I’ve been blowing off meetings of the Peoria City Council for a while now. More on that later.
Today, I went to Whitey’s for pizza, carbonated refreshment and post meeting conversation.
I was sitting there with Gary Sandberg, C.J. Summers and three nice people who are trying to affect some changes in how the City of Peoria does business.
I won’t violate the “What is Said at Whitey’s Stays at Whitey’s” rule. But I will say this: The conversation turned to how policy is made in Peoria.
The short answer: “Poorly.”
Technically, policy is might be set in public, but the process of arriving at the decision is not. Remember th e good old days when people argues on the floor of the council. I miss those days. All the crap got laid out in front of God and everybody. These days, stuff appears on the agenda. Someone will make a short speech in favor of it, and someone else — probably Sandberg — will point out the shortcomings. Sometimes there’s not even that. And I’m not talking about routine business, but important votes.
And then there is a vote and it passes.
So how does policy get made. The answer is, if not on the floor of the council, is during phone calls and emails, and during social events. The public is not welcome, unless they are invited.
So that’s why I haven’t been attending many meetings. I’ve been under the weather, sure. But I’ve also been sick of hauling my ass to council meetings and liveblogging a bunch of 11-0 and 10-1 votes on things that should have been a lot closer.
So how does someone have a voice in changing policy?
I’ve seen what packing the gallery can do to carefully crafted plans. I’ve witnessed what a ton of phone calls can do switch votes. And I’ve seen how blogging the Holy Hell out of an issue can, sometimes, get the people affected by government agitated enough to do something about it.
But I haven’t really been blogging the Holy Hell out of anything recently, except Iran and maybe some School Board stuff.
So, the green is going bye-bye for now (I’m still going to be all over Twitter). This blog is moving back to Peoria. But more than that, tt’s going to take a different kind of blogging that what I’ve been doing recently. I’m open to suggestions, comments, criticism and insults.
Tags: blogging, liveblogging, Peoria City Council, Whitey's
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 
If it makes you feel any better, that is just the way we do things over here in Pekin. I don’t know what is sadder for representative government, having an elected official admit (later) that they really didn’t understand the policy they voted for, or the fact they went along with the majority so as to be a “team player.”
Peoria is like Pekin? Oh, yeah, I feel SOOOOOO much better hearing THAT.
[...] Billy Dennis is right when he says, “Technically, policy might be set in public, but the process of arriving at the decision is not.” How many times have you seen this happen? An issue comes before the council. A motion is made to approve and is seconded. Councilman Sandberg speaks against it. There is no further discussion. Ballots are cast, and the motion passes 10-1. This happens time and time again. On big votes, like the decision to give $39.5 million to the Wonderful Development (aka Marriott Hotel), a few more council members speak in support of it, but the outcome is the same: no deliberation; 10-1 vote to approve. [...]
Yes, many feel they are banging their heads against the wall for nothing. It seems that a typical elected representative starts out with good intentions, but the minute their ego encounters their fellow elected counterparts, some giant group think fungus takes over their brain and they join the ranks of the Stepfords – completely forgetting who put them there. It’s too bad they can’t take a pill or something to prevent that.
A few weeks ago when Paul Vallas was here I asked him following his presentation how you can change an institution that doesn’t want to change. His answer: Get elected.
Would the solution be to not have any conversation, investigation or questioning prior to the meeting? I’m not sure how you think it should work (though I don’t totally disagree that it doesn’t work now.)
Oh, it’s no secret what is needed: For the council to change it’s behavior. There is no tinkering with the process that can overcome a determination to rubber stamp. I am asking for advice on what this blog ought to be doing about it.
Maybe do some research, get your facts right and use your position to influence people rather than just making claims that aren’t based in fact?
Bill, you strike me as being very similar to Ricky Gervais’ character in “Extras”. He constantly wrestles with “I want to be famous/I want to be respected” and finding that he can’t be both.
I’ve been visiting and commenting for some time. You go through these cycles. Are you interested in being seen on par with MSM? Is this a job or a hobby? Do you want to be respected or famous?
If this is a hobby, fine. Don’t take the blog or yourself too seriously. You can still be famous.
If you want to be respected. If you want to bee seen as an equal of the PJStar or WEEK journalists. If you want a (literal and figurative) seat at the media table then you need to make some changes.
Isn’t seeking to be “an equal of the PJStar or WEEK journalists” setting the bar a bit too low? By that, I’m not saying that they’re journalism isn’t good. I’m just asking, Why not aspire to be even better?
OK – I will edit that from “an equal of” to “as accepted as.”
I think you should become a male prostitute and blog about your adventures.
Billy, just to be clear, are you implying that public policy shouldn’t be decided out of the public eye? While that’s roses and ponies ideallistically, it’s wholly unrealistic. Public policy has been formed in back rooms and on bar stools since the invention of the republic, and it will continue to be that way until you and I are long gone.
Elayne: Thanks for the input.
Cory: I’ve been covering government for far to long to think that politicians don’t discuss issues amongst themselves. This post about about how there seems to be a shift in Peoria government from thorough open debate to an appearanceof rubber stamping. I want MORE open, public debate. And I am inviting suggestions on how THIS blog can help encourage that.
At large election is coming up…. Bill Dennis for At Large in 2010. You could probably use the part time pay. You only have to come in 5th place.
I think Bill Dennis, At Large, is an excellent idea.
Makhno and Anon: I think I will hunt you both down and kill you. I won’tlive in any city populated by people insane enough to elect me to anything.
Really, nothing is more pathetic than journalists who think they can move over to the Dark Side.
Draft Dennis 2010
Throw in Randall Emert and CJ… the three horseman of the blogocolypse.
I think Billy was at large once… but the cops caught him. Bwahaha!
No really, Billy in 2010. I like that.
I am now adding Randy and C.J. to the list people I intend to hunt down and kill.
I don’t want to be a candidate. Once you are a candidate, people go out of their way to be mean to you .. and with good reason.
Yeah, but Billy you are totally used to that.
Some of my best friends are politicians. But I wouldn’t want my sister to marry one.
And if people are going to give me money, I want to apply it to full-time blogging, not to getting re-elected.
An informed voting public has a much better chance of effecting change at the ballot box, and much more likely to turn out a slug that has lost his or her way in the elective body they were seeking.
Keep people informed with actual information that can be used by active citizens to shape the path that they want to go down in their community.
The uninformed will always be behind in the scheme of things. They decide on the last day of on election day and every race will be colored by that lack of indepth information.
Can you say Presidential election 2008!!
Than that’s your answer. Why not devote your time to developing this site into a full time gig?
11bravo: “Why not devote your time to developing this site into a full time gig?”
*sputter*
Yeah. Why don’t I do that.
I mean, it not like I don’t sell ads on this site and apply for grants or anything.
Do you have a business plan?
I realize you sell ads and everything, but I don’t know to what extent you have done the work on the backend.
Peoria has a history of one or the other. We get a council that looks before it leaps, which mean it takes forever to make a decision and keeps putting things off. Or we get a council that leaps before it looks and just rubberstamps everything that comes along. We can’t seem to make a middle of the road council that investigates, and informs and gets it right for the benefit off all and not just the council and their buddies. If you want to talk to the council you have to sign in in advance. Give a snynoposis of your speech. You have X amount of minutes to speak and then you can’t even ask questions that get any answers. Immediately after they vote and no matter what you say, or what facts you bring to the table the decision is done and over with in minutes. Period. Zip. Dot. Dash. Done.
Billy:
OK, gotcha. I got worried there for a second.
I think it’s likely you’re entering your Blue Period.