Protesters shouted objections outside a payday loan store in Campustown when they were told Peoria has six times more payday loan stores per capita than Chicago. Organizers of the protest rally from Illinois People’s Action told the group that…
For more than 70 years, GED was synonymous with “second chance.” The high school equivalency degree provided an opportunity for thousands of school dropouts to regain their footing. With a GED, people could get better jobs, access to union apprenticeship…
Power brokers or power vacuum? BY BILL KNIGHT The increasing vibrancy of the Warehouse District is seen when crowds hear the Peoria Municipal Band play on Water Street, and the livelier downtown is showcased in Caterpillar’s Visitors Center or the…
BY CLARE HOWARD Les Cohen firmly believes part of the solution to Peoria’s combined sewer overflow problem lies in rethinking the notion of parking lot. He recently replaced the old asphalt lot at his building at 428 SW Washington St.…
A FITTING TRIBUTE A large crowd gathered at the remaining baseball diamond at Glen Oak Park Saturday, June 6, for the ceremony naming it Royce Elliott Field. Park board president Tim Cassidy and Mayor Jim Ardis were among Royce’s…
‘Tis the Season . . . for toxins Driving north on Knoxville Avenue recently, I spotted a seasonally ubiquitous and totally illogical sight: a man striding across a tiny swatch of turf grass near a strip shopping center. Marching across…
Talking about drugs’ side effects, the late comic Robin Williams said, “There’s a product called Olestra, which is a very strange thing. ‘Olestra? What is that?’ It’s said on the little side of the chips: ‘May cause anal leakage.’ That’s…
Trans fat ban; Koehler was right Illinois Sen. Dave Koehler should feel exonerated. Labels like “nanny state” were hurled at him years ago for his efforts to ban trans fat. It took the FDA a while to catch up with…
Shavua Tov! (Happy New Week!) I write this sitting in Jerusalem, looking out my window as the Sabbath has ended and the city is coming back to life after the 25 hours of quiet and calm that mark Shabbat in…
July Fourth marks a special day for our West Peoria community and citizens. It is the day that each year the community opens its doors, streets, hearts and welcomes thousands to our community for the longest running Fourth of July…
