Once again, Peoria tops a nationwide list –– this time for harsh sentences for nonviolent drug offenders. Many in the judicial system contend these disproportionally harsh sentences do not make society safer but only serve to feed mass incarceration. Federal…
Most people didn’t hear about some big news this spring. It was good news but wasn’t a surprise, say local arts advocates. But the absence of reporting on it seems to some like the heavy-equipment industry making unexpected gains but…
Yunek Moore fulfilled every dream a parent could have. She was president of her class at Peoria High School, member of the National Honor Society, enrolled in after-school activities and was college bound. Then, inexplicably, she was singled out at…
Seven of the sixteen Trump cabinet positions have “acting” secretaries. Defense, Homeland Security, Interior, Chief of Staff, Office of Management and Budget, Small Business Administration. On April 10, President Trump told Americans that he was running the Department of Homeland…
Dirty politics, surly opposition and ugly social media all surfaced around April’s election. Some races had no challengers; some couldn’t fill vacancies; some unqualified candidates resorted to name-calling or paying others for negative appeals. Willingness to serve takes time, money…
The Bradley basketball season is over after a surprising finish by Coach Brian Wardle and his Braves. They won the Missouri Valley tournament and gave nationally ranked Michigan State a run for the money before losing in the NCAA tournament…
Rabbi Brant Rosen is a scholar who has patience, empathy and courage in his activism for Palestinian people and social justice. He proves it is possible to love Israel and the Jewish faith and protest human rights violations in Gaza.…
BY KAREN HUDSON Illinois Citizens for Clean Air & Water recently hosted the Midwest premiere of “Right to Harm” at the Peoria Riverfront Museum Giant Screen Theater. The film reveals the multiple externalities created by concentrated animal feeding operations or…
My salutations to the guru who opens the eyes of the one who is blind due to the darkness of ignorance with an ointment of knowledge. The first full week of May is celebrated as Teachers Appreciation week in the…
This month we review the Oscar-nominated documentary 13th by filmmaker Ava DuVernay. This film takes an in-depth look at the industrial prison complex and the 13th Amendment which contributes to mass incarceration. The film highlights the role that politics and…
Days after a wonderful visit with a good friend who lives in Maryland and was here seeing family, the quote about not being able to go home again popped into my mind. I googled it to see others’ thoughts, and…
Sometimes trees will surprise you. Even those that are so common that they go virtually unnoticed. Take the Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) for example. It is a tree that grows from the east coast of the United States all the…
Webster’s dictionary has the meaning of the word “loss” as the state of feeling grief when deprived of someone or something of value; and the word “healing” meaning to make sound or whole. Since the election of Donald Trump, there…
One of the benefits in living in central Illinois is that our communities are big enough to provide amenities and small enough to produce connections that enable citizens to be influencers. This column is a good example of how two…
MUSIC May 1 and each Wednesday: John Miller. 6 p.m. Rhythm Kitchen. 676-9668. May 1-17: Gerald M. Brookhart Arts in Education Spring Celebration. 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, Peoria County Courthouse Plaza. 672-6906. May 1: Bradley String Chamber Music, 7:30 p.m.…
Susanne Nestory has been a resident of Peoria for a little more than a decade. She came from New Jersey as the interim director of Bradley University’s Gallery and Collections and is currently and has been an adjunct professor since…
Learn the truth about the graduated income tax. There are only eight states including Illinois that still have a regressive flat tax that hits low-income and middle-income earners the hardest. Gov. JB Pritzker favors a fair/graduated income tax with high-income…
Workers’ Memorial Day is Saturday, April 28, and if you’re reading this issue before then, central Illinois labor unions are having a 3 p.m. service at the Workers Memorial Monument outside City Hall to honor workers who’ve died or been…
First light on a July morning hints at the heat and humidity to follow, but Dwayne Harris has a joyful heart as he lugs around heavy hoses and waters 100 raised vegetable beds at 5 a.m. Harris has a goal…
Sherrie Campbell uses her body to communicate, heal, nurture and inspire. The former principal dancer with Peoria Ballet says her deep connection with the environment and dance has helped her navigate rough periods in life and infuses her with healing…
