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
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
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…
Art and Justice | African American artists – “the true historians of our culture”
Jonathon Romain sees the world with a clarity that stems from his unique perspective. “I started going to jail before I was 10 years old. I remember vividly the first time I was handcuffed and tossed into a squad car.…
Heat Waves — In Red and Black | Heat Wave Denialism: Shooting Craps with Mother Nature
Tri-County’s Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan, which covers Peoria, defines heat waves as relatively inconsequential. History tells us differently: Chicago 1995, 700 dead; France 2003, 15,000 dead; Western Russia 2010, 50,000 dead. Before Tri-County releases its 2020 plan, it could consult…
Reflections From The Clergy | Where is wisdom to be found?
When the topic of wisdom comes up, so do the usual images. Walls and walls filled with dusty old books. Elders with the wisdom of many years carved into the wrinkles on their faces. Diplomas framed and filling one’s office…
Real Talk | Searching for little messiahs
How can we see through the lies of others when we are longing for the truth? The way our mind is set up, we look for others to lead us to the truth. This path for truth comes in different…
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…
Snow and ice don’t stop him from farming year round
In the depths of winter with snow blanketing the countryside, Evan Barry picks kale and spinach in his hoop houses. His organic produce is regularly stocked at Sous Chef, 1311 SW Adams in Peoria. “With few farmers growing produce through…
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.
Peoria lost $540 million in Census 2010; Now recapture the loss
The census 2010 undercount in Peoria County cost $54 million a year in lost revenues, according to Robin Grantham, community development & engagement manager with PCCEO.
Lester Mason: justice or “archaic” penalty?
Lester Bobby Mason chopped cotton in Mississippi as a youth along with 11 brothers and sisters. But when 14-year-old Emmett Till was brutally beaten to death in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman, Mason’s mother decided in order…
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…
Editorial | Capitalism, racism, fast food and the Golden Arches
Are fast food franchises a valuable mechanism for economic growth in African-American communities or a blight that spreads high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and more? Apparently, depending on your perspective, it can be either or it can be both. Fast…
OpEd | Ending cash bond does not make us less safe
BY ANTHONY WALRAVEN, Change Peoria Every year in the State of Illinois, over a quarter of a million people pass through the 92 jails in the 102 counties of our state, and 90% of those people are detained pre-trial, most…
OpEd | Ending cash bail is not the answer
BY SHERIFF BRIAN ASBELL I have not seen any proposed legislation related to the elimination of cash bail; however, I believe this will be a dangerous practice if not properly vetted. I am a proponent of true pre-trial reform which…
The Watch | Keeping an eye on housekeeping
Early spring cleaning and preparation for a long election season apparently dominated the agendas for several local governments recently. According to Local Government Observer (LOGO) reports from the League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria, the Peoria County Election Commission…
Nature Rambles | Hill prairies
March is one of those months that many would like to bypass. It’s not the depth of winter anymore, and spring seems like it will never arrive. From my perspective, March is the perfect month to revel in the last…