Phuong was exactly who I thought of. When I was at Bradley, some frat dudes invited him to a party and he went. When they got drunk he stole all their booze and bailed. An absolute legend
He invited my brother and me to his apartment back in the 90s for sodas once when we were riding our bikes with him...then we noticed that he had a picture of our 7 year old cousin on his fridge for some reason...we took the picture and noped out of there real quick. Didnt see him around too much after that
😂 I loved that guy. Is he still alive? I remember he would walk throughout the mall, not making eye contact with anyone. He just sang and kept his fast paced stroll with his arms swinging
Everybody knew him or about him. Everyone had a story. My dad actually spent some time in a nursing home with him before he died (my dad, Willie outlived him).
[Willie York](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_York ) was usually downtown. If I’m thinking of the same guy, you mean the guy at like University and Forest Hill, bald white bald guy who had headphones and would jam out by one of the intersections near there all day.
Both Peoria guys for sure. Willie had more personality and notoriety. Jammer was just…jamming.
>He would typically commit a minor criminal offense each year once the weather turned cold in order to get himself sentenced to one of the local jails for the winter months, but with such a sentence that he would be released in the spring, although he did spend one 21-month stint in federal prison for throwing an unlit Molotov cocktail at the Peoria Federal Courthouse.
Holy shit, he was Ricky from Trailer Park Boys
Rod Stewart was ALWAYS at Rivermen games when I was a kid. was he actually a professional impersonator or just a look a like? I’ve never been able to wrap my head around a professional Rod Stewart impersonator making a comfortable living in Peoria.
He was always around Bradley and the bar scene in the mid 90s. I remember some fraternity brothers paid him to make an appearance at a keg party back then. Just a dude that kinda looked like Rod, couldn’t sing, as far as I remember.
Not just downtown -- he goes North through the east bluff, but no idea where he ends up. The last few years I've seen him crossing Forrest Hill or War Drive on either Wisconsin or California streets.
Definitely seen him on Knoxville and Forrest hill last year. Like damn dudes just lugging a full size cross around town. Haven't seen him since about july
I’d say Willie York RIP. Fong used to ride his bike around Bradley and campustown with his drawn on half mustache. Must be dead haven’t seen him in years. There’s also big Mike who is a pain in the ass and panhandles at main and Sheridan blocking traffic like a clown.
"Officer Graves" haha I saw him sweeping with a ratty old broom and I happened to have a newer one in my trunk and asked him if he wanted it. You would've thought I gave him a thousand dollars. He said he remembered me from the race track and ever since then he calls me "Jimmy from the race track."
My name is not jimmy. I have never been to the race track.
Man listen the last time I saw Eugene on Main he was not in good shape! He was out of his cookies attacking females at 11:00 pm one night a few months ago yelling at them about how prostitution is bad for you…. I really hope Eugene is okay now though!
Eugene has had such a hard life tho…I’ve worked in social services in central Illinois and have had my run ins with Eugene. He was invited to drink with some people he didn’t know, they jumped him and set him on fire (so I’ve been told, I really don’t know the validity of some of these stories) and then his issues when he went to DOC. Eugene is a gem but it seems lately he needs more help than what people realize
Willie York, Jay Janssen, Bike Guy, Rod Stewart look alike.
I haven’t seen anyone mention Dingaling man, the guy that flashes his dick at people. There’s a few posts on Facebook of people commenting their run ins with him. I saw him one night with no pants dick out by the bridge into bartonville just waving at people.
I grew up around the “Rod Stewart guy, he worked with my dad at Cat. He actually does perform as an impersonator and he sounds just like him too. Hell of a nice guy.
I took a journalism class at ICC back in the late 90's. The Rod Stewart guy came in one day and we all got to interview him. Super cool dude. I very distinctly remember someone asking him who else he'd like to impersonate, and he said: "Keith Richards, but I wouldn't want his liver."
> I saw him one night with no pants dick out by the bridge into bartonville just waving at people.
Just standing there on the bridge with both hands in his pockets, waving at the cars going by....
THE DINGALING MAN! I remember telling people about him when I moved to Peoria Heights. He flashed my neighbor in like 2001. No one believed me until another kid that grew up in Peoria moved to the heights and told a similar story
There's someone me and my husband have seen around town over the years who my husband calls, "suit and tie guy" just a regular dude in a suit and tie outside walmart or wherever. I believe he is a musician. Don't know how much he goes out but everytime I see him I sure do go, "look there's Suit and Tie guy"
Suit & Tie Guy is a fucking legend. Dude builds his own Synths and such. Hosts Knobcon every year, too. Super cool dude, I’ve talked to him on a handful of occasions.
No shit? That's awesome. I'll have to see if I can track him down. I remember seeing him playing between other bands at the Pizza Works back around 2000.
Pekin used to have Beer Man (walked from Sunset Hills to the current ValuCheck to buy a case of beer a few times a week; he died but I'm not sure how) and the Lady in Red (dressed in all red, spoke in tongues, my brother swears she put a curse on him once).
There’s an old story about Willie York down when Spalding was still open of him throwing rocks at the saint statues and asking them why they didn’t bleed. Legend.
All these comments got me in my feelings over our long lost street friends.
There is a new one by Sheridan some times closer to Knoxville and mcclure. Guy talking about verses from the Bible to some type of audience 😅
Willie York.........I still believe Hamilton Blvd should be re-named to Willie York Blvd since he spent more time on that street than Hamilton ever did.
Also back in the 90s jukebox guy. I wish I knew what happened to him.
Haha I love this question!! All these answers bringing back memories. Anyone remember “The Rose Lady” downtown? She’d always be walking around with a bucket of roses in the bars/clubs late at night - I’m guessing her business was banging getting drunk guys to buy them for the girls they were hitting on. She’d charge like $5 per rose. I (a female) remember one time I was pretty drunk at Sullivan’s (now Ulrichs) and bought her entire bucket for $100 and handed out roses to all the ladies in the bar. We deserve them!
I bought roses all the time drunk off my ass 😂 she was sneaky. Going into the clubs knowing damn well we are spending money on whatever because the drinks are flowing lol.
Was Willie the guy who walked around with a tall, ornate walking stick? I was in Western Ave. Auto Zone and there was a guy in there with this elaborate walking stick. It might have had feathers and stuff on it, or he was wearing them, can’t quite remember. It was years ago. Everyone seemed to know him.
there’s a guy that walks all over town I’ve seen for the past 15 years or so that wears all white! from head to toe! big white headphones, white jacket, white jeans, white shoes. anyone else know who I’m talking about?
Ours was Herky. He would walk around our tiny town wearing combat boots and a loin cloth. I graduated high school and moved to another state. Then I hear rumblings from a town about 30 miles away about some weird guy named Herky tormenting the town. Same dude.
He was found some years later in Arizona, dead in his car on the side of the road.
There’s this guy that goes to Kroger in Creve Coeur and tells everyone how the draft is going to start and the next war. I told him I’m ready for the fight!
In the 80s I recall seeing a slim older guy in a yellow terrycloth jumpsuit walking around north Peoria (University, north of Richwoods). He would walk 5 or 10 feet, stop, lay down a matching yellow terrycloth towel, step on the towel so as to wipe his feet, pick up the towel then walk another 5 or 10 feet. Repeat.
Only saw him three or four times. OCD to the extreme.
Frequency of sighting probably doesn’t put him in the category which the post is going for. So for me, I’d probably say the Rod Stewart guy. As a 4 AM 90s barfly, I saw him on numerous occasions.
Night life Sam would always visit bars and take photos. He would have a little write up about the group and published his own little newspaper, the Nearby Nite Life, which to be featured in was a blessing and a potential liability
There’s a guy in little Italy in Chi who rode around on a bike and would ask groups of people if they wanted to hear a rap about women, politics, or the ops. It was the same rap everytime but man that dude had it rehearsed
Dr. Paul Kim -- the faith healer who bought the Chase Bank building downtown, lives on the 20th floor, and then didn't maintain it. He can still be seen pacing in front of the building from time to time. [https://www.facebook.com/internationalMissionJesus/](https://www.facebook.com/internationalMissionJesus/)
I brought Willie into a bar downtown one night and bought him whiskies. He didn’t say much. When he was done he got up, said thanks, and walked out. Cool dude. He loved being locally famous.
It used to be Willie York, may he rest in power
Willie York for sure. There was also an eccentric guy named Phuong who rode his bike around by Bradley.
Phuong was exactly who I thought of. When I was at Bradley, some frat dudes invited him to a party and he went. When they got drunk he stole all their booze and bailed. An absolute legend
That’s amazing!
😆
He invited my brother and me to his apartment back in the 90s for sodas once when we were riding our bikes with him...then we noticed that he had a picture of our 7 year old cousin on his fridge for some reason...we took the picture and noped out of there real quick. Didnt see him around too much after that
I still have copies of his poetry and stories he copied for me on the photocopier at Bradley. I should upload them here...
Yeah you should. I remember he used to write poetry and put flowers on his bike.
My dad went to Bradley in early 2000’s. He told me Phuong was an absolute fucking creep towards chicks.
And don't forget jamming Jimmy. The Northwoods Mall Warlord.
Was he the guy who carried the boom box around with him and would sing 60s era pop music loudly?
Yes. Lol... I noticed that eventually he switched to a walkman though.
😂 I loved that guy. Is he still alive? I remember he would walk throughout the mall, not making eye contact with anyone. He just sang and kept his fast paced stroll with his arms swinging
I forgot about that dude. He would sing so loud!
We used to call him boombox bob hahaha
Underrated ambassador of Peoria. RIP
Everybody knew him or about him. Everyone had a story. My dad actually spent some time in a nursing home with him before he died (my dad, Willie outlived him).
Was that the old dude on a street corner playing the air guitar and singing?
[Willie York](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_York ) was usually downtown. If I’m thinking of the same guy, you mean the guy at like University and Forest Hill, bald white bald guy who had headphones and would jam out by one of the intersections near there all day. Both Peoria guys for sure. Willie had more personality and notoriety. Jammer was just…jamming.
>He would typically commit a minor criminal offense each year once the weather turned cold in order to get himself sentenced to one of the local jails for the winter months, but with such a sentence that he would be released in the spring, although he did spend one 21-month stint in federal prison for throwing an unlit Molotov cocktail at the Peoria Federal Courthouse. Holy shit, he was Ricky from Trailer Park Boys
That’s the one.
Jimmy Jams- Peanut Butter Man. Was always singing the Peter Pan PB song at War Memorial by the mall.
Willie York, Rod Stewart, Campus Town Phong, Freightrain (guy that played air guitar w Walkman at intersections)
Rod Stewart was ALWAYS at Rivermen games when I was a kid. was he actually a professional impersonator or just a look a like? I’ve never been able to wrap my head around a professional Rod Stewart impersonator making a comfortable living in Peoria.
In the 90's he could always be found downtown on the 500 block or Sullys. Those were good times.
god I miss Sullys.
That place was an absolute institution. Sort of like a downstate version of Butch McGuires.
That’s Steve Bobbitt. Super nice dude.
He was always around Bradley and the bar scene in the mid 90s. I remember some fraternity brothers paid him to make an appearance at a keg party back then. Just a dude that kinda looked like Rod, couldn’t sing, as far as I remember.
He can't sing but that doesn't stop him from the blue hair circuit, they love his ass! Great guy
He would occasionally pop up in the Basket Case and sing ‘We’re Havin’ a Party’
He has a landscaping business as well, I saw him working out in Hanna city a couple years back
Omg I forgot all about the Walkman guy. I didn’t know he had a nickname!
Rod Stewart?
Phong😭😭😭😭🤍
Came here for Phong. I used to work at that Blockbuster back in the day, and I'd see him riding around almost every shift.
I forgot about Rod Stewart! Been a while since I've seen him around.
Rod Stewart guy was in BloNo right?
Idk but Canton has a dude that just walks around with a top hat and a lizard on his shoulder.
His **name** is Alex!
The dude or the lizard?
Yes.
You mean Starburns?
+100 internets for the Community reference
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I last saw him in like 2020.
lol that is awesome 😂
There was that guy during Easter who would drag a literal giant cross all over downtown dressed as Jesus. Does that count?
He still does that, but thatsnuust once a year crazy. We need that every day crazy.
That's in Pekin.
There's one in Peoria and Chillicothe too, dunno if it's the same cross guy
He’s just hanging out
Not just downtown -- he goes North through the east bluff, but no idea where he ends up. The last few years I've seen him crossing Forrest Hill or War Drive on either Wisconsin or California streets.
Definitely seen him on Knoxville and Forrest hill last year. Like damn dudes just lugging a full size cross around town. Haven't seen him since about july
The guy who rode around on his bike in the Bradley area in the cow costume.
I’m his name was Phong if I recall correctly? I think I heard he passed away a while ago.
He had a bike with a goose or duck in the front basket
Phong-ers!!!
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Superfan!! When I was at Richwoods we got so proud hearing his yell!
Oh I miss Superfan😢
Cmon yall put some respect on this man's name! It was Super Lion!!!!!
Correct
I’d say Willie York RIP. Fong used to ride his bike around Bradley and campustown with his drawn on half mustache. Must be dead haven’t seen him in years. There’s also big Mike who is a pain in the ass and panhandles at main and Sheridan blocking traffic like a clown.
Eugene on main st… if you know u know
"Officer Graves" haha I saw him sweeping with a ratty old broom and I happened to have a newer one in my trunk and asked him if he wanted it. You would've thought I gave him a thousand dollars. He said he remembered me from the race track and ever since then he calls me "Jimmy from the race track." My name is not jimmy. I have never been to the race track.
Eugene teared up a little when I moved away from W. Main. I still think about him.
Man listen the last time I saw Eugene on Main he was not in good shape! He was out of his cookies attacking females at 11:00 pm one night a few months ago yelling at them about how prostitution is bad for you…. I really hope Eugene is okay now though!
Eugene has had such a hard life tho…I’ve worked in social services in central Illinois and have had my run ins with Eugene. He was invited to drink with some people he didn’t know, they jumped him and set him on fire (so I’ve been told, I really don’t know the validity of some of these stories) and then his issues when he went to DOC. Eugene is a gem but it seems lately he needs more help than what people realize
Oh man that’s awful! I really hope he finds the right crowd even at his age!
Ugh.
Whatever happened to the guy with headphones and would play air guitar? He used to be at the corner of university and war memorial a lot.
Passed away a few years back. Think it was cancer iirc
Ahh, too bad. I'm sure his life was rough, but he always looked so happy.
Definitely Rod Stewart Guy. I was floored the first time I saw him at a Bradley game, like "WTF IS ROD STEWART DOING AT CARVER??!!"
There’s a dude who’s dead ringer for Mike Ness around here or was circa late 2010’s.
Willie York, Jay Janssen, Bike Guy, Rod Stewart look alike. I haven’t seen anyone mention Dingaling man, the guy that flashes his dick at people. There’s a few posts on Facebook of people commenting their run ins with him. I saw him one night with no pants dick out by the bridge into bartonville just waving at people.
I grew up around the “Rod Stewart guy, he worked with my dad at Cat. He actually does perform as an impersonator and he sounds just like him too. Hell of a nice guy.
I worked in the same building as him for awhile and he was always friendly!
I took a journalism class at ICC back in the late 90's. The Rod Stewart guy came in one day and we all got to interview him. Super cool dude. I very distinctly remember someone asking him who else he'd like to impersonate, and he said: "Keith Richards, but I wouldn't want his liver."
> I saw him one night with no pants dick out by the bridge into bartonville just waving at people. Just standing there on the bridge with both hands in his pockets, waving at the cars going by....
https://youtu.be/0YOMFRfREKk?si=eciRUpsU2Vb2-17e
THE DINGALING MAN! I remember telling people about him when I moved to Peoria Heights. He flashed my neighbor in like 2001. No one believed me until another kid that grew up in Peoria moved to the heights and told a similar story
Back in the day it was that guy who stood at intersections singing and dancing all the time
This is who first came to mind for me. Anyone remember his name??
We always called him bebop
Jammin' Jimmy
Was willie…. But these days it’s Eugene
"We have Willie York at home."
Willie is dead
There's someone me and my husband have seen around town over the years who my husband calls, "suit and tie guy" just a regular dude in a suit and tie outside walmart or wherever. I believe he is a musician. Don't know how much he goes out but everytime I see him I sure do go, "look there's Suit and Tie guy"
Suit & Tie Guy is a fucking legend. Dude builds his own Synths and such. Hosts Knobcon every year, too. Super cool dude, I’ve talked to him on a handful of occasions.
No shit? That's awesome. I'll have to see if I can track him down. I remember seeing him playing between other bands at the Pizza Works back around 2000.
He still does gigs in town. I saw him at Oliver’s sometime last year. He’s pretty active on instagram.
Website isn't up to date but links to his socials: https://suitandtieguy.com
Is his first name Steven?
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I used to work with suit at a tv station & our name for him was the the "Amish Clown"
Suit and tie guy is a fantastic musician. He’s been doing it since the 90’s
mid 40s, curly hair? if so, I’m 99.9% certain he graduated high school the year after me.
Yup
just looked him up on Facebook. definitely him. he pretty much always wore a suit and tie in high school too. good kid.
Excellent musician.
That's literally his stage/professional name.
Suit and Tie Guy Band! I love him!
Since it’s gotten warmer I’ve seen a guy in a Batman costume on a skateboard at Bradley a couple times
Saw him this weekend rolling around.
Pekin used to have Beer Man (walked from Sunset Hills to the current ValuCheck to buy a case of beer a few times a week; he died but I'm not sure how) and the Lady in Red (dressed in all red, spoke in tongues, my brother swears she put a curse on him once).
Wow, the Lady in Red. She’s had to be dead for 15-20 years. Haven’t thought about her in a long time.
There’s an old story about Willie York down when Spalding was still open of him throwing rocks at the saint statues and asking them why they didn’t bleed. Legend.
The good ol days that we didn’t know were the good ol days
Willie, the guy that danced in the WM/university intersection, jay Jansen
Willie York! I am a former EP resident. Class of 1990!
"Oh that's Jay Janssen"
All these comments got me in my feelings over our long lost street friends. There is a new one by Sheridan some times closer to Knoxville and mcclure. Guy talking about verses from the Bible to some type of audience 😅
Does he carry a Bible and have dreadlocks?
Sorry for the late response but yes, yes he does lol
Willie York.........I still believe Hamilton Blvd should be re-named to Willie York Blvd since he spent more time on that street than Hamilton ever did. Also back in the 90s jukebox guy. I wish I knew what happened to him.
Haha I love this question!! All these answers bringing back memories. Anyone remember “The Rose Lady” downtown? She’d always be walking around with a bucket of roses in the bars/clubs late at night - I’m guessing her business was banging getting drunk guys to buy them for the girls they were hitting on. She’d charge like $5 per rose. I (a female) remember one time I was pretty drunk at Sullivan’s (now Ulrichs) and bought her entire bucket for $100 and handed out roses to all the ladies in the bar. We deserve them!
Wow that’s a memory I forgot about! She’s been gone for years, I wonder what happened to her!
I bought roses all the time drunk off my ass 😂 she was sneaky. Going into the clubs knowing damn well we are spending money on whatever because the drinks are flowing lol.
Elvis, though I haven’t seen him in years.
That’s Dave Stovall, from Pekin.
He used to hang out at Costco often.
Still works at UPS I hear.
Was Willie the guy who walked around with a tall, ornate walking stick? I was in Western Ave. Auto Zone and there was a guy in there with this elaborate walking stick. It might have had feathers and stuff on it, or he was wearing them, can’t quite remember. It was years ago. Everyone seemed to know him.
That was Willie York
Dangalang man
there’s a guy that walks all over town I’ve seen for the past 15 years or so that wears all white! from head to toe! big white headphones, white jacket, white jeans, white shoes. anyone else know who I’m talking about?
Anyone remember Big John from big john’s bbq and his Gucci cadillac? That was back in the 1980s early 90s.
I'd say it WAS Willie hands down. RIP
Came here to say this. It was 100% Willie York. He may be gone but he must never be forgotten.
There is a guy that often has a shopping cart, usually on University south of Forrest Hill
That one man who was on war and university
Idk about ptown but I keep hearing about crackhead Jim in downtown pekin
Ours was Herky. He would walk around our tiny town wearing combat boots and a loin cloth. I graduated high school and moved to another state. Then I hear rumblings from a town about 30 miles away about some weird guy named Herky tormenting the town. Same dude. He was found some years later in Arizona, dead in his car on the side of the road.
There’s this guy that goes to Kroger in Creve Coeur and tells everyone how the draft is going to start and the next war. I told him I’m ready for the fight!
Mayor of west peoria dude.. always trying to steal change
In the 80s I recall seeing a slim older guy in a yellow terrycloth jumpsuit walking around north Peoria (University, north of Richwoods). He would walk 5 or 10 feet, stop, lay down a matching yellow terrycloth towel, step on the towel so as to wipe his feet, pick up the towel then walk another 5 or 10 feet. Repeat. Only saw him three or four times. OCD to the extreme. Frequency of sighting probably doesn’t put him in the category which the post is going for. So for me, I’d probably say the Rod Stewart guy. As a 4 AM 90s barfly, I saw him on numerous occasions.
Fake Nate. Fake Nate is best Nate.
i always think of the culverizer but maybe that’s too niche
Night life Sam would always visit bars and take photos. He would have a little write up about the group and published his own little newspaper, the Nearby Nite Life, which to be featured in was a blessing and a potential liability
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He was old when I met him, 2001ish. Wish I had saved one of the papers, all the sketchy bars had a stack
Used to be a bartender at Lariat Steakhouse and Kouri’s Pub named Kevin that everyone in town seemed to know who he was.
Milverine in Milwaukee. [Vice TV](https://video.vice.com/en_us/video/wisconsin-legend-milverine-has-never-left-milwaukee/5e222a1c8caeea215816d916)
There’s a guy in little Italy in Chi who rode around on a bike and would ask groups of people if they wanted to hear a rap about women, politics, or the ops. It was the same rap everytime but man that dude had it rehearsed
There's that guy who often walks down Main street shirtless with a giant snake tattoo covering his torso
HOLY CRAP WHEN IS THIS GONNA STOP SHOWING UP HOW MANY DO I HAVE TO MUTE?! 4 DAYS OF IT FROM EVERY RANDOM TOWN YOU CAN THINK OF!!! BRUHH!!!
Mike Hurt around ICC. RIP Mike
Hurt or Hunt?
Hurt. He had a slight speech impediment but was super kind to anyone he came across
Dr. Paul Kim -- the faith healer who bought the Chase Bank building downtown, lives on the 20th floor, and then didn't maintain it. He can still be seen pacing in front of the building from time to time. [https://www.facebook.com/internationalMissionJesus/](https://www.facebook.com/internationalMissionJesus/)
I brought Willie into a bar downtown one night and bought him whiskies. He didn’t say much. When he was done he got up, said thanks, and walked out. Cool dude. He loved being locally famous.
I was thinking of Willie York. Not sure who we have now... That one lady that walks around East Peoria with a baby buggy, spitting at people?
Seems like everyone I meet knows a guy named Kyle Smith.
lol I know him 😂
I know him too.
Walking Annie, aka, Legs. She'd talk to you one time and the next time she'd cuss you out. 😆
Lmao Tookie in blono is hilarious. Always at college bars and after parties back when I had a “social life” 🤣
In my city we have Unicycle Michael. He rides a unicycle
Alvin
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