The public is invited to be part of a discussion on how Peoria elects its City Council. The 2010 census brought about the need to redistrict and after six elections using the cumulative voting format, the question has arisen, “Is this system, working is it accomplishing what was intended and is it what we still want?” In order to answer those questions we are starting an open community dialogue to better understand the interests and desires of voters and others in Peoria.

The public is invited to community meetings on Oct 26 at 7:00 p.m. at Bradley University at the Garrett Center and Nov 2 at 7:00 p.m. at River West Frank Campbell community room. At each meeting, Dr. Larry Aspin, Chairman of the Political Science Department at Bradley University will share highlights from his detailed research and findings on the impact of cumulative voting in Peoria.

This initiative is being led by Bradley’s Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Service (IPL) with support from The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, League of Women Voters, Neighborhood Alliance African American Leadership Alliance and NAACP. After the conclusion of the two community meetings, IPL will provide the Peoria City Council with a report to help them make a decision on whether or not to place a referenda item changing how the council is elected on the spring ballot. No registration is needed to attend these meetings. If you have questions about the meetings, please contact IPL at (309) 677-4408.