Latest news with #PeoriaCityCouncil
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Peoria County accepting applications for civic leadership academy
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Applications are now being accepted for Peoria County's annual Civic Leadership Academy. The program, done with the city of Peoria, aims to help inform people how government at both the county and city level works. The free program meets weekly, usually at a city or county facility, and includes a presentation, tour, and time for questions and answers. This year's program will be on Thursday nights from Aug. 7 to Oct. 14. Sessions will start at 6 p.m. It will conclude with a graduation by proclamation at the Peoria County Board meeting and first Peoria City Council meeting in October. Topics and tours include the Peoria Police Department, Emergency Communications Center, Peoria County Coroner's Office, Peoria County Sheriff's Office, Peoria Public Works, Peoria Fire, and Peoria County Animal Protection Services. Participants must be 18 or older. Registration is online on the county's website. Paper copies of the application are also available at the Peoria County Courthouse in room 502. People must register by July 18. Details on the weekly sessions are subject to change, with the final schedule to be handed out at the first session. Space is limited, and applicants will be notified upon their acceptance into the program. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Peoria Police Memorial honors fallen officers
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Peoria city officials and police gathered outside downtown to remember those who have served in law enforcement. The Peoria Police Department hosted their annual police memorial outside of city hall, in which they take the time to remember fallen officers. 'We don't want to forget that every day officers come in and put this uniform on,' said Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria. 'So let's not forget what they do. Let's not forget what happened in the past. We stand on their shoulders and we continue to push forward to keep our community safe.' Peoria City Council agrees to fund remaining PeoriaCorps term 15 roses were laid on the memorial stone to honor fallen Peoria officers. Echevarria explained the kind of unity all law enforcement share. 'You don this uniform on,' he said. 'Some of the uniforms may be green, some of them may be tan, some of them are blue. But, you know, at the end of the day, we're all police officers trying to do the right thing for a community. It's a very difficult job.' This is a part of National Police Week, where departments across the country take part in the same type of memorial. An awards ceremony followed the memorial service which included categories such as Livesaving, Chief's Appreciation, and Distinguished Service – Commissioned. Award winners included: 2024 Rookie of the Year Officer Terravis Ward 2024 Field Training Officer of the Year Officer Michael Wallace 2024 Supervisor of the Year Sergeant Todd Leach 2025 American Legion Meritorious Service Detective Brian Grice 2024 Officer of the Year Detective Nicholas Mason 2024 Lifesaving Awards: Officer Logan Jackson Officer Matthew Prest Officer Gavin Watland Officer Zion Whitehurst Officer Jia Zheng Officer Bryson Zolicoffer 2024 Civilian of the Year Mary Peterson 2024 Chief's Appreciation Assistant State's Attorney Terrence Muench Deputy Coroner Brandon Witt Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
April 1 election results final with tight races decided
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — For about two weeks, they have waited and now, it's official. Andre Allen was reelected back to the Peoria City Council as the representative of the 4th District and Alex Carmona will replace outgoing 2nd District Councilman Chuck Grayeb on the Horseshoe. UPDATED: One new face on the Peoria City Council as incumbents win their seats Mayor Rita Ali will also return to a second term in office as the city's mayor, beating At-Large Councilman John Kelly by a wide margin, according to numbers released by the Peoria County Election Commission. All led from Election Day until the final votes were tallied Tuesday and then certified on Wednesday. Incumbents Denise Jackson in the 1st District and Denis Cyr in the 5th district won by comfortable margins. Tim Riggenbach was unopposed in the 3rd District. With all the votes in, Ali beat Kelly garnering 60% or 11,006 votes to Kelly's 7,122 which was about 40%. Kelly, however, will not go far as his seat on the council was not up for election so he'll remain. Jackson got 77% of the 2,458 cast in the 1st district, while Cyr got 62% of the 5th District's 4,625 votes. In the 4th District, Allen finished with 51% or 2,212 votes to challenger Jamie Messmore's 2,091 votes or 49%. The politically active 2nd district was, by far, the most competitive with Carmona getting 1,478 votes to Estrella Diaz's 1,431, a difference of 47 votes. Former City Councilman Jim Montelongo won the race for city treasurer, while Latrina Leary got another term in office as the Peoria Township supervisor, beating two challengers. Overall, roughly 22% of the county's voters turned out. Some races had a greater percentage while others were less but the county's average was 22% of registered voters. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Possibly 2,000 mail-in ballots to be counted, election commission head says
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — As of Thursday afternoon, there are potentially close to 2,000 votes left to be counted by the Peoria County Election Commission two days after Tuesday's election. However, it's possible the results of those votes will not be known until Tuesday. Elizabeth Gannon, the election commission head, said her office collected almost 2,000 ballots in the mail and from drop boxes on Tuesday when the polls closed. However, given the need to open the ballots and get them ready for scanning, it's possible the results will not be released until Tuesday. The commission tends to release updated ballot counts on Thursday and Tuesday. UPDATED: One new face on the Peoria City Council as incumbents win their seats Gannon explained she didn't want to release a partial vote total and then let people wonder how many were left and why some were counted and others were not. The additional votes could affect some races within the city of Peoria, including the 2nd and the 4th District council seats, which were both less than 100 votes apart on Tuesday. There is no automatic recount despite the closeness of the vote totals. A candidate can request one but they'd have to pay for it, and also, it's not a full recount of all votes. Rather, it's a percentage of the overall vote total. All ballots must have been postmarked and received when the polls closed on April 1 or Election Day. Some are from overseas or military members, so it takes a long time to get here. It's still possible more ballots could arrive by Tuesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Peoria City Council candidates square off as election approaches
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — With the Consolidated General Election coming up April 1, Peoria City Council candidates debated each other at Ward Chapel Church Friday evening. The event was hosted by the Peoria branch of the NAACP and Delta Sigma Theta Peoria Alumni Chapter. A myriad of topics were discussed, from juvenile crime to attracting businesses to improving infrastructure. The 1st District race is between incumbent Denise Jackson and James Kemper. Kemper previously ran for city council unsuccessfully but is back for another go. He focused on what he would like to see changed, from addressing the high tax and crime rates to fixing the intersection of Main Street and University Street. He also wants to use his business acumen to attract new businesses to the city, believing adding to Peoria's tax base will lead to growth. He also wants to take a page out of East Peoria's book, saying that they are more friendly to business than their counterparts across the Illinois River. In addition, Kemper wants an 'urban plan that works,' saying the city's current way of doing things needs to be changed. Jackson disagreed, saying the rebuild is already underway and that another plan is not necessary. She added that she is a 'champion of neighborhoods,' wanting to invest in the community and improve infrastructure. Jackson also noted the numerous housing developments that have been established under her tenure, as well as investing in resources such as Market 309 to address food insecurity. In terms of addressing juvenile crime, Jackson said that she 'sees the problems 'as an educator at Elise Ford Allen Academy. She said it can be 'difficult' to reach children, and that even more problems can arise when trying to reach the parents. Jackson ended her response by saying that trust needs to be built between parents, children, and external forces like teachers. Kemper said truancy has become an issue in the school system, and that there needs to be 'something to aspire to' in terms of more job opportunities. District 1 encompasses the Warehouse District, South Peoria, and parts of the West Bluff. The 2nd District race features two political newcomers in Alex Carmona and Estrella Diaz, both vying for the seat Chuck Grayeb is leaving behind. Carmona moved to Peoria a few years ago with his family from Colorado and called the city a 'hidden gem.' He believes the city's downtown, part of the 2nd District's area, is 'ready to boom' if government leaders want it to. Similar to Kemper, he wants to make Peoria more 'business-friendly,' and believes the city has untapped potential for growth. Diaz, a lifelong Peoria resident, said she is running because she wants to change the status quo and look out for those who feel left behind. Similar to 4th District Councilman Andre Allen, she wants to set up monthly meetings with constituents and 'meet people where they're at.' She centered her campaign around people, saying people are the 'soul' of a city. In terms of addressing juvenile crime, Carmona thinks that providing young people with good role models is essential to lowering the crime rate. 'I have friends in the trades, and I'd try to show them there's a real, viable way to earn a living here in Peoria. But it takes a little bit of work and some discipline. But more than that, it takes guidance,' he said. Diaz echoed Carmona's sentiments about showing more support for young Peorians. 'It's all about helping out one another and setting up our kids for a brighter future. If we invest in the youth, we invest in our future,' she said. Incumbent 4th District Councilman Andre Allen is going up against Jamie Messmore, and business talks occupied the majority of the debate between the two. Allen spoke about the investment in entertainment options such as Tilted 10 at Northwoods Mall, and the soon to be built Raising Cane's. He also spoke about how he listens to what his constituents want and believes he's done enough to be elected to another term. Messmore talked about how she wants to fix the roads, have safer neighborhoods, and attract more businesses to the city. The main source of conflict between the two came during a discussion about Best Buy moving from Peoria to East Peoria. Messmore said the store is taking $750,000 in property taxes across the river, which Allen disputed, saying the city received $11,000 from the business in terms of property tax revenue. 'For them to cut a check to the city for $750,000, that is a lot of MacBook Pro's,' he said. Messmore defended her claim. 'The average Best Buy does $43 million in revenue, so taking the percentage of sales tax, they do sell a lot of MacBooks and a lot of other things as well,' she said. Allen questioned her source of information, saying he wasn't sure if she used ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence program, to come up with the data. Incumbent Denis Cyr is going up against Hind Abi-Akar in the 5th District race, which covers most of the northern part of the city. Cyr has been part of the council for the past 8 years, having moved to the city after his professional hockey career, where he played for teams such as the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, and Peoria Rivermen. He was questioned about his voting record concerning black-owned businesses trying to obtain liquor licenses, as well as the public camping ban. Cyr defended himself by saying he tries to vote for the interests of his constituents, and that he felt his vote reflected their views. Abi-Akar said she wants the voice of the people to be the driving force and that she doesn't think it's been the case recently. She hopes to implement data to find solutions to problems, and that she enjoys working with people in order to achieve this. Cyr said he 'loves' serving his district and hopes to serve another four years, bringing up his support with the Homeowner's Associations within his district. Elections will be decided on April 1. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
