Presidential candidates: On food, farming and climate change The differences between the candidates on food policy is enormous even though neither has a well-articulated, comprehensive plan that adequately addresses the issues. Access to sustainably raised local food should be a…
Voter Restrictions: The New Jim Crow “Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot” is a new documentary produced by the Southern Poverty Law Center with financial support from Terry Matthews, one of the co-owners of Community Word. Terry is passionate about…
Do Not Sever Labor from Democracy Labor Day started in 1882 to celebrate and respect the contributions of American workers and provide them with a paid holiday. Today, “respect” and “celebrate” are less part of the equation. Today, the holiday…
LGBT rights important for the country Some states are trying to legally establish who gets to use men’s restrooms and who has the bon fides to use women’s restrooms, but this issue is about a lot more than access to…
Why is anyone opposed to common-sense gun control laws like waiting periods and background checks? The reason is purely financial, suggests a new documentary “Making a Killing: Guns, Greed and the NRA.” The film will be shown at 5:30 p.m.…
Hoosick Falls versus Bedford Falls: Guardian angel for one but not the other Greed almost ruined Bedford Falls, the idyllic fictional town in the Frank Capra classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” When George Bailey (James Stewart) felt overwhelmed by a…
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death leaves the court balanced between conservative and liberal positions on free speech rights and unions. Scalia and the court’s other conservatives comprised a winning five-block coalition that had been expected to issue a conservative…
Food Stamp spending cut nationwide but Illinois, thankfully, bucks the trend On the campaign trail in early January, presidential candidate Jeb Bush called for an end to Food Stamps, replacing the federal program with “Right to Rise” grants awarded to…
Aaron Mair, national president of the Sierra Club, spoke in Peoria at the state NAACP conference and said it’s a “false trick” to protect the coal industry because it provides jobs. Now Robert Pollin, distinguished professor of economics at…
