The State of the City address, sponsored by the West Peoria Residents Association and featuring Mayor James Dillon and City Administrator Kinga Krider, will be 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21. It could be canceled due to COVID-19 mitigation rules. Check…
Columns
Serendipity | Remembering When
by Sandra Dempsey Post • • Comments Off on Serendipity | Remembering When
Children and teenagers love looking ahead and speculating about new freedoms awaiting them. They consider each different one a sign they’re growing up. But that doesn’t necessarily mean maturity and ability to make wise choices are imminent. It’s a gradual…
The Lion’s Den | Autopsy of an election
by Daniel McCloud • • Comments Off on The Lion’s Den | Autopsy of an election
Now that the 2020 presidential election is over, it’s time to do an autopsy. What did we learn? We learned that nearly 160 million Americans voted in this year’s presidential election as of this writing. Clearly, people felt that a…
Bill Knight | Trump’s lame-duck tantrums
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Bill Knight | Trump’s lame-duck tantrums
With 31 days in December and 20 days in January before the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States, many of us are holding our breath. It’s unclear how outgoing President Trump will react. He…
Straight Talk | The race for Peoria mayor
by Roger Monroe • • Comments Off on Straight Talk | The race for Peoria mayor
The contest for Peoria mayor has taken more turns than a Central American road race. We’ve known for weeks who’s in, while rumors circulated about others interested, but undecided. Most local political, civic, and business leaders were unimpressed with the…
Real Talk | Having our say
by Sherry Cannon • • Comments Off on Real Talk | Having our say
Tuesday, Nov. 3 was one of the most consequential elections for African Americans since 1876 when Democrat Rutherford Hayes was awarded the presidency in what is now called The Compromise of 1877 which ushered in the Jim Crow Era. As…
The Watch | Election Commission discusses early voting spike
by Terry Bibo • • Comments Off on The Watch | Election Commission discusses early voting spike
God love the people who keep doing their jobs without drama and fanfare, despite the hot mess which has been 2020. And that includes most of our public officials. On Oct. 13, Peoria County Election Commission geared up for the…
Nature Rambles | Ecological Conscience
by Mike Miller • • Comments Off on Nature Rambles | Ecological Conscience
When I think back to when I first became interested in nature, the world seemed a relatively “wild” place. The nearby woods in an urban area was a place to explore. One November day, so long ago, I remember coming…
Inland Art | Terry Karpowicz
by Paul Krainak • • Comments Off on Inland Art | Terry Karpowicz
Terry Karpowicz is a builder. His sculpture is recognizable to most viewers as large-scale welded and bolted, generally mechanistic abstractions. His work has distinguished numerous public sites in Chicago and the Midwest, beginning in the late 1970s. While fond of…
Art and Justice | Rhea Edge: Her art calls for environmental justice
by Clare Howard • • Comments Off on Art and Justice | Rhea Edge: Her art calls for environmental justice
Art is a powerful language that can communicate through a combination of facts, emotion, conviction, beauty and degradation. Artist Rhea Edge knows how to wield all these tools. She uses her art to convey an environmental message and a moral…