Editorial Page

Letter to the Editor | Peoria Public Radio: What Will Happen?

Will Bradley University’s vital NPR radio station, WCBU-FM, survive as it is, or is it ultimately doomed to morph into a second WGLT or worse? That’s the question, but there are no clear answers yet. WCBU, branded as Peoria Public…

Op-Ed | Good community journalism scrutinizes American slavery and its evolution to today

BY DECKLE McLEAN Behind every great fortune lies a great crime, French early 19th century novelist Honore de Balzac advised. Less flamboyantly phrased, Balzac’s message was that some fortunes start with a crime or two. If America’s wealth can be…

Letter to the Editor | Stop excessive taxation!

It seems like the Peoria city leaders are always coming up with new ways to hit us with more and more taxes. First came the sewer tax, then the landlord tax plus another additional tax on every apartment in Peoria.…

Op-Ed | Eat for your health and the health of the climate

BY HENRY BROCKMAN We live in difficult times. We are hit with a daily drumbeat of near-apocalyptic news: climate change, natural disasters, migrants fleeing violence and poverty, a dysfunctional government at home . . . the list of things to…

Editorial | Ah … he’s adopted

S.A. Shepler (c) 2018 Community Word

Diversity training helps expand understanding. Journalism is foundational to democracy, but the craft is still evolving based on our levels of assessment and training in issues related to diversity. It used to seem OK to repeat a police description of…

Letter to the Editor | Call Congress to voice support

A vital piece of federal legislation, the permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, awaits final Congressional approval before legislators adjourn in December. It would authorize the full, permanent, dedicated funding of America’s most important conservation and recreation…

Letter to the Editor | Take a second look at Kavanaugh

The current administration is establishing itself in history for using the power of the executive branch to reverse progress made over the past 50 years toward implementing the values of equality and wisdom. Instead, we see threats to better U.S.…

Op-Ed | Blackmail by plea bargain

BY ELIIDA LAKOTA Chase Iron Eyes is a member of the Standing Rock Nation in North Dakota. He is an attorney, an Indian activist and a member of the Lakota People’s Law Project. He was a Democratic candidate who ran…

Editorial | Bright Future for Hotel Pere Marquette/Peoria

S.A. Shepler (c) Community Word 2018

Paul Flynn, business manager of IBEW Local 34, lamented recently about a columnist in the Journal Star who ridiculed the transfer of the Hotel Pere Marquette from the local ownership of Gary Matthews and partners to INDURE Build-to-Core Fund, National…