First District Peoria City Council member Denise Jackson said the South Side is facing a “critical juncture” in pursuing stability, revitalization and economic progress.
Jackson, who was reelected last year to her second city council term, seeks to collect public input at an upcoming community forum examining the “state of the district.”
She said the discussion will look at redevelopment progress and focus on priorities such as public safety, homelessness, infrastructure and the need for more grocery stores to address a food desert.
At a news conference Tuesday announcing the July 29 forum, Jackson implored the Illinois Department of Transportation [IDOT] to prioritize upgrading the 1.5-mile section of Western Avenue that serves as Illinois Route 8, between Lincoln Avenue/Howett Street and Farmington Road.
“The city finished its portion of Western six years ago, and the plan was that IDOT was going to come in and start theirs. The city got theirs done,” said Jackson. “If we want to bring new businesses back, we need our infrastructure fixed up.”
Jackson stressed that the 1st District is more than just the South Side now, after the latest census-driven redistricting shifted boundaries to include some areas to the west and northwest of the Bradley University campus stretching close to Northwoods Mall.
During her comments at the Peoria Public Library's Lincoln Branch, Jackson said public safety on the South Side has been “compromised,” redevelopment efforts are “overdue,” and deadlines set for achieving community goals “have expired.”
The public forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. July 29 at the Gateway Building, with Peoria Park District Southern District Board Trustee Alex Sierra cohosting the event with Jackson.
“We’ve anchored our relationship in a shared belief that government works best when it listens first, when it collaborates often, and when it moves with purpose and intent,” said Sierra.
“We’re going to talk about the progress we’ve made. We’re going to talk about what our priorities are. But most importantly, we are going to be intentional about creating a platform where we can engage in dialog.”
Jackson said she’s been working to see if there’s a way to bring a new grocery store to the former Kroger location on Sterling Avenue that closed last year. She said Pastor Chuck Brown is expected to attend the public forum to give an update on the long-planned CJ Harvest grocery store at the former Aldi site on Western.
She said the conversation will also touch on the possibility of a housing development for homeless families at the site of the demolished Harrison School on West Krause Avenue.
“I am not opposed to housing for the homeless. We must find a way to deal with that problem,” said Jackson. “Housing for the homeless is an issue that the city council has yet to rectify. We have talked about it, but we have not found what I believe is a viable solution for beginning to address that problem.”
