UPDATE YOUR BLOGROLLS!!!!

This is my last post at PeoriaPundit.com.

I’m moving over to The Blog Peoria Project. The new site is here. I’ve already put up a couple posts. There are many reasons, most of which I have discusses at Blog Peoria.

1. Moving there will allow me to network with other Blog Peoria members.
2. Once Peoria Pundit is added to the offerings, it will drive traffic to Blog Peoria, and increase visits to other Blog Peoria sites.
3. Running two different Word Press installations costs too much money and takes up too much time.

I am NOT going to take this site down. Two many other blogs have linked to too many posts here at this domain name, and I hate broken links. But eventually the bandwidth will drop to a level that’s less expensive to maintain.

So, please adjust your blogrolls accordingly.

I’m working this evening, and my morning and early afternoon are taken up by Blog Peoria Project business. Member bloggers might want to read this important post.

Anyway, do check out Word on the Street. Apparently, there’s something Barbara Van Auken hasn’t been telling me.

Via WMBD:

Three victims went to the hospital after a Sunday morning shooting in Peoria. It happened at the Southern Valley 66 on Western Avenue. Authorities say soon after a victim went to the hospital with a gun shot wound to the stomach, two more people showed up with bullet wounds. Police won’t say if the three victims are connected, they are still investigating. The conditions of the three victims are unknown.

Nothing yet on PJStar, WEEK, HOINews.

Twenty years ago, you couldn’t pick up a newspaper without reading something about AIDS and HIV. I wrote my share of them. These days, almost nothing. We assume that the disease has been beaten. There are people who walk around with an HIV infection who may never get full-blown AIDS, and there are people with AIDS who are living and working amongst the rest of us, seemingly unaffected.

Today’s Journal Star article reminds up that the disease is still out there in the United States, still killing people, still causing health problems for those who are living with it. And there’s still the issues of bigotry, ignorance and misunderstanding, judging by the stories told in the article and some of the comments made by Journal Star readers.

Why in the world would someone like it their compassion to those who get sick in some ways, but not others?

Kudos to PJS reporter Clare Howard for the reminder.

The announcement came today. The Journal Star’s new Website will “go live” at about 8 p.m. Tuesday:

The new Web site should generally run faster than the current site. It features a brighter, cleaner look along with a new logo. It should also be easier for users to navigate. Depending on your Internet service provider, it could take up to 24 hours for the new format to be fully viewed on home computers.

…

“It has served us well, but, over time, it has grown rather cluttered. Because of that clutter, it can occasionally be difficult to navigate,” said Journal Star Managing Editor John Plevka. “We recognize that change can be jarring, but we believe at the end of the day, the new pjstar.com will serve our users more effectively and more efficiently.”

No word on whether there will be additional content, although they say the new site will have every thing the old one does. My biggest complaint about the current site hasn’t been the design or slow load times (well, occasionally). It’s been that they toss any article more than two weeks old behind a firewall they call their paid archives. In other words, you have to give the Journal Star money for OLD newspaper articles. A smarter business model is to require a nominal fee for access to the articles people want to read. Why not? People pay $1 for a single copy right now.

Print is dead, it just hasn’t fallen down yet. Take my advice, PJS, and start making the transition to online only news.

Heh. This post will give Subway Conductor something new to carp about.

UPDATE: Before taking this too seriously, consider the source:

From a press release:

(CHICAGO)(May 16, 2008) Illinois Republican reformer Andy Martin will hold a Chicago news conference Friday, May 16th to announce he has filed a lawsuit to stop corruption at the Illinois Republican Party’s 2008 state convention. ‘The behavior of most Republican Party leaders is disgraceful,’ Martin will state. ‘They are conducting an election for National Committeeman and National Committeewoman, and refusing to release the names of the voters for this office, who are the delegates. Why are delegate lists and members-of-committee lists being held in secret? In a word, LaHood and his coconspirators are trying to fix the convention to elect him.

A copy of the lawsuit is a part of this posting (below).

‘How can anyone justify an ‘election’ in which the names of the ‘voters’ are being concealed or a convention in which the names of members of convention committees are secret? If this is not a blatant attempt to rig the vote and elect Combine Candidate Ray LaHood I don’t know what it is.

We have to face the reality that the Republican Party is being mismanaged into the ground.’

Martin is the reform Republican candidate for National Committeeman.

Martin will be seeking an emergency court hearing.

‘At some point, Republicans are going to get sick of Combine control of their party. Ray LaHood was one of the cabal of leaders that forced U. S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald out of office-and paved the way for the election of Barack Obama. No wonder LaHood was salivating when Obama visited the U. S. House earlier this week; LaHood’s dirty tricks and backstabbing helped elect Obama by removing the incumbent Republican. If Obama is elected president, we will have LaHood and his hoods to thank.

‘Peter Fitzgerald was pilloried because he fought corruption. What does that tell you? The evidence to support these claims is in testimony in the Tony Rezko trial, where ‘Republican leaders’ were mired neck deep in corruption. The Combine is real and the Rezko trial testimony blew the lid off the Republican Party’s past and present ‘leadership.’

‘Most Illinois Republicans are honest, hardworking, law-abiding citizens. How did we end up with a party state committee and party leadership and party employees who are sickos and crooks? How? Who wins? We know who loses: Main Street, mainstream Republicans.

‘I am doing my best to fight corruption and to return control of the Republican Party to the people,’ Martin says.

From a press release:

Maplewood, North of Main Street, will be closed for two weeks starting Monday, May 19th to allow for construction activities.

District 150 Superintendent Ken Hinton once again displayed his lack of respect to taxpayers and parents. In an interview with the Journal Star, he said that, sure, he’s meet with parents who are upset that 45 minutes has been cut from the school day. But he claimed that kids will benefit from all that wonderful extra planning time teachers will get, and that there’s no way the district will change it’s mind.

My reaction is: So why the Hell is Hinton meeting with parents? To placate them, obviously. At D150, public involvement is something that happens on their terms. And public involvement for them doesn’t mean that the district pays any attention, just that someone sits in a room and tolerates parents making noise for a few minutes, all to create the illusion they give a damn.

This is exactly what happened when they tried to move Glen Oak School to Glen Oak Park. They made the deal (behind closed doors) with the Peoria Park District first, the school board rubber-stamped the decision, the parents and the neighborhood erupted in outrage. Ken Hinton was dismissive of any opinion but his own, and board remained in his pocket. It was only because the park board blinked and didn’t give final approval. Finally, the school board was forced into a very public, very open process they resulted in a new school next to the current Glen Oak site, AND a new school next to the current Lincoln School site.

The Peoria Blogosphere — as well as HOINews, God bless ‘em — have been all over this story. Naturally, the blogs are buzzing over “King Hinton’s” latest royal decree:

C.J. Summers catches Hinton playing word games:

See, this is semantics. He’s distinguishing between “specialists” and “teachers.” The “specialist” time will be cut, but “contact time with teachers will not change.” I’m sorry, but if the “specialist” is teaching my child art, music, and physical education, I call that person a “teacher.” It doesn’t matter to me whether they are contractually or legally considered a “teacher” by District 150 standards. They’re teaching my children, and their contact time is most assuredly being cut.

It shouldn’t be. Art, music, and P. E. are not things that should be relegated to extra-curricular activities. These are an important part of a child’s education. They should be retained.

PeoriaIllinoisan puts words in Hinton’s mouth:

Even if I can’t persuade them, it really doesn’t matter because we’re not going to do what the public wants anyway. We never have in the past, so I ask, why start now? The role of a good administrator is to remain consistent and I plan on being consistently stubborn.

If they continue to be a thorn in my side I’ll dangle a carrot in front of them in the form of the promise that this is only a one year test and this could be revisited next year. That should appease them. What I won’t tell them is that next year it will be nearly impossible to bring back the 45 minutes of lost school time because money won’t be budgeted to cover lengthening of the school day and hiring extra teachers.”

Peoria Anti-Pundit seems to think that cutting 45 minutes from the schedule won’t matter:

So it is not a matter of tools or decent teachers that plagues our District. Is it a matter of money?  Is it a matter of mismanagement?  I would like to think it is the money because if it is mismanagement, then we are all responsible.  We vote the board in and the Board hires the administration.  Being on the school board is 5 years of criticism without pay. We have had some decent Boards in the past but over the last few years, egos have played into Board politics.  If you think the shit has hit the fan with Ms. Vespa firing off at the board over their latest action, then just wait until Martha Ross is not elected Board President like she thinks she deserves.  It will not only be a miscarriage of justice in her eyes but the old race card will fall out and we all will have to endure another distraction has those who disagree will probably picket the school board as in the past.

Nothing yet on Diane’s blog.

From the Journal Star:

• You know, if I had a bullet wound in the gut, I’d be a tad uncooperative, too.
• Ken Hinton is in rare form. Bull-headed, condescending … come to think of it, that’s not rare for him at all.
• Here’s my big dream: A new board and administrators at District 150. Visualize, visualize, Visualize …
• The Peoria Park District will have to hold a public hearing before it screws around with the old Spanish cannon at Glen Oak Park Lagoon. I suggest people want to seem preserved better pack this hearing when it’s held.
• I say if the pumps CAN’T show a price higher than $3.99, then let them. In fact, let’s make old mechanical gas pumps mandatory.
• The award-winning (snicker) editorial page of Peoria’s one and only newspaper complains about a lack of maintenance on the Kellar Branch. It blames the carriers, not the bull-headed decisions by the rail owners — positions advocated by the this same newspaper — that kept the rail users from being able to USE the rail until very recently. Because, as you know, it makes perfect economic sense to maintain the a rail line you aren’t allowed to use. No doubt other bloggers will further deconstruct the editorial.
• This drunk, anti-social, violent knucklehead could very easily have ended up shot a couple dozen times. Instead his sorry-ass is in jail and faces a long prison term. And two cops get injured bringing him in the hard way. Get well soon, officers. And in case no one else says it: Thank you for your service.

Some announcements:

1. I’ve been playing around with my Facebook page, and I ended up sending invitations to about half the people in the mailing list. If you got one (or two or three, sorry about that), consider signing up. Facebook is a good way to network for business and social reasons.
2. And the mysterious Subway Conductor seems have a few misconceptions about me.
3. And Kudos, again, to Diane Vespa. She took to the airwaves to fight for quality education for District 150 kids.
4. And there’s some news over at The Blog Peoria Project.

From a press release:

Governor Jim Edgar to Appear With Darin LaHood
Rare campaign visit by former Governor indicates candidate LaHood’s strength in State’s Attorney’s Race

Peoria, IL – Illinois’ beloved Governor Jim Edgar who served this State for many years, including two terms in the Executive Mansion in the 1990’s is scheduled to appear in Peoria on behalf of Peoria County State’s Attorney candidate Darin LaHood. Edgar’s visit follows a successful March fundraising appearance for LaHood by former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft (for whom LaHood worked in an anti-terrorism unit) indicating that voters locally and State and Federal leaders beyond view LaHood’s candidacy as strong potential for unseating a longtime County incumbent.

Governor Edgar’s visit will be highlighted at a fundraiser for Darin LaHood to take place on Friday, June 6, 2008 at the Weaver’s Angus Farm located at 806 W. Route 150 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. The event will be western-themed, and includes music, horses, a BBQ dinner and beverages. The cost of the event is $50 per person. Edgar and LaHood will speak during a short program at event.

“To be competitive in politics, it is a reality that candidates have to raise a lot of money,” said LaHood. “I am truly honored that Governor Edgar is willing to help me do this. While this event is a fundraiser, I do believe that we will have a lot of fun. I encourage people to come out and meet our former Governor who did a lot of great things for Illinois in the 1990’s, but also enjoy the music and horses. It should be a great evening.”

Since leaving the Governor’s Mansion in 1999, Jim Edgar has remained politically active, though rarely attends campaign events. He currently serves as a distinguished fellow of the Institute of Government & Public Affairs at the University of Illinois in Champaign. Darin LaHood has known Governor Edgar for many years, starting in the early 1990’s when Edgar’s son, Brad, and Darin were roommates while both worked in Washington, D.C. The elder Edgar is enthusiastically supporting LaHood’s candidacy and believes him to be a strong asset for the people of Peoria County.

Darin LaHood, 39, was born and raised in Peoria. He is a former federal prosecutor who served four years with U.S. Department of Justice in Las Vegas, Nevada. LaHood was also an Assistant State’s Attorney in both Tazewell and Cook counties. LaHood and his wife Kristen returned home to Peoria in 2005 to raise their three children: McKay, Luke, and Teddy. LaHood currently practices law with the firm of Miller, Hall, & Triggs. Darin and Kristen are active in numerous Peoria charity and civic organizations and are members of St. Vincent de Paul Church. Visit www.DarinLaHood.com to learn more about the candidate, volunteer opportunities or to contribute to the campaign.

From Peoria City Hall:

Rockwood from Farrelly to Eugenie will be closed starting immediately and continuing at least through the day tomorrow.  Traffic will be detoured to Julia St to allow for an emergency utility repair.

The following showed up in my email:

Dear St. Mark’s Families,

Today at approximately 9:00 AM there was an incident reported that a threatening message was left on a bathroom stall. We followed the Diocese of Peoria and the St. Mark School response protocol. We immediately evacuated the school moving everyone to the church as well as calling police to investigate. The Peoria Police did a thorough investigation of the threat using all their resources available to deal with this type of situation.  After the investigation was complete, the Peoria Police determined that the threat was unfounded.

During the entire incident Father Klamut was present in the school and/or church. He was consulted on all decisions made. The Office of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Peoria was also made aware of procedures and was also consulted.

At approximately 11:00 AM I made the decision for the students, faculty and staff to return to school.  I want you all to know that the safety and security of your children is our top priority here at St. Mark’s School and always will be.

Thanks and God Bless! 

Steve Hagenbruch

It took a more than a couple days, but the anonymous gnomes who pen official opinions on the Journal Star’s award-winning (snicker) editorial page have finally editorialized about the stunning drop in violent crime from te same time last years.

As readers may recall, recently I chastised the Journal Star for failing to quote Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis even once in four articles on the issues, even though this news paper’s award-winning (snickering again) editorial page lambasted the mayor on multiple occasions for having made crime an issue when he ran for office, yet beins sensitive to what he felt was over sensationalized coverage of crime.

On Wednesday, the JSEB wrote that the drop in violent crime and murder was a good thing (how brave of them), but tucked this little comment into their piece:

In Peoria it’s too soon to draw that conclusion, even though these numbers are undeniably good news, eager as some pundits are to declare violent crime in the city a thing of the past.

Yeah … that would be me, I guess. Although I never declared violent crime a thing of the past.

Indeed, we’ve seen how quickly things can change, for better and worse. Last year’s murders came in bunches, with some months seeing as many as four killings, others none at all. The police chief and other city officials urged citizens not to panic, with assurances that if you weren’t looking for trouble in River City, you weren’t likely to find it.

Just as that was good advice then, so is a victory celebration premature now. Indeed, no sooner was Sunday’s Journal Star coming off the press with this story than a 55-year-old man was found shot in the head while sitting in his car near Club Apollo on the city’s South Side.

They are hedging their bets.

Mayor Jim Ardis also has made crime something of a bully-pulpit priority. There seems to be more neighborhood buy-in, and we hear anecdotally of some segments of the community being more cooperative with law enforcement efforts than they have been in the past.

To repeat:

When crime is up, the mayor deserved criticism because he made a bid deal about the issue when he was running for office.

When crime is down, the mayor deserves only a tiny bit of the credit, because crime “is well beyond the capacity of any one person to influence it significantly.”

In other words, ‘let’s not heap too much praise on politicians we don’t endorse, but let’s mock and ridicule politicians we don’t like if there’s an opportunity to do so.’ That’s standard operating procedure at 1 Propaganda Plaza.

From Cubs.com:

Veteran outfielder Jim Edmonds was en route to Wrigley Field on Wednesday, and could be in the Cubs’ lineup on Thursday if he passes a physical.

Edmonds, who hit .178 in 26 games, was available after being released by the San Diego Padres last Friday. He cleared waivers on Wednesday.

“We’ll put him out there to play and see what happens,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

And exactly what is it that attracted the Cubs to the guy the Cardinals let get away? He’s cheap:

Ken Kravec, one of the Cubs’ top scouts, had seen Edmonds during a series against Atlanta and felt the center fielder was making progress from the spring injury. He arrives at minimal cost to the Cubs. Edmonds is owed $8 million this year, and $2 million of that is being paid by the St. Louis Cardinals, who dealt him to the Padres last December. The Cubs may only have to pay the Major League minimum. The center fielder turns 38 on June 27.

“There’s no negatives in it,” Hendry said. “You’re not giving up players, you’re not spending a lot of dollars. Hopefully, he can give us a great portion of the Jim Edmonds we all knew and used to fear in a lot of ways.”

Yes, it will be ridiculously sweet if the guy suddenly starts to hit and the Cubs win the division and the league championship while the Cards pay his salary. Still, color me unimpressed.