PEORIA, Ill. — Peoria Mayor Rita Ali addressed the media Thursday, marking her first 100 days in office.
“Outside of motherhood, it is the most important job I’ve ever had, and I’m committed to giving my all for my hometown of Peoria,” Ali said in a letter to Peorians.
Ali wrote the following letter to Peoria citizens:
Dear Fellow Peorians,
It has been one hundred days since I took the oath of
office as Peoria’s Mayor. Outside of motherhood, it is
the most important job I’ve ever had, and I’m committed
to giving my all for my hometown of Peoria. I promised
that, if elected, I would serve as a “full-time mayor for all
of Peoria”. In keeping with that promise, on June 30th, I retired early from my Vice President
position at Illinois Central College and began working in my role as mayor without the
distraction of another full-time job. I now have one job and that is to serve you by working to
build a stronger, safer, and smarter city.Since my inauguration, I have had the pleasure of meeting with more than 500 individuals that have shared their thoughts and ideas, organizational goals, concerns, and many that just wanted to say, “we’re pulling for you” or “we’re praying for you.” I cherish each of these interactions because I know that my success means Peoria’s success, and that’s something we all want.
The First 100 Days Summary Report outlines some of the progress the city has made in six key areas over the past one hundred days. Those areas include economic and job development, population growth, neighborhood safety, education and the arts, equity, and creating increased public engagement and government transparency. While one hundred days is a short amount of time to expect big changes to occur, I hope you will agree that we’re off to a Strong Start.
During her address, Ali highlighted multiple areas of success in her time as mayor thus far.
On the topic of economic development, Ali said approximately 30 new businesses have opened since she became mayor.
According to Ali, she has also had meetings with presidents of Illinois Central College and Bradley University about workforce development and expanded opportunities for local jobs.
On the topic of population growth, Ali highlighted her conversation last week with former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood when they discussed bringing high-speed passenger rail to Peoria.
New Census data will be released in September, which will create a “benchmark” for population growth, Ali said.
“Population growth will stem from a combination of economic development activities, land use, transportation, housing, urban amenities, and entrepreneurship,” Ali’s summary report said.
Ali went on to discuss neighborhood safety and what is being done to address gun violence in the city.
Besides the hiring of new Police Chief Eric Echevarria, Ali has assembled 50 people tasked with creating community-based solutions to address gun violence in Peoria.
According to Ali, that group meets bi-weekly and has met twice at the Peoria Police Department.
Ali also touted the created of S-NET, a safety network for connecting all programs, groups, organizations, and individuals who work to address the issues of violent crime in Peoria.
Ali fulfilled her promise of becoming a full-time mayor on June 30, when she retired early as Vice President of Illinois Central College.
“I can’t even envision doing this job on a part-time basis or with the distraction of another full-time job,” said Ali. “One thing that surprised me about my role is the significant amount of demand for the mayor’s time.”
Ali said one of the things she is proudest of during her first 100 days is the number of people she has been able to network with on a local, state, and federal level.
Ali has met with U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos and Darin LaHood and Senator Dick Durbin to secure funding for various projects in Peoria.
In her next 100 days, Ali said she wants to continue what’s being started.
“I want to continue to the work we’ve started here in all these different progress areas,” said Ali. “Economic development is critical — we have to draw and attract more businesses to Peoria — we have to create more jobs for Peoria.”
The full summary report from Ali’s first 100 days can be found here.
