District 4 in Peoria covers a diverse array of the city’s neighborhoods. It stretches across most of west and northwest Peoria, from the economic development of the Shoppes at Grand Prairie to some of the city’s most historically disadvantaged communities.
The candidates running to fill the city council seat for the next four years have similarly diverse viewpoints on the best way to serve the district.
Incumbent Andre Allen won election in 2021, after his opponent, Steve Kouri, withdrew to fulfill an appointment to the Illinois Human Rights Commission. Allen, the chief officer of diversity, equity and inclusion for Peoria County, said he offers institutional knowledge and solid relationships with the city’s stakeholders.
“I’m aware of all of the different relationships and the nuances that exist in city government,” Allen said. “That’s going to be very important, especially as you talk about what the next four years looks like for the City of Peoria, both from opportunities that will be available to us as a city, but then also to some of the challenges that we’re going to have to navigate.”
Challenger Jamie Messmore is running her first campaign for public office. The owner of three Molly Maid cleaning service franchises said her involvement in business and nonprofit fundraising work developed an interest in city government. Messmore moved to Peoria in 2008 and bought a franchise business here in 2016.
Business ownership is the primary difference Messmore highlights between herself and Allen.
“I know what it means to meet payroll, manage finances and drive economic growth and those are skills that directly translate to responsible city governance and skill sets I have that the incumbent does not,” she said.
“I own both residential and commercial property. I have a lot of personal stake in Peoria’s success and I would argue that the opponent does not have the same level of investment in our community.”
Allen argues he’s invested in Peoria with his time. He cites involvement with the Peoria Public Schools Foundation Board, mentorship programs at Sterling Middle School, the Tri-County Urban League Board and the board of directors for the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce as examples.
“I believe the constituents demonstrate and have seen the time I’ve put in through my civic engagement, my community service and ultimately, my role within the city council,” he said.
Both candidates listed public safety, improving roads and neighborhood infrastructure and economic development as priorities for their district and the city.
Messmore specifically also mentioned property taxes as a priority.
Economic development
Allen touts several actions from his first four years on the council as being major successes for economic development in District 4. He cites $323,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding distributed to the district’s small businesses, as well as attracting businesses like Aqua Tots, Academy Sports and Raising Canes.
“I’ve been a part of all of those conversations from the time where they’ve expressed interest that they want to connect with the City of Peoria, to helping them navigate different nuances, whether that’s connecting with staff or through the permit process,” said Allen.
On the topic of economic development, Messmore mentions a business leaving for East Peoria — the Best Buy on North Big Hollow Road — that announced a move to East Peoria early this year. She thinks Peoria’s sales tax revenues will feel the strain of businesses choosing to leave the area.
“When things like that are happening, it starts to compound. And when Peoria hits budget shortfalls, it’s harder to find places to turn,” Messmore said.
Allen said he’s not concerned about filling the spot vacated by Best Buy.
“I’ve been in contact with the leadership over at Glen Hollow Shopping Center. We’ve received a lot of interest in that Best Buy space, and similar to how we were very resilient when Gordman’s left the Shoppes at Grand Prairie area, were able to get Academy Sports and Outdoor, we’ll be able to do the same thing at the Best Buy location,” said Allen. “I’m very confident in that.”
Messmore said encouraging further business development could be achieved by improving city efficiency, “cutting red tape and rolling out the red carpet,” particularly when it comes to waiting on permits and code enforcement.
She argues it costs businesses money every single day.
“It’s easy for us to turn around and say ‘Oh, this is the process and this is what we have to do,’” said Messmore. “But when you are the person who is putting your time, energy, effort and money into something, you definitely want the city to be as supportive of you as you are being of the city when you’re looking to open your business there.”
Allen also believes efficiency in the city’s business development office can be improved.
“We just hired a second building inspector. And when you talk about a business wanting to come to Peoria and open up shop, when you only have one person doing that, that creates a challenge,” he said.
He said the economic development department is three people in total, andsuggests considering hiring more staff, or utilizing tools like automation and artificial intelligence to streamline the process.
Both candidates broadly agree Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts have been successful in incentivizing development in some parts of Peoria, though further TIFs would require careful consideration.
The candidates do not agree on the city’s purchase of the downtown PNC Bank building from Cullinan Properties to hold for a suitable developer.
Allen said the status of the Chase Bank building, currently a subject of extensive code enforcement issues, concerned the council.
“We were concerned that we were going to possibly have two of our most critical assets in downtown Peoria in the central business district and we couldn’t afford to have both of those in the wrong hands, we just couldn’t do it,” said Allen.
He claims it’s “apples and oranges” to compare the purchase of the PNC Bank building to the money lost in the developer fraud surrounding the Pere Marquette hotel project. The city issued bonds for Pere Marquette, while PNC was purchased through the general fund.
“The city has so many other priorities that I don’t think they should be involved in that type of business whatsoever,” said Messmore, adding the city doesn’t have a good track record with owning property and it ultimately becomes a “drain on taxpayers.”
“I support the city getting back to basics,” she said.
Property taxes
Property taxes are a concern frequently raised by Peoria residents. Messmore said the same is true of District 4 residents she’s spoken with.
“The city council needs to stop using the tax base as their personal piggy bank and find other ways to generate revenue that, again, won’t burden the taxpayers,” she said.
Some of those options, she said, include attracting and retaining business, or examining city services to identify redundancy or bloat that could be cut.
“I think, historically, the Peoria City Council has had somewhat of a reputation for not being proactive and being more reactive to these things,” she said. “So, I think the earlier that you start to have those conversations, the better. Then you’re not backed up against a wall with nowhere else to turn.”
Messmore said she also would have supported a proposed freeze to the city’s tax levy that narrowly failed to pass the council late last year.
Allen stresses that around 11% of total property taxes go to the city, while the rest is to libraries, schools and other taxing bodies. He said he couldn’t support freezing the tax levy while the city is still waiting for legislator intervention for mounting pension obligations.
“What I say is in 2028, the bonds for the Civic Center that we pay for renovations come off the books. In 2033, the bonds that we pay to the Pere Marquette fiasco come off the books, so that’s going to free up some revenue as well too,” said Allen.
Allen said the city also could consider issuing municipal bonds to fund the pension obligation, a move recently undertaken by the Illinois city of Kankakee.
Public safety
Allen said “perception is reality” when it comes to public safety in Peoria. Even if the Peoria Police Department is reporting pre-COVID homicide numbers, there should be active violence prevention efforts.
Allen points to American Rescue Plan funding awarded to various organizations in multiple rounds from the council over the last two years, adding those investments in the community and grassroots organizations will take more time to develop.
“You’re going to see the return on investment when you had that kid that was in six grade involved in this after-school program and then 15 years later, he’s a college graduate, he’s getting married, he’s buying a home, and he can point back to the mentor he had,” said Allen.
He also thinks building out organizations like the Peoria Safety Network and the Peoria Role Model project will continue to build public confidence in safety.
Messmore thinks more resources need to be allocated to the Peoria Police Department, adding the force is relatively young and needs increased support for training and recruitment.
“I certainly think that the more officers we have and the better plan that we have will help to decrease those crime levels,” she said.
At the same time, Messmore said the city should still consider other avenues to address crime, like after-school activities, mentor programs and partnerships with social service agencies.
She said this is particularly applicable to increasingly frequent juvenile crime.
“The mother in me thinks there’s something that we have to do as a society to help these kids, before they’re getting to that point and ruining their lives,” she said.
Homelessness
The candidates also differ somewhat on their approach to the issue of unhoused communities and encampments in Peoria.
Allen voted against the “encampment ban” ordinance that caused debate among the council. The legislation bans unauthorized camping in public with the possibility of fines and jail time.
Messmore would have voted for the ban, saying it was “what needed to be done at that point.”
“I think when you get into making exceptions and bending things, it just gets convoluted and it gets confusing,” she said. “So, absolutely, I would have supported it. But also with the understanding that this population was going to get the assistance they needed in one way or another.”
Allen said he could not vote for a version of the ordinance that included jail time as a possible punishment, especially while area shelters told the city council they did not have enough beds for the entire unhoused population.
He said upcoming projects from the Salvation Army and Phoenix Community Development Services aimed at providing more shelter options for Peoria’s homeless may have made support of the measure easier, if they were already finished.
“Time will tell, because the weather has broke and you’re going to have individuals, because of their lifestyle choice, who are going to want to live outside, regardless if they have a bed to stay in or not,” said Allen.
Both candidates said conversations need to happen between the city and social service providers to eventually develop a long-term solution.
Both also credit the nonprofit Lula for operating a makeshift shelter in a motel for encampment members. Lula’s shelter project is set to receive totals in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in combined American Rescue Plan act and state funding.
Allen has voted in support of multiple measures extending the funding and the operation of the temporary shelter. Messmore said she would be more hesitant to provide the funding to Lula, specifically mentioning the increase of the first round of funding from $10,000 to $80,000.
“I do believe that more due diligence needed to be done before we’re just throwing money at a problem and hoping it goes away, because, again, as the last round of funding, the issue did not go away,” said Messmore. “And these people who are unhoused, yes, they are safe and they are fed, and for that, I’m very grateful for, but I don’t know that today, aside from that, they’re any better off than they were when they went into the hotel.”
The general election is April 1.
