BY KAREN HUDSON It has long been known that animals and humans readily trade disease by “species jumping” in a process called zoonosis. Zoonotic diseases are caused by harmful germs like viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi. Zoonotic diseases are very…
Editorial Page
Editorial | The press
by Community Word Staff • • Comments Off on Editorial | The press
We are living in dangerous times for democracy when the press is blamed, pilloried, discredited and barred from public meetings. The national press pool is corralled in at Trump rallies as the crowd chants “Lock them up.” That animosity has…
OpEd | Inconsistencies in anti-abortion reasoning
by contributor • • Comments Off on OpEd | Inconsistencies in anti-abortion reasoning
In January, the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal money from the state of California if it does not drop its requirement that private insurers cover abortions. It declared that California was in violation of the federal Weldon Amendment, which…
Editorial | Capitalism, racism, fast food and the Golden Arches
by Clare Howard • • Comments Off on Editorial | Capitalism, racism, fast food and the Golden Arches
Are fast food franchises a valuable mechanism for economic growth in African-American communities or a blight that spreads high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and more? Apparently, depending on your perspective, it can be either or it can be both. Fast…
OpEd | Ending cash bond does not make us less safe
by contributor • • Comments Off on OpEd | Ending cash bond does not make us less safe
BY ANTHONY WALRAVEN, Change Peoria Every year in the State of Illinois, over a quarter of a million people pass through the 92 jails in the 102 counties of our state, and 90% of those people are detained pre-trial, most…
OpEd | Ending cash bail is not the answer
by contributor • • Comments Off on OpEd | Ending cash bail is not the answer
BY SHERIFF BRIAN ASBELL I have not seen any proposed legislation related to the elimination of cash bail; however, I believe this will be a dangerous practice if not properly vetted. I am a proponent of true pre-trial reform which…
Editorial | 2019: A year of hate; 2020: A year redressing hate
by Clare Howard • • Comments Off on Editorial | 2019: A year of hate; 2020: A year redressing hate
Southern Poverty Law Center has tracked a steady rise in hate groups from 892 in 2015 to 917 in 2016 and 1,020 groups in 2018. The numbers for 2019 won’t be released until next month, but news accounts document an…
Letter to the Editor | And click! I became a feminist
by contributor • • Comments Off on Letter to the Editor | And click! I became a feminist
The independent film “The First Rainbow Coalition” was shown by WTVP. It was also screened at ICC, sponsored by Community Word, WTVP-TV, ICC’s Department of Diversity & Community Impact and the West Central Illinois Labor Council. It was a memorable…
OpEd | Proton Beam cancer treatment in Peoria at OSF
by Community Word Staff • • Comments Off on OpEd | Proton Beam cancer treatment in Peoria at OSF
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center has filed an application with the Illinois Health Department for licensing to construct and operate a comprehensive cancer center and proton beam radiation facility in Peoria. The center is expected to cost $237 million and…
Editorial | “Eating the planet to death”
by Clare Howard • • Comments Off on Editorial | “Eating the planet to death”
The most effective way to slow global climate change is with dietary changes, according to Dr. John McDougall. Changes in our diet can be more effective immediately than driving a Prius, turning off the lights, lowering the thermostat and viable…