Bill Knight | Market forces, climate change, lawsuits drive closure of coal fired power plants
It was a slap in the face but no shock when Texas-based Vistra Energy announced its closing of somewhat modernized coal-burning power plants near Canton, Coffeen, Havana and Hennepin, Ill., to meet terms of a deal negotiated with the state,…
New fungus a global threat
People already in various medical facilities and the health professionals helping them have a new threat: a fungus named Candida auris (C. auris) that’s developed resistance to multiple drugs and is killing tens of thousands in the United States and…
Peoria judge welcomes immigrants
For a number of years, Judge James Shadid has conducted naturalization ceremonies in Peoria swearing in new citizens. These immigrants have come from dozens of countries around the world. With the current turmoil, uncertainty and misinformation about immigration, Judge Shadid’s…
Chillicothe mosquito fogging stokes dissent
Mike Contratto is a former military man. He’s from a military family and grew up on a military base. He’s a West Point graduate, and he’ll admonish anyone who calls him an environmental activist. He says he’s “not an activist,…
Views & Perspectives | Congress should debate and pass laws to protect innocent, law-abiding citizens
As Congress returns from the August break to Washington, there is an urgency to seriously protect innocent, law-abiding citizens from those who are mentally ill or just simply intent on killing fellow citizens. New laws that significantly fund mental health…
Straight Talk | Courthouse challenges
As the various county departments are busy preparing budgets for 2020, there are other challenges in the Courthouse. The County Board appropriately approved the recommendations of chairman Andrew Rand to fill the vacancies created with the deaths of State’s Attorney…
Bill Knight | ‘Traditional Christian beliefs’
Three years ago, I went to an interfaith meeting at Peoria’s Islamic Foundation, where an evangelical pastor, a Presbyterian minister and elected officials all spoke on Americans’ freedom to worship, and apart from all of their insightful words, the turnout…
Editorial | Illinois’ anti-BDS legislation in 2015; now U.S. House rejects BDS
Support for universal basic human rights should be an easy position to defend and promote. Support for Palestinian basic human rights apparently is not. Palestinian human rights cannot honestly be conflated with anti-Semitism, but that’s precisely what’s happening. The Boycott,…
Letter to the Editor | RE: Journal Star dances with Wall Street – again
Having been a daily newspaper reader for life; growing up with the St. Louis Globe-Democrat in southern Illinois and a subscriber to the Peoria Journal Star upon moving to Peoria in 1970 has prompted me to write this comment in…
OpEd | A unique perspective on the abortion issue
DR. DAVID M. PRIVER, MD, FACOG From the years 1971 through 1974, I had the privilege to serve as a resident in the specialty of obstetrics and gynecology at the prestigious Sinai Hospital, Detroit, Mich. As any resident knows only…
The Watch | Journalistic bloodbath
It doesn’t seem possible. Despite a hot job market elsewhere, news came mid-summer that even more journalists are unemployed. “The news business is on pace for its worst job losses in a decade as about 3,000 people have been laid…
The Lion’s Den | The science of racism
The topic over the last two weeks has focused on racial tensions that have long been woven in the fabric of America. Many are not surprised while some cannot recognize this America. Many believe that we live in a colorblind…
Art: What is it Good For? | Street arts showcase community
Big Picture Peoria 2019 Street Festival will be held Oct. 12. We felt you would enjoy hearing about it from some of those who are working hard again this year to hold the most unique and surprising annual arts event…
Inland Art | Kohler Arts Center
Founded in 1967, the Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wis., is one of the most innovative and uncoventionally curated museums in the country. Many modestly sized museums such as the Kohler that have a contemporary art agenda and/or research mission…
Arts Beat | September 2019
Sept. 1-2: Vinyl Tap, 7:30 p.m. Sunday and 11:30 a.m. Monday. Delavan Fall Festival. Delavan. 840-0838. Sept. 3, 10 and 17: John Miller and Preston Jackson. 7 p.m. Broken Tree Café. 648-1439. Sept. 4, 11 and 18: : John Miller.…
Serendipity | Memories and Music
Living in the same house for 42 years offers perspectives not so evident to people who move regularly. It certainly offers challenges concerning the need to sort and send rather than keep and stack possessions. But life’s a trade off…
Nature Rambles | Sensitive Briar
Herbariums are repositories for plant specimens that botanists have collected, dried, pressed and preserved on archival paper. They contain information on the location where the specimens were collected, the date, the habitat present and any other details the collector thinks…
Real Talk | True Justice
I recently watched the documentary “True Justice” which tells the story of Bryan Stevenson, the attorney who started the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala. Not unlike his book “Just Mercy,” it was a difficult watch and took me five…
West Peoria News | Fire department
The second annual Taste of West Peoria and West Peoria Fire Department Family Day are both planned for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 15th on Waverly Ave. Redevelop grant applications are still available in City Hall. Home owners are…
Faith in Place | Religion and the environment
Across Illinois, people of faith are responding to the climate crisis, connecting with one another and taking action through a unique interfaith organization called Faith in Place. Faith in Place empowers people, from many diverse religious traditions, to become champions…
Labor Roundup | September 2019
Miners block train to demand stolen wages. For days last month, Kentucky miners and their families occupied a railroad track, blocking a train that’s loaded with coal the workers dug out of the earth and never got paid for. Mine…