Welcome to Peoria energy from ChooseEnergy.com.  Whether you are moving into a new home or business, or simply wanting to switch Peoria energy providers to lower your energy costs – ChooseEnergy.com can help.

Since you are located in a deregulated area of Illinois and in the ComEd service area you do have a choice in your energy provider. Peoria residents and businesses can choose to stay with their Affiliate Retail Electric Provider, or you can choose one of several competing Peoria energy providers.  Choose Energy can help you sort through your options and help you choose the Peoria energy company that best fits your needs for your home or business.

Please note: Your local wires company is still responsible for maintaining the wires and poles, delivery of the electricity and or gas, and responding to emergency outages. The only thing that changes is billing and customer service. Illinois energy companies will compete for your business by offering lower prices, added customer service benefits, or renewable energy options. By making a switch to a lower cost Illinois energy provider, you can save hundreds of dollars or more depending on the size of your home or business.

Peoria, IL

Peoria is located in Illinois almost in the middle from Chicago to St. Louis. It is also the largest of the cities that lie on the Illinois River. This city is the county seat of the Peoria County in the state. The population today, according to the 2010 census, is 115,007. This makes it rank third among the cities in the state of Illinois as far as population goes. 

History of Peoria

Peoria is among the oldest of the settlement located in Illinois. The early explorers came up the Illinois River from the mighty Mississippi River and the are they found would be later known as Peoria, it was settled in 1680 when For Crevecoeur was constructed by some French explorers. Later on this fort would be burned down and thing Fort Clark was built in 1813. When Peoria County was formed in 1825 the Fort Clark was given the new official name of Peoria. 

Then in 1835 it was then incorporated to be a village. In 1845 it was then incorporated as a city. Its first mayor as a city was William Hale. Then in 1854 Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln gave powerful speeches on the topic of slavery. One such speech by Lincoln lasted 3 hours and became the foundation that the self-government principles and the right for all people to have liberty would be built on. This would also help him get to the presidency some six years later

On the day that the Civil War started in 1861, the mayor of Peoria, William Willard held a rally for recruiting volunteers for the war effort. 7500 Union soldiers were trained at Camp Lyon, after it was built at Glen Oak Park's west gate. Then in 1862, Camp Peoria was formed.

During the 1890s, vaudeville palaces grew in popularity in Peoria. It was considered that an act that played in this city was on the way to the big time. Vaudeville places like the Majestic, Grand Opera House and Lyceum celebrated this art style. By the 1920, the vaudeville was no more and these places were replaced by movies and the theaters to show them in, such as the Rialto, Madison, Apollo and Palace.

Peoria today is known as a prime example of mid-western culture due to its demographics. It is often used to test out new services, products or other ideas to see if they will be successful.

Popular Travel Destinations

• The Contemporary Art Center has exhibitions of work by living artists, who are in the top of their fields. The truth is there are around 20 artists in residents continually creating art at the center. This includes the co-founder Preston Jackson, who is a successful artist himself. The center is located on Peoria's RiverFront. For more information call (309) 674-6822.

• Wildlife Prairie State Park is just outside the city of Peoria. It is a zoological park of 2,000 acres which has more than 150 animals of various species inhabiting it. You can learn about such things as the bison, wolves, black bear, waterfowl, otter, and cougar just to mention some of the animals. For more information call (309) 676-0998.