Most people seem relieved that April’s consolidated local election is going smoothly, and that November’s election is over (one that longtime Republican Christopher Krebs, U.S. Cybersecurity chief, said was “the most secure in American history”). Despite that – some say…
Straight Talk | Never was, never will
Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh has died at the young age of 70. As someone who has spent a large part of his life in radio, I can tell you there was never anyone who was as popular as…
Editorial | What Tom Vilsack fails to say about hunger
Letter to the Editor | Vaccination and cell line from aborted fetuses
With the approval of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine against the COVID-19 virus, concerns have been raised by some religious leaders that it was developed using cell lines from fetuses aborted decades ago. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference has recommended that…
The Watch | Council helps fund new fire station
Local governments grapple with Pandemic Year Two . . . alongside their regular business. Peoria City Council started the Jan. 26 meeting wearing their Peoria Township hats by approving township expenses for January and February. A public hearing on the…
Real Talk | Miseducation about the vaccination –– why people of color mistrust medicine
As I write this article, I have spent the last year as most of us have –– isolated, socially distanced and careful often times in fear or thinking about the unknown such as where did this virus come dfrom? Why…
Inland Art | Carmon Colangelo
Carmon Colangelo intervenes on the modern. Gestural abstraction, informal geometries, diaristic ephemera, surrealist afterimages, and architectonic montage all inform his practice. He fills work with happenstance, surfing through printmaking, drawing, painting and digital media to reconsider a principal birthright of…
OpEd | Vaccinate prison inmates for societal well-being
Art & Justice | Natalie Jackson
Arts Beat | April 2021
New senior housing in rural areas
The Housing Authority of Champaign County is reaching out 100 miles to develop an affordable senior living facility in Henry, a small community just 34 miles north of Peoria. Called Oak Field Place, the new 30-unit, affordable senior housing facility…
Reflections from an Existential Lens | Religion, Secularism, and the Meaning of Life, Part III
In David Hume’s “Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion,” three characters debate God’s existence. The character Demea represents rational theology and deductive argument—at least until the end, when he suddenly declares that “each man feels, in a manner, the truth of religion…
Heat Waves — In Red and Black | Designed to Fail: Texas’ Radically Deregulated Power Grid
The massive, multi-day electricity blackout in Texas this February vividly highlights the importance of reliable electricity during extreme heat or cold. The economic cost to Texas from days without power will be close to $200 billion, or $75 billion more…
Nature Rambles | Bloodroot
Serendipity | Life Lessons Learned
Boredom is not something that usually affects me. Some people have even commented I’m easily entertained. I take that as a compliment regardless of how it’s intended. When my three children were growing up and would complain about “nothing to…
West Peoria News | On the ballot
These candidates in the City of West Peoria are currently running for office in the April 6 city council election: Ward 1, LeRoy Dohm, Jr.; Ward 2, Merlin “Rocky” Mathewson; Ward 3, John F. Siewert II and Clark Abraham; Ward…
Labor Roundup | April 2021
Amazon union drive helped by White House, NFL, Hollywood. The election to unionize a Bessemer, Ala., Amazon warehouse employing almost 6,000 workers is getting support from a variety of figures, from President Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to National…
When government aid falls short, mutual aid steps in
Peoria attorney wakes up each morning grateful to be alive
Inequality: An “apartheid” system of vaccine distribution
Israel is basking in positive international recognition for truly rapid and efficient COVID-19 vaccination rates among citizens. However, the Israeli militarily occupies the West Bank and Gaza and the under-reported story there is that the population has no or limited…
The end of a civic journey
Mary Harkrader taught her children they owed themselves and others their active participation in civic life –– both as a responsibility and a pleasure. She taught by example. Harkrader died Jan. 30 at age 86. Her husband Al, long-time photographer…
The Lion’s Den | A Founding Father of Black (American) History
By the time you read this, we will have turned the page on February 2021 and thus turned the page on Black History Month. Once thought of as essential and necessary, many, including African Americans, have begun to question its…