Globally, the International Monetary Fund said spending to fight the coronavirus and its financial effects was bursting government budgets. With $11.7 trillion committed by fall, and more needed, cumulative public debt was close to 100% of global gross domestic product…
Author Archive for Terry Bibo
The Watch | Local taxes in 2021
by Terry Bibo • • 0 Comments
The dreadful 2020 is over. The dreadful pandemic is not. And the dreaded bills keep coming in. On Nov. 10, Peoria City Council members wrestled with some truly appalling numbers. In part, that’s because the 2021 budget anticipated passage of…
The Watch | Election Commission discusses early voting spike
by Terry Bibo • • 0 Comments
God love the people who keep doing their jobs without drama and fanfare, despite the hot mess which has been 2020. And that includes most of our public officials. On Oct. 13, Peoria County Election Commission geared up for the…
The Watch | Election Commission Updates
by Terry Bibo • • 0 Comments
While it seemed November would never come, it has. Your elected officials continue to juggle multiple crises — COVID-19, crazy weather, plummeting revenues — as they anticipate a post-election future. On Sept. 8, Peoria County Election Commission received an update…
The Watch | Springdale sees increase in burials, cremations
by Terry Bibo • • 0 Comments
Whatever 2020 throws at us, your government leaders are finding a way to grind it out. Springdale Cemetery Authority met Aug. 18, using Webex. Manager Mark Matuszak reported the number of burials and cremations is up considerably over last year.…
The Watch | Technical difficulties
by Terry Bibo • • 0 Comments
Zoom and its cohorts enable groups and governments to meet despite COVID-19. But virtual meetings are not the same — what is? — and can be difficult, at best. Springdale Cemetery Management Authority, for example, didn’t meet in March, April…
The Watch | Budget woes
by Terry Bibo • • 0 Comments
Your government officials are still Zooming, still adapting, still dancing backward around COVID-19. And the bills are just starting to arrive. All members of the Peoria County Election Commission met via Zoom on May 12 to confront a knotty problem:…
The Watch | Voting and COVID-19
by Terry Bibo • • 0 Comments
A few months ago, if you said public officials were zooming, it might have been an insult. During a pandemic, some public bodies aren’t meeting at all. Springdale Cemetery Authority Board, for example, cancelled its meetings for March, April and…
The Watch | Public meetings during the pandemic
by Terry Bibo • • 0 Comments
At every government level — from Washington D.C. to Springfield to Peoria — COVID-19 is changing the subject, the format and the outcome of public meetings. When the Peoria County Board held its March 12 meeting, for example, Chairman Andrew…
The Watch | Mailed ballots
by Terry Bibo • • 0 Comments
Peoria County’s first vote of 2020 returned via Singapore, according to Local Government Observer (LOGO) reports from the League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria. By the time Peoria County Board of Election Commissioners met on Feb. 11, about 150…