White nationalist organizations are targeting college campuses recruiting students to their racist ideologies. The groups often obscure their real purpose in pseudo-intellectual rhetoric and demand protection under the First Amendment freedom of speech. “College campuses are ground zero for recruitment,”…
Thomas and Diane Skomski moved to Wedron in rural LaSalle County in 2003 to recuperate close to nature after Thomas suffered a massive stroke. They purchased a beautiful 23-acre property bordered by Indian Creek with sheer limestone cliffs and bluffs…
Connect the dots. • By the end of November, 4.7 million Americans had registered for disaster aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to the Washington Post. That’s 10 times more than all of 2016. • Hurricane Harvey set…
Racism is a learned behavior and undoing racism is a learned behavior. One of the country’s leading scholars on undoing racism will be speaking in Peoria Jan. 22 at Bradley University. David Billings will talk about his new book, “Deep…
After nearly a decade with no pay raises and constant increases in their share of health insurance premiums, employees at Peoria’s only daily newspaper may see a small increase in pay and a commitment to freeze their share of health…
There are always trade-offs, it seems. In “Inherit the Wind,” the Henry Drummond character (Spencer Tracy in the film version) sums it up: “Progress has never been a bargain; you have to pay for it. Sometimes I think there’s a…
BY LAWRENCE J. MAUSHARD Editor’s Note: Peorian Mark Clark was 22 and a member of the Peoria NAACP and leader of the Peoria Chapter of the Illinois Black Panther Party. He was running a BPP free breakfast program for children…
For those who consider access to safe, legal abortion a basic human right, there was a sense of justice when Gov. Bruce Rauner defied many in his base and signed House Bill 40 into law. The legislation, effective Jan. 1,…
BY CLARE HOWARD Yet another sign of global climate change is no further away than your morning bowl of cereal. As the world continues to burn fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, scientists are linking increasing levels…
BY TERRY BIBO As always, Jerry Klein appeared bemused. A young reporter, I was racing out of the Journal Star building, probably to conduct an interview. A fine arts critic, he was wandering in, probably to compose a review. The…
