My Little Rant on Economics Department…

I posted a comment on CJ’s blog the other day concerning what I think our city leaders should do.  You can read the post CJ made and the comments under that post HERE.  I post under “Emtronics” in case you didn’t know.

Well today I got an email from a city council person telling me Peoria has been recognized as the 15th best place to do business in the United States (5th best midsize city).    This according to CNN and Money magazine.  Huh. That may be right if one considers the eentire Peoria area which would include the Heights, East Peoria, Dunlap, etc etc.

Well that just gosh darn great.  Only thing is, we who live here know better.  I am not going to mention the name of this councilperson but this person wanted to meet and discuss this issue and why I may think otherwise. Well, where to start.

1. Ask Sully Sullivan who closed his bar (after years downtown) and moved his business to Peoria Heights.  He said the bullshit he got from the city council here was endless and Peoria Heights welcomed him with open arms.

2. Let’s give ex Mayor Maloof a shot of morphine and ask him why he let the gambling boat cross the river.  I mean, really, does East Peoria’s values differ that much from ours?  If the boat had stayed here, like planned, I do believe we would have a vibrant riverfront 24 hours a day and a hotel in the hole that is now known as Museum Square.  I even believe those old warehouse buildings down on Washington and Water Streets would have been converted to apartments and small business but noooooo, during the Maloof regime, we had to have morals and gambling is immoral.  Yet this same government body, the city council gambles with our money all the time.  Read Mid Town Plaza, Campustown, Ballpark, Ren-Park, and the newest to step up, the $40 million hotel.

3.  Our city council argued for weeks, nay, months on whether to extend the 4am liquor license district.  leaving some small business people hanging in the outcome.  They argue everything to death when it comes to businesses unless of course there are some back room deals going on.  Back room deals?  Say it isn’t so.  Let’s see….A lighted (LCD) billboard on N Knoxville is wired and installed and set to go, weeks BEFORE council approval of said sign. Approved! Taco Bell gets automatic approval for a new restaurant on N Knoxville despite concerns from neighbors behind it and various setbacks. Approved!  A small business man tries to apply for a beer garden outside his business in a spot where the city ran out other businesses because of the Forrest Hill improvement project which took longer than building of the Great Pyramids in Egypt did and is denied yet, another bar, favorite to city movers and shakers gets their beer garden on W Glen Ave approved.  Yeah, yeah, there were circumstances involved in each case.  I’ll bet. 

4.  As for business climate here.  yes, in the Peoria AREA, the business climate can be good.  Unfortunately, not in Peoria proper.  Hell we can’t even support a Famous Dave’s or a Krispy Kreme.  It seems that those type of businesses grow well on the other side of the river.  True, chain restaurants don’t make a city but they do pay taxes both in property and retail. Here in Peoria, we punish the few businesses downtown by taxing them extra (Called the HZI Tax, I think) so our leaders can give $40 million to a developer to build something downtown needs.  Another hotel?  Next to an existing hotel that sits half empty 90% of the time.  No bank will loan the money for this yet our leaders think it’s a great deal.  Of course, this will not bother the Holiday Inn City Centre. Oh wait, yes it will.  They have their hands out too!

5. Crime.  Yes we do have a small crime problem.  Nothing serious though.  After all, a Catholic Church has a carnival and gangs close it down.  Not a problem.  How to fix it?  Lay off police officers.  Yes the police union and fire unions have this city by the balls but whose fault is that?  It’s the fault of past councils and it’s a bit too late to fix that so we will have to buckle down and kiss their asses but at least we should demand some results.  Like a crime drop and a good response to fire calls.  Ok, we got the fire response times but they are spread thin. Two big fires at once in this city and we are fucked.  As for crime, well, depends on who you talk to.  The Chief will tell you crime is down. The old lady laying in the parking lot at Wal-Mart after her purse has been ripped will say something different. Like Fox News says; “You decide”.

6.  I don’t want to even talk about all the TIFs as I don’t think I can name them all.  The entire town is in some kind of zone and most of the TIFs have failed even though parade after parade of developers said they wouldn’t.  We are paying for Mid-Town Plaza and the only difference in that neighborhood now then what it used to be is that if you are robbed, it is in a well lit parking lot.  Ren-Park is the biggest joke of them all.  Basically the medical community has thumb their noses at this area.  All one has to do his go out Route 91 to see that.  Who could blame them though when the owner of a rat invested parts warehouse thinks his property is worth $10 million.  The only thing of value on Main we have lost is the Steak N Shake that used to be there. 

These are a few of the things and I didn’t even mention how the city over the years screwed the school district by basically land locking them and creating tax deferments lessening the monies the district can collect.  One can point fingers all day long as to who is responsible for this but that is history.  The city is going to have to make cuts and the schools are broke.  Basically, we are all broke.

I am not saying money is the cure all for our city and the schools (it does help) but this town needs to get it’s priorities straight.  We don’t need to be giving money for a new hotel or a museum to replace the museum nobody goes to now.  We don’t need a Gateway Building nor an International Zoo. We should off the RexPlex which is nothing but a haven for the well to do as the average working stiff can’t afford it and by law, they HAVE to give out memberships to the poor but they set those hours of use.  Funny.  We need to rein in the Park District as money disappears there like a black hole.  Bradley park is mostly, well, for Bradley University.  Glen Oak sucks.  Where is that money going?  CityLink has to be the most missed managed public transportation company in the state.  We actually bought a bunch of used buses from Chicago @ $900 each.  Where is that money from the FEDS going?

Does the East Bluff and or South end have zoning issues?  You bet but where is the enforcement?  Next to nil.  So, at City Hall, where is that money going?   Nope, time to clean house.  I mean from the top down for a change.  Not the guy/gal that has a shovel in their hand filling a pot hole or the fireman with the hose or the cop with the gun drawn checking your business or home for crime.  It’s the top people who don’t do their jobs, they should be fired. 

We never do that and in fact when we do, we hire someone else at more pay.  No, I don’t want to met with you Councilperson who sent me that email.  I don’t own rose colored glasses and I can smell horse shit a mile away.