and Mr Madigan is not budging from his previous positions. Catapillar is a sign of the worst yet to come. None of this is good for smaller cities because the laws made in Springfield affect every city, no matter how good they think they are doing with their finances.

Is It a Cap or a Hat, A Derby or a Beret??

Social media describes an incident at City Hall prior to the council meeting with reference to hats etc. Those of you that live elsewhere, does your city have rules with regard to head wear at a public mtg? Does this refer to only men's heads or are women's included?

We all need a chuckle now and then and on to serious business. I have made a decision that this blog will not tolerate the kinds of political comments referencing the upcoming election. Evidently from the tone of the comments many currently seated elected or appointed at city hall or those with an ax to grind are using the Peru Town Forum to denigrate others.

There is more than enough policy decisions about what Peru is doing or is not doing to make this interesting to read. So please abide by my decision and keep your political comments in your own social groups as I have no interest in publishing them.

MY FB PERU TOWN FORUM IS OPEN TO POLITICAL COMMENTS.
That means you can express your thoughts there.

OUR VIEW: Pension dispute goes far beyond any city hall

OUR VIEW: Pension dispute goes far beyond any city hall


Stats on Fire and Police pensions in Streator and Ottawa. Peru is not mentioned but we have already put those stats out there.

This is important to know about in comparison to the big noise about campaign signs which were blatantly violated by the current sitting aldermen in the last election where some of their own seats were in jeopardy. Don't forget about the aldermen walking door to door to save the seats of the currently seated members. Who would want to run and face that road block of unwelcoming old members. Wonder why so few are running for the Peru City Council, that is not hard to figure out.

Old La Salle building getting makeover by developer

Old La Salle building getting makeover by developer

I an impressed.