In today’s Journal Star, reporters Jennifer Davis and Teri Bibo tried to pin down rumors that the “Amazasploraportaseum on the Square” will have to be downsized because nobody in their right mind wants to donate money to this colossal boondoggle.
What the reporters got was an endless parade of denial and double talk, all of which [...]

The committee that’s running the naming contest for the new downtown Peoria museum decided to wait until next week to let us in on what choices voters will have. My two cents: These these names were decided by a committee, I’m not expecting anything remotely sensible. The place is going to be a financial [...]

Here’s three more very relevant paragraphs from the Reason magazine article about the futility of tax increment financing districts:
Local officials usually do not consider how much growth might occur without a TIF. In 2002 the Neighborhood Capital Budget Group (NCBG), a coalition of 200 Chicago organizations that studies local public investment, looked at 36 of [...]

I was under the impression that one of the reasons local governments coughed up taxpayer cash for cultural projects like museums was that these structures would, in turn, generate more tax revenue through increased tourism. Caterpillar wants the city turn over any increase in tax revenue from its new visitor center to the proposed museum [...]

I’m going over the agenda for the next Peoria City Council meeting
At first glance, it seems like there might be several “big stories” here. The first would be a presentation from Caterpillar and Lakeview Museum on the Museum Square, followed by a request from the city manager to approve an amendment to the existing development [...]