March 2026 Heights News Roundup

Limited new housing inventory and the need for a full-service grocery store in Peoria Heights have Mayor Matt Wigginton seeking a partnership with other local governments to offer real estate tax rebates to those who would help fill those gaps.

Wigginton said he wants to work with the Peoria Heights School District, Library District and Richwoods Township to create a pilot program to provide a significant break in property taxes for three years, “not a giveaway but a targeted, temporary incentive.”

The mayor said he wants to model the program on a similar intergovernmental agreement in Oswego, Ill.

It’s important to send the message to prospective investors and builders that “Peoria Heights is unified, Peoria Heights is serious, Peoria Heights is ready to partner,” said Wigginton. “Peoria Heights has always succeeded when we work together.”

Wigginton received a consensus from other trustees to pursue the agreement.

Trustee Elizabeth Khazzam called it “a great idea” and said she was “in full favor.”

In other action or discussion:

  • The Village Board voted to communicate its intent to award a contract of up to $2.7 million to J.C. Dillon plumbing for lead service line replacement. The award is based on a per-unit price, so the cost ultimately could be less as further investigation reveals how many lead lines there actually are.

  • The Village Board authorized the borrowing of up to $9.5 million from the state’s Public Water Supply loan program for a new water treatment plant in the Village.

The loan program provides lower-than-market interest rates, but in this case could be forgiven in all or in part.

  • The Village Board voted to spend $201,500 on a final balloon payment for a fire truck and agreed that ongoing maintenance and replacement of Village equipment, especially in the public safety sector, needs to be a bigger priority.

“With public safety, there is no second place,” said Trustee Nate Steinwedel. “It’s a no-failure mission.”

Meanwhile, the Village also will spend $47,500 on a new police vehicle, as well as more than $78,000 on two Public Works vehicles. All the purchases come with trade-ins, on vehicles that tend to be durable. The new Ford models for Public Works, for example, will “be here longer than me,” joked Public Works Superintendent Chris Chandler.

Wigginton noted that the money for the vehicles comes out of the Village’s budget surplus, which has become an annual thing given the administration’s and Board’s fiscal discipline. “Pretty impressive,” he said.

  • The Village Board approved the expenditure of $340,000 of motor fuel tax funds for the purchase of road salt, sealcoating and spray patching materials as well as engineering services in 2026-27.

  • The Village Board voted to cede its unused bonding authority to the Tri-County River Valley Development Authority for use in the immediate region.

The Village’s borrowing capacity is set by the state based on its population, which in this case is set at $135 per head for a total of more than $783,000. If the Heights or any other community doesn’t tap into those available funds in any given year, such capacity is returned to the state for use elsewhere. This is an annual thing and keeps the borrowing capacity in local hands while preserving it as a future repository of funds. In short, just because Peoria Heights may not need to borrow against that capacity now does not mean it won’t in the future, when those accumulated funds may also be available to the Village including those borrowing caps transferred from other Peoria area communities.

  • The Village Board is considering a site plan for a new outdoor patio at The 33 Room, which is part of the old Pabst Building. The addition will provide accessibility to those compromised by disabilities and will almost double the capacity of the bar. The issue was deferred to a future meeting to determine whether bathrooms also can be added.

  • The Village Board approved an alternative site for the annual Mt. Moon music festival, which now will be in the 1300 block of Kelly Avenue at the Café Santa Rosa coffee shop location, formerly the Betty Jayne Brimmer Center for the Performing Arts. The road will be closed for the festival on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 29-30. All proceeds from the music fest go to an area charity.

Mt. Moon organizers initially had requested closure of Prospect Road for those dates, which then prompted a Board debate regarding the use of the primary downtown thoroughfare for private causes. The potential inconvenience and confusion for downtown businesses and motorists were cited as primary concerns, along with a reticence to establish a new precedent. Currently, portions of Prospect are closed only for large, public events such as the Taste of the Heights, the Fine Art Fair and the St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

“No one here wants to see you not succeed. We’re in your corner,” said Steinwedel. “We have to look out for the entire community.”

Ultimately, both sides expressed satisfaction with the compromise.

  • The Village Board renewed its license with Peoria Pedicab LLC, which conducts bicycle-powered transportation to visitors on Prospect Road and Grandview Drive during the summer months.

  • Tower Park will be reserved for the annual #GIRLSDAY celebration on Saturday, Oct. 10 from noon to 3 p.m. The event serves as a fundraiser for the Center for Prevention of Abuse.

Tower Park also will host the second annual Howlin’ Halloween Bash on Saturday, Oct. 31 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • Mayor Matt Wigginton reappointed Greg Fletcher to the Police Pension Board. His term will expire in 2028.

  • The “Welcome to Peoria Heights” signs have been purchased and are being installed at various entrances to the community. Illinois Route 29 has one now. The flag commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary, donated by Trustee Teresa Symmonds, also is flying in Poplar Lane Park

Spring Hydrant Flushing

Hydrant flushing will be completed in your area the week of April 6 through April 10

Dates and Locations.

Monday, April 6,
North of Seiberling, west of Prospect.

Tuesday, April 7,
East of Prospect from Glen to Voss including Grandview Drive.

Wednesday, April 8,
Galena area below the bluff.

Thursday, April 9,
West of Prospect from Hines to Toledo.

Friday, April 10,
South of Hines, west of Prospect.

The Peoria Heights semi-annual hydrant flushing program helps clear naturally occurring mineral deposits from the water mains as well as exercises fire hydrants for emergency use.

Hydrant flushing will occur on these days from 7:30am to 3:30pm. Use of water for laundry purposes is not advisable during flushing due to the possibility of discoloration.

This condition does not pose any health hazard.

The hydrant flushing program will begin on Monday, April 6, and continue through Friday, April 10, weather and schedule permitting.

For further information, please call the Water Office at: (309) 686-2375.

Thank you

 

Chris Chandler

Superintendent of Public Works

Village Board repeals grocery tax

Village Board repeals grocery tax

The Peoria Heights Village Board has overturned a 1 percent local grocery tax set to take effect on July 1 following a ballot question in which voters expressed their displeasure with the tax by a lopsided margin.

Trustees voted unanimously on Wednesday to rescind the tax with nearly three in four voters marking the circle next to “no” on their ballots.

While there was agreement on following the expressed will of voters, some disagreement remained on the best path forward over the long haul regarding an issue that has taken a long and winding path over the last six months. First the Board voted 5-1 last fall to impose a local grocery tax to replace the statewide one that was expiring on Jan. 1 of this year, which was then followed by an unprecedented mayoral veto, with the Board then voting 4-2 to override that veto along with a decision to go directly to voters for their input.

That brought the Village to Tuesday’s election and Wednesday’s special meeting to address the outcome. Again, passionate views were expressed on both sides.

Trustee Nate Steinwedel asked for “a little bit of a mindset change” regarding how to approach the impending loss of approximately $125,000 in annual revenue from the tax, urging the Village to take steps to facilitate more economic development and tax base growth as opposed to grabbing “every dollar that we can taxwise.

“Looking at the numbers, Illinois, out of all 50 states, we have the highest tax burden … We beat New York. We beat California,” he said. “We have to say, ‘At what point is enough?’ How much does the government need to consume of our residents’ income?

“We are listening to the people in the community and what they’re saying to us, that literally they’re being taxed to death. We’ve got to stop at some point.”

Trustee Brandon Wisenburg, perhaps the most vocal among the trustees regarding his opposition to the grocery tax, applauded the end of what he referred to as “this evil, regressive tax” and characterized both the state’s abolition and the Village’s as “a good step for working families.”

“If we expect our residents to live within their means, they should expect the same of us,” he said.

Local residents “don’t run their families with massive surpluses. They balance their checkbooks. They make tough choices every day. When their income is flat, they cut expenses. They just don’t go looking for more money from their neighbors’ pockets.

“The voters made their choice perfectly clear … I stand with the majority of citizens who do not want more local taxes.”

Others were less enthusiastic.

Trustee Elizabeth Khazzam emphasized that she was “very sympathetic” to the inflationary pressures that many families are facing but suggested that the Village’s repeal of the tax does not mean they are escaping it.

Especially with the impending closure of the Save A Lot store, “I fear that our residents will be forced to shop in surrounding communities that do charge the 1 percent tax,” she said. “I sincerely hope that we will not have to revisit this down the road.”

Trustee Sarah DeVore sounded a similar note, saying that the Village’s aging infrastructure needs are real after decades of deferred maintenance and that a reliable revenue stream of the sort that the Village is now surrendering is necessary to make those essential improvements.   

The Village is “choosing not to collect revenues from non-residents,” and potentially, local government services could suffer as a result, she indicated.

Ultimately, all voted to reverse course on the tax.

“I’m very proud of this Board. I’m proud of all of you for having a very thoughtful conversation for the better part of a year on this,” said Mayor Matt Wigginton. “I know not all of us agreed.

“I admire your courage of conviction and staying true to where you were. But I also admire your willingness to go to the public, to the people of Peoria Heights, to ask them where they fell on this issue. That’s something unique to Peoria Heights, where we asked the people what their opinion was. I think tonight we have the opportunity to tell them, ‘We hear you loud and clear.’”