Peru Mayor Ken Kolowski announces 2025 reelection bid

Peru Mayor Ken Kolowski announced that he is running for reelection in 2025, saying he wants to maintain economic growth in the community while continuing to listen to residents.

“My community is very important to me,” he said. “I believe listening is the key to success, and my goal is to make sure that citizens know that this is their city, not mine. I’m approachable.”

Kolowski is in his first term as Peru’s mayor. He defeated Scott Harl in 2021 to take the seat.

Kolowski joins Alderman Robert “Bob” Tieman and former Peru Police Chief Doug Bernabei in the mayoral race.

Kolowski said he believes his first term was successful, as the city was able to make improvements to infrastructure, bring more retail to the region and be fiscally responsible.

“In 2021, I had all of these campaign outlooks, and I pretty much achieved every single one of them,” he said. “From adding more to our above-ground infrastructure, to prioritizing small businesses, to having a welcoming environment for our citizens at government facilities.”

He said he is proud of what Peru was able to achieve during his first term because the city was able to achieve more than what he wanted to.

Kolowski said the only campaign outlook he was unable to achieve was building a municipal pool, which he said he brought through the proper channels before it failed.

“I take full responsibility for that,” he said. “It was an outlook, I pursued it, and I failed. I did not get it done.”

Former Alderwoman Sherry Mayszak, who has been working on the referendum since last fall, turned in 562 of the 331 required signatures July 25 to have the question placed on the November ballot. The referendum will state: “Shall the city of Peru construct and operate a municipal swimming pool funded by the use of the hotel/motel tax?”

Kolowski said the referendum put forward by a resident is changing things, and if it passes, he believes his plan to use the hotel/motel tax still will work.

“I’m still passionate about it,” he said. “I still believe in it, and they said identify a revenue source and I did that. Now let the public decide whether they want us to move forward.”

In his next term, Kolowski said there are new objectives that he hopes to accomplish, starting with maintaining a growing health care infrastructure in Peru.

“We cannot have what happened to us happen again,” he said, referring to St. Margaret’s closing Peru’s hospital in January 2023, then OSF reopening it in April. “I have built a great relationship with OSF. I want to continue to work with them in expanding and growing.

“We got our ER back, we got women’s health care back with our OB, but we cannot be satisfied.”

Kolowski said he hopes to continue to create high-paying jobs by attracting more industry such as GAF, attack above-ground infrastructure, help small businesses, upgrade Baker Lake and grow the events that Peru has become known for over the past four years.

“Keep that kind of high energy, bringing people into the community,” he said. “You don’t think, ‘Oh, it’s just the nighttime parade, Taste of the Illinois Valley, TBM.’ No, they come to your community and maybe go to a restaurant or somewhere to shop.”

He said he also would like to work on finding more senior housing, possibly working with the private sector.

Kolowski said he wants to keep the morale of the citizens and employees high by continuing to listen and make improvements to the community.

“My goal is to make sure they understand this is their city,” he said “It’s the citizens’ city – not mine, not the government’s – the citizens. It’s theirs, and you have to listen. That’s the key.”