Editorial Page

Editorial | Overt voter suppression fails in Wisconsin

S.A. Shepler (c) 2020 Community Word

A perfect storm of voter suppression in the middle of a global pandemic failed in Wisconsin last month. The Democratic governor tried to postpone the election to a later, safer date –– a move many states had already done. The…

Letter to the Editor | Victory for Standing Rock

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has revoked the permits for the Dakota Access pipeline pending a full environmental review. DAPL has been an ongoing battle to protect tribal lands and tribal rights to hunt, fish and participate in traditional ceremonies.…

OpEd | CAFOs — the ideal disease incubators

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 | The press

S.A. Shepler (c) Community Word 2020

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

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

S.A. Shepler (c) 2020 Community Word

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 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 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…