With Progressives Like This, Who Needs Conservatives:
The Positionality of Beth Jensen
02/14/2019
An abridged version of this article was published in the Peoria Journal Star on 02/01/2019.
Since September 2013, At-Large City Councilwoman Beth Jensen has positioned herself as a champion of progressive causes on Peoria City Council. Initially appointed to fill a vacancy, she won her seat outright in 2015 netting 22.58% of the vote: more than any other candidate in a 6-person race. She has appeared frequently at various anti-hate forums, gun control rallies, and pro-immigrant protests, often wearing a shirt with a plethora of progressive slogans (No Human Is Illegal, Water is Life, Black Lives Matter, etc.) But, in her 5 ½ years of public service, what progressive change has been accomplished? Is Jensen the progressive she has positioned herself as? Or, did she waste the electoral capital from 4 years ago?
For two years now, Councilwoman Jensen has publicly supported a Welcoming Ordinance protecting the immigrant community, even advocating for the Ordinance at a protest against President Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policies. Recently, however, Jensen no longer talks about passing an Ordinance. Instead, she states that Peoria is already a Welcoming City to immigrants, because of a non-binding statement she claims she sponsored and crafted. However, e-mails between Councilperson Jensen and City Manager Patrick Urich paint a different picture; Jensen did inquire with Urich about a Welcoming Ordinance. Urich countered by placing a non-binding, purely symbolic resolution on City Council agenda that Jensen had no input on. When immigrant justice activists responded that a resolution was not what they wanted (as it functionally accomplished nothing) Jensen assured them passing a resolution was a first step that would be a driving impetus for a later ordinance. The non-binding resolution was passed unanimously in May 2017.
Jensen would later state she was surprised the Welcoming Resolution passed unanimously. Now, Jensen is right when she says, the votes weren’t there for an ordinance. But, when the resolution was being discussed, there was an opportunity to talk about immigrant issues in Peoria, get elected officials on the record on their stances, and have a real debate to move this issue forward. Instead, there was very little discussion on the resolution itself or immigration in general, including from Jensen. Since then, there has been little movement on even getting the ordinance discussed, let alone voted on from Jensen. It was clear to some activists that the resolution was a tactical maneuver by City Hall to undermine the movement for a Welcoming Ordinance by declaring they’d solved the problem without ever creating any real policy.
What about beyond immigration? Jensen did vote to save Riverfront Park, and she sponsored a non-binding resolution against Islamophobia. She also voted against police & firefighter cuts, along with a vote against a public pension “fee”, and strong vote to accept CEO Council for due diligence audit of Illinois American Water. These are certainly stances that many progressives have. But all of these have been largely negative or reactionary votes against something, not positive or proactive votes for something. (The one exception was her support of due diligence audit for IAW; but even here, she was outmaneuvered by the machinations of Mayor Ardis and City Attorney Leist, despite having a majority of council votes.) Her voting record has largely reflected a status quo centrist, someone willing to tow the line but not expand it towards something new. An excellent example of this was her vote in favor of the taxpayers paying off the #Twittergate scandal instead of Mayor Ardis or the local police.
This isn’t a question of ideological purity; it’s a question of how to produce actual progressive change in a Trumpian atmosphere, amidst the decay of neoliberal austerity, with black lives bleeding, and an exodus of population from Peoria. The problem here is Jensen is unwilling to fight beyond non-binding resolutions & reactionary votes because she feels outnumbered, and she doesn’t feel like there’s a broad base of support behind her. The catch is, her passive & reformist strategies show she’s also unwilling to build that base of support. (For example, Jensen was given the opportunity to share immigrant testimonials from Peoria immigrants who supported the Welcoming Ordinance. She could have used her privilege & power to uplift these oppressed voices, but she chose never to do it.) Her progressive bona fides have largely left the machine politics of Peoria unchecked; in fact, her establishment position is an anchor within the status quo, offering a semblance of legitimacy for her center-left constituents. While these strategies may have worked in 2015, the times we live in now require a progressive who delivers results.
