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* TV stations, particularly small-market TV stations, usually aren’t known for taking on “real” news stories. But give props today to WTWO in Terre Haute for looking a bit closer at a Gov. Blagojevich press release…
Despite the slumping economy, apparently travelers still want to visit Illinois. Governor Blagojevich announced a record breaking rise in tourism across southeastern Illinois. […]
Edgar County is up 6.7 percent to $7.6 million. Blagojevich said, “The Illinois tourism industry is thriving and every region of the state is reaping the benefits.”
Scratch the surface, and things look a bit different…
However, the mayor of Paris hasn’t seen these benefits. “I’m looking out the window and I don’t see a lot of tourist in downtown Paris,” said Mayor Craig Smith. “I’m not seeing a bunch of cars from out of state spending what I call ‘tourist’ dollars.” […]
“This is huge news, huge dollars. I love the news but I don’t see the dollars yet,” said Mayor Smith. “We should be able to see that in increased sales tax revenue and we really haven’t seen that much. We’ve seen some increase but that would be a substantial increase for Edgar County.” […]
Originally, WTWO went to Marshal to find out what’s attracting so many tourists. Instead of tourist, we found a different story. When asked if tourism has been on the rise [Mary Lou Cornelison Director of the Marshal Chamber of Commerce] said,”No, people are not driving the National Road like they used to. It is not as big as it has been.”
Now, compare that piece to these unquestioning stories here and here and you’ll see why it’s always important to carefully read every, single press release issued by this administration.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 8:43 am
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Tourism “impact” is especially dubious. IBOT uses some silly multiplier effect that invariably overstates the impact and the health of the industry.
Check the heads in beds, check whether the Average Daily Rate for rooms is up or down, then check the sales taxes and you’ll get a better idea.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:05 am
I’m no fan of the Gov, but the “hard hitting” story alluded to in the intro of this section is no less reliable.
Anecdotal stories about Paris Il, or Marshall don’t really paint an accurate picture either. Granted, they may not be benefiting from tourist $$, but other sites in IL are. (Joliet speedway, Abe Lincoln Pres Museum in Springfield etc)
So, I guess both stories rely on hype, but neither do prove/disprove the other.
Comment by How Ironic Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:10 am
Many of the hotels are worried about the fewer number of travelrs, any way to find out hotel numbers or taxes collected?
I antecdotaly know many people who are travelin around a lot less then normal. Some instead of going to chigao or St. Louis are making shorter trips for family events, this might move a few dollars around; but if the money coming into peoria is really folks who are stopping short of their normal chicago trip then we are seeing an overall net loss to the State.
Comment by Ghost Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:53 am
This Governor is neither qualified nor interested in doing the job he was elected to. On top of that he is a documented liar. It is past time for the General Assembly to remove him from office before he futher damages the State of Illinois.
Comment by Dan S, a voter and Cubs Fan Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:00 am
Once again, an administration incapable of meeting or exceeding expectations, relies on technical and legal definitions instead of delivering.
Too often my fellow commentators ignor the intention behind state projects and instead argue over technical details. We need to move beyond whose facts are correct and whose numbers are based on better criteria and rise above this nonsensical arguing.
We do this by asking if this administration has met or exceeded their promises regarding Illinois tourism. If folks in Paris, Springfield, and Edgar county can answer in the affirmative, then the Blagojevich administration has succeeded. However, based on the reporting made by this local station, the answer is that the Blagojevich administration has failed.
That is all. This answers the most important question. We live in a democracy and failing to meet or exceed expectations based on the subjective evaluation of voters is enough for removal.
We will not get better government when we do not demand better results. Any administration that falls into arguing over statistics or definitions to prove themselves is a failure.
Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:25 am
Great News!!!! We have destination sites in Illinois that are attracting visitors and helping the State economy! It’s great that the Honorable Rod Blagojevich recognizes this and is promoting these areas!!
Wait a minute. Was one of those places Wildlife Prairie Park? Didn’t the Gov just slash their budget in half to the tune of $828,000.00?
OOOOPS
Comment by Irish Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:04 am
This entire sorry ‘administration’ [using the term loosely] is governing by press-release-only, not any actual work-effort-team-consensus-time involvement. Press release to help autism, but “The Illinois Hospital Association’s Howard Peters talks about the $600 million in Medicaid payments that the governor is moving to next fiscal year.” And so on and so on it goes.
Comment by no surprise here Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 2:38 pm