Editorial | The press

S.A. Shepler (c) Community Word 2020

We are living in dangerous times for democracy when the press is blamed, pilloried, discredited and barred from public meetings. The national press pool is corralled in at Trump rallies as the crowd chants “Lock them up.” That animosity has…

OpEd | Inconsistencies in anti-abortion reasoning

In January, the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal money from the state of California if it does not drop its requirement that private insurers cover abortions. It declared that California was in violation of the federal Weldon Amendment, which…

COVID-19 Briefs

As the world hunkers down under quarantines and business closings, here are some facts on this latest “novel” virus. COVID-19 is a new coronavirus that was initially identified in Wuhan, China, and linked to a seafood and live animal “wet…

The Watch | Mailed ballots

Peoria County’s first vote of 2020 returned via Singapore, according to Local Government Observer (LOGO) reports from the League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria. By the time Peoria County Board of Election Commissioners met on Feb. 11, about 150…

Nature Rambles | April flowers

Shooting star

Anyone who wanders through our parks in April can’t help but notice the emerging spring. As Emerson penned, that the “earth laughs in flowers,” and indeed April is rich with such laughter. Wooded trails are alive with the hues of…

Inland Art | Andrea Ferrigno

Escalier La Fuel

Under her designation of “Systems and Structures,” Andrea Ferrigno plots the stratosphere in graphite. In dizzying constellations, like the drawing “Static Search,” delicate contours arc from one dark polestar to another. Passages compress and then re-open as they flow across…

Labor Roundup | April 2020

Labor-law reform passes House, stalling in Senate. The Democratic-run U.S. House has approved the Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, the nation’s most comprehensive pro-worker reform in decades. Pro-worker lawmakers and union representatives crafted the measure (HR2474), which would…

West Peoria News | Annual clean-up day

April is a busy month for local governments. West Peoria Township has two annual events that can impact all West Peorians. First is the Township’s Annual Meeting which is mandated to be held on the second Tuesday of April to…

Serendipity | Rewards of children

Grandparents are life’s bonuses. Typically old enough to know many interesting things, they’ve lived long enough to acquire wisdom, good judgment and humor etiquette. They know what’s worth fussing about, and what to overlook. And they rarely feel the need…

Study: toxins pervasive in drinking water

Illinois may not have the worst contamination of PFAS “forever chemicals,” according to a new study by the Environmental Working Group, but the toxic compounds are present in water systems and groundwater in Peoria, Galesburg, Bloomington and the Quad Cities. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the legislature recognize the danger, and some are pressing for reforms.

The Lion’s Den | Sticks and stones

Everyone remembers the saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” When scrutinized, this phrase is a thought process that is used as a defense mechanism to fend off insults and verbal barbs that…

Straight Talk | So much for medical privacy

In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act setting standards for the electronic exchange, privacy and security of health information. Commonly known as HIPPA law, it was designed to protect everyone’s health records. Hospital and medical office…

Bill Knight | Poverty

The word poverty can conjure thoughts of Appalachia, Ethiopia or inner-city neighborhoods, but often the reality of the less fortunate isn’t “them.” It’s “us.” The poor are used to being ignored. Poverty increased in almost one-third of U.S. counties since…