The same day Caterpillar announced its plans to move 300 of its top executives to Chicago, more than 350 people attended a town hall conversation focused on racial disparities in Peoria.
It was the second meeting of that size on the subject. The town hall series was prompted by income and employment disparity statistics that earned Peoria a “worst place for African Americans to live” designation in a widely circulated report last fall.
City Manager Patrick Urich says in addition to the dialogue, attendees also signed up for task forces in specific areas like workforce and economic development, homeownership and financial literacy as well as health and justice.
“It was nice to have the conversation to really frame up the dialog from the community but it’s also nice to see people signing up saying they want to continue to be involved,” Urich said.
People also signed-up for service committees focused on areas including education and workforce development, home ownership and financial literacy and health and justice. The next community meeting on racial disparity is expected in about a month. A calendar of meetings and events is expected to presented.