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

Hill Prairie

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…

Heat Waves — In Red & Black | Climate matters

In 2004, climate scientists predicted “more intense, more frequent and longer lasting heat waves” this century. In 2008, the 2nd National Climate Assessment projected heat waves in the Midwest every summer by midcentury. Last year, the Union of Concerned Scientists’…

Inland Art | “The Volte-Face”

The Volte-Face

Dan Devening’s work is a meticulous hybrid of disciplinary practices. He treads the periphery of painting, collage, graphic design and architecture, looking for new paths between demonstrated customs and proven structures.

Art: What is it Good For? | If It’s Broke, Fix It

If it is broke

The public education system in the United States is broken. A quick Google search reveals some of the problems that are nationally prevalent. Achievement gaps. Overcrowded. Underfunded. Outdated. High dropout rate. School-to-prison pipeline. These harsh realities have existed for decades…

PeoriaCon March 7 offers cosplay and comics

Hours before heading to Chicago and days ahead of the second PeoriaCon, Jason Johnston leads onlookers through a display of comic and other artwork on display at Studios on Sheridan. The 41-year-old Peorian, who formerly worked trade shows with Events…

Arts Beat | March 2020

Juarez Hawkins

March 9-April 17: 7th Central Time Ceramics exhibit. Bradley University’s Heuser Art Gallery & Hartmann Center Gallery. March 12: “African American Art in Bronzeville.” Lecture by Juarez Hawkins, Chicago artist, curator and professor. 10-11 a.m. Peoria Riverfront Museum; and 6-7…

Real Talk | A Republic, if we can keep it

What happened to the purist Republican Senate during the trial of Bill Clinton? In 1999, President Clinton was charged and impeached by the House of Representatives for lying under oath and obstruction of justice. The independent counsel who brought the…

Labor Roundup | March 2020

Journalists unionizing at Sports Illustrated, alternatives in Phoenix, Miami. Arbitrary firings by a new management firm with no sports news experience, plus an uncertain future relying on “stringers” led more than 90% of the remaining 80 full-time staffers of Sports…

Discrimination and “The Politics of Hair”

Jehan Gordon-Booth

“The Politics of Hair” is a storytelling campaign planned by Ill. Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth to highlight the discrimination African-Americans experience due to hairstyles including natural, braids and dreadlocks. Many people in America who deny racism still exists need to hear…

ISU Professor: Peoria vulnerable to killer heat waves

William Rau

Everyone who has watched Australia burn and Jakarta flood need look no further than Peoria for dangerous, life-threatening changes due to climate change. William Rau, Illinois State University emeritus professor of sociology, said communities in central Illinois need detailed emergency…

Potential health risks of recreational marijuana

Editor’s Note: Community Word ran an editorial in our September 2014 edition advocating for the legalization of recreational marijuana, not because we need more mind-altering drugs but because criminalization disproportionately impacted African Americans even though use is equal between whites…

The Lion’s Den | I Am Not My Hair

Hair discrimination

The California-based legislation, The Crown (Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act, SB-188, is designed to prevent discrimination toward African Americans based on their hair. This law is housed under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act and…