Consumer confidence declines in October

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index^®, which had increased moderately in September, declined in October, according to a Tuesday release from The Conference Board.

The Index now stands at 97.6 (1985=100), down from 102.6 in September. The Present Situation Index decreased from 120.3 last month to 112.1 in October, while the Expectations Index edged down to 88.0 from 90.8 in September.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey^®, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was Oct. 15.

"Consumer confidence declined in October, following September's modest gain," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. "Consumers were less positive in their assessment of present-day conditions, in particular the job market, and were moderately less optimistic about the short-term outlook. Despite the decline, consumers still rate current conditions favorably, but they do not anticipate the economy strengthening much in the near-term."

Consumers' appraisal of current conditions was somewhat less positive in October. Those saying business conditions are "good" decreased from 28.1 percent to 26.5 percent, while those claiming business conditions are "bad" increased from 16.4 percent to 18.3 percent. Consumers were also less upbeat about the job market. Those stating jobs are "plentiful" decreased from 24.8 percent to 22.2 percent, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" edged up to 25.8 percent from 24.9 percent.

Consumers' optimism about the short-term outlook was more subdued in October. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months was unchanged at 18.1 percent, while those expecting business conditions to worsen inched up to 10.6 percent from 10.4 percent.

Consumers' outlook for the labor market was slightly less optimistic. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead declined moderately from 14.9 percent to 14.5 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs increased from 15.9 percent to 16.9 percent. The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to increase declined from 18.7 percent to 18.0 percent, while the proportion expecting a decline increased from 9.9 percent to 10.7 percent.

The Conference Board publishes the Consumer Confidence Index^® at on the last Tuesday of every month. Subscription information and the technical notes to this series are available on The Conference Board website:https://www.conference-board.org/data/consumerdata.cfm

City Council vacancy attract 25 applicants

Twenty-five people have applied for the at-large opening on the Peoria City Council, seeking to replace Chuck Weaver, who resigned to become a state senator.

The list of applicants for the council seat include several young adults as well as a couple retirees. The applicants include educators, business owners, neighborhood activists, a few engineers, a couple lawyers and a few people already well-known in city politics.

The deadline for applying was last Friday.

According to City Hall, the City Council will review the applications and supporting materials and the council will begin whittling the number on Nov. 12.

The person chosen will fill out the remainder of Weaver’s term, serving until May 2017.

The 25 applicants are, in the order listed in a city news release:

• Alicia Harris, an administrative assistant at Illinois Central College.
• Conrad Stinnett III, a technical writer and president of the West Bluff Council.
• Hugh McGowan, a video production manager at CDSC Video.
• Norman Burdick, a workers compensation fraud attorney.
• Sid Paul Ruckriegel, owner of SERVUS Inc.
• Robert W. Sprague, engineer at Caterpillar Inc.
• John D. Marter Jr., engineer at Caterpillar.
• Zachary M. Oyler, a manager at Caterpillar.
• Winsley Durand, business consultant and member of the city Planning and Zoning Board.
• Steve Fairbanks, neighborhood development specialist, City of Peoria.
• Marcus Fogliano, representative for Equality Illinois.
• Sheldon Schafer, retired planetarium director for Peoria Riverfront Museum.
• Jonathan Jurow, pastoral councilor.
• Branden Martin, a Peoria Realtor.
• John Kelly, financial advisor for Morgan Stanley.
• Brian J. Young, business instructor at Midstate College.
• Rita Ali, vice president of Diversity, International and Adult Education, Illinois Central College.
• Thomas P. Higgins, attorney, professor of criminal justice at Illinois Central College.
• Thomas D. Fliege, president, Hawk Agency, and member of CEO Council.
• Scott Kelsey, construction manager.
• Tom Staub, supervisor at Kroeschell Operations, president of East Bluff Association.
• Ashley Thomasina Pierce, co-owner of AGM Design.
• Terri Hall, business owner.
• Joseph Keck, research scientist, student.
• Jon F. Bateman, Caterpillar engineer and former member of District 150 School Board.

More information about each applicant can be viewed at www,peoriagov.org.

Bonnie Noble will retire in April, 2016

Bonnie W. Noble, executive director of the Peoria Park District the last 24 years, announced Monday she will retire at the end of next April.

In 43 years with the Park District, including 19 years as an elected trustee before becoming executive director, Noble guided the district to growth in several areas as well as national recognition for the work, including four times being named a National Gold Medal Winner for park and recreation management.

“I have mixed emotions,” said Tim Cassidy, president of the Peoria Park District Board of Trustees. “Bonnie has served the park district will remarkable skill and integrity for 43 years and she will now be able to spend well-deserved time with her family, and for that I am happy for her. On the other hand, the park district is losing administrative leadership that is second to none.”

Cassidy did not say in a park district news release how the board will go about looking for Noble’s replacement.

Under Noble’s tenure, the Peoria Park District’s annual budget has grown from $14.5 million to more than $44 million. Noble oversees a staff of 172 full-time, 1,100 part-time and seasonal employees, and 12,000 volunteers, as well as more than 9,500 acres of parkland under public stewardship.

Noble initiated or help initiate several projects that benefit the community, some of which are ongoing with plans for continued expansion and growth.

Noble played a key role in forming the Power of Play Campaign, a partnership between the Junior League of Peoria, the Peoria Zoological Society and the Peoria Park District to develop and fund Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum that opened in June of this year. As part of a larger plan to revitalize the campus at Glen Oak Park, the children’s museum will, together with the planned expansion of Peoria Zoo and the many amenities already in the park, offer a daylong destination for families and school groups.

In the late 1990s, Noble facilitated the formation of Peoria Zoological Society (PZS), a fundraising society, which partnered with the park district on a $32.1 million capital campaign that culminated with the opening of Africa!  and tripling the size of the Peoria Zoo in 2009.

Other projects developed under Noble’s leadership included the partnership between the Peoria Park District and OSF Saint Francis Medical Center to build the RiverPlex Recreation and Wellness Center and development of the Peoria Park District Youth Outreach and Intervention Department.

Noble’s involvement in developing a biking/hiking/jogging trail along the RiverFront and ultimately a trail system linking to the Rock Island Trail in Alta spanned more than 20 years with the final connecting link, the bridge over Knoxville Avenue, completed in 2013. Also, Noble oversaw the district’s administrative staff move into the former Lakeview Museum as the Glen Oak Pavilion underwent a transition into the Peoria PlayHouse. In 2013 the Board of Trustees honored her work by naming that building the Bonnie W. Noble Center for Park District Administration.

Noble has received many other honors, as well, including the Joseph Bannon Practitioner Award, the Jaycees Good Government Award, the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Athena Award, and the Ray A. Neumann Tri-County Citizen of the Year Award, among others. She was the 2014 recipient of the Charles K. Brightbill Distinguished Alumni Award, awarded annually by the Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism at the University of Illinois, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in park and recreation management.

Noble has served the community in other ways.She is a member of the Junior League of Peoria, the Rotary Club of Peoria (where she was honored as a Paul Harris Fellow), the Illinois Association of Park Districts (serving as president of the same from 1984-85), the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Board (chairing the board for two years during her tenure), and the National Recreation and Park Association, where she served as parliamentarian. She was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Parks and Recreation in 2004.

City Council vacancy attracts 25 applicants

Twenty-five people have applied for the at-large opening on the Peoria City Council, seeking to replace Chuck Weaver, who resigned to become a state senator.

The list of applicants for the council seat include several young adults as well as a couple retirees. The applicants include educators, business owners, neighborhood activists, a few engineers, a couple lawyers and a few people already well-known in city politics.

The deadline for applying was last Friday.

According to City Hall, the City Council will review the applications and supporting materials and the council will begin whittling the number on Nov. 12.

The person chosen will fill out the remainder of Weaver’s term, serving until May 2017.

The 25 applicants are, in the order listed in a city news release:

• Alicia Harris, an administrative assistant at Illinois Central College.
• Conrad Stinnett III, a technical writer and president of the West Bluff Council.
• Hugh McGowan, a video production manager at CDSC Video.
• Norman Burdick, a workers compensation fraud attorney.
• Sid Paul Ruckriegel, owner of SERVUS Inc.
• Robert W. Sprague, engineer at Caterpillar Inc.
• John D. Marter Jr., engineer at Caterpillar.
• Zachary M. Oyler, a manager at Caterpillar.
• Winsley Durand, business consultant and member of the city Planning and Zoning Board.
• Steve Fairbanks, neighborhood development specialist, City of Peoria.
• Marcus Fogliano, representative for Equality Illinois.
• Sheldon Schafer, retired planetarium director for Peoria Riverfront Museum.
• Jonathan Jurow, pastoral councilor.
• Branden Martin, a Peoria Realtor.
• John Kelly, financial advisor for Morgan Stanley.
• Brian J. Young, business instructor at Midstate College.
• Rita Ali, vice president of Diversity, International and Adult Education, Illinois Central College.
• Thomas P. Higgins, attorney, professor of criminal justice at Illinois Central College.
• Thomas D. Fliege, president, Hawk Agency, and member of CEO Council.
• Scott Kelsey, construction manager.
• Tom Staub, supervisor at Kroeschell Operations, president of East Bluff Association.
• Ashley Thomasina Pierce, co-owner of AGM Design.
• Terri Hall, business owner.
• Joseph Keck, research scientist, student.
• Jon F. Bateman, Caterpillar engineer and former member of District 150 School Board.

More information about each applicant can be viewed at www,peoriagov.org.