Applications are now available for the 2022 Housing Rehabilitation Program, which provides a 50/50 matching grant of up to $15,000 of assistance to property owners of single-family residential properties within Qualified Census Tracts (QCT). Developed by the Community Development Department…
Author Archive for Bill Knight
Time to act: Newspapers are under attack
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Time to act: Newspapers are under attack
In news, it’s said, “if it bleeds, it leads.” That means the hemorrhaging of daily newspaper circulation should be uppermost in people’s minds — to stay informed, if not remain in a democratic society. The U.S. daily newspaper circulation is…
What are the odds this is COVID-iocy? New BA.5 variant may be most contagious as diligence in fight wanes
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on What are the odds this is COVID-iocy? New BA.5 variant may be most contagious as diligence in fight wanes
What’s worse than being sick and tired is being dead. It’s OK to be curious or concerned about monkeypox, an emergency. But it’s far less contagious than COVID-19 (only about 12,000 monkeypox cases have been reported, and no deaths). And…
Have a beer, and a smile
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Have a beer, and a smile
No matter the job, sometimes you know: “I want a beer.” Beer’s not therapeutic or medicinal, of course (although maybe there’s some study that Ivermectin taken daily with a case of beer reduces awareness of strokes). I’m no expert (you’re…
Magic of brewing = alchemy of beer
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Magic of brewing = alchemy of beer
Novelist Arthur C. Clarke wrote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” and at a time when we marvel at images from the James Webb space telescope, much less cryptocurrency, it’s understandable to take for granted how beer is…
Bill Knight | ‘Embers’ ignites career in comics
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Bill Knight | ‘Embers’ ignites career in comics
Kevin Knox is a 57-year-old Peorian working as an engineer for Caterpillar, and he’s been a writer whose literary fiction has been published in small magazines such as Fear & Trembling, Haruah, and Bewildering Stories. And now, in a comic…
‘Wings over Water’ humbling, hopeful film at Riverfront Museum
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on ‘Wings over Water’ humbling, hopeful film at Riverfront Museum
With so many wetland drained and plowed, conservationists such as Charlie Potter, CEO of the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation and a producer of the new “Wings over Water” documentary, decided people don’t know enough about it and decided to “change…
Illinois continues to collaborate with feds to manage wetlands
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Illinois continues to collaborate with feds to manage wetlands
In 2020, Florida took over management of a U.S. Clean Water Act program, so in the Sunshine State federal officials no longer decide whether wetlands can be dredged or filled for developments. Other states could follow, but Illinois seems content…
Bill Knight | George Shaheen: A man before his time
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Bill Knight | George Shaheen: A man before his time
Area native George Shaheen was enormously successful in business, leading Andersen Consulting from 1989-99, when its revenue grew from $1.1 billion to $8 billion. So it wouldn’t be surprising for him to sour some after a failure — especially one…
Court case against GOP lost in hogwash
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Court case against GOP lost in hogwash
A legal case involving high-profile figures but receiving little coverage in six-plus years may have closed, depending on the outcome of a likely appeal. A motion for a summary judgment in the lawsuit alleging that the area’s current and former…