Artificial sweeteners are worse than sugar because of the way they affect the microbiome in the gut, Dr. John Principe told about 40 physicians and medical students recently during a day-long workshop at Spence Farm in Fairbury. Principe tells his…
Critical “tipping point” between unions and so-called “right to work” BY CLARE HOWARD As the nation celebrates Labor Day with parades and picnics, an “apocalyptic” moment is brewing in the United States with Illinois widely viewed as a critical pivotal…
After 40 years of farming in rural Princeton, Dan Schafer is between a rock and a hard place, grappling with a problem that could threaten his livelihood and the safety of the public food supply. He told his long-time…
State Sen. Daniel Biss arrived in Springfield in 2011 with an academic background in mathematics and a progressive bent. He plans to run for state comptroller and has studied pension reform, the state budget and leveraging social and environmental…
For more than 70 years, GED was synonymous with “second chance.” The high school equivalency degree provided an opportunity for thousands of school dropouts to regain their footing. With a GED, people could get better jobs, access to union apprenticeship…
BY CLARE HOWARD Les Cohen firmly believes part of the solution to Peoria’s combined sewer overflow problem lies in rethinking the notion of parking lot. He recently replaced the old asphalt lot at his building at 428 SW Washington St.…
Pleasure boats speed past the Murray Baker Bridge and jet skis zigzag back and forth across the channel through an area of the Illinois River near downtown Peoria where untreated sewage enters the river during heavy rain. The city would…
One of the most widely used pesticides in the Peoria area and around the world, applied plentifully by both homeowners and farmers, was labeled a probable human carcinogen by the World Health Organization recently. Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup,…
Inequality is poisoning the American dream. As economic inequality grows, expanding geographic areas of this country lose hope. Hopelessness destroys democracy and poisons faith in the judicial system. Right now, faith in the American judicial system is paper thin: Trayvon…
The Illinois EPA was not notified about a crash on Route 29 north of Peoria that resulted in coal fly ash spilling over the highway. Two southbound lanes of the road were closed for hours during a cleanup operation involving…
