Columns

West Peoria News

There are two different opportunities for West Peorians to improve the lives of others during the upcoming holiday season. Non-perishable food items are desperately needed for the 30th annual Stuff-a-Bus for Friendship House to be shared with families in need. Stuff-a-Bus is hosted by…

Inland Art

Chris Holbrook is a printmaker by discipline and a homespun expressionist. He has formal and conceptual affiliations with the Chicago Imagist School as well as other regional artists known for idiosyncratic narratives infused with a decidedly Midwestern funk and philosophy.…

Arts Beat

MUSIC Nov. 3: Judy Page. 8 p.m. Rhythm Kitchen. 676-9668. Nov. 3: Dexter O’Neal & Funk Yard “Live at the Five Spot.” 5:30 p.m. Contemporary Art Center. 674-6877. Nov. 4: The Estampie Trio chamber music concert. 3 p.m. Eureka College…

Nature Rambles

A world of wounds September has gone down in history for its record-breaking warmth. Locally, it has turned out to be one of the driest as well. Each month we hear we broke a record, and collectively each year seems…

Serendipity

Thirty years ago, I walked across Bradley University’s campus with intention and nervous haste. Having graduated from Illinois Central College (ICC) three months earlier, I was going to Bradley Hall for my first university class. At age 39, I was…

Kamara Taylor

Kneeling for equality I’m often asked by eager learners who, out of respect, would like to know my intellectual stance on players kneeling during the national anthem. Growing up as a young inner city youth in Chicago and now being…

LaHood

CONGRESS MUST PASS DREAM ACT TO REINSTATE DACA (DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD ARRIVALS) In early September, President Trump ordered an end to the Obama-era program that shields young undocumented immigrants from deportation, calling it an “amnesty-first approach” and urging Congress…

Knight

Assumptions v. realities; common assumptions aren’t always common sense; or factual Even hard numbers aren’t always accurate or complete, whether it’s our hunches about crime or what many of us believe Americans actually think: real public opinion. Respected and nonpartisan…

Monroe

WOODRUFF’S 80TH CELEBRATION They held a birthday celebration at Woodruff High School Saturday, Sept. 9 and more than 550 people packed the Commons area to sing Happy Birthday to their alma mater. Sing and talk they did about old days…