As Major League Baseball resumes a few days early this season, a few familiar and obscure comments about the National Pastime might be a nice warm-up on a chilly Spring – and a respite from controversies. From ex-ballplayers Jim Bouton…
Author Archive for Bill Knight
In Peoria, one of the most obvious places the economy affects us is in the restaurant business
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
The economy isn’t an abstract and government shouldn’t “operate as a business.”Economic woes affect employers and workers, consumers and kids, retirees and almost everyone in a community, a nation – now, a world. And government doesn’t exist to mimic corporations…
Commercial Border War with Indiana, Illinois still has ‘mile after magnificent mile’
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
A cinder-block truck stop on the south side of Interstate 74 at Pittsboro, Ind., used to serve outstanding biscuits and gravy, and I made a point of stopping there every time I drove through our neighboring state – where I…
Good Guys and Wise Men
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
When the lingering, languid Fall finally faded, it went fast, yielding to the harsh arrival of frigid temperatures, blustery winds and suddenly obvious darkness. The days are too short. The days were too short, too, for two good guys who…
‘Waiting for Superman’ incomplete on education
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
If hospitals didn’t provide scalpels to surgeons or if contractors prohibited plumbers from using wrenches, would we get out the pitchforks and torches to storm operating rooms and basements? That’s unclear after seeing the new documentary from Oscar-winning director David…
Thanksgiving, Stewardship and the Rich
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
There are hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans who are millionaires, according to public and private studies, and given the economy, it’s not illogical to appeal to them for help.But some criticize the rich as detached, unfeeling or both, which seems…
Caring for ‘the least of these’
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
Midway between the Census Bureau’s Sept. 16 release of poverty data and the Nov. 2 midterm elections, the Catholic Diocese of Peoria on Saturday, Oct. 9 is sponsoring a day-long institute on social justice open to all. One wonders whether…
Freedom and Tolerance
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
September was the month in 1789 when the nation’s first Congress proposed to state legislatures the Bill of Rights, including the First Amendment, guaranteeing freedom of religion. September also marks the end of Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, which on…
Should non-profits voluntarily pay city, county more?
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
Most nonprofit outfits are exempt from paying property taxes, but with budget crises at the city, county and schools, Peoria could use assistance from those nonprofits able to help. Contributing to city or county services would make a positive difference…
Cat, Ameren, ADM among Toxic 100 air polluters
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
A new list of the top corporate air polluters in the United States includes two companies based in Peoria and a third Illinois firm with a key operation here, according to researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The “Toxic…