Peoria

Peoria (pee-OR-ee-) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria Metropolitan Area in Central Illinois, consisting of the counties of Fulton, Marshall, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell, and Woodford. Peoria was the center of the whiskey industry in the United States. More than 12 distilleries operated in Peoria by the end of the 19th century, more than any other city in the U.S. until 2018. The city is associated with the phrase "Will it play inPeoria?", which originated from the vaudeville era and was popularized by Groucho Marx. The original meaning of the word is uncertain. A 21st-century proposal suggests a derivation from a Proto-Algonquian word meaning "to dream with the help of a manitou." The city was incorporated as a village on March 11, 1835. The first Chief of Police, John B Lishk, was appointed in 1837. The City was incorporated on April 21, 1845. This was the start of the mayoral system, with the first mayor being William Hale. In 2021, Rita Ali became Peoria's first female and African American mayor. In 2020, the company relocated its headquarters to Deerfield, Illinois.

History

Peoria is the primary city name, but also Bellevue, West Peoria are acceptable city names or spellings, Bellview, El Vista, Norwood on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. The official name is City of Peoria. Peoria was named after the Peoria tribe, a member of the Illinois Confederation. The original meaning of the word is uncertain. In 2021, Rita Ali will become Peoria's first female and African American mayor. Charles Lindbergh's first air mail route, Contract Air Mail route #2, began running mail from Chicago to Peoria to Springfield to St. Louis and back. For much of the 20th century, a red-light district of brothels and bars known as the Merry-Go-Round was part of Peoria. Penicillium chrysogenum, the fungus originally used to industrially produce penicillin, was first isolated from a mouldy cantaloupe found in a grocery store in Peoria in the 1940s. Theodore Roosevelt called Grandview Drive, a street on the bluffs overlooking the Illinois River "the world's most beautiful drive" The Peoria radio station and CBS television affiliate WMBD attached the description to its call sign. Peoria was incorporated as a village on March 11, 1835. This was the end of a village president and the start of the mayoral system, with the first mayor being William Hale. The city was incorporated on April 21, 1845. The two men who founded Peoria, Arizona, in 1890 wished to name it after their hometown, so they named it after the town of the same name. In the early 1960s, Richard Pryor got his start as a performer on North Washington Street.

Geography

Peoria has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with cold, snowy winters, and hot, humid summers. Snowfall is common in the winter, averaging 26.3 inches (67 cm), but this figure varies considerably from year to year. Precipitation, averaging 36 inches (914 mm), peaks in the spring and summer, and is the lowest in winter. Extremes have ranged from 27 °F (33 °C) in January 1884 to 113 °C (45 °F) in July 1936. According to the 2010 census, the city has a total area of 50.23 square miles (130.10 km²), of which 48.01 sq miles (124.35 km²) (or 95.58%) is land and 2.22sq miles (5.75 km² (or 4.42%) is water. The city is located on the Illinois Turnpike, which runs through the town of Peoria. Peoria is home to the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago Bears, and the Chicago Blackhawks. It is also the home of the University of Illinois at Chicago, which has an NCAA Division I women's basketball team. The town has a population of 1,816,000 (or 1.9% of the U.S. population) and a population growth rate of 0.7% (or 0.8% in the last 20 years). The city has an average annual temperature of 22.5 °F.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 115,021 people and 47,202 households residing in the city. The city has a sizable, established Lebanese population with a long history in local business and government. The racial makeup of the city was 62.4% White, 26.9% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 4.6% Asian, and 3.6%. The city population was 25.7% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 14. 2% who were 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.04. The median income for a household in theCity was $36,397. The per capita income was $20,512. Some 18.8 per cent of the population was below the poverty line. Special censuses were conducted in 2004 and 2007 that noted a total increase of 8,455 in the City's population since the 2000 census. The US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race. The 2020 census will be held in New York City, New York State, and Washington, D.C. It will be the first time the city has been included in the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

Economy

Peoria's first major industry was started in 1830 by John Hamlin and John Sharp, who constructed the flour mill on Kickapoo Creek. Peoria became the first world leader for distilleries thanks to Andrew Eitle (1837) and Almiron S. Cole (1844) The world headquarters for Caterpillar Inc. was based in Peoria for over 110 years until announcing their move to Deerfield, Illinois in late-2017. The USDA's National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, formerly called the USDA Northern Regional Research Lab, is located in the city. The city's largest mall is Northwoods Mall, and other retail centers include The Shoppes at Grand Prairie, Sheridan Village, Metro Centre, Willow Knolls Court, and Westlake Shopping Center. According to Peoria's 2018 Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers are the top city employers: Caterpillar, Bergner's, OSF Healthcare, Sung Sung, and OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. The top employer in the area is the insurance company UnityPoint Health, which operates three hospitals in the Peoria area. The largest employer is the bank, which serves residents of 14 counties in Central Illinois and 3 in California. The number of residents who have a college degree or higher is higher than any other U.S. city or state. The average household income is about $50,000, and the city has a population of 1.2 million people. The unemployment rate is 3.7 percent.

Arts and culture

Museums in Peoria include the Pettengill-Morron House, the John C Flanagan House, and the Wheels o' Time Museum. The Museum Block, opened on October 12, 2012, houses the Peoria Riverfront Museum, a planetarium and the Caterpillar World Visitors Center. The Steamboat Classic, held every summer, is the world's largest four-mile (6 km) running race and draws international runners. The Civic Center hosts the Bradley University Men's Basketball team, the IHSA Boys State Basketball Championships and State Chess Championship. The Peoria Symphony Orchestra is the 14th oldest in the nation. Peoria has hosted the Heart of Illinois Fair every year since 1949. The city of Peoria is home to a U.S. courthouse and the St. Mary's Immaculate Conception (also known as Saint Mary's Cathedral) Cathedral is located on the banks of the Illinois River at the site formerly known as the Sears Block. It is one of the few places in the United States where you can buy a ticket for the Chicago Cubs game against the Chicago Bulls. The Chicago Cubs hold their home game at the Soldier Field on Sunday, December 17, each year. The game is the only one of its kind in the state of Illinois. The Cubs also host the World Series of Poker, which has been going since 1988. The World Series is the oldest continuously running professional sporting event in the world. It has also been the home of the Chicago Bears football team, which won the Super Bowl in 1988.

Parks and recreation

The Peoria Park District contains 9,000 acres (36 km²) of parks and trails. The Illinois River Bluff Trail connects four parks: Camp Wokanda, Robinson Park, Green Valley Camp, and Detweiller Park. The Rock Island Greenway (13 miles) connects the State of Illinois Rock Island trail traveling north to Toulon, IL and also connects southeast to East Peoria, IL. The Forest Park Nature Center features seven miles of hiking trails through prairie openings and forested woodlands. The Park District was the 2001 Winner of the National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Parks and Recreation for Class II Parks. Peoria has five public golf courses as well as several private and semi-private golf courses. The park district was the first and still largest park district in Illinois. It is located in the city of Peoria and Peoria Heights, a suburb of Chicago. The district is home to the National Park Service and the Illinois Park and Recreation Commission. It was founded in 1903 and is the first park district of its kind in the state of Illinois. Its parks include Forest Park, Glen Oak Park, and Bradley Park, which features disc golf aswell as a dog park. It also has several private golf courses, including the Peoria Golf Club. The District was awarded the National Medal of Honor in 2001 for excellence in parks and recreation for Class I and Class II parks.

Government

The City of Peoria is a home rule municipality with a mayor and ten city council members. It has a council-manager form of government. Five council members are elected at-large via cumulative voting. It is divided into five districts. The township was created by the Peoria County Board to match the boundaries of the city. It was frozen at its current boundaries in 1990, containing about 53 square miles (140 km²) The city has continued expanding outside of the township borders into Kickapoo, Medina, and Radnor township. In the years before the freeze, the township had grown to take up most of the former area of Richwoods and what is now West Peoria Township. The Township of the City of Peoria (also City of Peoria Township) is a separate government from the City. It performs the functions of civil township government in most of the city. The city is divided into five districts, with five council members in each district. It also has a mayor, ten council members, and a mayor-manager form of government. The mayor is elected for a four-year term, and the council members serve two-year terms, with the fifth year being a non-controlling member of the council. The City has a president and a vice-president, both of whom are appointed by the mayor. The council has a board of directors, which is made up of five members. The president is elected by the city's residents.

Education

Peoria is served by four public K-12 school districts. The largest, Peoria Public Schools District 150, serves the majority of the city. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria runs six schools in the city: five grade schools and Peoria Notre Dame High School. Non-denominational Peoria Christian School operates a grade school, middle school, and high school. Quest Charter Academy, a STEM focused school serving grades 5-12, is the only charter school in the area.Bradley University, Methodist College, OSF St. Francis College of Nursing, the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, and the Peoria campus of Roosevelt University are based in Peoria. Eureka College and the main campus of Illinois Central College are located nearby in EureKA and East Peoria, respectively. Peoria High School (Central), the oldest high school in Illinois, hosts the competitive International Baccalaureate Program of study; Manual High School; and Peoria High school (Central) is the city's only public high school, serving grades 7-12. The city is home to several private schools, including Concordia Lutheran School, Peia Academy, Christ Lutheran School and several smaller private schools exist.Peoria Heights Community Unit School District 325 serves the suburb of Peia Heights; however, parts of the City ofPeoria immediately outside the Heights are in this school district.Limestone Community High School District 310 serves a small portion of the western edge of theCity of Peorians.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois = 68.2. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 47. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 99. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Peoria = 3.8 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 113,150 individuals with a median age of 34.6 age the population grows by 0.08% in Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,358.72 residents per square mile of area (910.71/km²). There are average 2.35 people per household in the 45,686 households with an average household income of $43,344 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 12.50% of the available work force and has dropped -5.34% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 17.32%. The number of physicians in Peoria per 100,000 population = 360.2.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Peoria = 35.3 inches and the annual snowfall = 20.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 97. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 192. 85 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 11.8 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 40, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois which are owned by the occupant = 54.16%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 46 years with median home cost = $91,380 and home appreciation of -4.74%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $16.74 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,059 per student. There are 16.8 students for each teacher in the school, 1937 students for each Librarian and 979 students for each Counselor. 6.87% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 17.98% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 10.80% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).