Peoria ignores vote, moves forward with takeover plans

摘要

City officials in Peoria, Illinois has voted 6-5 to move ahead with plans to buy Illinois American Water Co. for $220 million. Their decision came after voters in early April overwhelmingly counseled against it. The council vote doesn't make the purchase an obligation, and the city could still back out of the deal in six months. The action was contrary to voter opinion expressed in a non-binding referendum that asked if the city should buy the water company. By a margin of 80% against and 20% for, voters opposed the proposal to acquire the system, which is a unit of RWE Thames.