U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock shouldn’t have it both ways. Peoria’s two-term Republican Congressman has been mentioned as a possible GOP candidate for governor in 2014, and the 31 year old has been quoted as saying his party should move toward…
Knight Watch
Climate Change is Real – More than 2/3 of Americans Accept it as Fact
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Climate Change is Real – More than 2/3 of Americans Accept it as Fact
Climate change is not just an abstract, an inconvenience, or a disaster limited to coastal populations or Arctic ice. Peoria is already affected and climate change could hurt us all worse. The saying “think global, act local” is recalled, but…
“Bailout” Documentary Premieres in Peoria
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on “Bailout” Documentary Premieres in Peoria
A tattered U.S. flag is an early image in the movie “Bailout,” directed by Peoria native Sean Patrick Fahey. Scheduled to premiere at downtown Peoria’s nonprofit Apollo Theater Oct. 5-11, the 85-minute documentary about the human cost of the 2008…
Super PACs Spent Big in Peoria
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Super PACs Spent Big in Peoria
Super Political Action Committees (super PACs) spent almost a quarter of a million dollars in the Peoria TV market during the campaign from January-March, records show, together paying $3.74 per vote for the March 20 primary. That’s lousy for democracy…
Peoria Launches ‘Don’t Shoot’ Program
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Peoria Launches ‘Don’t Shoot’ Program
A new approach to stopping gun violence stresses conversation and cooperation, not registration or retribution, and this month Peoria launches the program: “Don’t Shoot.” The program comes close to reconciliation, a progressive technique tied to institutions and individuals ranging from the church…
Flag Day, patriotism and outsourcing
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Flag Day, patriotism and outsourcing
It’s obvious and easy to criticize Wal-Mart for selling outsourced merchandise made overseas, some of it by virtual slaves or kids. But as Flag Day approaches, it’s worth noting that Caterpillar, Inc. and Peoria Flag & Decorating in Peoria Heights each in its…
For Mothers’ Day: more progress, please
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on For Mothers’ Day: more progress, please
As Mothers’ Day approaches this month, I recall inadvertently insulting my Mom decades ago, trying to defend a girlfriend’s career goals by complaining about the lack of opportunities for women who stayed home. “I chose to be a housewife and raise you…
Prevention: being ‘Earthers AND Workers
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Prevention: being ‘Earthers AND Workers
Single-issue activism can be ineffective, and it’s particular noteworthy in April, when people commemorate both Earth Day and Workers Memorial Day, when people urge prevention as the best action against trouble, on global and personal scales. For labor, if the…
NCAA Hardly ‘Squeaky’ Clean: BU Guest Speaker
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on NCAA Hardly ‘Squeaky’ Clean: BU Guest Speaker
When Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Taylor Branch comes to Peoria this month, he’s returning to “the scene of the crime.” But the crime wasn’t the 1951 indictment of Bradley University players like Gene “Squeaky” Melchiorre, caught up in the scheme to fix basketball games. The crime…
Some baseball history to think about as Spring Training begins
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Some baseball history to think about as Spring Training begins
Major League Baseball’s pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training this month, when everything’s fresh and new (if cold and dormant). Everyone has an equal chance (depending on off-season personnel moves and injuries). And the possibilities are endless (at least…