Originally published on March 10, 2021 5:14 pm
Andre Allen will appear alone on the April 6 general election ballot for voters in the City of Peoria s 4th Council District.
The Peoria County Election Commission says Steve Kouri formally withdrew from the race before ballot printing began.
Kouri came in first place in the February primary, with more than 50% of the vote. Allen came in second, with 42.8%. Third-place finisher Patricia Melaik drew 6.7%.
But Kouri withdrew from the race after accepting an appointment to the Illinois Human Rights Commission.
Allen is dean of students at Methodist College and the chairman of the Peoria Advisory Committee on Police-Community Relations. He came up just short of winning an at-large city council seat in 2019, placing sixth in a contest with five open seats and 10 candidates.
Steve Kouri / Facebook
Steve Kouri is dropping out of the race for the District 4 Peoria City Council seat to take an appointment on the Illinois Human Rights Commission.
The story was first reported via a statement Kouri released to the Peoria Journal Star. He confirmed the report in an interview with WCBU.
“One of my platforms for the city council was creating more opportunities for people with disabilities. I m going to be able to do that for all minorities statewide, including Peoria,” said Kouri, who has cerebral palsy.
Gov. JB Pritzker announced Kouri s appointment to the commission last week.
“It is a great honor in general, but for me . I know people like me can t even get a part-time job, let alone a job like this,” said Kouri. “It kind of skyrockets myself and my career, and I think I m going to do great things on the commission and it will lead to more opportunities for me.”
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The developers and owners say they have done what they can to alleviate the concerns by closing two entrances and moving one farther north on University so traffic will not back up near the intersection.
They pointed to the increased landscaping and trees that would be planted on the site that they say would reduce water flowing into the stormwater drains. Now, nearly all of the property is devoid of grass or trees, save a vacant house just to the north of the shopping center.
Rollie Bartels of Club Car Wash, said they would close the Glen Avenue entrance on busy days to further reduce issues near the intersection. The property can hold 86 cars as they snake their way through a twisting route to get to the automated carwash and then back out again on University, the same way they came in.