Two Cicero workers died, two fired after complaining of safety at bakery. Two workers at Bimbo Bakeries in suburban Chicago died due to COVID-19 shortly after two others were discharged following public complaints of inadequate safety measures. Gerardo Mello and…
Author Archive for Community Word Staff
Straight Talk | Loss of another Peoria icon
by Community Word Staff • • 0 Comments
Peoria lost another leader with the death of Ray Becker, the city’s greatest builder of buildings. One of the few advantages of being old is I don’t have to dig through newspaper files or view news videos to talk about…
Bill Knight | Being coroner during COVID-19
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It’s common to praise first responders, especially in the pandemic. What of “last responders”? Coroners. On Illinois’ deadliest day in the global coronavirus outbreak, Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood reflected on first realizing the potential challenges ahead. Months ago, the…
Reflections From The Clergy | Ramadan amidst COVID-19; a blessing in disguise
by Community Word Staff • • 1 Comment
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on humanity at large, people of all backgrounds and walks of life. This encompasses faith communities worldwide. Being cut away from worship places is not an easy task for any faith community, although…
Science Briefs | June 2020
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Green economic recovery from COVID-19 Companies worth more than $2.4 trillion are calling for a green economic recovery from the global pandemic, according to Bloomberg Law. Two-thirds of these 150 companies signing a statement calling for a green recovery are…
Lester Mason’s life sentence under review as COVID-19 targets prisons
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Lester Bobby Mason, 76, has been asking for a sentencing review and clemency for nearly 40 years. He now has that opportunity. He was sentenced to natural life in prison with no chance for parole under the now-widely discredited three-strikes…
Serendipity | Day by day
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Growing older doesn’t bother me as it happens with or without my approval. Favoring the more positive, romantic approach, I bought into the idea popularized by poet and playwright Robert Browning. In an 1864 published work, he wrote, “Grow old…
Labor Roundup | June 2020
by Community Word Staff • • 0 Comments
Meatpacking plants must remain open despite COVID-19 sickening workers. The virus forced some plants to close, but they reopened under an order from President Trump using the Defense Production Act. Employers haven’t properly safeguarded workers with the tests, protective gear…
My Truth
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BY LESTER B. MASON My eyes have witnessed many changes throughout the nearly 40 years of being incarcerated in the Illinois prison system. My name is Lester Mason inmate #64349 at Pontiac Prison Facility. I have been granted an opportunity…
Food during the COVID-19 pandemic
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BY HENRY BROCKMAN We are in completely uncharted waters as this novel coronavirus sweeps across the globe sickening millions and killing thousands. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations warns that this pandemic has disrupted agriculture and food…