Wes Brooks can rightfully promote his movie Space Prairie — Act I as “years in the making.” Maybe more importantly, the 26-year-old can also legitimately call himself a filmmaker. Brooks and two other Peoria-area filmmakers screened some of their work…
Creative clothing with a view toward sustainability is the focus of three fashionistas in Peoria. Dana Baldwin creates phenomenal evening gowns, wraps and coats, Aareon Boyd up-cycles vintage wear and Lily Scalf focuses on natural dyes and elegant daywear. Each…
Russian oligarchs are named incorrectly. America has oligarchs, men whose extraordinary wealth can sway governments. As Gilens and Page (2014) show, economic elites and big corporations get their way when Congress crafts legislation whereas ordinary citizens have negligible impact. Wealth…
Thanks to Bill Rau and The Community Word for highlighting the concerns around the massive CO2 pipeline buildout planned for Illinois. These pipelines are dangerous, especially when run through densely populated areas like Peoria’s South Side where the geography ensures…
Firearm violence is taking place in communities across the nation and recently surpassed motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of injurious death in the United States. Peoria is no exception. Firearm homicides of Peoria County residents doubled from 2020…
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court last June, many states have passed legislation defining and limiting the circumstances under which abortions may be performed. As a result, many doctors and hospitals have been extremely timid about…
April is the month when the forest floor comes alive with new growth. In Illinois forests, the ground layer comes alive while the tree tops still slumber. The amount of daylight steadily increases throughout the month as spring takes over…
On Saturday, May 13, the morning will start slow for thousands of volunteers from coast to coast. At the USPS Persimmon Annex just south of the State Street Post Office, Cub Scouts from Pack 219 will meet, grab a snack,…
By a whopping 70%, Peoria County voters said the office of County Auditor should be closed. Members of the County Board had overwhelmingly stated there was no need for an elected auditor. Auditor Jessica Thomas was expected to accept the…
Judge Bruce Fehrenbacher on March 15 denied a motion from Peoria County filed in November to dismiss as moot a lawsuit brought Sept. 15 by Karrie Alms and County Auditor Jessica Thomas challenging the 2022 referendum abolishing the Auditor’s office.…
Almost three-fourths of UAW ballots cast OK’d T.A. with Cat. The United Auto Workers on March 13 started working under a new, six-year contract with Caterpillar Inc. after a ratification vote the previous day resulted in 71.5% voting union members…
The Sierra Club, the Illinois Environmental Council, Faith in Place Action Fund and other groups are supporting an Illinois House measure to phase out single-use foam food ware on Jan. 1, 2025. Introduced Feb. 13, House Bill 2376 would amend…
The nonpartisan League of Conservation Voters last month issued its annual 2022 National Environmental Scorecard, and U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Peoria) was given a 5%. This new scorecard considered 19 House votes and 23 Senate votes, including the clean energy…
After another light-hearted April Fools Day and the cheery promise of April showers’ importance to May flowers, the deadline for filing federal income tax returns (April 18 this year) can be a dark day, rekindling people’s resentment about taxes generally,…
Ten candidates are running for the Peoria City Council’s five at-large seats in the non-partisan election April 4. Under Peoria’s system, voters casting ballots for these races have five votes to cast for the candidates. Voters may choose to cast…
Spring cleaning begins with updated contracts, budgets, reports and ordinance tweaks. Your representatives paved the way for a new hotel in Downtown Peoria and bridge projects in the county. And they heard concerns about a proposed CO2 pipeline that could…
Sharon McBride, a beloved West Peoria figure, has retired from writing this column after three decades. Her contributions to the community through her writing have been invaluable, and her passion for sharing its stories and events was evident in every…
Wolf/ADM (2022) wants to run a CO2 pipeline through Peoria and Tazewell Counties, route a trunk line to Peoria’s BioUrja ethanol plant, and possibly inject CO2 into the Mt. Simon Basin extending beneath your counties. For an antidote to Wolf/ADM…
The Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition is the second-longest running juried print and drawing competition in the country. It was established following WWII, where veterans were returning from Europe and the economy was improving. Ernest Freed realized that printmaking…
March is one of those months that can seem to last forever. It can be a month where a waning winter reawakens, followed by a summer-like day of promise. From a weather perspective, it’s all over the place. The record…
