BY SHERIFF BRIAN ASBELL I have not seen any proposed legislation related to the elimination of cash bail; however, I believe this will be a dangerous practice if not properly vetted. I am a proponent of true pre-trial reform which…
Author Archive for contributor
Potential health risks of recreational marijuana
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Editor’s Note: Community Word ran an editorial in our September 2014 edition advocating for the legalization of recreational marijuana, not because we need more mind-altering drugs but because criminalization disproportionately impacted African Americans even though use is equal between whites…
Muslims in Peoria alarmed; NGOs fear genocide in India
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“Preparation for a genocide is definitely under way in India,” said Dr. Gregory Stanton, founder of Genocide Watch, speaking to an audience of U.S. Congressional and government officials at a briefing titled “Ground Reports on Kashmir and NRC (National Register…
Letter to the Editor | And click! I became a feminist
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The independent film “The First Rainbow Coalition” was shown by WTVP. It was also screened at ICC, sponsored by Community Word, WTVP-TV, ICC’s Department of Diversity & Community Impact and the West Central Illinois Labor Council. It was a memorable…
Reflections From A Baha’i | Uphold human rights by embracing freedoms of belief
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When I was a teenager, my family hosted a refugee family from Iran. They had fled persecution, forced to abandoned their homeland because they were members of the Baha’i Faith, the largest minority religion in Iran. Since the faith’s inception…
OpEd | Earning a living should not be curtailed due to discrimination over sexual orientation
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The United States Supreme Court in October heard oral arguments in three cases concerning employment discrimination against gay or transgender workers. In one, a county employee in Georgia was fired after joining a gay recreational softball league for “conduct unbecoming…
OpEd | Whistleblowers, sources and the constitution
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BY TORI WHIDDEN Throughout the United States, government agencies are unconstitutionally enforcing restrictive policies that are negatively affecting the public’s access to information. First Amendment rights allow public employees to speak about work-related matters without the permission of their superiors.…
Labor Roundup | December 2019
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National Labor Relations Board plans to ban RAs, TAs from unionizing, and activists such as Princeton University Research Assistant Hrishikesh Somayaji are protesting. “We simply need a union to be able to bargain for the rights that we deserve as…
OpEd | The case against Amazon’s Ring doorbell
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BY ZACHARY GITTRICH On July 23, the Peoria City Council entered into a contract with Ring Security, owned by Amazon, to provide discounted Ring security cameras to Peoria residents. The city council shelled out $50,000 to bring the cost down.…
Labor Roundup | November 2019
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Illinois-based Railway Workers United urges united front. A rank-and-file group spanning all rail crafts, unions and carriers is petitioning leaders of all 13 U.S. rail unions to coordinate bargaining as a united front in the next round of talks with…