PRM Correction

The article in the JS I attributed to Karen McDonald, "Fund Raising Not Over Yet" (for the museum) was written by Scott Hillyard and Andy Kravetz, not Ms. McDonald. My boo-boo, Karen and I deeply apologize to Ms. McDonald.

As to funds lurking in the stimulus bill for the garage, it is my belief that these tax dollars are just waiting for the City of Peoria to turn over the land where the underground garage will be built to the County. The County of Peoria is waiting for the PRM Committee to raise the money promised to the County Board.

Let me count. They have been trying to raise this money for years turning to Peoria County in desperation, yes desperation because the state and feds didn't have the money to contribute and the "big hitters" wallets suddenly closed up.

One source of raising the missing money is to ask the 14,000 plus people who voted for the sales tax to build the museum, to contribute only $500 each one time, and presto, $7,000,000 would be raised, stimulus money (taxpayer dollars) could be released, construction on the garage, counting $3.6 million of taxpayer dollars set aside from the 2006 or 2007 Highway Bill, could begin.

After all, the museum building was only going to cost $17 per person or $85 for a family of five each year for 20 years or $1,700. So what's an extra one time contribution of $500 for the yes voters?

So simple.

Or combined with one local persons money; one who owns 1,000,000 shares of his companies $50 a share stock; current value $50+ million, could part with just $5 million of his money, the sooner construction of anything could begin. Or of course, the CEO Roundtable, who promised a bunch of money and so far has reneged on $6 million of the promise, who may be waiting until government tax credits to become available, stop waiting and kick in the missing 6 mil...

Meanwhile, I drove some roads in the City today that will need to be closed if we have a winter of hard freezes and thaws. I drove by a huge pile of dirt where an under-utilized library expansion is going to cost half a million more because some board members didn't have the common sense to see if there were any dead bodies buried where they were going to build and I drove by a new library under construction in an UNUSUAL location out along Rt. 6, and yes, Rt. 6 in places will be a mess if repairs work doesn't start soon, with the good news the library tax hasn't yet shown up on your property tax bills.

Priorities, you know.

And, would it surprise some of my readers, to know that the PRM Committee failed to do a proper environmental study where the proposed museum is to be built??

I'll close with a quotation "If you are not invited to the table, you are probably on the menu" and one by Cicero, " It is true that one falsehood leads easily to another".