Ill. Town May Name Street for Pryor

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) _ Comedian Richard Pryor&#39;s hometown may get a second chance to honor him. <br><br>Two weeks after the Peoria City Council voted down a proposal to rename part of a street for Pryor,

Thursday, April 12th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6


PEORIA, Ill. (AP) _ Comedian Richard Pryor's hometown may get a second chance to honor him.

Two weeks after the Peoria City Council voted down a proposal to rename part of a street for Pryor, the council staff introduced a measure Tuesday to reconsider the idea. As a result, the council is scheduled to vote again in two weeks on whether to study renaming South Sheridan Road in Pryor's honor.

Council members rejected the idea in a March 27 vote, in part because of Pryor's personal battles, and also because of his profanity-laced comedy routines.

Councilman Eric Turner, who said he knew Pryor while growing up on the city's south side, said he believes national publicity about the failure to honor Pryor has given the city a bit of a black eye.

``We've had nothing but negative recognition lately, and this is one way that maybe we can start to turn that around,'' Turner told the council when the proposal for reconsideration was introduced.

Pryor, 66, suffered near-fatal burns in a 1980 fire linked to cocaine freebasing. He announced in 1991 that he has the degenerative nerve disease multiple sclerosis and now spends most of his time at home in California.

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