"The best is yet to come" for Peoria was the central theme of Peoria Mayor Rita Ali's 2024 State of the City Address delivered Thursday night at the Haven on the Farm event space.
In a speech in which she touted the city's five-year strategic plan, Ali centered her focus on the city's efforts to revitalize Downtown Peoria, combat violent crime and improvements in quality of life.
Mayor says city is committed to downtown growth
Residential development is what Ali said Thursday night would be key to the future of Downtown Peoria.
Ali highlighted the 512 residential units coming online in Peoria's Warehouse District through a handful of development projects as evidence that demand to live in Downtown Peoria and the Warehouse District is high.
She said that residential growth will help anchor commercial growth downtown, including the hope to lure a grocery store and pharmacy downtown.
A $26 million plan unveiled by the city last year to revitalize the Peoria riverfront was also touted by Ali as a major project coming to Downtown Peoria.
Jefferson and Adams streets one-way to two-way conversion, sidewalk reconstruction and a $52 million redevelopment plan for Main Street were also highlighted by Ali as major developments for downtown.
The completion of OSF HealthCare's new cancer institute in Peoria is something Ali said is expected to have a $1 billion impact on the Peoria economy over the next 10 years.
Crime is down in 2024, but battle far from finished
Violent crime in 2024, like shootings and homicides, are both down in 2024 over this time in 2023, Ali said, crediting violence prevention efforts in the city centered on youth intervention.
Shooting victims are down 23%, shooting incidents are down 14% and shooting homicides are down 20% in 2024 over this same time last year, Ali said.
The Peoria Police Department's targeted patrols, updated police technology like license plate readers, the mayor's youth internship program and a partnership with schools are among the things Ali credits for a reduction in crime.
Yet, Ali said the influx of youth crime in Peoria is still the "most frustrating" part of her job as mayor.
"We are not throwing in the towel," Ali said in her speech.
Last year was a particularly challenging time for crime in Peoria. In 2023, the city saw 25 homicides, tied for its second most ever; shootings were up 22%; and total rounds fired were up 7% in 2023.
Ali said the city will work to address "root cause issues" of crime so that "everyone feels safe in Peoria."
Quality of life, infrastructure improvements highlighted by mayor
Peoria is set to see $101.4 million in infrastructure investments in 2024 and another $70.5 million in 2025 as part of capital improvements Ali touted as moving the city forward in her address.
Particularly road projects on Wisconsin Avenue, Glen Avenue, MacArthur Highway and Pioneer Parkway were specifically mentioned by Ali as being significant in the city's overall infrastructure plan.
The creation of three new tax-increment financing districts — the Distillery TIF, Galena Road TIF and Medina Plains TIF — were touted by Ali as being critical to business growth in the city along with the anticipated opening of Distillery Labs in Downtown Peoria.
Ali said the TIFs are going to help "neglected and/or under-optimized areas of the city."
Peoria will be prepared for more business growth as it will set up "shovel ready" projects to attract businesses and will "support programs and create opportunities and resources for new entrepreneurs."
Ali also made sure to mention the progress of what has been one of her signature efforts as mayor to bring Amtrak passenger rail to Peoria. This year, Peoria was added to the federal corridor identification program for passenger rail, a major step toward making passenger rail a reality in Peoria.
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