Jim Ardis is an American corporate executive and politician who is currently the mayor of Peoria, Illinois, since 2005. Before becoming mayor, he previously served on the Peoria City Council from 1999 to 2005.
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When Ardis was 10 years old, his father, Jim Ardis, Jr., became a Peoria town council member, serving from 1969 to 1973. His grandfather, John Bulger, was a Peoria County employee.
Ardis graduated from high school at the Spalding Institute in 1977 and from Illinois State University with a bachelor of science in industrial technology in 1982.
Ardis owned O'Leary's Restaurant from 1994 to 1997. From 1999 to 2006, Ardis worked in sales for Univar; from 2006 to 2010, he was Vice President of Midwest ELM Locating. Since 2010, he has been Executive Director of Corporate Strategy for Axis, Inc. based in Peoria, part of Jupiter Strategic Technologies Pvt. Ltd. from Bangalore.
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Political career
Ardis sold O'Leary's Restaurant in 1997 and was appointed to the city's liquor commission. He was elected to the Peoria city council in general in 1999, and remains a member of the board until 2005.
Ardis was elected mayor in 2005, defeating Dave Ransburg's petahana. He won re-election in 2009 against General John Parker.
In 2011, Ardis sought an appointment to the seat of the Illinois State Senate left by retired Dale Risinger. Darin LaHood finally accepted the appointment.
Twitter controversy
On April 15, 2014 at the request of Jim Ardis, Peoria police investigated Jon Daniel, the Twitter account operator who parodyed Ardis, on suspicion of a minor crime in the fake name of a public official. After getting a warrant, the police sent a SWAT Team to attack Daniel's home in West Bluff, confiscated electronics and arrested three people for questioning. Police charged one person with possession of marijuana and supplies of drugs after the attack, although no arrests were made in connection with a Twitter account. On April 23, 2014, the Peoria State Attorney's Office announced that no claim was filed against the creator of the original parody account after explaining that the current law regarding impersonation of public officials excludes the use of electronic media.
On June 11, 2014, Daniel, through the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, filed a federal suit against the City of Peoria, Ardis, and several city employees, claiming the violation of the First Amendment and the Fourth Amendment. Ardis responded with a press conference on June 12, where he said the controversy "caused damage to our big city and a serious threat to me and my family" and that "I will protect my rights and the rights of my family by all means." I explore the false light and libel and other actions against those who are responsible for the placement and hosting of defamatory comments. "
On September 2, 2015, it was announced that the lawsuit was settled with $ 125,000 given to Daniel. The Jefferson Center for Free Expression Protection gave Ardis one of his annual Jefferson Muzzle Awards for "the most humiliating and silly humiliation of last year's freedom of speech and the press", stating that he has "abus [ed] the power of his office to intimidate and silence a parody not harmful ".
Electoral history
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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