When I turned on the kitchen radio, I was startled: Opposite Day? Bizarro world? A Russian hack? Expecting reliable WIRL-AM 1290’s enjoyable, pleasantly distracting classic tunes, I heard Sean Hannity. Days before, the oldies station had quietly become another conservative…
Author Archive for Bill Knight
Bill Knight | Persistence can pay off with Peoria rail service
by Bill Knight • • 1 Comment
Hooray! Hold on … Don’t plan to ride the rails to Chicago to see an exhibit, ballgame or concert yet. Amtrak’s 50th anniversary was in 2021, but it’s been years that Amtrak fans like me have driven to Galesburg or…
Ray Long to appear at Bradley to promote book on Michael Madigan
by Bill Knight • • 1 Comment
Chicago Tribune reporter Ray Long — whose new book, The House That Madigan Built: The Record Run of Illinois’ Velvet Hammer, was excerpted in last month’s Community Word — is set to appear at Bradley University on Monday, April 18…
ACLU active at Illinois Statehouse
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois on March 8 announced lobbying efforts during the General Assembly’s current session. The ACLU is focusing on passing two measures and defeating two others. The statewide group supports HB2452, which would reduce barriers…
Chiefs locked in on playing in Peoria
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
Despite the 99-day lockout in Major League Baseball, more than 150 minor leaguers worked out at the St. Louis Cardinals’ Spring Training facilities in Jupiter, Fla. And the Peoria Chiefs expect their Class A squad to arrive in town April…
Ag lab providing tons of fresh produce for local food pantries since 2010
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
Since the holidays, catalogs for gardening tools and seeds might have piled up like paper compost, but spring is here, and a group of volunteer gardeners at Peoria’s Ag Lab is preparing this season. “We’re planning and will be getting…
Bill Knight | Harmless revenue stream or dangerous scheme; Do you wanna bet?
by Bill Knight • • 3 Comments
Illinois is soaked with gambling, from lotteries and casinos to off-track betting and video slots in what seems like every gas station with a few square feet of seating over by shelves of over-priced junk food. This month, things will…
Peoria city redistricting proceeding
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
At press time, the Peoria City Council is expected to vote Feb. 22 on a redistricting map after a Feb. 8 public hearing that discussed so-called Version 2.3. As reported in the February Community Word, out Jan. 26, the 2020…
Art Alerts | March 2022
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
Judith W. Mann will discuss one of the most famous women painters of the modern era — Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi — at the Peoria Riverfront Museum on March 10. The lecture by Mann, St. Louis Art Museum’s curator of…
Bill Knight | Say these names for 2021
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
Last year, Peoria County had the highest number of homicides since 2019, approaching the dismal statistic logged by Cook County. The 34 murder victims mean a murder rate of 18.9/100,000 people, compared to Cook County’s 21/100,000 stemming from its 1,087…