Columns

Arts Beat | March 2020

Juarez Hawkins

March 9-April 17: 7th Central Time Ceramics exhibit. Bradley University’s Heuser Art Gallery & Hartmann Center Gallery. March 12: “African American Art in Bronzeville.” Lecture by Juarez Hawkins, Chicago artist, curator and professor. 10-11 a.m. Peoria Riverfront Museum; and 6-7…

Real Talk | A Republic, if we can keep it

What happened to the purist Republican Senate during the trial of Bill Clinton? In 1999, President Clinton was charged and impeached by the House of Representatives for lying under oath and obstruction of justice. The independent counsel who brought the…

Reflections From The Clergy | What Does It Mean to Be A People of Resilience?

On Oct. 29, 1999, former Archbishop Desmond Tutu officially presented President Mandela the five volumes of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report. Tutu, head of the TRC, had heard long hours of personal testimony from the victims of atrocities…

West Peoria News | Residents’ Association needs volunteers

The Residents’ Association has experienced some recent resignations and needs volunteers. The group meets on the third Thursday each month excluding July and December. For more information call Nick Baker at 696-4280. Time is rapidly approaching for the 2020 census.…

The Lion’s Den | I Am Not My Hair

Hair discrimination

The California-based legislation, The Crown (Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act, SB-188, is designed to prevent discrimination toward African Americans based on their hair. This law is housed under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act and…

Straight Talk | Bradley’s Chris Reynolds in running for A.D. at Indiana University

Chris Reynolds, Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics at Bradley University, reportedly is one of four finalists for the job as Athletic Director at Indiana University. The popular Reynolds certainly has the credentials to get the job. He was a basketball…

Bill Knight | Trump and Iran

A local monthly commenting on acts of war from weeks earlier may seem no longer timely, much less local, but war is always local since family and friends are used, and war is tragically timeless. Plus, many reckless, feckless developments…

The Watch | Cemetery and housing reports

There’s a bit of a winter lull for many governmental bodies. Budgets are finished or far off. Meetings are cancelled for holidays or bad weather. Key volunteers are down south for weeks or months at a time. But this is…

Nature Rambles | Low bird counts

low bird count

The Audubon Christmas Bird Count season is over and volunteer compilers are busy uploading data. This is the 120th year for the Christmas Bird Counts, and local count circles in our region include Peoria, Chillicothe and Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge.…

Inland Art | African American art in Chicago

Objects of Desire Party Favors

Although Chicago’s art schools and museums attract thousands of students and visitors annually, emerging and even mid-career artists have always struggled to capture an appropriate degree of that attention. There wasn’t always a deep reservoir of writers, venturesome collectors, or…