The most debated subject in town this moment is the City’s plan to purchase Lutticken property and the plan to finally finish Veterans Drive. Some have chimed in that this is the road to nowhere. People have said it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars with no plan and no vision... that the property is a wasteland and a ditch. I say these individuals have no vision for the future, nor have they researched the City’s plan that dates back to 1966.

Yes, that is correct. 1966 was when this Veterans Drive endeavor was formulated into a long-term, strategic plan for Pekin’s growth. In 1971, the State of Illinois acquired the property for the future interchange at I-474, and drawings were first rendered of what that plan would entail. Then, in 1990 and 1991, Pekin completed their comprehensive plan, and again this was part of the long-term vision for the City.

In 1992, the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee was created, and the Veterans Drive corridor was identified as the highest priority for business development and economic growth. Fast forward to 2024, and I have left a lot out between 1992 and 2024, but U.S. Representative Darin LaHood was able to secure a $4 million federal earmark to pay 80% of the design engineering for the Veterans Drive extension to I-474. The fact is that Veterans Drive has been in the planning stage for some time.

In the meantime, the City of Pekin has purchased property along the way including the Gamblewood farm and other parcels needed for the road right-of-way. In late 2023, the City was approached by the owner of the Lutticken property wanting to sell all of the land to the City. We did not necessarily want all of the land, but the owner did not want to sell it off in pieces or be the architect of its development, and this was a true, once-in-a-generation opportunity for the community to grow. Eventually, the City Council did approve an agreement to purchase the almost 1,000-acre Lutticken property for $14 million over 4 years. We paid $2 million in 2024 with the agreement that the City would pay $7 million, $2 million, and $3 million each year thereafter. The owner agreed to finance this payment plan at no interest to assist the City in making the purchase.

Now, nine months later, things have changed for Pekin. Staff is much more aggressive with marketing our properties and assets to developers. We brought an international medical manufacturing company, with its 100+ new jobs, to the City in the Riverway Business Park as a recent example. At the same time, we have already been marketing the Lutticken property and planning its development with Ameren, American Water, and IDOT. Since November, staff has been working with a developer who is interested in purchasing 321 acres of the Lutticken property for the development of a technology park. They have provided a letter of intent where they would pay the same price we did for that portion of the land (about $4.5 million) while we negotiate the entire sale agreement. This is a very lucrative opportunity for the City that will most certainly provide an economic boost, as they will not only generate millions in property tax revenue but also front the tens of millions of dollars to bring all the electric, gas, water, and sewer infrastructure to the property. Not to mention millions of dollars in construction jobs. Thus, we have proposed a loan to accelerate the purchase of the Lutticken property and pay the entire purchase off this year so we can move forward with this developer. Yet, we still hear all of the negative comments about the road to nowhere. Where is this negativity coming from? Why not Pekin? Good things are happening, but a few vocal people can only talk negatively about this opportunity. 

I found it telling that, at the April 14th City Council meeting, a person from the public not from Pekin was waiting for his agenda item to come up. When it did, he had already heard the discussion about the Lutticken purchase during the budget hearing. This gentleman stood at the podium and said he did not miss these types of meetings from when he was an elected official in another town, and he offered some advice to the Council and the community. Sometimes you have to spend some money to move forward. Simple, yet true. What we have done in the past has not worked. We commonly hear, the City should be run like a business, but what business survives that is afraid to invest in future growth? The City simply does not have the $300 million to fix every road in Pekin every 20 years, and we never will if we keep doing things the same way. We need to get out of our comfort zone to change the pattern of cheap fixes, partial projects, and one-year visions. We need to take some calculated risks and do something different to move the City forward. Developers are not beating the door down to come here, so we are knocking on their doors saying, “Hey, come look at Pekin and what we have to offer!” So far, it is working, and the Lutticken property and Veterans Drive extension will be a huge asset to keep it working.

All that said, we are not forgetting about other local projects that have been promised to the public. The FY2026 budget includes a 5-year capital plan to finish repaving Court down to 8th Street ($3 million of grant funding), Broadway from 14th to Parkway ($2.88 million of grant funding), Derby Street all the way down to 2nd Street, and start the downtown roads. Unfortunately, by the time we get through all of these projects, it will be time to start thinking about repaving the east end of Court Street again, meaning we never get to major projects on side streets or residential areas. And, by the way, this all assumes the TIF districts stay in place. Once they are gone, the City loses access to over $3 million annually that funds these road projects since we will only get around 10% of those dollars after the TIFs end. This is why we need to break the pattern that Pekin has been stuck in for years. Only real economic growth will enable us to do better. We can always be more efficient, hire/retain more qualified staff, plan smarter, etc., but none of that magically generates tens of millions of dollars for roads.

What is the future of the road and the rest of the Lutticken property? We continue to work on it. Hanson Engineering has been retained to complete the design for the road extension to I-474, which was the $4 million dollar grant received thanks to Rep. LaHood. I should remind everyone that at the State of the City address, Rep. LaHood said publicly that this grant was only a down payment. We continue to discuss the importance of this project with him, along with leaders at the State. It is important for Pekin, and it is not an “exit” way from Pekin as some have stated. Roads work both ways. It is an opportunity to grow the City and to develop future commercial and retail properties, as well as residential. There is a plan, but it won’t happen overnight.

So, contrary to the vocal naysayers, we agree with the silent majority who have reached out privately and praised the purchase and road plans and see this whole opportunity is a positive direction for the City.