Greetings, as we move into the holiday season!
The Neighborhood Awards Banquet is in the rearview mirror, and, once again, we honored those who toil in our neighborhoods to make Peoria a great place to live. The Ted Bannon Brick Award was awarded to Tom Wester who is a very effective neighborhood leader and President of the Heart of Peoria NA. Tom is also a newly appointed member of the Historic Preservation Commission and has been instrumental in drawing attention to properties which can be saved.
Another city issue which looms large is balancing our biennial city budget. To date, our deliberations have produced near unanimity in the importance of continuing to focus laser sharp on public safety and roads/ infrastructure. I hope the budget will be put to bed well before Christmas.
A huge issue before us is the Combined Sewer Outfall Issue. I hope that our City is successful in getting the EPA to allow Peoria to be a Green City, which will allow a roughly 225 million dollar investment in the greening of Peoria, which will result in millions of dollars being spent in District Two with lots of good paying local labor jobs! We need to get this country moving again!!!!
The overall condition of our roads, bridges, ports, highways, and airports is a disgrace. Just down our street, the MacArthur Highway Bridge has a structural integrity score of 8 out of 100 with 100 being the best! It has been languishing for many years with rocks falling on cars beneath it. In 2018, all of this will change, and we will continue to engage all of you in the planning of what the new bridge will be like.
Finally, when you read this, we will, in all likelihood, have a new President-Elect. This election will be very important for all of us. I hope that the new President will rally Congress to pass an infrastructure rebuild Marshall Plan scaled bill and make the USA the leader in solar and wind energy as well as other clean energy fuels.
If the Green Model is implemented here, thousands of good paying middle class jobs will be created, as we fix infrastructure in our neighborhoods. Once Caterpillar starts the new headquarters, there will be jobs for the trades for at least 10 years. All or most of these pieces will fall into place, thereby creating a bright future for our City and Nation.
Your Councilman believes this community’s best days are ahead. I wish to extend my best to all of you at this sacred holiday season.