Rand's Rants- Peoria County's Financial Woes

The Financial Officer of Peoria County says that the General Fund will be depleted in 3 more years. County roads, bridges, etc., need $200 millions, The referendum alleged to rebuild County owned streets inside the boundary limits of the City of Peoria, went down to an easy defeat. Why, because the voters don't trust an administration and board that foolishly accepted the decrepit Hanna City Correctional Center for $1 due to the pressure from Dave Leitch.

The same politicians, dominated by Rand Democrats,(Andrew Rand is the Democrat Chairman of the County Board then agreed to pay for the building (and ownership) of the downtown Museum Building,costing the property tax payers of Peoria County half a million dollars in maintenance, etc. in just the first 6 months of 2016.

Heddington Oaks is burning near $6 million yearly, with $34 million in interest costs on the existing 30 year bond. Rand says HO is "not for sale". True. Who would buy it when the 214 bed facility has an occupancy rate of 150-180 meaning at times there are up to 60 empty beds?

So the Demos are picking on the Sheriff, who just happens to be a Republican, and shorting him about a million bucks this year. McCoy says he will do the best he can and I don't doubt that for a minute.

Few people don't know and maybe don't care but Peoria taxpayers are going to see some serious taxes added to the already high taxes they are already paying. I decided not to run for a fourth term on the County Board because the last two years I was on the County Board, I fought against (and lost) all these unwise decisions with facts while a minority of others on the board were evidently not concerned. (Some pay less than $2000 a year property taxes) which may have been another determining factor.

And of course, certain unions have more power than other unions representing public workers. Like the AFMSCE who does not represent security officers.

Then, of course, was the constant pressure from the unions to build because they needed jobs. So all I predicted is coming to fruition. The City, #150, the Peoria Public Park system and soon the Peoria Public Libraries. Some of you might read what I blogged back in 2006 when Ed Szynaka slipped out of Indianapolis where he was "under fire" and was hired by a relatively inept Library Board. I visit Lakeview Library where the "pickins" are slim for CURRENT books on history and the fiction section is dominated by authors I have never heard of. The bookstacks are full but the aisles are basically empty.

When bloggers Bill Dennis and others published the story on Ed and I repeated it on my blog, Ed called me in print "a hateful Person". No my readers, just a person who keeps up with old and current facts.