Local news wrap-up

A new TIF District and more


The Village intends to add a fourth tax increment financing (TIF) district, this one to encourage economic development along the Heights’ riverfront.


TIF is an economic development tool wherein a local municipal government designates an area of land for a period of time, freezes its property tax value, incentivizes private investment there with public funds and then uses the additional tax revenue generated by the development to pay for infrastructure (roads, water pipes, etc.) and other costs. Generally speaking, TIF funds are supposed to be used in areas of decline where, the argument goes, investment would not occur without them. By law, the term of the TIF would be a maximum of 23 years.


In this case, the Village has targeted the area along Illinois Route 29 from the bluff to the river, between Gardner Lane and just north of the McClugage Bridge. Much of the area is commercial or industrial, with a smattering of residential on both sides of the road.    


The Village’s Bloomington-based economic development consultant has identified 450 properties in that Route 29 corridor, 364 of which have a building on them. There are 86 vacant lots. About 90 percent of those properties are in need of “a little love,” said Steve Kline, president and CEO of The Economic Development Group. Many of them are at risk of further deterioration, he said.


While this TIF District and the pending Route 29 reconstruction are separate projects, the state’s focus on the corridor with nearly $90 million in pending reinvestment makes it “ripe” for development and is a primary reason behind this TIF, said Kline. The Village hopes to “piggyback” on that attention by tangibly encouraging private investment there, said Mayor Matt Wigginton.


There is a fair amount of public confusion and sometimes concern regarding TIFs, acknowledged Kline, but it doesn’t mean a tax increase or a surrender of control over anyone’s property. It has nothing to do with eminent domain, which means a forcible government purchase of a property, he said.


Fundamentally it’s just a reallocation of property tax and sometimes sales tax revenues that are diverted from a local government’s general fund to a separate TIF fund – fundamentally a “lockbox,” said the mayor -- to be used to assist development in that specific corridor. It can affect the budgets of other governing bodies such as school districts though other arrangements can be made. Peoria Heights, for example, has made efforts to compensate School District 325 for its loss of revenues during the life of the TIF.


At a recent hearing, residents had questions about whether the TIF could be used to address unkempt properties – the answer is no, as that’s a code enforcement issue – whether current property owners would have any say over the types of development to come, which is predominantly a zoning issue, and what will become of Roosevelt Road, where vehicle traffic is now restricted to emergency vehicles and to residents who live there.


Recipients of TIF funds must enter into a development contract with the Village. “It’s a very transparent process,” said Kline.


In other recent business:


  • The Village Board approved a TIF agreement with assistance for a five-townhome project at 1201 E. Duryea.


Florida-based developers King/Donnellan Joint Venture, LLC and William and Roberta King are behind the $2.75 million project, which will be aided by up to $828,000 in property tax reimbursements over the next 16 years. The developers’ TIF-eligible costs in this case include land acquisition, site preparation and utilities extension. They purchased the property from Larry Herman, the developer of the Twelve21 Duryea apartment project.


  • The Village Board approved a $412,500 contract with Missouri-based water consultant Woodard & Curran for design and construction services regarding replacement of a water main beneath Illinois Route 29, in coordination with the pending $90 million road reconstruction there. The firm will work closely with the Illinois Department of Transportation, which will determine the timing of the project and the placement of the line.


The Village will be replacing 8,000 linear feet of six-inch drinking water main and 2,200 linear feet of 12-inch raw water main at a total cost topping $2 million, with about half of that covered by a federal grant secured through the office of Congressman Eric Sorensen. The Village’s portion of the project will be paid for through a 40-year, low-interest loan, said engineering consultant Mark Lee.


The current main dates to 1970. “This is the time to replace it, not 100 years later,” said Heights Public Works Superintendent Chris Chandler.


At no time will residents of the area be without water, said Lee.


  • The Village Board unanimously approved another contract with Woodard & Curran, this one for $250,000, to oversee lead service line replacement in the Village in 2026. The work will include engineering, design and contract bidding. Approximately 275 local service lines will be addressed in the coming year.


The work is being funded mostly through grants and forgivable or low-interest loans.    


“They understand our system,” said Trustee Teresa Symmonds, who encouraged a “yes” vote on the contract.


  • The Village Board continues to discuss the future of garbage service in the community, even though the Village still has more than two years left on its contract with GFL Environmental.


Trustee Brandon Wisenburg has advocated for taking the Village out of the waste-hauling equation and letting residents contract for garbage service on their own, noting that there are just two companies that serve this part of central Illinois for the most part, that “you can’t really call that competition,” and that theoretically, with competition “the cost should come down.” The Village used to subsidize garbage pickup but no longer does.


Others including Village Administrator Dustin Sutton have noted that there are “advantages and disadvantages” to letting residents do their own thing regarding the removal of waste, among the latter the risk that many residents wouldn’t have their trash removed at all, with it ending up not in a landfill but in local alleys and other undesirable places. Meanwhile, letting residents secure pickup on their own might actually drive up costs as waste haulers forfeit the economies of scale that come with a community-wide contract. Public Works Supervisor Chris Chandler  cautioned that the wear and tear on Village roads of having more garbage trucks on local roads could affect the Village’s bottom line, as well.


“We need a lot more investigation,” said Sutton.


  • Trustees learned that the fourth annual Mt. Moon Festival in Peoria Heights last August raised some $10,260 for charity, specifically this year for homelessness outreach and transitional housing. Organizers of the two-day music festival and street party said they hope to return to the Village for their event in 2026 and that they intend to do a better job of working with the Chamber of Commerce in communicating the road closure.

State of the Village 2025

State of the Village 2025

With gratitude for the present and optimism for the future, Peoria Heights Mayor Matt Wigginton used his State of the Village address Thursday to tell a Chamber of Commerce audience that there has been “a lot of good news” locally in 2025 and to prepare for more of it in 2026.

For starters, Wigginton said that he will be proposing a property tax rate cut for fiscal year 2027 at next Tuesday’s Village Board meeting to compensate for the rise in local real estate values over the last year.

While that runs counter to what many municipalities are doing, Wigginton said the Village is well-positioned to absorb any forfeited revenues with multiple consecutive years of surplus budgets, ample reserves and fiscally sound practices such as keeping up with employee pension payments.

If the Village Board concurs, it won’t make a huge difference in local property tax bills, acknowledged the mayor, as the Village’s portion of that bill amounts to just about 4.2 percent, since local government relies most heavily on sales tax revenues. Still, it’s important to “continue to be business- and resident-friendly in Peoria Heights,” as it has produced so many dividends to date, said the mayor.

Indeed, asked recently at a forum of central Illinois mayors what distinguishes the community and government he represents, Wigginton said he told that audience that “the first meeting may be the only meeting you need to have” in a Peoria Heights where, “as far as red tape, as far as bureaucracy, you won’t find that.”

Beyond that, Peoria Heights is a community that makes decisions with an eye toward future generations, decisions that don't negatively or unduly “impact the child who’s looking to run for mayor 30 years from now,” said Wigginton.

In a Heights where “it’s no accident that we have kept the size of government small” and mom-and-pop shops are and remain “the bread and butter” of the economy, that has paid off repeatedly with record sales tax revenues, which then go to Village services such as the police and fire departments. Indeed, public safety is an overlooked component of economic growth, added the mayor, as people come to the Heights because they feel secure and comfortable here. On that front, the Village welcomed new police and fire chiefs this year in Chris Ahart and Austin Szentes, respectively.

In fact, local economic growth has been “consistent and persistent,” said Wigginton, with millions of dollars in private investment now going into projects large and small. The local jobs base is expanding, as well, with nearly 200 employees being added in the coming year to the payrolls of businesses such as Pearl Insurance, Raymond James and accounting firm Clifton Larson Allen, he said. In a community the size of the Heights, numbers like those are “major,” said Wigginton.

Retailers are relocating to the Heights because “success breeds success,” and the Village continues to have the region’s preeminent Restaurant Row, with growth this past year – Casa Agava, Frank’s Italian Beef, Feels Like Ohm and Big Behm’s – and new eateries such as Segreto and Sloane Supper and Social about to join those ranks, he added.

Meanwhile, Village government is doing its part to help with multiple public projects in the pipeline.

No investment is more critical right now than what the Village is pouring into its outdated water system, said the mayor. Local government has raised nearly $12 million in outside dollars to go with $2 million from Village coffers, including $8.5 million to be spent on a water filtration plant that will break ground in 2026.

“For the first time in 127 years, the Village of Peoria will have filtration in its water system,” he said.

The Village also is replacing hundreds of lead water lines at no cost to residents, another effort that goes against the grain of most area communities, he said.

In addition, the Village has infrastructure projects coming on Glen Avenue with road, sidewalk and intersection improvements as well as a library renovation and expansion there, plus a new water main that will be going beneath Route 29, which is due a nearly $90 million reconstruction and enhancement by the state that promises to be “game-changing” for the region, said the mayor. The Village is piggybacking off that state funding with a 4th tax increment financing district to stimulate private investment on the Village’s riverfront, he said.

Finally, the $20 million-plus reconstruction and reimagination of the Prospect Road corridor through the Village has gotten a lot of discussion. Wigginton reassured business leaders that the project is “in the early stages” and that “$20 million does not grow on trees and we have to get that financing,” so “this won’t happen tomorrow.”

That said, “Prospect will have to be addressed regardless of what we do,” he said. “The infrastructure has to be replaced” and the sidewalks must eventually comply with federal accessibility standards.

Nonetheless, “I don’t want you to worry. We will get this done and we will work with our business partners to make this as painless as possible.”

“We are constantly being the phoenix,” but not the one that rises from the ashes, concluded the mayor. It’s the one that continually invents and reinvents itself thanks to the leadership of those who came before – such as Ray Picl, the Heights’ longest serving mayor who died recently – and will come after, he said.

And that’s why, from the perspective of December 2025, the Village of Peoria Heights has reason for optimism even in the face of ongoing challenges, said Wigginton.

Prospect Road redesign gets early Village Board OK

Prospect Road will be narrowed from five to three lanes including a center turn option downtown and its sidewalks widened to accommodate pedestrian traffic and al fresco dining as part of a $20 million plus reconstruction of that corridor, the Peoria Heights Village Board has decided.

The vote to establish a curb line or road width was necessary to allow the Phase 1 engineering study and planning for the corridor to move forward on a reconstruction project that will run the length of Prospect through the Village from War Memorial Drive to Tower Park.

Ultimately, the vote was unanimous to move forward with the so-called “road diet” plan, minus a previously considered bike lane, but not before some trustees expressed concerns regarding the potential for traffic congestion and the hardships on businesses during construction.

What seemed to sway the Board was the recognition that this project is about much more than aesthetics, given the need to replace the out-of-date infrastructure along and beneath the road – the water mains, for example – along with the crumbling pavement. That makes the need to tear up the road at some point inevitable, at a cost that is well beyond the budget capacity of a community the size of Peoria Heights.

Meanwhile, the construction likely will be phased, a part of Prospect will remain open throughout the expected 18-month construction period, and the burden on businesses temporary. No start date has yet been chosen for the project and external funding sources must still be found for it.

Beyond that, Trustee Brandon Wisenburg seemed to move the board with his appeal on behalf of the elderly and disabled in the community who find it difficult if not impossible to get around the downtown area now.

“Since getting elected in 2019, I have had a lot of people come up and tell me that are wheelchair-bound that they cannot get through downtown Peoria Heights when dining is going on … Sometimes, you can’t even walk,” Wisenburg said. “If we are going to ensure that our elderly, our disabled patrons can also enjoy a good meal, we have to do something with ADA (the Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance. I don’t think it’s possible without reducing the streets because the buildings aren’t going anywhere.”

Ultimately, it’s a “dignity” issue for all of the Village’s residents, which trumps being “a little inconvenienced,” he said.

The Village’s engineering consultant, Hanson Professional Services, had offered the Board three options. A “status quo” option that would keep four driving lanes was not one of them. Even that would require becoming ADA compliant after ground is broken, and possibly on the Village’s dime, consultant Mark Lee told the Board.

Trustees Nate Steinwedel and Teresa Symmonds expressed an initial preference for four lanes, voicing reservations about “bottlenecks,” “this strangling of these lanes,” the impact on commuters and replicating the traffic snarls on Peoria’s Main Street near Bradley University. Steinwedel also mentioned emergency vehicle access and messing with the formula of “a very successful downtown,” the epicenter of the Village’s tax base.

“I just don’t see how that’s going to be a winning situation,” he said.

One alternative that would keep four lanes and meet ADA obligations would be to sacrifice the on-street parking on Prospect downtown, said Lee, which no one wanted. The street seats will go away with this plan, which will free up some additional parking. Meanwhile, Lee and Hanson representatives reassured the Board that based on software modeling, “you’re not going to see a dramatic difference” in travel times through the downtown with three lanes based on current and projected traffic counts.

Lee acknowledged the hit of future construction on businesses, saying “it’s going to be painful for them during the process. On the flip side, this process is going to happen one way or another sometime in the future. Eventually, you have to do it” given the current condition of the corridor. Trustee Sarah DeVore said that Business Development District funds potentially could be used to offset losses for local businesses during construction, as they were during COVID.

Meanwhile, decisions like these do matter to the Illinois Department of Transportation and whether it gets behind future funding,” said Lee. “We don’t want to risk that,” said Mayor Matt Wigginton.

Hanson is doing the Phase 1 engineering and design work at a cost of $2.5 million, 80 percent of which is coming from a federal grant secured through Congressman Darin LaHood's office. Hanson's final recommendations are expected late next year.

The east side of the corridor south of Lake Avenue is in the City of Peoria, which reportedly is on board with the three-lane option.

Ultimately, “we need to create a space that’s full of life,” said one Hanson representative. “You could have something that’s really special. Like, nobody else has this.”

“It’s really about creating an even greater place,” said Wigginton.

In the Heights, we are blessed this Thanksgiving

As we approach another Thanksgiving Day, I wish each and every Peoria Heights resident a healthy and happy holiday filled with family, with faith if that is your tradition, with feasting and fun.

All of our personal stories fit within the general story of the Village, and no chain is stronger than its most vulnerable link, but all in all we have much to be grateful for as we celebrate Thanksgiving 2025.

Our local economy is growing as we welcome private and public investment alike. Hardly a month has gone by this year in which ground was not being broken on some project somewhere in the Village, especially in our destination downtown. We’re witnessing that right now at Pearl Insurance, at the Pabst Building, at Trefzger’s Bakery and elsewhere, and we expect more of it in 2026. Our restaurants continue to do brisk business, our sales tax revenues prove it, and fresh new faces and storefronts are being added to our restaurant row and retail rosters.

People are drawn here in part because of our commitment to public safety. We have a new police chief, Chris Ahart, overseeing a dedicated department that continues to do an outstanding job. We have put unprecedented funds in our fire department and we believe we have a good fit in our new interim chief, Austin Szentes.   

Measurable progress is being made on our public infrastructure front, especially with our locally owned water system. Hundreds of lead water lines are being replaced throughout the Village, at no cost to our residents. The wholesale, $80 million-plus reconstruction of Illinois Route 29 through our community with an accompanying recreational path on the bluff overlooking the Illinois River is now within the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, we are setting the stage for growth on our riverfront with a 4th TIF District that will encourage compatible economic development there. We are moving forward on the $20 million-plus reimagination of Prospect Road through the heart of our community. Our public library is in line for needed renovation and expansion.

There will be some inconveniences as we go along, but all of these contributions will, in the long run, make our Village an even better and more viable place for our residents, first and foremost, but for visitors, as well.

Meanwhile, we are very fortunate that we have been able to attract millions upon millions of dollars in grants to relieve the burden on our local taxpayers. Our budgets have been balanced and then some with annual, consecutive surpluses that we are able to pump into more and better services for our residents.   

Like every community, we have our challenges, and collectively we are trying to address those. On Thursday, for example, our fire and police departments once again will team up to deliver food essentials to some of our neighbors who may have been priced out of providing for their family’s Thanksgiving meal. Beyond that, each one of us has it within our capacity individually to do something kind, to make someone else’s life better if even in the smallest way. I encourage that, on this Thanksgiving Day and every day. We never want anyone to feel left out of our blessings.

Finally, I hope to see Tower Park packed over the next two weekends, starting with the ceremonial lighting of our Christmas tree and our annual visit from Santa at 6 p.m. this Friday. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

Mayor Matt Wigginton

FREEZING TEMPS ARE BACK!

HOW TO AVOID FROZEN PIPES

As the weather turns colder, the Village of Peoria Heights would like to remind you of the importance of preparing for the cold weather. Please remember these tips as you are preparing and protecting your pipes this winter:

Prior to this winter:

  • Become familiar with the areas of your home such as basements and crawl spaces. Also be aware that unheated rooms and outside walls are particularly vulnerable to freezing.

  • Eliminate sources of cold air near water lines by insulating walls, fixing broken windows, closing off crawl spaces, and eliminating drafts near doors.

  • Locate your main water shut-off valve. If a pipe freezes or bursts, shut the water off immediately.

  • Protect your pipes and water meter by wrapping exposed pipes with insulation or an electrical pipe heater. Newspaper and fabric may be used as well.

  • If your pipes freeze:

  • Shut off the water immediately. Do not attempt to thaw frozen pipes unless the water is shut off. Freezing can often cause unseen cracks in pipes or joints.

  • Apply heat to the frozen pipe by warming the air around it, or by applying heat directly to the pipe. Use a hair dryer, space heater, or hot water. Be sure not to leave space heaters unattended and avoid the use of kerosene heaters or open flames.

  • Turn the water back on slowly once the pipes have thawed, and check for cracks and leaks.

    4901 N Prospect Rd, Peoria Heights, IL 61616 P 309-686-2375 | F 309-686-2387 PeoriaHeights.org