On Monday, November 21, Kindermusik at Trinity is offering a new 8 weekclass for babies newborn thru 18 months.

KINDERMUSIK® VILLAGE is for lap babies, crawlers, and walkers. It incorporates the most current research on early childhood development and provides families a special place for learning and connecting with other parents and babies through music and movement.

In this class, Do-Si-Do pick up your baby and dance! Dance the Charleston, the Tango, and the Cha-Cha and learn why dancing with your baby helps develop vital learning skills—from head-to-toe. Your baby will play a variety of baby appropriate instruments, and dance with fun props.

Home Materials: CD with songs from class, an instrument—Kindermusik eggshaker and scarf, a picture board book—Do-Si-Do—with lilting move-to-it rhyming text, and a set of Art Banners for the nursery wall that strengthens vision and promotes early literacy. Classes are offered on Monday at 9:00 or Thursday at 1:15. The cost, $90 includes tuition and At Home Materials.

Classes are held at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church on the corner of Randolph and Hamilton in downtown Peoria. Call Marie at 676-4609 to register.

Voters in Peoria may be asked to consider keeping or discarding the current Cumulative Voting system now in place for electing Peoria At-Large Councilpersons.

Two public forums were held. Highlights of the RiverWest Forum held November 2 will be shown on CAPtions, Wednesday Nov. 9 at 7:00 p.m., later at Midnight; and Sunday, Nov. 13 at 5:00 p.m., on Comcast Cable 22.

Dr. Larry Aspin, Political Science Department chair at Bradley University, presents results of a study determining whether cumulative voting has helped increase minority representation on the Peoria City council.

Pat Landes presents different examples of District maps for the City of Peoria, which would take effect in 2012. The moderator of the forum is Brad McMillan, executive director of the Institute of Principled Leadership in Pubic Service. The one-hour broadcast also includes questions and comments from the forum audience.

The City Council will hear a report on the survey results and studies on November 15th. A vote to put the issue on a ballot for March 2012 could be made then.

The entire 1-hour 25-minute forum can be seen in 15 minute segments on YouTube. Just do a search of ‘pcceopeoria’ to find the segments. These segments will be on YouTube by Tuesday night.

CAPtions is produced by the Peoria Citizens Committee for Economic Opportunities, Inc. Media Services Department, and is funded in part by a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

The public is invited to the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce’s 36th Annual Thanksgiving Day Luncheon on Friday, November 18 at 11:45 a.m. The event will be at the Embassy Suites and Riverfront Conference Center. Featured speaker will be Ed Rapp, Group President and CFO of Caterpillar, Inc. Rapp will be presenting “Don’t Take It for Granted: Your country, your community, your family. This is a time to not only celebrate everything we enjoy in our country, community and families, but to be mindful of our responsibilities to each.” We will also present the annual Tom Connor award for community service.

Luncheon sponsored by: CEFCU
Presentation of the Tom Connor Award presented by: WestPoint Financial Group

Visit http://peoriachamber.org/event/36th-annual-community-thanksgiving-luncheon to reserve your table or seat.

Tickets:
$45 Peoria Chamber Member Ticket
$450 Chamber Member Table Purchase – Table of 10
$65 Non Chamber Member Ticket
$650 Non Chamber Member table – Table of 10

On Sunday, November 20th at 7:00 p.m. the Universalist Unitarian Church of Peoria, 3000 W. Richwoods Boulevard, will host a lecture on “The Struggle for LGBT Rights in Uganda” by the Rev. Mark Kiyimba. The public is invited to attend this free educational opportunity.

Presenter, Rev. Mark Kiyimba, is the founder of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Uganda, the New Life School for children orphaned by HIV and AIDS, and an orphanage home for children orphaned by HIV and AIDS.

The presentation will focus on the struggle for LGBT rights in Uganda as well as the role of the church and how American evangelical pastors traveled to Uganda to instigate hate against LGBT people. Rev. Kiyimba will also talk about the struggle against the severe Anti-Homosexuality Bill and will show the film, “Homosexuality: the Last African Taboo”.

A free will offering will be taken to support the projects of Rev. Kiyimba in Uganda. Child care will be provided during the presentation

Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) praised the recent announcement that legislation will be introduced in the House of Representatives in the coming weeks that will link domestic energy production with the funding for transportation related programs. Since September, Congressman Schock has been advocating aggressively for a highway bill that is paid for by using revenues from domestic energy production from new oil and gas leases combined with the current motor fuel tax.

“I commend Speaker Boehner for his leadership on this issue. Moving forward with a bill that ties our domestic energy production to efforts to fund a more robust highway bill is an innovative way to help job creation and fuel our domestic energy production at the same time,” said Schock. “The American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) gives our transportation infrastructure a grade of “D.” This is exactly why I have been so vocal for the passage of a more robust highway bill and one that is linked to domestic energy production. We need to reinvest in both a national energy strategy as well as our infrastructure.”

The announcement that a bill will soon be introduced with the goal that it will be brought up for vote by the end of the year is good news for the infrastructure community and job creators who will benefit from the certainty that will be provided by a more robust highway bill.

“What America’s infrastructure needs is not another one time shot in the arm, but rather a highway bill that will create jobs now and help grow our economy in the future,” said Doug Whitley, President of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. “I am pleased the House will soon introduce legislation that will provide a way forward for a larger highway bill. On top of that, I am excited that such a bill will be linked to domestic energy production that Congressman Schock has been pushing for months. ”

The Community Foundation of Central Illinois Participates in National Effort to Highlight Local Impact of Philanthropy

During the week of November 12-18, 2011, The Community Foundation of Central Illinois will join more than 700 community foundations across America for Community Foundation Week. For more than 20 years, the effort has raised awareness about the increasingly important role of these philanthropic organizations in fostering local collaboration and innovation to address persistent civic and economic challenges.

During the week, CFCI will celebrate by receiving a proclamation from Mayor Jim Ardis on Tuesday, November 8 and visiting Bradley University ’s Service on Saturday program funded by a CFCI grant from the Thomas and Ellen Foster Fund of the Community Foundation of Central Illinois, at Crittenton Center ’s Stocking Stuffer Store at the Shoppes at Grand Prairie on November 12. In addition, CFCI is participating in and supporting the Association of Fundraising Professional’s National Philanthropy Day Luncheon, November 9, where outstanding donors, volunteers, corporations, foundations, small businesses, youth in philanthropy and others will be honored in recognition of their work in improving their communities and their world every day.

“Community foundations impact lives, solve problems, and improve futures,” said Mark Roberts, CEO. “In a down economy, with limited resources and a growing need for services to help families in need, we are more determined than ever to bring our community partners together to find innovative and effective solutions to some of our most challenging social problems.”

Community foundations are independent, public entities that steward philanthropic resources from institutional and individual donors to local nonprofits that are the heart of strong, vibrant communities.

Community foundations represent one of the fastest-growing forms of philanthropy. Every state in the United States is home to at least one community foundation—large and small, urban and rural—that is advancing solutions to a wide range of social issues. The 2010 Columbus Survey found that despite the recession, giving by the nation’s 100 largest community foundations actually increased slightly in 2010 to $3.7 billion and exceeded prerecession levels seen in 2006 and 2007.

Launched in 1989 through a proclamation by former president George H.W. Bush, the first Community Foundation Week included a congressional briefing about the work of community foundations throughout America and their collaborative approach to working with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to address community problems.

Only 167 hospitals nationwide earned distinction

OSF Saint Francis Heart Hospital is pleased to announce it has received the American College of Cardiology Foundation’s NCDR ACTION Registry–GWTG Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2011.

OSF Saint Francis is one of only 167 hospitals nationwide to earn this recognition.

The award recognizes commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients, and signifies that OSF Saint Francis has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.

“OSF Saint Francis allows us to have the resources and personnel to achieve excellent patient care,” said John Rashid, MD, Cardiologist, OSF Saint Francis Heart Hospital and HeartCare Midwest. “Our Heart 7-7-7 program is such a collaborative effort from the EMS team transmitting the EKG’s, our emergency department staff, our cath lab staff, and the HeartCare Midwest physicians. Our program compares second to none and we are honored to receive this award.”

To receive the ACTION Registry–GWTG Gold Performance Achievement Award, a hospital must consistently follow the treatment guidelines in ACTION Registry–GWTG for eight consecutive quarters and meet a performance standard of 85% for specific performance measures.

ACTION Registry–GWTG is a partnership between the American College of Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association with partnering support from the American College of Emergency Physicians, Society of Chest Pain Centers and the Society of Hospital Medicine.

For more information about ACTION Registry- GWTG, visit www.ncdr.com/action.

The Central Illinois Youth Symphony will hold its fall concert Friday, November 18th at 7:00 p.m. at Metamora High School. Performing will be the Central Illinois Prep Orchestra, Central Illinois Concert Orchestra, Central Illinois Youth Symphony and Central Illinois Percussion Ensemble. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children 18 & under. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at www.artstix.artspartners.net. For more information, please contact the CIYS office at 888-218-4650 or info@ciys.org.

Registration for Holiday Assistance Begins Today

The Salvation Army officially opens its Christmas Center this afternoon, November 7 at 1:00 p.m. The staff at The Sylvia Fites Family Services Center will begin accepting applications from families seeking assistance during the upcoming holiday months. Funds raised through the Tree of Lights Campaign provide holiday assistance and financial support of various programs that serve the less fortunate in the Peoria area throughout the year.

The Christmas Center will be open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m., and on Thursdays from 1:00 – 7:00 p.m. The Salvation Army not only offers its own assistance programs throughout the holidays, but in partnership with the Peoria Journal Star and in cooperation with other social service agencies, The Salvation Army acts as the clearing house for all those who wish to receive a Christmas food basket. This process helps reduce the duplication of services in the Peoria area and distribution of baskets to those in need. The sign-ups include those wishing to receive food baskets, any of The Salvation Army toy programs, holiday parties and Coats for Kids.

Individuals signing up need to have proper ID, showing their current address, and for those with children, a copy of the child’s birth certificate or medical card. Sign-up is for Coats for Kids, Christmas food baskets, and our various toy giveaways, including the Share the Spirit Party and our Christmas Toy Shop.

The Tree of Lights Campaign officially kicks-off on Friday, November 11 indoors at Northwoods Mall and the familiar red kettles will be out that same day. The monies raised during the Tree of Lights Campaign comprise more than a third of the overall annual budget for The Salvation Army in the Peoria area.

For more information about the Christmas Center, please call 655-7272.

Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) will be in Macomb TODAY, Monday, November 7 to attend the Western Illinois University Mock Presidential Election. Schock will address the attendees this evening while on the campus of Western Illinois University.

WHO: Congressman Aaron Schock
WHAT: Congressman Schock will attend and address the attendees during the Western Illinois University Mock Presidential Election this evening.
WHERE: Western Illinois University, Western Hall, Macomb, IL 61455
WHEN: TODAY, Monday, November 7, 2011, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. CT; 7:00 p.m. CT – Approximate time Congressman Schock will deliver remarks

BACKGROUND: WIU is hosting what may be the largest and most elaborate Mock Presidential Election in the nation. The event takes place in ten sessions over five nights and simulates the entire process from the Iowa caucuses through the electoral college vote. The event culminates in Western Hall on the Macomb campus on November 7, with nearly 6,000 students, faculty and staff. This event will include presentation of all candidates, the WIU band, and introductions by college president, Jack Thomas.