It looks like Peoria's "new generation of leadership" may be taking its cues from the old one. Candidates have lined up, asking to be gifted Mayor Ardis' former At-large seat on the City Council.
Three of the candidates have liquor licenses. Mary Ardapple (Apples Bakery), Pat Sullivan (Kellehers) and George Jacobs (Brewers Distributing). These candidates all knew that those having a liquor license could not be on the Council as mandated by state law.
Behold! Legislation is introduced to overturn the law.
Behold! An amendment is added so that said legislation will take effect upon Blago's signature.
The law may be arcane. After all, its roots begin in the Al Capone days. Nonetheless, a old law is being overturned. You gotta ask. Why now?
I frequently see Ardis and Sullivan weekday mornings at Big Easy Coffee. Most of the fire department drinks at Kellehers. Sandburg is at Kellehers at least a few nights a week. I've seen Van Auken having lunch there too. Clearly, Pat Sullivan is a dear friend of the council. He has a big "in." Getting laws overturned at your convenience to serve on the Council with your buddies strikes me as a Ransburg type tactic. Or a banana republic tactic. I like Sullivan. I like Ardis. But this maneuver smells. Bad.
State Rep. Leitch asked for the amendment so that Ardis, "Could consider a beer distributor for the City Council." Huh?! Apparently Jacob has a pretty big "in" too. By asking for the amendment Jacob has hurt his buddy Leitch. The public just might remember that he pulls strings for social elite.
So what about the other eleven who applied for the job? You gotta feel a bit sorry for them. The mayor ran on a theme of "inclusive government" and these applicants believed it. It's amazing to me that its seemingly easier to overturn a law than run a campaign.
Maybe we need another new law. No appointments.
It was well known that Ardis' seat would be vacant if he won the Mayor's race. Perhaps we should have elected a first runners up or an alternate in the last election. Had Sullivan run he probably would have won. Instead, he has hurt his friend the Mayor by pulling strings and producing the first mini scandal of his administration.
If your mind is too open, your brain will fall out. Warning: Names, identities, descriptions, and pictures have been changed and/or used to protect the innocent as well as the guilty. PollyPeoria should not be used or quoted as a source for your senior college thesis.
Sunday, May 29
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3 comments:
This is one of the reasons I've been saying that the person picked for the council should be someone vetted by the electoral process, such as Angela Anderson.
Bill, I thought you were a Sullivan fan. Remember that Anderson lost in the PRIMARY. I applaud her for going through the process, but I think the voters spoke loud and clear on that one.
Seems to me that Sullivan (not Ardapple, not Jacobs)said he would sell his ownership in his bar if appointed. He said this long before discussion of a new law came about. Would Ardapple or Jabobs sell their interests in order to join the Council? Highly doubt it, but that's tells you something.
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