Peoria Mayor Rita Ali running for re-election [Video]

PEORIA (25News Now) – Rita Ali is running for a second term as Peoria’s mayor.

She is the first person to enter the race before next April’s election.

Before becoming the city’s mayor, she was the Vice President of Workforce and Diversity at ICC, helping the community college secure millions in funding to carry out college prep, retention and workforce development programs.

In her State of the City Address in June, Ali listed her six priorities as quality of life, community safety, downtown development, business growth and prosperity, public infrastructure resiliency, and embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

She said the city has not increased the property tax rate, and the city has decreased its debt by $860,000.

“Over the past three years, we’ve experienced a 13% increase in revenues, significant investments in our roads and public infrastructure, increased neighborhood support, new business opportunities, expanded housing, and reductions to our debt,” she said in a …