CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

MAYOR, CITY OF PEKIN

8. What, if anything, should the City Council do to retain, expand and attract "head of household" jobs and new residents?

Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce: First, the City Council should make economic development a priority in the budget by funding a dedicated, full-time, economic development staff member and provide for economic development incentives. Second, the City Council should collaborate with the Greater Peoria EDC, other municipalities, the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce and other local and regional groups on economic development programs and initiatives. If we create new head of household jobs, new residents will follow.

Mark A. Luft: I feel the Council has worked hard to put our city in the best possible position to enhance our economic development opportunities.  These are not the days of businesses knocking on doors. The Internet has created a culture that has forced all communities to take a good look at their retail game plan. For example, in 2018 it was estimated that 18% of retail stores have closed across the country. We have seen this affect in our own community. The convenience of sitting at home on our computers and having just about any tangible item delivered has dramatically changed everything. We have to seek out economic development opportunities that the experience outweighs the convenience. Without economic development there is no wealth to share and all burdens will fall on the taxpayer. The Council has worked hard to put Pekin in better position to address these cultural changes. We have brought in a new Economic Development Director who has a proven success record and a clear understanding of where we need to go. We have also set a clear message to our economic “partnerships” that Pekin needed to be a priority. We also contracted with an Economic Development firm in Alabama who has an established relationship with brokers across the country. We need to take advantage of being on the river and having city owned property in an industrial park. We can use these assets as incentives to attract larger business opportunities. These assets can be used to make us attractive to new industry that we can use to seek out better opportunities for the city and gaining head of house jobs.

John McCabe: Infrastructure must be our area of focus in order to attract new business and retain the businesses we already have. Infrastructure is important to the future of Pekin so that we will have a solid foundation; this includes not just the infrastructure needed to attract and retain commercial business, but also the development of homes and the labor that entails. Our infrastructure focus must expand beyond Veterans Drive; we need a more concerted effort to bring all major thoroughfares up to an acceptable standard and maintained as such. I now serve as a voting member on the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council. With this position, I hope to steer more interest and opportunities Pekin’s way. The city has also hired a part-time economic development director. Working with him and the Pekin Area Chamber, we can draw more attention to what the city has to offer, such as the south side industrial park, Veterans’ Drive and our revitalized downtown.