Family holiday celebrations always included a birthday cake for my paternal grandmother who was born on Dec. 25. She often seemed somewhat surprised that we remembered. I wondered if maybe her birthday as a child was overlooked. I hope not.…
Lawmakers hit secret VA scheme to partially privatize health care. Five congressional Democrats, all military veterans, have warned the Department of Veterans Affairs against its reported scheme to partially privatize VA health care by merging part of its system with…
Blacks as Amnesia Victims My grandmother has begun to age, and it is the norm that her memory is beginning to phase out. Maybe the stress of losing her daughter at the young age of 50 or burying two sisters…
Memorialized on postcards and souvenir vases after opening in 1910, the Jefferson Building (Fulton and Jefferson streets) towered over the Peoria skyline symbolizing the city’s move into the modern age. Shortly before, local civic leaders William Hull and Edward Leisy…
Following decade of no pay raises journalists see tiny salary boost
After nearly a decade with no pay raises and constant increases in their share of health insurance premiums, employees at Peoria’s only daily newspaper may see a small increase in pay and a commitment to freeze their share of health…
Salting our roads — and water and fields
There are always trade-offs, it seems. In “Inherit the Wind,” the Henry Drummond character (Spencer Tracy in the film version) sums it up: “Progress has never been a bargain; you have to pay for it. Sometimes I think there’s a…
Mark Clark’s body in morgue unclaimed; family never notified
BY LAWRENCE J. MAUSHARD Editor’s Note: Peorian Mark Clark was 22 and a member of the Peoria NAACP and leader of the Peoria Chapter of the Illinois Black Panther Party. He was running a BPP free breakfast program for children…
Medicaid expansion helps more women
For those who consider access to safe, legal abortion a basic human right, there was a sense of justice when Gov. Bruce Rauner defied many in his base and signed House Bill 40 into law. The legislation, effective Jan. 1,…
December is for Reflection and Celebrating the Season of Joy As I write my last column of 2017, I reflect on the extraordinary public service careers of three outstanding Central Illinois citizens. My mentor and friend, former Congressman Bob Michel, passed…
Just before Christmas 1946, Dorothy Day permanently left Maryfarm in Pennsylvania, one of dozens of Houses of Hospitality her group, Catholic Worker, started setting up in the 1930s. This Christmastime, Day remains an impressive figure. Her granddaughter Kate Hennessy has…
Setting the Record Straight A story in the sports section of the Peoria Journal sent me scrambling to research Bradley basketball because I felt the writer had made several errors. He wrote that current basketball fortunes could lead to a…
Racism is measurable, quantifiable, toxic Poverty, discrimination and injustice are the planned, intended consequences of racism, a system of beliefs sustained by fake assertions. Joe Madison, host of the Sirius talk radio show “The Black Eagle,” spoke at the Peoria…
Applauding Peoria’s Comprehensive Sex Education Curriculum When a child is born, a doctor says, “It’s a boy” or “It’s a girl.” Assigning someone’s sex is based on biology — chromosomes, anatomy and hormones. But a person’s gender identity — the…
Reflections From A Secular Humanist
BY HARRY ELGER When the Hubble telescope was positioned outside the distortion of Earth’s atmosphere, an extrapolated estimate of 2 trillion galaxies became visible. The universe is 13.82 billion years old. Earth is only 4.52 billion years old. Humans are…
Santa is taking the time to stop by and enjoy breakfast with West Peoria kids 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 2. He has checked with the Franciscan Complex and booked a time for breakfast there for him and Mrs.…
Unannounced visitors aren’t necessarily my favorites, mainly because I don’t always live organized and clutter free. I can pull it together given adequate notice, but spur of the moment isn’t my forte. Likely it’s a genetic thing. My mother was…
Monday, Dec. 4, Chicago sculptor Donna Hapac will open an exhibition at the Hartmann Gallery at Bradley University displaying forms and themes she has explored over the last three decades. I first met Donna in graduate school in the MFA…
MUSIC Dec. 1-2: Chicago Farmer. 7 p.m. Apollo Theater. 673-4343. Dec. 1: “Nutcracker 2017,” 7 p.m. Limelight Eventplex. 693-1234. Dec. 1: Central Illinois Youth Symphony and Concert Orchestra. 7:30 p.m. ICC’s Performing Arts Center. 678-6541. Dec. 1: Bradley Women’s Choir. 7:30…
Racism and America Earlier this year, I participated in an event called “Let’s Talk: Improving Racial and Cultural Relationships” at the Universalist Unitarian Church. The event consisted of two large group 4-hour workshops and 2-3 small group discussions around Ta-Nehesi…
Personal contacts & issues beat cash & pro-Trump campaigns. Unionists talking face-to-face about issues that matter to voters beat cascades of corporate cash and pro-Trump campaigns from right-wing candidates in November elections, said unionists, who added that being anti-Trump helped,…