PEORIA, Ill. – Two of the three candidates for mayor of Peoria made their cases to voters before February’s primary during a Monday night debate.
Mayor Rita Ali and Councilman John Kelly participated in a mayoral forum, hosted by the NAACP Peoria chapter and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. The third candidate in the race, Councilman Chuck Grayeb, declined to participate.
A wide range of topics were brought up by forum moderation, NAACP Peoria chapter president Marvin Hightower.
One of the early topics asked about was the city’s continuing homelessness problem. In November of last year, the city council passed a public camping ban, aimed at eliminating homeless encampment sites in Peoria. Earlier this month, the council approved supporting Lula NFP up to $80,000 through the end of February for costs relating to housing the homeless population in hotels.
Kelly says the city needs to develop a solution that he believes are the root causes of the problem in Peoria, substance abuse and mental illness.
“We need detox centers, we need recovery housing, a staffed environment, where all residents are trying to get out from under their addictions, as opposed to just warehousing the homeless,” Kelly said.
Kelly also stated he was against the fines in the November ordinance, but agreed with the jail time as a motivation to get people off the streets. Ali came out in favor of creating more housing for people to live in and supporting local non-profits tackling the issue.
A topic making national headlines was brought up by Hightower, immigration. Hightower asked the candidates if they supported efforts by Governor J.B. Pritzker to protect undocumented immigrants in Peoria and the state.
Ali came out against efforts by President Trump to end birthright citizenship in the country, and says it’s a “difficult time” in America. She said she’s proud of Pritzker and the state taking a “strong stand,” saying people are “scared” and “afraid.”
“We can’t just ignore some of these things like they didn’t happen, like they’re not going on,” Ali said. “We do have to stand firm on issues that we feel strongly about, issues of the heart, issues of protecting people.”
Ali says the city cannot draft an ordinance to stop ICE enforcement efforts, but can do all they can to protect immigrants.
Kelly came out against Pritzker’s efforts and says he stands with the law, citing conversations with those who have taken the proper steps to become an American citizen. He also took issue with people conflating legal and illegal immigration as all one thing.
Another topic Hightower asked the candidates was whether they supported the plans to build a passenger rail line between Peoria and Chicago. The project is receiving support on a state and federal level, and would be the first time Peoria received passenger rail service since the 1980’s, if built.
Ali says the service would provide an opportunity to bring more people into the city, and give a boost to the economy. She claimed during the debate that 93% of people surveyed in the Peoria area would use the service in some way.
Kelly came out against the rail service, saying he has concerns about how long it would take the city to pay off a newly-built train depot.
“Based on projected ridership, Amtrak would decide to pull the train service in about five years, leaving Peoria stuck with an expensive, under-utilized facility and a mountain of debt,” Kelly said.
The mayoral primary is scheduled for February 25th, with early voting underway. The top two after the primary will face-off in the April 1st municipal election.
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