On 12/15/03, Jenny Davis of the JS wrote a column “Park district old records still sealed”. She states that the Peoria Park District refuses to release executive minutes that are 20 years old. This is usual if these sensitive records are personal discussions about employees. However, it seems the records the PPD refuse to release are “executive session” minutes regarding land deals – either the acquisition, trade, sale or lease of land – dating back to February of 1991”. Of the 93 total sessions regarding some sort of land deal between Feb. 4, 1991 and Oct. 29, 2003, only 21 were recommended for release. And all 21 to be released were from the recent past, from Feb. 2002 to Dec. 15, 2003”.
Interesting?? The JS reporter contacted the Springfield Park District and she writes “guess how many outstanding executive session meeting they have”?
“One”.
Over the past couple of years I’ve received phone calls regarding the property formerly named after local baseball legend “Dutch Meinen” then renamed for another baseball legend “Pete Vonachen”, Vonachen Stadium and now named Shea Soccer Stadium. This land was once a part of Laura Bradley Trust and when sliced by US 74, it is alleged the Trust deeded the northern sector to the PPD and a governmental body. The PPD at some point leased part of this property to a minor league baseball team (according to PPD documents) for $30,000.00 a year starting somewhere around 1991. Some people believe this was quite a bargain to the ball club ownership. (Both Pete & Rocky Vonachen served on the PPD Board of Trustees, Rocky resigning in August 2001).
The calls I’ve received claim that this property has some revealing paperwork that is not known to the general public. These people claim to have copies of an original Laura Bradley Trust where it allegedly states that “no liquor” was to be sold on that property plus some other provisions to take place in 50 or 100 years, including reversion of ownership.
Allegedly, records of this land swap have never been publicly revealed. Why not? That’s what Springfield attorney Don Craven says, an expert in media law, stating “that it is unusual that a park district would be hanging on to executive minutes regarding land deals. There aren’t many real estate deals that take 13 years to negotiate”.
An article appeared in the JS on 9/04 congratulating Bradley University and the PPD for a land swap for the former Meinen Field, for 80 acres near route 91 and Fox road that the university bought to give to the park district. The article continues “more public and public minded organizations should take a cue and find out what cooperation can do for them”.
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The PPD operates in secrecy and is like an oligarchy. Why would land swap records from 1991 be kept from the eyes of the public? Would the wording of the Laura Bradley Trust make good reading for some enterprising reporter or is the old saying that “those who have the gold, rules” allow our public officials to deal in secrecy? This is not the first time the PPD has been accused of dealing in secrecy.
I refer you back to one of my early “blogs” entitled “Conceptions, misconceptions, perceptions, truths, subtle falsehoods and outright lies”. Some of what I said fits in this story. Maybe someone will continue to pursue the whys of this secrecy.
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