Will it play in Peoria? You betcha!

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Up until now, members of the media have only been allowed into Sarah Palin speaking events if they purchased a ticket. But at Five Points Washington's "Lessons from Leaders" banquet April 17 in the Peoria, Illinois area, that policy has changed, according to the Journal Star's "Word on the Street" column:

"Due to several requests that we have received, we have arranged for the local media to attend the April 17, 2010, Lessons From Leaders with Governor Sarah Palin," read an invitation we received last week.

That said, space is limited. West said not all local media outlets are being allowed.

"Media asked if there was any way we could help them out. I said I would have to think about it and figure out how and if we could do something," West said. "This is not a political thing. This is a private function. We're trying our best to accommodate a few media, but we are space limited."

All tickets quickly sold out. The 400 banquet/speech tickets - at $200 each - sold out less than 24 hours after Palin's appearance was announced. Speech-only tickets sold for $100 on the main floor and $75 for the balcony in the 1,000-seat Caterpillar Performing Arts Center.

Whether the policy change is a singular exception only for the Peoria event remains to be seen, but we suspect so. The policy of requiring the media to purchase tickets just like everyone else is, we believe, part of the Washington Speakers Bureau contract language for appearances by Gov. Palin.

- JP