Five Star Taxi and Livery, Inc.

08/21/2025

This was NOT one of our drivers/vehicles, but this is a PERFECT example of why our dispatchers need you to answer very specific questions before we can send you a driver.

Stay SAFE!

Vehicular Hijacking
PPD Incident #25-15904

(PEORIA, IL) On Sunday, August 17, 2025, at approximately 1:24 a.m., Peoria Police responded to the 1200 block of W. Armstrong Avenue regarding a strong-arm robbery involving a taxi driver.

The 55-year-old driver reported being dispatched to the 300 block of S. Saratoga for a pickup, where two males entered the vehicle. Shortly after, one of the suspects placed an unknown object on the driver’s neck and demanded he exit the vehicle. The driver complied, and the suspects fled in the taxi. The driver was not injured.

During the investigation, the stolen vehicle was observed on Sheridan Road. Officers attempted a traffic stop but were initially unsuccessful. Minutes later, a 15-year-old male jumped from the moving vehicle and was apprehended on foot. A firearm was recovered along the suspect’s flight path.

The juvenile was arrested for Vehicular Hijacking, Armed Violence, Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Resisting Police, No FOID, and Unlawful Possession of Ammunition without a FOID Card, and was transported to the Juvenile Detention Center.

A second 15-year-old involved was detained, interviewed, and released to his guardian pending further investigation.

If you have any information about violent crimes, please contact the Peoria Police Department at (309) 673-4521. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through tip411 or by calling Crime Stoppers at (309) 673-9000.

**All suspects and arrestees are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.**

06/28/2025

STOP USING THE HITCHHIKING APPS!!!

Houston police are searching for James Turner, a 45-year-old rideshare driver, accused of indecent exposure after an incident with a female passenger on April 24, 2024.

08/08/2023

Using rideshare is quite literally the equivalent of hitchhiking!
Be safe. Call the Professionals.

If you were abused in an UBER or LYFT, we can help! Don't Delay! There may be a limited time to file your claim. Get the information you need and the justice you deserve!

09/16/2022

And this is why our dispatches ask those so important questions to vet every call before sending a driver...

SUBJECT: Armed Robbery #22-14648
Previously Reported:

(PEORIA, IL) On Sunday, August 7, 2022, at approximately 11:04 p.m. Peoria Police officers were dispatched to the 3200 block of N. University regarding an armed robbery that had occurred at another location.
When officers arrived at the above location they located the victim, who told officers she had been robbed at gunpoint while driving a cab. The victim stated she was called to the 1000 block of W. McClure for a pickup. Upon arrival, the victim was approached by two male suspects. One suspect was armed with a firearm.
The suspects took personal items from the victim and fled the scene on foot. The victim was not injured.
This incident is under investigation.
If you have any information regarding any violent crimes, please contact the Peoria Police Department at (309) 673-4521, tip411 (anonymously), or Crime Stoppers (anonymously) at (309) 673-9000.

Update 9/15/22:
During the course of this investigation, officers identified a suspect as 18-year-old Omarvelous Blakes (Photo Attached). Officers have been unsuccessful in their efforts to locate and arrest Blakes. The Peoria Police Department is requesting
assistance from the public in locating Blakes.
Blakes is described as a black male, approximately 5’08” 110 pounds, black hair, and brown eyes. Blakes is wanted for Armed Robbery. If Blakes is seen, please immediately notify the police. Blakes is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.
If you have any information regarding this incident, please contact the Peoria Police Department at (309) 673-4521, tip411 (anonymously), or Crime Stoppers (anonymously) at (309) 673-9000.

08/12/2022

Call us anytime. 309-696-9596.

08/12/2022

309-696-9596

06/26/2022

06/13/2022

Every dollar donated translates in to free or discounted services for those who, otherwise, would not be able to afford this service. Please consider donating. Please share this post. Thank you, Five Star Tony. 309-696-9596.

Hi, my name is Tony (aka Five Star Tony). I own a small taxi and lim… Five Star Tony needs your support for Help Provide Free Wheelchair Accesibility Service

06/12/2022

COMING SOON!

Please spread the word! Currently in search of wheelchair bound individuals throughout the Greater Peoria area who are willing to be interviewed, share their story and explain how this soon to launch service could impact their daily life. Feel free to call me anytime at 309-696-9596. Thanks, Five Star Tony.

COMING SOON!

Shortly after returning home to Peoria in the mid-90s from overseas military assignment in Central America I gained work as a taxi cab driver while attending school. In one way or another I have been working in ground transportation and logistics ever since.

On a daily basis the majority of calls that come in are for trip requests that just cannot be economically fulfilled. There are many reasons behind why it is becoming more difficult to find professional on demand taxi service in Central Illinois:

-Lack of qualified drivers
-Deregulation of the industry
-Loss of a relationship interested consumer base
-Skyrocketing costs of operation

I still personally answer the vast majority of calls that come in daily. I still run trips daily. Actually, I have driven in excess of 2.7 million taxi/limo/expediter miles spread out of 100k+ trips.

Unfortunately, no matter how many drivers and vehicles we put out on the streets of Central Illinois, we will always have a large number of calls that simply have no availability. This is a reality we have dealt with for decades. Some days it is really difficult to keep answering the phone knowing that you will probably have to tell the caller that we are booked out for hours.

The most heart wrenching requests to decline have little to do with the reasons listed above.

Nearly EVERY SINGLE DAY we have to say no to at least one caller because they are requesting transportation for an individual who is in a wheelchair.

Sadly, with a MSA population pushing 400k, the Greater Peoria Area has never had a 24/7 on demand ground transportation service that provides wheelchair accessible vehicles. This is not just my company, but ALL companies that service the Greater Peoria Area.

When I left driving for someone else and started my own company over a decade ago (finding myself on call 24/7/365 for what is beginning to look like forever) it was with the one simple goal of financing the launching of a wheelchair accessible taxi fleet. I doubt it will ever even breakeven but it is needed and no one else seems to be interested in making sure this happens.

Finally, with the help of some of my company’s corporate clients, a handful of philanthropic individuals and participants in multiple arenas of crowdfunding, I feel as if we have never been closer to making this option a reality in Central Illinois!

Over the next several weeks you may see some of the promotions, fundraising drives and other crowd funding attempts that we will be launching to make the final push to getting this fleet on the road.

If you or someone you know would benefit from a new, never before, local service like this, please feel free to reach out by calling 309-696-9596. I would really like to hear your story of why you would need this service and how it would affect your daily life.

If you own a local business and would be interested in cosponsoring one of the vehicles, please feel free to reach out by calling 309-696-9596.
If you simply feel the need to help with this project in anyway, even if only to chip in a few bucks to help sponsor a trip for someone who needs this service but cannot afford it, please feel free to reach out by calling 309-696-9596.

Thank you for your consideration,

Tony McEnroe
Five Star Tony
Owner and Founder,
Five Star Taxi and Livery, Inc.
309-696-9596

06/05/2022

The Greater Peoria Area ground transportation business has been good to us here at Five Star Taxi.

In gratitude for the support of the community I have widen the scope and availability of our pro bono and reduced fare program. Generally speaking, there is little or no charge for many of the following circumstances:

*Active Duty Veterans traveling to or from VA medical facilities.

*Honor Flight participants traveling to/from Peoria Airport for an Honor Flight.

*Anyone traveling to any of the tri-county Center for Prevention of Abuse facilities.

*Anyone traveling to Peoria/Tazewell/Woodford county courthouses to file for an order of protection.

*Anyone traveling to Women’s Care Center for program services.

*Anyone traveling to Sophia’s Angel Kitchen for lunch or food pantry pickup.

These are only a few of the examples of eligible requests.

Five Star Taxi and Livery hopes to expand this program even more by adding our Jenny Cab wheelchair accessible vehicles to the fleet in the near future.

All requests are subject to availability. Other restrictions and conditions apply.

This program is funded by corporate sponsors, private donations and separate fundraising efforts conducted by myself. No government subsidies or grants have been used to finance this program.

Any interested parties are encouraged to call our dispatch anytime.

Tony McEnroe
Five Star Taxi and Livery Incorporated
309-696-9596

06/03/2022

Just another BUSY Friday Night!
309-696-9596

05/29/2022

Earlier this month I announced my intent to roll out MV-1s as the first ever on demand wheelchair accessible taxi company in Greater Peoria.

This was my simple request at the time…

COMING SOON!

Please spread the word! Currently in search of wheelchair bound individuals throughout the Greater Peoria area who are willing to be interviewed, share their story and explain how this soon to launch service could impact their daily life. Feel free to call me anytime at 309-696-9596. Thanks, Five Star Tony.

Surprisingly, that post did not generate ONE SINGLE phone call from anyone stating they would use the service (or even requesting more information).

For me this has been a very personal goal for over a decade to launch a service I fully expect to operate at a loss. The Peoria Community is important to me and I happen to be an expert in ground transportation. Usually my company dispatch receives a dozen calls a week from individuals who require wheelchair accessible ground transportation and yet not ONE SINGLE call since I asked for wheelchair bound individuals to call.

This recent push to attempt a launch (6th time in 10 years) has been the best received pitch among investors and corporate sponsors. I have even sold them on the idea of coming up with a loosely need based criteria for private investment subsides for discounted or flat out free transportation to individuals as part of the launch.

This is not a tax funded program.
This is not a government sponsored service.

This is just a guy who owns a cab company who has convinced a handful of drivers and a small group of private investors and donors to chip in with me to provide something that I firmly believe is needed in our community.

All I have been asked for is to come up with the customers to validate my belief.

I suppose there is maybe a couple weeks left for me to produce this validation before the idea will have to be put on the back burner and revisited in couple years.

So, If you are wheelchair bound and would use this service in Central Illinois, please CALL at your earliest convenience. Thank you, Five Star Tony. 309-696-9596.

For more information on the MV-1 wheelchair accessible vehicle, please visit http://mv-1.us