Election Day Nov. 3 will soon be upon us. My first presidential election was November 1968. I voted for Richard Nixon mainly because he promised to heal the country after the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. Also,…
Columns
Straight Talk | The race for mayor
by Roger Monroe • • 2 Comments
Lots of people have announced they’re running for mayor of Peoria, some others are undecided and that includes current City Hall leader Jim Ardis. WMBD-TV keeps announcing Ardis has declared. He hasn’t. Rita Ali, elected just a year ago to…
The Lion’s Den | Nature’s Lessons
by Daniel McCloud • • 0 Comments
As summer slips into fall and the sound of the cicadas provide us with a nightly symphony, I am reminded of the simplicity of nature and how it has a way of gently reminding us that despite what we think,…
Bill Knight | Trump’s defiance of science and law
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
The day Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died and President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged to violate McConnell’s own precedent on USSC vacancies, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency re-authorized the use of the herbicide atrazine, which contaminates…
Real Talk | Black Excellence
by Sherry Cannon • • 2 Comments
“As I was sitting at work on the verge of tears, just thinking that the color of my skin could literally decide on whether I would make it home to family and friends, I was at a loss. I am…
The Watch | Springdale sees increase in burials, cremations
by Terry Bibo • • 0 Comments
Whatever 2020 throws at us, your government leaders are finding a way to grind it out. Springdale Cemetery Authority met Aug. 18, using Webex. Manager Mark Matuszak reported the number of burials and cremations is up considerably over last year.…
Nature Rambles | A Swift Autumn
by Mike Miller • • 0 Comments
Back in the August issue of Community Word, this column mentioned the fact that the Chimney Swift Tower at the Peoria Park District’s Tawny Oaks Field Station had a pair of swifts take up residence and build a nest. I’m…
Inland Art | Chicago’s Hubbard Street district
by Paul Krainak • • 1 Comment
Chicago’s Hubbard Street district was a coalescent site of experimental art in the ’70s and ’80s. For artists and designers, the street had a radical presence that was distinctive, nurturing and pleasurable. Loft buildings and raw spaces hosted enormous crowds…
Reflections From A Secular Humanist | Religion and fear
by Community Word Staff • • 0 Comments
As a Secular Humanist, I don’t believe in Gods, Satan, heaven, hell, condemnation, salvation, souls, sin, karma, reincarnation, life after death, supernatural beings, inerrant scriptures, miracles, magical thinking or messages from Gods. The virtues of religious people are also found…
Heat Waves — In Red and Black | Will Illinois State University’s Reggie Redbird Get a Green Vest?
by William Rau • • 0 Comments
As climate wildfires rage and the world burns, we ask: who is rising to the challenges of the multiplying climate catastrophes? Illinois State University (ISU) has not. Instead, ISU has retreated from past climate commitments. The retreat begins in earnest…