I have known and watched Brett Kavanaugh for two decades having first met him and his family playing golf at a charity golf outing supporting cancer research. While I was in Congress during President George W. Bush’s term, Brett served…
Straight Talk | The Deed Is Done!
I did it. Never thought I would. I quit taking the Peoria Journal. I’ve been a reader for decades. Before that, I was a carrier delivering the Peoria Journal Star in the morning to the south of my North Madison…
Bill Knight | Chicago Farmer
“Chicago Farmer” is a great name for an act, like “Goofy Ridge Industrialist” or “nonviolent commando.” But Chicago Farmer is much more than a snappy name. Born Cody Diekhoff, Chicago Farmer is more than a 39-year-old “singer/songwriter.” The troubadour is…
Editorial | Weaponizing Free Speech
REUTERS PHOTO: Man standing at a Trump rally in a T-shirt with this printing: “Rope Tree Journalist Some assembly required” A woman and young girl stand nearby laughing. Since when did this become constitutionally protected free speech in the United…
Letter to the Editor | Protecting coal ash, not children
Governor Rauner’s Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) is failing to protect us. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) weakened federal health and water protections for communities near toxic coal ash waste dumps. If you live in the Peoria area, that…
Real Talk | You’re not going to take our pain and make it a novelty
Often times, we wonder why urban inner city violence is so romanticized, and that other races want to mimic the lifestyle in theory but in reality remain distant. While listening to NPR, I heard a podcast about a restaurant that…
Op-Ed | If only they’d come the right way …
Editor’s Note: Immigrants and refugee seekers have different rights. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, everyone has a right to seek asylum from persecution and violence. The UN states that “some mass displacements may…
Reflections From The Clergy | Rescue Children from the Caves of Poverty
One of the paradoxes of human nature is that we are capable of cooperating with others for the common good as well as “otherizing” people for our own gain. While many Americans were fervently praying for the safe rescue of…
Serendipty | Vacation Wisdom
Family vacations are great opportunities for honing cooperation and adapting skills; and enjoying new sights, family bonding, and relaxation. Ideally they also include experiences to inspire teachable moments. Even the good, beautiful, boring, or challenging can be rich with lessons.…
Nature Rambles | ‘Nature in Progress’ at former golf course
A new sign stands at the entrance to what used to be the Detweiller Golf Course. It reads “Nature in Progress… Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.” It is an invitation to get out and explore an area…
Inland Art | Sculpture Walk
This year’s Peoria Sculpture Walk raises a few questions about public art –– for Peoria and for urban settings in general. It’s perennially challenging for any artwork to hold viewers attention in the turmoil of urban settings –– particularly if…
Arts Beat | August 2018
Aug. 1: Peoria Municipal Band. 7 p.m. Warehouse District. 691-3318. Aug. 2 and each Thursday: Tanner Picton. 5 p.m. Kickapoo Creek Winery. 495-9463. Aug. 2: Thursday Night Jazz Series, featuring Ellen and Derel Monteith. 7-8:30 p.m., CEFCU Center Stage at…
West Peoria News | Boy Scout Ice Cream Social
Boy Scout Troop 11 ice cream social is 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 23 at the West Peoria Fire Station, 406 N. Waverly Ave. A $2.50 donation includes dessert, ice cream and a drink. This is another West Peoria tradition.…
Labor Roundup | August 2018
NFL Players union files over anthem policy. The NFL Players Association on July 10 filed a grievance with the league challenging its new National Anthem policy, saying the new policy was imposed without consultation with the union, is inconsistent with…
Art. What Is It Good For? | Big Picture Film Festival
The big screen at Peoria Riverfront Museum calls for big plans, and independent film producer Allison Walsh is delivering with the first annual Big Picture Film Festival open to aspiring filmmakers in Central Illinois (within 50 miles of Peoria). We…
Unlearning bias
It lasted just minutes, but it reverberated around the country as yet another example of racism in America. Closely following the unfolding story were long-time NAACP members Jean and Sam Polk. They watched national TV coverage and read newspapers ––…
Ag studies: good, bad, scary
Glancing at area farm fields, one recalls the Rodgers and Hammerstein lyric “the corn is as high as an elephant’s eye,” and new research from the University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Studies (ACES) strengthens the notion…
Economic cost of losing newspapers
Not too many years ago, there were 112 members of the Peoria Newspaper Guild representing employees at the Journal Star including reporters, photographers and workers in circulation. That number has plummeted and now there are only 29 Newspaper Guild members…
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense
As gun violence across America continues, groups are forming to protest and strategize. Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense has a chapter in Peoria that meets monthly the second Monday of each month 6 to 7 p.m. at United Presbyterian…
Views & Perspectives | Trump’s actions and inaction
June 4 was the 500th day of President Trump in the White House. Trump’s trade policy is a disaster for American agriculture and American business. The tariffs on agricultural commodities are horrible policy for our farmers. The tariffs are horrible…
Straight Talk | The Fight Continues
Just when the Peoria Catholic Diocese thought the fight with the Catholic Archdiocese of New York might be over, they learned it isn’t. New York Catholics don’t want the remains of Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be moved to Peoria. For…
Bill Knight | Eugene Debs fought for workers, free speech
After escalating tensions in Bosnia, Herzegovina and Serbia and the assassination of Austria-Hungary heir and Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist, 104 years ago this month Germany pledged military support to Austria-Hungary, which three weeks later declared war on…