Detainees at the Peoria County Jail cast absentee ballots for the statewide primary in March. They will vote again in the upcoming presidential elections. Peoria County Jail Superintendent Ronda Guyton coordinated with Peoria County Board of Elections director Tom Bride…
Research and nearly half a century of precedent have widely disproven the value of three-strikes-and-you’re-out, but change may be too slow in coming for Lester Mason. The three-strikes legislation was supposed to act as a deterrent to violent crime. Instead,…
As the world hunkers down under quarantines and business closings, here are some facts on this latest “novel” virus. COVID-19 is a new coronavirus that was initially identified in Wuhan, China, and linked to a seafood and live animal “wet…
Jonathon Romain sees the world with a clarity that stems from his unique perspective. “I started going to jail before I was 10 years old. I remember vividly the first time I was handcuffed and tossed into a squad car.…
In the depths of winter with snow blanketing the countryside, Evan Barry picks kale and spinach in his hoop houses. His organic produce is regularly stocked at Sous Chef, 1311 SW Adams in Peoria. “With few farmers growing produce through…
Lester Bobby Mason chopped cotton in Mississippi as a youth along with 11 brothers and sisters. But when 14-year-old Emmett Till was brutally beaten to death in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman, Mason’s mother decided in order…
Are fast food franchises a valuable mechanism for economic growth in African-American communities or a blight that spreads high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and more? Apparently, depending on your perspective, it can be either or it can be both. Fast…
“The Politics of Hair” is a storytelling campaign planned by Ill. Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth to highlight the discrimination African-Americans experience due to hairstyles including natural, braids and dreadlocks. Many people in America who deny racism still exists need to hear…
Everyone who has watched Australia burn and Jakarta flood need look no further than Peoria for dangerous, life-threatening changes due to climate change. William Rau, Illinois State University emeritus professor of sociology, said communities in central Illinois need detailed emergency…
Southern Poverty Law Center has tracked a steady rise in hate groups from 892 in 2015 to 917 in 2016 and 1,020 groups in 2018. The numbers for 2019 won’t be released until next month, but news accounts document an…
