More lies from the Journal Star edit page
Once again, the
Anyone unfamiliar with the history behind the controversy over where to build a proposed replacement for
The editorial also neglects to mention that the school board has consistently lied to residents about a state law that is supposed to require a set acreage for any new school construction projects, when no such requirements exist. This means that the school district’s claims that any other site there must be more expensive are lies as well, because the school board did not seriously consider lower-cost options on smaller plots of land. The district insists the new school must be build on a ranch like a suburban school would be built, even though it is supposed to serve a densely populated inner city neighborhood.
And the editorial writer tells a flat-out, bald-faced lie when claiming that residents don’t want a new school or a $15 million investment. The fact is that they do. They have said so repeatedly in letters to the editor and in numerous public meetings. The residents just don’t want to loose park land. They don’t want their children crossing heavily trafficked Prospect Road twice a day. They don’t want a neighborhood school on the westernmost boundary of the school’s attendance zone. These residents have offered up suggestion after suggestion for different sites.
When the editorial writer states that opponents might not want the Ray LaHood-brokered meeting to be open (which is something I have not heard even once) the writer neglects to mention that it is the Peoria Park District and School District 150 are the agencies that have conspired — in secret — to conduct business and have repeatedly lied to and mislead voters and the Journal Star itself about details behind the land swap deals.
And who are the people who have “attempted to meddle in the matter,” as the Journal Star puts it? Taxpayers. Residents. Voters. You know, the people the Journal Star editorial board thinks should just shut the Hell up and mind their own business. Because, as you know, elite progressives are the only ones smart enough to have a say in how taxpayer dollars are used and in how children are educated.
I don’t find moral fault in the Journal Star’s award-winning (snicker) editorial board disagreeing with me on this or any subject. But what infuriates and sickens me is how these peoeple play fast and loose with the facts and often ingores the content of their paper’s own reporting simply because it finds these facts inconvenient to their agenda. It’s dishonest and unethical.
Billy Dennis is a former reporter and editor at small daily and weekly newspapers in Illinois and Missouri. He comments on media, news and politics. He also owns and operates 
Only people spending taxpayers money with no ill consequences to themselves would spend $900K on something before they knew the project was a definite go. Would you have a contractor start building an addition to your home before you obtained a building permit? If the school doesn’t go in the park, I think they should have to sell the properties and get some of the monies back.
“…school officials have said they can’t afford to build a facility on the city’s terms, which would have them buying property abutting the current Glen Oak Primary School.”
If they didn’t unnecessarily spend $900,000 first…….
“If educators have $15 million for a new building, maybe they should spend it in a neighborhood that welcomes the investment, where they’d be as free of city entanglement as possible.”
The East Bluff welcomes the new school, but just not where the board wants to put it. I wish I were free of city entanglement…no entertainment tax, not needing a permit (costing $$) for every freakin’ thing, “garbage” tax, free parking, stupid zoning laws……
“District 150’s primary responsibility is schoolchildren, not urban renewal.”
Uh, so why move the school so far away from the children forcing them to cross a potentially dangerous street?
“but they’re mostly a smoke screen for the real issue”
the “real” issue? The more I hear that no one can come up with a convincing reason NOT to build in the park, I can’t say I’ve heard a convincing one TO build in the park. I’m beginning to think that the park provides a beautiful backdrop for a shiny new school so D150 can say brag to other school districts “Look at the school we built!”. It wouldn’t be quite as impressive at Wisconsin and Frye.
Why doesn’t D150 have enough money to build at the current site? Because they seemingly do not want to.
Pondering the Potential supplied by D150 at PJStar site — has ten acres for the proposed site (5 from D150 and 5 from PPD) whereas the current site is 3 acres with 14 acres to be acquired. This is like comparing apples to oranges unless you calculate a per acre acquisition price.
The cost per acre for the current site — $250,000 to $392,857 per acre and $320,000 per acre for the proposed site (5 acres that D150 would acquire) based the D150 information.
Now that D150 has purchased eight properties for $877,500, that is more than half of the original estimate of $1.6 million for 21 properties (as previously reported by PJStar) at the proposed site. That would leave $722,500 to acquire the remaining properties of 21 to be acquired.
So, could that mean that D150 would need more than $1.6 million for acquisition? Then the cost per acre would be greater than $320,000 per acre and would put you in the high end range for the siting to be at the current site — that debunks the statements that we don’t have enough money, it costs too much ……
For more information —- http://rally-peoria.blogspot.com/ —— Dated May 10, 2006
The point is this —- taxpayers are paying the bills and the taxpayers would like / WANT — the Glen Oak School to be built at the current site.
At the Charrette today, creative ideas to revitalize the city generated by the creative and engaged citizenry —- the energy, passion and commitment to get the job done were all in the room — it was a fantastic experience!:)
The one idea that drew spontaneous applause — from a cross section of people from varied backgrounds, socioeconomic levels, different zip codes et al — was what????
You guessed it — to put the ‘new’ Glen Oak School at the current site via rehab, new construction, some type of combination AND have the school look historic on the exterior to fit the neighborhood.
The people have spoken — let’s get the show on the road and build the school where the people across the entire city want it to be!!!
I said it before, and others have, as well. The solution was easy from the start, and remains easy to this day. Send all of the kids that go to Glen Oak School to surrounding schools for the year and a half that you’ll need to put up a new school. On the day after school ends, simply begin knocking down the old school. Clear it off, and throw up the new one. When it’s done, bring all of the kids back. Repeat this process with every other school that they want to replace. For those schools that are architecturally interesting and might have other commercial or such issues, don’t knock ‘em down. THEN, find surrounding land to buy up and build on. Believe me, there’s plenty of that in Southtown and the Bluff areas. AND, in those cases, TRY to use some common sense, and don’t pay $140,000 for a house that might pull in, say, $55,000 on the open market.
A tip of the Stupidity Helmet to the 150 School Board for proving, once again, that the Board is filled with the biggest dumb arses the planet might have ever known. One house they bought for about $125,000 allowed the people living there to buy a house across the river. The fact that the house they’re leaving was worth less than half that on the open market just rubs salt into the wound. If Sean Matheson could grow a beard, I’d advise him to go incognito, so that folks couldn’t locate him and razz him. Oh well… there’s always the Costume Trunk.