A serious accident at the Journal Star resulted in the loss of a man’s leg. The incident occurred Dec. 21, and an investigation by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration remains ongoing. Journalists were ordered not to report on…
Articles
Gen Z’er to deliver Clean Water Celebration keynote
by Community Word Staff • • 0 Comments
Following the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, students took on the gun debate. Following heightened understanding of global climate change, teens are again taking the lead where adults have failed. One of the most…
War on plastic — from guns to plow shares
by Clare Howard • • 0 Comments
Luke Haverhals likes to carefully calibrate his aim at problems – avoiding the distractions of little problems and keeping his focus on the big ones. Those, he contends, are petroleum and plastic. “Agriculture at its worst is still better than…
The voting rights lawsuit and cumulative voting
by contributor • • 0 Comments
Editor’s Note: Joyce Banks was lead plaintiff in a 1987 lawsuit against the city of Peoria, Peoria Public Schools and Peoria Park District to get fair representation for African Americans in elected government positions. Cumulative voting helps ensure this goal.…
Green New Deal
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
Three members of Illinois’ Congressional delegation are co-sponsoring the Green New Deal, an ambitious public-works plan to address climate change and inequality, and though it faces stiff Republican opposition, it resonates with the public. Democratic U.S. Reps. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia,…
Love your Valentine and love the planet
by Clare Howard • • 0 Comments
Kira Santiago understands the complexities of expressing love on Valentine’s Day. She wants to remind people that when thinking about love, extend thoughts to local, sustainable and organic. Organic matters for flowers as well as food! Santiago is an organic…
Untold stories from government shutdown
by Clare Howard • • 0 Comments
While furloughed federal employees are assured they will get back pay following the government’s temporary shutdown, contract workers have no such assurances. There are about 35 independent contract workers at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria. Requesting…
“Medicare for All” increasingly popular
by Bill Knight • • 1 Comment
Health care’s high costs, inferior coverage and lack of inexpensive options aren’t news, but within 72 hours early last month, a few things sparked renewed interest in the increasingly feasible Medicare for All – news about price hikes for various…
Health care costs burden the country
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
Central Illinois is familiar with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which for decades has treated children with leukemia. But few realize the cost associated with one of the most effective medicines used to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML): Gleevec. Manufactured…
Learn our history to change our future
by Community Word Staff • • 0 Comments
More than a dozen majestic oaks still stand in Hall Woods near Hall Cemetery just east of Lacon, witness to a lynching in 1898. The exact site of the lynching, reportedly by a mob of 100 men from Toluca, is…