Features

Editorial: Great reads, Sandra — Serendipity, indeed

It’s the little things that make the moments of our lives extra special. And it takes a big heart to fill them with love. Serendipity. That’s what Sandra Dempsey Post provided for readers for more than 40 years all over…

Bill Knight: Medicaid benefits are on the ropes

BILL KNIGHT

It’s one thing to enrich the wealthy through targeted tax cuts, etc., but must government make the poor needier? That’s looking likely since Congress in its Consolidated Appropriations Act, enacted Dec. 29, 2022, set March 31 of this year as…

Inland Art: Garden to garment, no scrap left behind — creative clothing with nod to sustainability

Creative clothing with a view toward sustainability is the focus of three fashionistas in Peoria. Dana Baldwin creates phenomenal evening gowns, wraps and coats, Aareon Boyd up-cycles vintage wear and Lily Scalf focuses on natural dyes and elegant daywear. Each…

Heat Waves in Red & Black: Putin’s petrostate under kleptocratic ‘reiderstovo’

William Rau

Russian oligarchs are named incorrectly. America has oligarchs, men whose extraordinary wealth can sway governments. As Gilens and Page (2014) show, economic elites and big corporations get their way when Congress crafts legislation whereas ordinary citizens have negligible impact. Wealth…

SPECIAL: Gun Violence: Public Health Priority, Part 1

Firearm violence is taking place in communities across the nation and recently surpassed motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of injurious death in the United States. Peoria is no exception. Firearm homicides of Peoria County residents doubled from 2020…

EDITORIAL: Abortion exceptions are not as advertised

Emily Gill

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court last June, many states have passed legislation defining and limiting the circumstances under which abortions may be performed. As a result, many doctors and hospitals have been extremely timid about…