Quick note of Congratulations and notification of Transparency in Government meeting.

Well, how about that? The Peoria Journal Star did their research and concluded what others and I have been telling you for a couple of weeks now. C. J. Summers, Beth Akeson, and Chuck Weaver have all gotten endorsements from the Journal Star, while Spain and Turner are the people to remove. Rather than repeat their already informative and well-researched articles, which are available in today's paper as well as at pjstar.com, I'll just add my recommendations for all three candidates as people who have exceptional skills and a real desire to return to a constituent based vision for Peoria. We need council members who will consider the desires of the citizens first, not empire builders with some esoteric vision of what the future could be. We need to get our crime problems solved, rebuild our infrastructure, and get our school district back on track before we worry about other problems. We also need to listen to the citizens who want the council to respond accordingly when an overwhelming number of citizens say NO to sweetheart deals, back room politics, and outright cronyism. We need fresh blood and fresh ideas to help Councilman Sandberg on the council.




Transparency in Government

Now that the rant is out of my system, another announcement for you all. Brian Costin of the Illinois Policy Institute will be the guest speaker at the monthly Peoria 9/12 Project on Thursday, April 21st at 6 p.m.. Doors will open at 5:30 and the meeting will begin at 6 p.m. The subject of the talk centers around making local government transparent to the voters and citizens.

A short biography of Brian Costin

bcostin@illinoispolicy.org

Brian Costin joined the Illinois Policy Institute in January of 2010.  Previously, he worked for the Heartland Institute as assistant director of government relations. Brian has been active in the Institute’s Liberty Leaders project, which he now leads, and founded the Schaumburg Freedom Coalition, where he won the 2010 Government Watchdog Award from the Sam Adams Alliance for his work exposing government waste & fraud in his hometown of Schaumburg.

Brian graduated with distinction from North Park University where he received a Master in Management of Nonprofit Administration. While attending North Park University, Brian worked for UPS in operations management and business development. As an undergraduate at Illinois State University, Brian completed a Bachelors of Science degree, double majoring in Economics and Politics & Governance. 

Brian’s work has earned coverage from national and state media outlets, such as the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald, and Chicago Tonight.  He is a regular guest on the nationally syndicated television show First Business and the Mornings with Ray Hanania radio show. 

Click here to view policy reports, articles, and other work by Brian Costin. 

Bill Lopotko and I will be on hand to accept volunteer applications for learning more about how you can be involved in helping to create a more easily accessible government here in Peoria.