First reports: Gov. Palin's speech played well in Peoria

*


Marc Strauss of News Center 9/25 in Peoria reported that a crowd of 1,100 turned out for the Saturday evening event at Five Points in Washington:

Ron and Hazel Dyar came to see Palin speak after she personally replied to a letter they'd sent her.

"We're so proud of it and we have shown this note to many, many people. They just think this is awesome," bragged Mrs. Dyar.

Palin's husband, Todd, accompanied her. And after receiving the key to the city the former governor of Alaska explained why Central Illinois is a key to the nation's future.

"A lot of the eyes of America are on this area looking at what it is that you're doing right," Palin told the crowd from the podium. "Perhaps it will help other communities emulate those things that have been successful here. It is such an honor for me to get to be here. I so appreciate the key to the city."

Palin's message while speaking at Five Points was entitled "You Don't Need A Title To Make A Difference".

[...]

"We cut the waiting list off at 200. And that was in the first 24 hours," said Cheryl West, who helped organize Palin's appearance.

The Peoria Journal-Star's Karen McDonald filed her story when Sarah Palin completed her keynote address around 9:30 p.m. after speaking for about an hour:

"So much of the eyes of America are on Peoria and this central region because it is kind of a melting pot of America and there's a great diversity here and an opportunity to disagree without being disagreeable in order to get the best policies, the best ideas implemented," Palin said during the banquet.

[...]

Tickets to the sold out event were $75 to $100 for the speech only, $200 for the banquet and speech and $2,500 for a private reception limited to 50 people. Though officials did not release what Palin was paid for the speaking engagement, POLITICO.com reports she is paid $100,000 per speaking engagement.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Five Points capital projects fund and provide scholarships for area students.

"They're raising a boatload of money for the Washington Community Center Foundation, which is a positive thing for this community," U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, said at the banquet. "And kudos to the Board for being smart enough to bring someone like Sarah who's extremely popular with a segment of the community who are willing to buy tickets and donate to this cause."

The reporter filed this obviously hurried story before the question-and-answer session began., but promised more detailed coverage Sunday. The Washington Examiner has the Associated Press story here. More from Illinois Review here.

- JP