Perhaps it’s my imagination. But it seems more people are showing up to public meetings with their questions and concerns. And that would be good news.

Peoria County Board

The Peoria County Board met on Aug. 13 with all members present. In regular business, the board unanimously approved a zoning request for a new micro-farm, farm-to-table restaurant, greenhouse and market on five acres of a 78-acre parcel in Radnor Township.

Also unanimously approved were amendments to the existing battery energy storage system ordinance to bring it in compliance with a recent state law, and annual cost-of-living adjustments for the sheriff and public defender.

The unanimously approved consent agenda includes:

• A $153,000 revenue increase and $100,000 expenditures to the 2026 Wind Energy Fund.
• Transfer of $100,000 within the Circuit Clerk’s accounts to fund part-time employees completing a document scanning project.
• Accepting a $33,000 grant from the Illinois Attorney General to the sheriff’s office to combat retail theft.
• Renewing the Juvenile Justice Court grant with the Illinois Dept. of Human Services.
• Renewing the Juvenile Redeploy grant and related service contracts with FamilyCore and Human Service Center.
• Adopting a facilities roadmap that outlines each county-owned building and whether to maintain, invest or divest of each.
• Adopting the Artificial Intelligence Usage Policy to establish a strategic framework for safe, transparent and effective use of AI technologies while protecting county data.
• A $1.25 million appropriation to resurface Koerner Road.
• A $125,000 agreement with KONE to rehabilitate the existing freight elevator at the County Courthouse.
• A $40,000 agreement with Oberlander Electric to replace the county jail generator transfer switch.

Election Commission

The Peoria County Board of Elections held its annual meeting on Aug. 11.

Chief Judge Kate Gorman swore in returning commissioner Jeanne Williamson and new commissioner Yvonne Greer Batton.  New officers were also elected: Chairman Patrick Jennetten, Vice Chairman Jeanne Williamson, Treasurer Matt Bartolo, and Secretary Jim Manning.  Zach Robertson was appointed the new Assistant Executive Director.

The commission’s proposed budget and capital request were approved to be sent to the County Board.  Executive Director Jessily Joseph reported the post office has reauthorized the commission as a nonprofit, saving Peoria County $18,000 per mailing.  The state’s attorney’s office advised that recordings of executive sessions more than 2 years old could be destroyed if not needed for litigation, but written minutes should be retained.

Ballots were to be certified by the end of August, and the last day for write-in candidates to declare is Sept. 2. Permanent Vote By Mail requests have been sent out.  Overseas ballots will be mailed Sept. 18, and Vote By Mail ballots will be mailed Sept. 24.

Peoria City Council

The Peoria City Council met July 14, with all members present, except Denis Cyr.

A public hearing was held for the proposed Twin Towers Place Special Service Area (SSA). Council Members Zach Oyler and Mike Vespa abstained due to conflict of interest.

Corporation Counsel Patrick Hayes said the condo association’s capital projects drained reserve funds, prompting the SSA request. He discussed financing options, noting final details would be settled when the matter returns to the City Council in September.

The only public comment was from a Twin Towers resident, who asked when information regarding the loan terms, interest rates, and other details would be made available for review.  Hayes said he would be willing to attend condo association meetings to answer residents’ questions.

The consent agenda was unanimously approved, including:

• An $86,000 purchase of property at 1020 W. Virginia Ave. for culvert improvements.
• A professional services agreement not to exceed $114,800 with Roadway Asset Services, LLC for the base bid for a pavement condition update. Contingent upon grant funding, an additional amount not to exceed $180,500 was approved for imagery-based asset extraction.
• Amending city code related to tobacco retail licenses.

Councilors approved, with one nay, a request to receive and file the first reading of an ordinance amending city code to reduce building permit fees for specific projects constructed on land-bank-owned properties.

When citizens were given the opportunity to address the council, a concerned resident flagged a multimillion-dollar housing project planned for the old Harrison School site. While noting Peoria needs homelessness housing solutions, she said local homeowners were repeatedly excluded from planning conversations. She questioned the neighborhood’s lack of essential resources, the worsening food desert, and the general decline in infrastructure. She asked why the development moved forward before addressing neighborhood deficiencies, and suggested alternative locations or single-family-home strategies instead.

Kelli Martin, representing her porch pantry in Peoria, said she sought clarification regarding an upcoming City Council regulatory vote affecting local porch pantries. She noted communication challenges with the city administration because notification emails were being filtered into her spam folder. She requested city leadership actively include her in future discussions, noting she operates the only porch pantry within the city limits.

Pastor Thomas M.S. Carpenter, a local resident reliant on public transit, said a critical lack of sidewalks forces pedestrian traffic and wheelchair users onto dangerous roadways. He said motorists frequently travel at high speeds through low-speed zones, and noted infrastructure repairs and accessibility upgrades are more important than downtown construction projects. He described how pedestrian intersection obstacles and damaged roads compromise transit safety — his own wheelchair was recently damaged in a vehicular accident.

On July 28, the Council met with a quorum present.  Cyr was absent.

An ad hoc committee was approved to study township senior services.

In other business:

• The consent agenda was approved with one item — formation of a Peoria Tourism Improvement District — pulled for discussion.
• Peoria Area Visitor and Convention Bureau President/CEO J.D. D’Alfonso discussed the proposed tax levy of
  1.5% per room, which would be collected by the city.
• Councilors received and filed the 2025 Annual Comprehensive Report audited by CliftonLarsonAllen LLP. Adam Pulley gave overview that resulted in clean report. He noted findings on how two federal programs were reported and these were adjusted. No new issues noted.

Finance Director/Comptroller Kyle Cratty presented the 2027 budget timeline, with an early August draft to be finalized in December.  He also discussed unaudited finance report ending May 31,
saying state revenue is consistently strong and the budget is on track.

Several citizens spoke to repair of pot holes on neighborhood streets, especially after major street repairs with detours to side streets, and the need to treat unhoused with dignity and caring.

Housing Authority

The Peoria Housing Authority met July 23 with all members present, although there is a vacancy for a resident member.

The meeting began with citizens’ comments. Many focused on tenant complaints, alleged Open Meetings Act violations, website issues, the continuing vacancy for a resident commissioner, the lack of readily available contact information for commissioners, an executive session placed in the middle of the meeting, lack of regular mowing at River West, and a Comcast contract pending at Sterling Towers.

Commissioner Larry Ivory was the only one to address tenant issues. He apologized and asked staff to address those matters.

The process to hire a permanent CEO continues. Interim CEO Damon Duncan and Board Chair Kadar Heffner indicated the process was nearing a successful conclusion.  The board unanimously approved an additional $40,000 for the CEO search effort to continue.

The consent agenda and various contracts were unanimously approved.

Highlights of the interim CEO’s report:

• An update on the rebuilding and pending launch of the organization’s website with the assistance of 309 Marketing.
• A quarterly Town Hall will be held Sept. 2.
• A 120 Day Assessment has been completed, and additional action plans have been developed to address lingering identified issues.
• Sterling Towers sprinkler update
• River West property tax update.

Tri-County Regional Planning Commission

The Tri-County Regional Planning Commission met Aug. 5 with Vice Chair Danny Phelan moderating.

Staff has met with eight member communities (with four more meetings to go) to discuss projects and concerns that the Planning Commission should know about.

In response to their Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) information, Havana (which is not a member community) inquired about the grants. Staff as administrator of CDBG grants will work with them.

Brownfields inquiries were made.

The regional housing assessment will be done using Champaign’s newly finished assessment as a model.

Commissioners approved projects selected through the 2026 Combined Call for Projects and amended the Transportation Improvement Program including roadway, bicycle, pedestrian, and public transportation projects. These projects were from Peoria, Peoria Heights, Germantown Hills, East Peoria, Peoria County, Washington, Center for the Blind (accessible bus stop), and Pekin Park District (senior transportation.)

— League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria observers attend and report on local government meetings. Check out https://greaterpeoriail.lwv.org/logoreports