Dr. Kiran Velpula has been a member of the Peoria City Council since 2021 and hopes to continue serving in that role.
An assistant professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria (UICOMP) whose research focuses on brain cancer, Velpula was appointed to the council to fill the vacancy created when Rita Ali became the city's mayor.
He is now vying for the first time to retain his seat, as one of three sitting MPs among 10 candidates vying for a total of five seats in the April 4 general election.
In a conversation with WCBU reporter Joe Deacon, Velpula detailed the direction he'd like to see Peoria take in the coming years.
This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.
What inspired or motivated you to seek a full term as a member of the Peoria City Council at large?
Kiran Velpula: Therefore, as you know, I am not an elected city councilor in the city of Peoria. I took over for Rita Ali when she left as mayor. So when I went to the city council, my goal, or my only goal, was to see: how can I make Peoria a better place to live?
My vision for the city of Peoria is to make Peoria a healthcare destination or a biotech corridor because I live in that space and I feel like I'm in a good position to articulate the fact that city government could be involved in promoting of health care in the city of Peoria. So that's a unique reason that made me think that I should come back and run again, because I started some programs, I started some initiatives that will be completed by me alone.
One of the initiatives I started was a “high school in a medical school”. Basically what that means is, we're trying to integrate students who are enrolled in high school, (then) go to ICC (Illinois Central College), follow a path from ICC to Bradley and from Bradley to the College of Medicine. It's a conduit. it's a new project, it's a new initiative. I don't know if it will work or not. We are still working on the functionality aspect. But at the same time, this provides an opportunity for a lot of health care jobs, which is probably the most important health care opportunity in Peoria, which is health care.
Why do you see such great growth potential in health care in Peoria, specifically?
Velpula: The entrance to the cancer center (OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute) is one, and if you look around, when you drive from the Murray (Baker) Bridge, you see OSF (St. Francis) Hospital, and then UnityPoint follows that point, and then you see the College of Medicine, a comprehensive medical school. Drive (and) you will find USDA (ag lab), you will find many Ph.D. they work in the fields of health sciences, natural sciences, biological. We don't really understand it, but we are a health city. So I think that's why we think health care could be the next holy grail in the city of Peoria.
Do you see it then as a financial boost for the city and to help the budgets, would you say?
Velpula: Of course yes. But again, healthcare is a pervasive system. we don't have a vitality or a goal, because it's a service industry. But again, the vision of having a biotech company or startups or entrepreneurship in Peoria would help us realize that goal.
So we must always have an ambitious attitude. In a way, we say that “tomorrow is always better, hope is always there”. Gone are the days of Peoria being in a “no fly zone” for innovation and entrepreneurship. We can bring more companies to Peoria. We can articulate our thoughts on making Peoria the next biomanufacturing hub. I'm actually working on a proposal where we're trying to bring in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds to bring together startups (and) invite biotech companies to come to Peoria and make it their home.
How have you come to be in your role as a council member since being appointed and have there been aspects of the position that you did not expect?
Velpula: He drank from a fire hose. Well, it's good. I feel very privileged to go there and learn about governance. It is a blessing to be on the city council. It is a blessing to help people. It is a blessing for me and I have many chances to fill my knowledge gap in governance. You can do a lot of things when you're on city council, especially when you're a cheerleader for the city of Peoria.
In what ways has this experience over the past two years prepared you for another term?
Velpula: So I just started learning about budgets. It's a big budget. the city of Peoria has a budget of $265 million and I also participate (decide how to use) the $47 million from the ARPA funds, the COVID relief funds. So we have some money flowing our way and we have been able to distribute it in various aspects such as economic development, land banking and assisting with many public infrastructure projects. Basically, it helped me look at and solidify my vision to help Peoria grow as the next health care city of the Midwest.
Besides biotech, healthcare, what other goals or proposals do you have or have for a possible next term?
Velpula: So, I strongly believe that talent retention is the most critical thing that we lack. If you ask me to say, “Can you bring Tesla to Peoria?” No, we can't. But what we can do is make Peoria the next labor capital of the Midwest. We are limited with many geographical restrictions, but it does not prevent us from developing into a workforce capital. So I think we're in a good position right now.
What different perspectives do you feel you personally bring to the city council?
Velpula: I am not cut from political cloth. I am a scientist in my profession, in my everyday life. We are one of the few (groups of) people in the world who are paid to fail. So every day I go to the lab, I fail my research. I come home and read why we failed. We come back again with the same vigor to tackle the problem. So basically what I'm trying to say here is: I'm ready to fail. But at the same time, I will learn quickly and my learning is to help the city of Peoria grow.
How do you think the city should navigate its fiscal concerns and deal with its finances, particularly with the growing police and fire pension liabilities?
Velpula: In a way, I will say that firemen's pensions existed before I was born, and they will exist after I die. But the way I wanted to see it is, how can we compensate for that? The way I see it is to bring more entrepreneurship and innovation. We need to invest in bringing in small businesses, small and medium-sized businesses, (and) change the climate of Peoria in the sense, the business climate: make sure we don't have any “red tape.” We allow people to come and do business, helping restaurants to have a nightlife. This will help Peoria bring the new generation close to their hometown.
What more would you like to see Peoria do to revitalize distressed neighborhoods?
Velpula: Communication is key. basically, we don't communicate that well. We're always whining about things (and) not really appreciating what Peoria has given. So I came from India, but then my first stop (in the US) was at Case Western (Reserve University) in Cleveland. My wife and I came to Peoria because Peoria offered us jobs and we became Peorians. This is my 15th year in the city of Peoria, and the city of Peoria always impresses me and my family. It is the positive narrative that is missing. we have to be very positive. We must sell Peoria to Peoria. I understand that we need to get more population. I understand that we need to acquire more businesses. But what we need to do is make sure residents feel comfortable staying in Peoria.
How would you like to see the city encourage more economic growth and more business growth?
Velpula: Innovation is key. We have to think outside the box. Sometimes it fails. not all will be successful. We have to be careful because we are also investing taxpayer dollars. But again, we have many opportunities where we can create a very positive business climate where we can attract SMEs.
For example, I was fortunate enough to help a robotics company called Pringle Robotics that many of you may know have their robots service Avanti's. We started with five employees and now it has grown to 50. This company has deployed more than 5,600 robots across the country. So I think healthcare and technology, investing in those two arms would be very helpful.
One of the readings I had was from the city of Columbus (Ohio). If you look at the trajectory of how Columbus became what it is today, it started receiving investment from 2017 to 2021, where 2020 peaked the most. Two of the most important companies that received or were recipients of these funds are the healthcare industry called Olive (AI) and autonomous robots. So basically, if you look at the way other cities are developing, you have to invest, you have to be prepared. You also have to have the commercial facilities for people to come. You must have a research lab. You need to have a functional atmosphere for businesses to get this place, make sure they feel very comfortable.
So in summary, what would be your message to Peorians to vote you for a term on the city council?
Velpula: Let's be positive. We always believe that the best days are ahead of us. it's true, and we should always believe that tomorrow is always a better day. For that, we have to have a very positive atmosphere, positive attitude. We absolutely must all work together to make Peoria the next healthcare city of the Midwest.
