District 2 council member Chuck Grayeb is putting his support behind Peoria's incumbent mayor after narrowly missing a second-place finish in the primary election.
Grayeb endorsed Mayor Rita Ali Monday during a news conference at the Pere Marquette Marriott Hotel in Peoria. The hotel sits in the heart of downtown, an area added to Grayeb’s district just a few years ago during redistricting.
Grayeb represented the wider district on the council for more than a decade and vacated the seat for the 2025 mayoral race. He recalled Ali’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and her priorities in maintaining “core basic services.”
“I think our overarching philosophy of government is very close,” Grayeb said of Ali. “While none of us want to see government out of control or expanding beyond what it should, government is an instrument that can do great things for people, and it must be used very carefully, as our founding fathers told us.”
Grayeb said the pandemic was a good example of the necessity of government assistance.
On the campaign trail, Grayeb and Ali had traded criticisms and presented differing views on the best path to address issues faced by the City of Peoria. For example, the mayor did not support the homeless encampment ban championed by Grayeb and other council members.
Ali says a discussion between the two last week further clarified common shared goals: reducing crime and improved perception of safety, seeking answers for juvenile crime and parents of delinquent juveniles, and increasing the walkability and business attraction of Peoria.
“The reality is that Councilman Grayeb and I have more in common than not,” said Ali. “We just sometimes have different approaches to achieve our mutually desired results.”
Grayeb expanded on his endorsement by saying Ali’s general opponent, at-large council member John Kelly, had crossed a “red line” by engaging in “dirty campaigning.”
“Have those debates, you can discuss sharp differences. But don’t lie about your opponent, your opponent’s record” he said. “Keep it clean, and that’s all I ever asked of any of my opponents.”
Specifically, Grayeb pointed to a claim that he hadn’t voted on a proposal to freeze Peoria’s tax levy circulated by Kelly in a campaign mailer. Grayeb did vote for the proposal.
Kelly did not immediately respond to a request for comment from WCBU.
Ali said she “humbly” accepted Grayeb’s endorsement. With just three weeks until the general election, Ali says she plans to include more focus on Peoria’s housing in her campaign.
“We need to attract developers to be able to build in Peoria. We need to identify land that is buildable in Peoria,” she said.
A mayoral debate between Ali and Kelly airs on WCBU on March 19. The general election is April 1.
