Commute time is distraction from Peoria’s real economic needs
Judi Smith, Peoria mayoral candidate
Submitted photo
Mayor Beck says Peoria families are suffering from long commutes and that bringing jobs to Peoria is the solution. But the facts — and his own data — tell a different story.
The average commute time for Peoria residents is about 28.5 minutes, which is typical for suburban cities. The study Beck cites ranks Peoria 23rd for “most expensive commutes,” but that’s based on lost wages during commute time, not fuel or distance. In other words, the workers with the “most expensive” commutes are high earners who chose to live here for the quality of life, not because it was close to their jobs.
The jobs being created in north Peoria, mainly in semiconductor manufacturing, won’t benefit most residents. Peoria’s workforce is concentrated in health care, retail, education, finance and construction — not engineering or microchip fabrication. More importantly, most of these jobs aren’t high-tech at all. They’re manufacturing and packaging roles that typically pay less than $55,000 a year. That’s hardly transformative for working families in south Peoria and not competitive in north Peoria, where the median household income exceeds $130,000.
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By Judi Smith, a Peoria resident seeking to be a candidate for mayor
Mayor Beck says Peoria families are suffering from long commutes and that bringing jobs to Peoria is the solution. But the facts — and his own data — tell a different story.
The average commute time for Peoria residents is about 28.5 minutes, which is typical for suburban cities. The study Beck cites ranks Peoria 23rd for “most expensive commutes,” but that’s based on lost wages during commute time, not fuel or distance. In other words, the workers with the “most expensive” commutes are high earners who chose to live here for the quality of life, not because it was close to their jobs.
The jobs being created in north Peoria, mainly in semiconductor manufacturing, won’t benefit most residents. Peoria’s workforce is concentrated in health care, retail, education, finance and construction — not engineering or microchip fabrication. More importantly, most of these jobs aren’t high-tech at all. They’re manufacturing and packaging roles that typically pay less than $55,000 a year. That’s hardly transformative for working families in south Peoria and not competitive in north Peoria, where the median household income exceeds $130,000.
These jobs don’t shorten commutes. They just shift them north while surrounding the development with dense rental housing intended to import a new workforce, not uplift the one we have.
And that’s the real issue: these jobs are neither a good match for the skills of Peoria’s workforce nor the incomes of nearby neighborhoods. Yet it’s our residents who are subsidizing the infrastructure, tax breaks and incentives that make these deals possible. So while the companies may be based here, the jobs and the economic benefits are likely to go to people who don’t live in Peoria.
Peoria deserves more than headlines and handshakes. We need a development strategy that values people over square footage — one that builds lasting opportunity, strengthens our neighborhoods and ensures that growth actually serves the community that’s already here. That’s the future Peoria deserves, and the one we should be working toward.
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