Page 13 - Patrick Urich News Today

PEORIA — Over the past decade, pedestrian-friendly infrastructure improvements have been made in the Peoria Warehouse District — wider sidewalks and paving bricks among them. Patrons of Warehouse District restaurants and other businesses have been availing themselves of the upgrades. So has a growing cohort of Warehouse District residents, who occupy new apartments in rehabilitated old buildings. But in medium-sized Midwestern cities, even if neighborhoods are made for walking, people still...

PEORIA – City officials are asking their state legislative colleagues for a helping hand when it comes to the demolition of two former South Peoria school buildings that have sat empty and abandoned for years.  The two buildings in question, Harrison School, located in the 2700 block of West Krause St., and McKinley School, 1201 W. Adrian G. Hinton Ave., are "dangerous" and in need of demolition, said City Manager Patrick Urich. Both schools have been out of commission for years and hav...

City of Peoria YouTube Originally published on February 10, 2021 6:51 pm When it comes to the Peoria areas wishlist for state legislators, theres a lot of needs--from road repairs to renewing tax credits. But one item clearly comes in as the top priority. "Our number one item that has to be addressed. It needs to be in the largest font on that piece of paper. And it needs to be bold. And it needs to be underlined. And it needs to be, Help us address the pension," said Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis...

Cass Herrington / Peoria Public Radio The Peoria City Council delayed Tuesday night’s vote for the proposed tax abatement program in Peoria’s North Valley over concerns related to the required removal of dozens of properties from an overlapping TIF district. The council approved the deferral requested by 1st District council member Denise Moore, who said the city should use the additional time to provide information to owners of properties considered for TIF removal. Removal from the E...

Five candidates are seeking the mayoral seat, while 14 others are seeking five slots on the City Council

PEORIA — City leaders are looking to help businesses hurt by COVID-19 restrictions by cutting some of their costs associated with liquor license and video-gaming permits.  Taverns and eateries have been battered by the mitigations, which have barred in-person service for months at a time. And even when it was allowed, the seating capacity inside was limited.  So, City Hall is proposing changes to the liquor license renewals. But the key tenet is that only those who abide by the COVID-19 re...

PEORIA — The former owners of the Hotel Pere Marquette were indicted this week on charges of money laundering and mail fraud.  A 26-page indictment, returned late Tuesday, accuses Gary Matthews and Monte Brannan of diverting $750,000 of hotel funds to themselves after the hotel went into foreclosure. They are accused of taking approximately $1.6 million away from the hotels bank accounts and putting it into their own.  The charges allege the two men caused $13.8 million to be moved fro...

Peoria, IL, USA 104.9 The Wolf 1470 WMBD/Kristina Leahy PEORIA, Ill. – The City of Peoria has signed off on a long-range plan that aims gradually to eliminate its use of combined sewer overflow. The $109 million plan aims to fully reduce CSO by Dec. 31, 2039. The implementation of the plan comes by mandate of the Environmental Protection Agency in connection with the Clean Water Act. The act states municipalities cannot drain wastewater into federal waters without a permit. While Peoria has f...

City of Peoria The City of Peoria officially has a plan to address its combined sewer overflow problem. During a special meeting Tuesday, the City Council unanimously voted to approve a consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ending 14 years of negotiations over violations of the Clean Water Act. “We pivoted a number of years ago to come up with this, really what’s a 100% ‘green’ solution, the first in the country,” said Mayor Jim Ardis. “We really felt like ...

Dana Vollmer / WCBU Peoria Police Chief Loren Marion III is retiring next month. Marion has been with the Peoria Police Department for 26 years. Law enforcement careers are a family tradition. His grandfather, Frank Smith, was the Bellevue police chief. And Marions father was a Peoria patrolman for three decades before his 2009 retirement from the department. “I feel the Department is moving in the right direction. We are ahead of many agencies throughout the country in our policies/procedu...