Criminal justice reform
Michelle Alexander has called some uses of electronic ankle monitors the newest Jim Crow and “e-carceration.” The cost of some monitors can be $300 a month, and people ordered to wear a monitor can easily fall into arrears and face…
Toxins in our neighborhood
Five years ago, a fire at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, resulted in an explosion that created a 93-foot crater; destroyed more than 150 buildings, including an apartment building and school; killed 15 people; and injured 160 others. In…
Views & Perspectives | 2018 elections year of women and record turnout
The 2018 elections set many new records. It appears the largest ever number of voters turned out in an off-year election when traditionally people do not vote. Nov. 6 election participation by eligible voters was 49.2 percent nationwide. This is…
Bill Knight | Dissent and protest in America
A 36-year-old history professor at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, Dawson Barrett is a 2000 graduate of Illinois Valley Central High School in Chillicothe. He has a new book about recent history and an appreciation for his interest…
Straight Talk | Post election thoughts
The elections are over … for most. After voters were submitted to countless ads in the media and way too many political interviews, the dust has settled. The winners are enjoying the fruits of their labors and the losers are…
Editorial | Ah … he’s adopted
Diversity training helps expand understanding. Journalism is foundational to democracy, but the craft is still evolving based on our levels of assessment and training in issues related to diversity. It used to seem OK to repeat a police description of…
Letter to the Editor | Call Congress to voice support
A vital piece of federal legislation, the permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, awaits final Congressional approval before legislators adjourn in December. It would authorize the full, permanent, dedicated funding of America’s most important conservation and recreation…
Letter to the Editor | Take a second look at Kavanaugh
The current administration is establishing itself in history for using the power of the executive branch to reverse progress made over the past 50 years toward implementing the values of equality and wisdom. Instead, we see threats to better U.S.…
Op-Ed | Blackmail by plea bargain
BY ELIIDA LAKOTA Chase Iron Eyes is a member of the Standing Rock Nation in North Dakota. He is an attorney, an Indian activist and a member of the Lakota People’s Law Project. He was a Democratic candidate who ran…
Reflections From The Clergy | Maternal health is a human rights issue
As Christmas decorations and celebrations surround us, we often take for granted the story of the birth of Jesus that created the reason for this holiday. I have found that as we remember all the other strange and miraculous stories…
Real Talk | A -meri -Ca / A country divided
Never in my lifetime have I seen so much division in a democratic country. I realize that in a society where we have allowed sound bites and hash tags to think for us, we have gotten lost in the translation…
Nature Rambles | Nero fiddles
As November snows fall on the quiet landscape of Central Illinois, an inferno of unprecedented magnitude blisters California. Wildfires rip through the foothills near Paradise, Chico and Malibu, whipped to a frenzy by dry Santa Ana winds. Fires are so…
Inland Art | A not-in-New York artist
With 2018 winding down, I feel obliged to reflect briefly on central contemporary art figures in the Midwest. Art from the middle America differentiates itself from coastal markets via artists such as Ed Paschke, Phyllis Bramson, Kerry James Marshall and…
Art: What is it Good For? | What will it take to be a national arts destination?
The words “Peoria will be a national arts destination” are heard around town in more and more meetings and gatherings. It’s a grand concept first declared by John Morris, CEO and president of the Peoria Riverfront Museum, but what exactly…
Arts Beat | December 2018
MUSIC Dec. 1: The Way Down Wanderers present “Wandering Home for The Holidays,” with Amoramora and Still Shine. 8 p.m. Monarch Music Hall. 966-0826. Dec. 1: Kenny G. 8 p.m. Peoria Civic Center Theater. 673-3200. Dec. 1: Bradley String Chamber…
Serendipity | Smiles and tears during the holidays
Sentimentality isn’t necessarily a component of holiday plans. Perhaps my current bout with heightened emotions has something to do with my age. Since turning 70 some seven months ago, I’ve chalked up nearly every unusual response as an age related…
West Peoria News | Holiday season is underway
A greeting from the West Peoria Beautification committee: “Garland and lights have been hung on the Welcome Wall, Township and City Hall with care knowing that the holiday season would soon be here. Snowmen are keeping a watchful look out…
Labor Roundup | December 2018
The U.S. Agriculture Department planned to speed up poultry plant production four years ago after lobbying by big poultry processors, endangering 250,000 workers and potentially putting sick chickens on consumers’ plates. But labor protested, and the USDA backed down. In…
Cleve’s triumph
After 47 years in prison for a murder conviction that was vacated, Cleve Heidelberg lived just 306 days as a free man in Peoria before he died of heart failure, but his ultimate triumph remains his challenge to society to…
Invisible barriers to GED
Darryl Townsend felt a strange sense of alarm as he walked into the Peoria County Courthouse, through security, past armed guards. He was there for his GED test, but it was not test anxiety he was experiencing. It was knowledge…