From a press release:

Maplewood, North of Main Street, will be closed for two weeks starting Monday, May 19th to allow for construction activities.

District 150 Superintendent Ken Hinton once again displayed his lack of respect to taxpayers and parents. In an interview with the Journal Star, he said that, sure, he’s meet with parents who are upset that 45 minutes has been cut from the school day. But he claimed that kids will benefit from all that wonderful extra planning time teachers will get, and that there’s no way the district will change it’s mind.

My reaction is: So why the Hell is Hinton meeting with parents? To placate them, obviously. At D150, public involvement is something that happens on their terms. And public involvement for them doesn’t mean that the district pays any attention, just that someone sits in a room and tolerates parents making noise for a few minutes, all to create the illusion they give a damn.

This is exactly what happened when they tried to move Glen Oak School to Glen Oak Park. They made the deal (behind closed doors) with the Peoria Park District first, the school board rubber-stamped the decision, the parents and the neighborhood erupted in outrage. Ken Hinton was dismissive of any opinion but his own, and board remained in his pocket. It was only because the park board blinked and didn’t give final approval. Finally, the school board was forced into a very public, very open process they resulted in a new school next to the current Glen Oak site, AND a new school next to the current Lincoln School site.

The Peoria Blogosphere — as well as HOINews, God bless ‘em — have been all over this story. Naturally, the blogs are buzzing over “King Hinton’s” latest royal decree:

C.J. Summers catches Hinton playing word games:

See, this is semantics. He’s distinguishing between “specialists” and “teachers.” The “specialist” time will be cut, but “contact time with teachers will not change.” I’m sorry, but if the “specialist” is teaching my child art, music, and physical education, I call that person a “teacher.” It doesn’t matter to me whether they are contractually or legally considered a “teacher” by District 150 standards. They’re teaching my children, and their contact time is most assuredly being cut.

It shouldn’t be. Art, music, and P. E. are not things that should be relegated to extra-curricular activities. These are an important part of a child’s education. They should be retained.

PeoriaIllinoisan puts words in Hinton’s mouth:

Even if I can’t persuade them, it really doesn’t matter because we’re not going to do what the public wants anyway. We never have in the past, so I ask, why start now? The role of a good administrator is to remain consistent and I plan on being consistently stubborn.

If they continue to be a thorn in my side I’ll dangle a carrot in front of them in the form of the promise that this is only a one year test and this could be revisited next year. That should appease them. What I won’t tell them is that next year it will be nearly impossible to bring back the 45 minutes of lost school time because money won’t be budgeted to cover lengthening of the school day and hiring extra teachers.”

Peoria Anti-Pundit seems to think that cutting 45 minutes from the schedule won’t matter:

So it is not a matter of tools or decent teachers that plagues our District. Is it a matter of money?  Is it a matter of mismanagement?  I would like to think it is the money because if it is mismanagement, then we are all responsible.  We vote the board in and the Board hires the administration.  Being on the school board is 5 years of criticism without pay. We have had some decent Boards in the past but over the last few years, egos have played into Board politics.  If you think the shit has hit the fan with Ms. Vespa firing off at the board over their latest action, then just wait until Martha Ross is not elected Board President like she thinks she deserves.  It will not only be a miscarriage of justice in her eyes but the old race card will fall out and we all will have to endure another distraction has those who disagree will probably picket the school board as in the past.

Nothing yet on Diane’s blog.

From the Journal Star:

• You know, if I had a bullet wound in the gut, I’d be a tad uncooperative, too.
• Ken Hinton is in rare form. Bull-headed, condescending … come to think of it, that’s not rare for him at all.
• Here’s my big dream: A new board and administrators at District 150. Visualize, visualize, Visualize …
• The Peoria Park District will have to hold a public hearing before it screws around with the old Spanish cannon at Glen Oak Park Lagoon. I suggest people want to seem preserved better pack this hearing when it’s held.
• I say if the pumps CAN’T show a price higher than $3.99, then let them. In fact, let’s make old mechanical gas pumps mandatory.
• The award-winning (snicker) editorial page of Peoria’s one and only newspaper complains about a lack of maintenance on the Kellar Branch. It blames the carriers, not the bull-headed decisions by the rail owners — positions advocated by the this same newspaper — that kept the rail users from being able to USE the rail until very recently. Because, as you know, it makes perfect economic sense to maintain the a rail line you aren’t allowed to use. No doubt other bloggers will further deconstruct the editorial.
• This drunk, anti-social, violent knucklehead could very easily have ended up shot a couple dozen times. Instead his sorry-ass is in jail and faces a long prison term. And two cops get injured bringing him in the hard way. Get well soon, officers. And in case no one else says it: Thank you for your service.

Some announcements:

1. I’ve been playing around with my Facebook page, and I ended up sending invitations to about half the people in the mailing list. If you got one (or two or three, sorry about that), consider signing up. Facebook is a good way to network for business and social reasons.
2. And the mysterious Subway Conductor seems have a few misconceptions about me.
3. And Kudos, again, to Diane Vespa. She took to the airwaves to fight for quality education for District 150 kids.
4. And there’s some news over at The Blog Peoria Project.

From a press release:

Governor Jim Edgar to Appear With Darin LaHood
Rare campaign visit by former Governor indicates candidate LaHood’s strength in State’s Attorney’s Race

Peoria, IL – Illinois’ beloved Governor Jim Edgar who served this State for many years, including two terms in the Executive Mansion in the 1990’s is scheduled to appear in Peoria on behalf of Peoria County State’s Attorney candidate Darin LaHood. Edgar’s visit follows a successful March fundraising appearance for LaHood by former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft (for whom LaHood worked in an anti-terrorism unit) indicating that voters locally and State and Federal leaders beyond view LaHood’s candidacy as strong potential for unseating a longtime County incumbent.

Governor Edgar’s visit will be highlighted at a fundraiser for Darin LaHood to take place on Friday, June 6, 2008 at the Weaver’s Angus Farm located at 806 W. Route 150 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. The event will be western-themed, and includes music, horses, a BBQ dinner and beverages. The cost of the event is $50 per person. Edgar and LaHood will speak during a short program at event.

“To be competitive in politics, it is a reality that candidates have to raise a lot of money,” said LaHood. “I am truly honored that Governor Edgar is willing to help me do this. While this event is a fundraiser, I do believe that we will have a lot of fun. I encourage people to come out and meet our former Governor who did a lot of great things for Illinois in the 1990’s, but also enjoy the music and horses. It should be a great evening.”

Since leaving the Governor’s Mansion in 1999, Jim Edgar has remained politically active, though rarely attends campaign events. He currently serves as a distinguished fellow of the Institute of Government & Public Affairs at the University of Illinois in Champaign. Darin LaHood has known Governor Edgar for many years, starting in the early 1990’s when Edgar’s son, Brad, and Darin were roommates while both worked in Washington, D.C. The elder Edgar is enthusiastically supporting LaHood’s candidacy and believes him to be a strong asset for the people of Peoria County.

Darin LaHood, 39, was born and raised in Peoria. He is a former federal prosecutor who served four years with U.S. Department of Justice in Las Vegas, Nevada. LaHood was also an Assistant State’s Attorney in both Tazewell and Cook counties. LaHood and his wife Kristen returned home to Peoria in 2005 to raise their three children: McKay, Luke, and Teddy. LaHood currently practices law with the firm of Miller, Hall, & Triggs. Darin and Kristen are active in numerous Peoria charity and civic organizations and are members of St. Vincent de Paul Church. Visit www.DarinLaHood.com to learn more about the candidate, volunteer opportunities or to contribute to the campaign.

From Peoria City Hall:

Rockwood from Farrelly to Eugenie will be closed starting immediately and continuing at least through the day tomorrow.  Traffic will be detoured to Julia St to allow for an emergency utility repair.

The following showed up in my email:

Dear St. Mark’s Families,

Today at approximately 9:00 AM there was an incident reported that a threatening message was left on a bathroom stall. We followed the Diocese of Peoria and the St. Mark School response protocol. We immediately evacuated the school moving everyone to the church as well as calling police to investigate. The Peoria Police did a thorough investigation of the threat using all their resources available to deal with this type of situation.  After the investigation was complete, the Peoria Police determined that the threat was unfounded.

During the entire incident Father Klamut was present in the school and/or church. He was consulted on all decisions made. The Office of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Peoria was also made aware of procedures and was also consulted.

At approximately 11:00 AM I made the decision for the students, faculty and staff to return to school.  I want you all to know that the safety and security of your children is our top priority here at St. Mark’s School and always will be.

Thanks and God Bless! 

Steve Hagenbruch

It took a more than a couple days, but the anonymous gnomes who pen official opinions on the Journal Star’s award-winning (snicker) editorial page have finally editorialized about the stunning drop in violent crime from te same time last years.

As readers may recall, recently I chastised the Journal Star for failing to quote Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis even once in four articles on the issues, even though this news paper’s award-winning (snickering again) editorial page lambasted the mayor on multiple occasions for having made crime an issue when he ran for office, yet beins sensitive to what he felt was over sensationalized coverage of crime.

On Wednesday, the JSEB wrote that the drop in violent crime and murder was a good thing (how brave of them), but tucked this little comment into their piece:

In Peoria it’s too soon to draw that conclusion, even though these numbers are undeniably good news, eager as some pundits are to declare violent crime in the city a thing of the past.

Yeah … that would be me, I guess. Although I never declared violent crime a thing of the past.

Indeed, we’ve seen how quickly things can change, for better and worse. Last year’s murders came in bunches, with some months seeing as many as four killings, others none at all. The police chief and other city officials urged citizens not to panic, with assurances that if you weren’t looking for trouble in River City, you weren’t likely to find it.

Just as that was good advice then, so is a victory celebration premature now. Indeed, no sooner was Sunday’s Journal Star coming off the press with this story than a 55-year-old man was found shot in the head while sitting in his car near Club Apollo on the city’s South Side.

They are hedging their bets.

Mayor Jim Ardis also has made crime something of a bully-pulpit priority. There seems to be more neighborhood buy-in, and we hear anecdotally of some segments of the community being more cooperative with law enforcement efforts than they have been in the past.

To repeat:

When crime is up, the mayor deserved criticism because he made a bid deal about the issue when he was running for office.

When crime is down, the mayor deserves only a tiny bit of the credit, because crime “is well beyond the capacity of any one person to influence it significantly.”

In other words, ‘let’s not heap too much praise on politicians we don’t endorse, but let’s mock and ridicule politicians we don’t like if there’s an opportunity to do so.’ That’s standard operating procedure at 1 Propaganda Plaza.

From Cubs.com:

Veteran outfielder Jim Edmonds was en route to Wrigley Field on Wednesday, and could be in the Cubs’ lineup on Thursday if he passes a physical.

Edmonds, who hit .178 in 26 games, was available after being released by the San Diego Padres last Friday. He cleared waivers on Wednesday.

“We’ll put him out there to play and see what happens,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

And exactly what is it that attracted the Cubs to the guy the Cardinals let get away? He’s cheap:

Ken Kravec, one of the Cubs’ top scouts, had seen Edmonds during a series against Atlanta and felt the center fielder was making progress from the spring injury. He arrives at minimal cost to the Cubs. Edmonds is owed $8 million this year, and $2 million of that is being paid by the St. Louis Cardinals, who dealt him to the Padres last December. The Cubs may only have to pay the Major League minimum. The center fielder turns 38 on June 27.

“There’s no negatives in it,” Hendry said. “You’re not giving up players, you’re not spending a lot of dollars. Hopefully, he can give us a great portion of the Jim Edmonds we all knew and used to fear in a lot of ways.”

Yes, it will be ridiculously sweet if the guy suddenly starts to hit and the Cubs win the division and the league championship while the Cards pay his salary. Still, color me unimpressed.

What’s with the “sweetie?”

The chicks really hate to be called “sweetie,” especially when they are the masculine type who don’t want to stay home and cook and clean for her man.

End sarcasm.

Check this out: The spiffy new State Journal-Register Web site has an easy-to-access pagelisting all their house bloggers … followed by a list of “Sprngfieldish” bloggers.

Very cool.

My advice to the SJ-R: Constantly monitor this list of links. Bloggers come and go. In Peoria, this is especially true.

And I notice that Disarranging Mine is conspicuously absent from the SJ-R list.

$10 bucks says the soon-to-be-revamped PJStar site won’t do this at all. Which is their right, of course. And if they do, it would take a lot of testicular fortitude to link to a blogger who constantly insults their edit board and their corporate overlords.

More sad news for the state of Journalism in West-Central Illinois:

Eagle Publications of Western Illinois, Inc. announced today it has agreed to sell the Macomb Eagle and related publications to GateHouse Media. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is scheduled to be completed May 31.

Eagle Publications of Western Illinois, Inc. was owned and operated by Tom and Eunice Hutson, Macomb.

Included in the sale, in addition to the Macomb Eagle, were The Abingdon Argus-Sentinel, Roseville Independent, Augusta Eagle-Scribe, The McDonough County This Week and the Daily Brief.

I stand ready to give advice started up online citizen jounalism projects in any and all these communities. The people in these communities WILL need to do so, because GateHouse will bleed these publications dry, drive off any employee who’s worth a damn, then eventually collapse into a black hole of suckage.

Click on these links. And click them often:

1. I’m up to my old tricks at It’s Billy’s Blog.
2. Jonathan Ahl links to Peoria Pundit, not once, not twice, but three times (here and here).
3. Pammy Darlin’ makes a comment on beauty.
4. Laura gives D150 bosses some advice they won’t follow in a million years.
5. PeoriaIllinoisan does the same thing, only to petty criminals. I know, I know … a difference that MAKES no difference …
6. Kisser is back.
7. All hail is breaking loose.
8. C.J. caught someone in government using blogs in a smart way.
9. Being the man of Jen’s dreamsisn’t necessarily a good thing.
10. Ah, the joys of apartment living. At least Cory doesn’t have to mow the lawn.
11. Merle’s never been a fan of the library expansion. He still isn’t.
12. Scott Janz is up to his usual crap.
13. James has some thoughts about when rulers sin. I’m asking: When aren’t they?

From a press release:

As most seniors graduate high school or college this month, “commencing” on to the next stage in life may seem less daunting after seeing the comedy The Graduate, showing at the Apollo Theater.

Downtown Peoria’s nonprofit moviehouse will screen filmmaker Mike Nichols’ 1967 classic starring Dustin Hoffman in his breakthrough role on one night only: Saturday, May 24.

Costarring Katharine Ross as Elaine and Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson, The Graduate was co-written by an odd team – Calder Willingham (who’d penned the war movie Paths of Glory and the western One-Eyed Jacks) and Buck Henry (then known mainly as one of the writers on TV’s Get Smart spy spoof).

The Oscar-winning movie focuses on an aimless college grad (Hoffman) who stumbles into an affair with an older woman married to his father’s business partner, then falls in love with her engaged daughter (Ross).

Several familiar faces have bits, cameos or uncredited appearances, including Alice Ghostley, Richard Dreyfuss, Norman Fell, Mike Farrell, Ben Murphy and Kevin Tighe.

Admission at the Apollo is $5 and $4 for kids and seniors. Shows start at 7 p.m.; for details call (309) 673-4343.

Once again, HOINews came through for parents at District 150 schools. Last night, I caught their 10 p.m. newscast, and there were two — count ‘em, TWO — reports related to the quality of education at Peoria’s public schools. One was a follow-up to the station’s original report on how some school’s aren’t meeting state-mandated physical education requirements. The other was a report on how a principal who lost a no-confidence vote was pegged as a new vice principal at the newly reconstituted Manual High School. Kudos to the folks at HOI News. It’s sometimes hard to get any coverage at all on other stations.