Peoria County State’s Attorney Jerry Brady said he will not reopen a case that sent Cleve Heidelberg to prison 45 years ago despite information from a Chicago attorney and local investigator that the police investigation and prosecution of the case…
Features
Peoria’s “revolving door of poison” — Childhood lead poisoning devastates families & communities
by Clare Howard • • 0 Comments
Flint, Mich., pushed childhood lead poisoning onto a national stage, but Peoria’s lead poisoning levels are equally “frightening” and will hurt Peoria for generations to come, one health care provider said. “We have a revolving door of poison,” said Dr.…
POLITICAL BULL
by Roger Monroe • • 1 Comment
With that headline, readers will probably think I’m going to talk about the presidential debates, Republican and Democrat. Not so. I’m referring to those local and area office holders who’ve been on television and in the newspaper talking about helping…
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
Five years after the publication of Peorian John Kelly’s “The Other Law of Moses,” the 250-page paperback seems as relevant as ever. Progressive populist Bernie Sanders talks about income inequality and college debt; conservative populist Donald Trump rails about overpriced…
“Unimaginable injustice” 45 years in prison
by Clare Howard • • 5 Comments
Is Cleve Heidelberg INNOCENT? BY CLARE HOWARD On a cold, gray Friday afternoon in mid-January, Marcella Teplitz and Andrew Hale drove east on Harmon Highway from the site of the old Bellevue Drive-In movie theater. Outside the theater ticket booth…
Food deserts
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
Distance and income leave some neighborhoods hungry for good food BY BILL KNIGHT The need is chicken-or-egg. And meat and fruit . . . . Neighborhoods need full-service groceries for consumers to shop for healthy food, but businesses need customer…
Recognition and demand grow for organic farmer
by terrabrockman • • 13 Comments
BY TERRA BROCKMAN The Illinois Department of Agriculture has named a fifth generation central Illinois farmer, Harold Wilken, the winner of the annual R.J. Vollmer Award for Sustainable Agriculture. Wilken, together with his wife Sandy and son Ross, are the…
Central Illinois: A Cancer Cluster?
by Clare Howard • • 22 Comments
BY CLARE HOWARD Kim Crandall walks her dogs, Roo and Mia, everyday on the streets around her Morton home and in the nearby park bordering corn and soybean fields. The walk gives her time to reflect on an alarming pattern…
Facts refute Muslim terrorist narrative; reveal right-wing, anti-government extremism
by Community Word Staff • • 2 Comments
BY IMAM KAMIL MUFTI The Moslems (Muslims) Are Coming! After giving quite a bit of thought to this column, I decided to talk about a common phrase I hear in the media and from some of our politicians about…
Outreach connects Rivermen to community
by Community Word Staff • • 2 Comments
By BILL KNIGHT Many Peorians may have only a vague idea of the difference between a slap shot and a chip shot, or think a hat trick needs a bunny, or a power play involves the Koch brothers. But the…