Standing Rock:  Template for resistance

BY ELIIDA LAKOTA Editor’s note: Donald Trump may try to overturn the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to halt the Dakota Access Pipeline, and Native American Tribal Leaders may demand protesters leave the Standing Rock encampment before spring flooding,…

Protesting factory farms 

BY BILL KNIGHT Karen Hudson has had brushes with fame – and the law – but days after the 20th anniversary of her increased involvement with sustainable agriculture, the 61-year-old Peoria County resident stresses that she’s an everyday person and…

Gut health linked to disease, obesity

BY CLARE HOWARD Two medical researchers who arrived at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria in August dream of fighting disease and boosting immunity by restoring balance to the gut microbiome. Long-held assumptions about the human gut…

LaHood

Time is now for a bold vision for infrastructure plus bold funding  To compete on a global scale and provide our citizens with the quality of life we have come to expect, the United States must have first-rate infrastructure. This…

Monroe

What’s right with Peoria   I’m old and growing older. One of the few benefits of old age is we know what life was like years ago and see what it is today. Others can not. Peoria was different in…

Few people reside on their ancestral land; few live where they believe their religious faith originally preferred. If they did, more Mormons would populate Illinois, and a lot more Native Americans would demand a return of property throughout the state…

Open Letter to Peoria Dear Mayor Ardis and Peoria City Council Members:  Peoria should become a sanctuary city. There are two compelling factors why we should; the first is moral. Contrary to what some fake news sites indicate, sanctuary cities…

Letter

Six Brockman Women Travel to Women’s Rally for Rights On Jan. 21, six women from my family, aged 16 to almost 60, joined with 500,000 others from across the nation to march in Washington, D.C. We marched in solidarity with…

Op-Ed

February is Black History Month in a Divided Nation BY ASHLEY M. MILLER Ashley Miller is a graduate of Suffolk University Law School and currently practices law in Peoria. Black History Month 2017 is coming on the heels of a…

The Worth and Dignity of Every Person One of the core teachings of virtually all of our religious traditions and our secular democratic tradition as well is the idea that every person has worth and dignity. Democracy really cannot function…

Nature Rambles

January 20, 2017, a date that will go down in… you decide! As I write, there is a soon-to-be-inaugurated, new President leaving Blair House and traveling to St John’s Church for a morning church service. The service is closed to…

Serendipity

Valuable Insights Relearned During 12 Difficult Days Even with only the most basic medical knowledge acquired through the years, I often rely on self-diagnosis. If the condition of my hair or house is disconcerting to me, or I’m bothered that…

West Peoria News

Political caucuses for the Republican and Democratic parties were held on the evening of Dec. 6 for the upcoming township elections on April 8. The following will be running for office on April 8: Township supervisor, Sharon Kennedy; township clerk,…

Bricks & Mortar

In 2008, a ballot referendum passed with 72 percent approval to improve the library facilities throughout the Peoria Public Library system. Evidenced by this action, voters in Peoria made a public statement that all Peorians should have equal access to…

Kamara Taylor

The miseducation of the Negro: How minorities and those from poor socioeconomic status are constantly betrayed by the educational system Go to school, learn and work your way out of the ghetto! Those are words of inspiration that poor children,…

Inland Art

A distinguishing characteristic of contemporary art is that it reveals subjects either socially marginalized or sub rosa. Many artists believe art has a moral responsibility to do so. Art that advocates for the rural, but is formally and conceptually rigorous…

Arts Beat

MUSIC Feb. 3: Ed and Judy Howard. 8 p.m. Rhythm Kitchen. 676-9668. Feb. 3: The Brazilionaires “Live at the Five Spot.” 5:30 p.m. Contemporary Art Center. 674-6877. Feb. 3: Growler. 10 p.m. Kenny’s Westside Pub. 676-1693. Feb. 4: Derel Monteith.…

Labor Roundup

Lawmakers seek answers to Wal-Mart straining public resources. State Rep. John Lesch, a prosecutor in St. Paul for 15 years, can recite the address from memory: 1450 University Avenue West. That’s Wal-Mart’s Midway location, a magnet for shoplifting and other…