ROGER MONROE
The big election is just days away. The voter turnout could be huge, especially if you believe the Department of Justice is trying to prevent states from purging voter registration rolls of undocumented immigrants.
Billions of dollars have been spent by various candidates and campaigns in advertising. Too many TV and radio ads were not only dishonest, but, in some cases, offensive. I can handle just about anything, except attacks on a candidate’s religion.
Former Judge Joe McGraw is a candidate for Congress for the 17th District. He’s a Christian and has acknowledged he prayed before making difficult decisions in court cases. His opponent, Eric Sorensen, approved a TV commercial using an actor to simulate/mock McGraw’s spiritual beliefs. It was distasteful and insulting as it depicted the former Judge walking down a hallway in a black robe and then laying down.
I don’t care how a man or woman prays, whether it’s sitting, standing, driving a car or picking his nose. Praying is personal. I believe it is for most people. I wonder if McGraw was a Muslim, would Sorensen have chosen to attack his religion?
CONGRATULATIONS CIVIC CENTER: Rik Edgar, who heads the management team at the Peoria Civic Center, took victory laps over the facility’s financial success for the past year. Big acts and big events provided big bucks and we congratulate him. However, he gets a big fat “F” for another year of failure in securing naming rights for the Civic Center and its arena. The questions remain. Is the failure due to incompetency by Edgar’s marketing team or failure by design? Folks, this is not a small failure. The Civic Center continues to lose thousands of dollars in naming rights.
As mentioned numerous times in this column, every public entertainment venue in Illinois has successfully obtained financially beneficial naming rights from Dozer Park baseball field in Peoria to the Vibrant Arena at The Mark in Moline. But not the Peoria Civic Center.
I may sound like a broken record, but Illinois State University granted naming rights to CEFCU for its arena for $3.1 million over 10 years. The Peoria Civic Center opened in 1982. Do the math. The Peoria venue has lost more than $12 million. I don’t hear a single voice from the Peoria city manager to the mayor, past and present, or the City Council, complaining about the the lost revenue.
Apparently, the aforementioned people are using the Clark Gable line from “Gone with the Wind:” “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” But, they should.
MEDIA NOTES: I watch a lot of local TV news and note men are missing. In a recent morning on WEEK two women were giving the news and another female provided the weather at 4:30. At 5 a.m. I switched to WMBD, Channel 31, and there were two women doing the news and finally, a male was on camera doing the weather. Where have the males gone?
With more than 50 years experience writing news releases and doing newscasts, I know the business. That’s why I raised my eyebrows when the Channel 25 news team reported the one-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre of more than 1,200 people by interviewing a local Palestinian. What were they thinking?
Perhaps on this year’s Veterans Day they’ll interview some former German soldiers
We’ve talked about how news is no longer of importance, relatively speaking, on local radio. Time was WIRL was the news leader with people like Ralph Smith and Ira Bittner, while Phil Gibson did noon news on WMBD and I handled responsibilities at WPEO. I now do the same mornings on WAZU from 6-9 with more news, more often, in concert with WCBU. Due to commercial obligations, WMBD news is usually limited to two to three stories. Years ago, Gibson or Joe Rex gave 15 minutes of news at the noon hour. Today, WIRL resorts to national newscasts.
MISSING SCANDALS: Have you noticed how Peoria seems to sweep scandals under the rugs?
The terrible loss of thousands of dollars at public television, WTVP, and the unfortunate and tragic suicide of its president and CEO, Lesley Matuszak, remain an open book. Investigations into her death and the alleged embezzlement of $320,000 and more are apparently over. When one examines what information has been released for public consumption, it appears it should not be over.
While insurance coughed up $250,000 to cover some of the loss, no one has explained who else knew about the theft of thousands and why that person or persons have not been charged. What happened to all of the jewelry and other purchases that were made using the WTVP credit card? I guess we’ll never know.
The other financial scandal centers on the Peoria City/County Health Department losing $563,000 from the American Rescue Plan that apparently didn’t rescue anyone. It was supposed to Cure Violence.
It didn’t. It did go to the House of Hope, “a wonderful agency,” said an employee at the health department even after the money went missing.
So far no arrests, no charges, no money, and no news, except that an 11-year-old girl was arrested along with three teens joy riding in a stolen car. The car reportedly will be auctioned off on a Channel 47 fund-raiser.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH: “Thanksgiving Day is a good day to recommit our energies to giving thanks and just giving.” — Amy Grant