Illinois is in lock-step with other states in the country as COVID-19 cases skyrocket.Concerned about diminishing capacity for COVID-19 patients in hospitals, officials across the U.S. are considering different methods to control the viral spread through the population.In Illinois ..read more

PEORIA — COVID-19 hasn’t stopped the Illinois Valley Fuller Center for Housing from honoring local veterans in November."I was going to cut it way back this year because of COVID," said organization founder Debbie Gaught, shortly after two veterans were honored with a brief ceremony at American Legion Post 2 in Peoria on Monday afternoon. "But we ended up doing just as many."The Fuller Center’s main mission is to help low-income families and veterans ..read more

PEORIA — Photographer Bryan Smith is on a crusade to save Peoria, one house at a time.The lifelong Peorian began photographing houses and posting the images online in mid-2016, shortly after Caterpillar executives announced that the corporate headquarters was leaving Peoria."It was a way of preserving Peoria before it disappeared," Smith said during a phone interview with the Journal Star. "I had this sinking feeling that after the Caterpillar ..read more

PEORIA — Photographer Bryan Smith is on a crusade to save Peoria, one house at a time.The lifelong Peorian began photographing houses and posting the images online in mid-2016, shortly after Caterpillar executives announced that the corporate headquarters was leaving Peoria."It was a way of preserving Peoria before it disappeared," Smith said during a phone interview with the Journal Star. "I had this sinking feeling that after the Caterpillar ..read more

When the Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society formed in 1978, the Pekin-based all-volunteer group held its meetings at the kitchen table in a member’s home.In the intervening four decades, TCGHS acquired a building at 719 N. Eleventh Street and remodeled it. The facility is now a regional research center with a library that contains nearly 15,000 books, a microfilm room and local newspapers from up to 130 years ago."Genealogists rely a lot on ..read more

PEORIA — On Wednesday, the daily total of new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. exceeded 100,000 for the first time since the pandemic began, and on Thursday, the daily count was over 121,000.This week, seven states set records for hospitalizations while seven others saw jumps of more than 45% in their seven-day rolling average of new infections, the best measure of ..read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States on Saturday, positioning himself to lead a nation gripped by historic pandemic and a confluence of economic and social turmoil.His victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials sorted through a surge of mail-in votes that delayed the processing of some ballots. Biden crossed 270 Electoral College votes with a win in ..read more

WEST PEORIA — Locally owned for more than 100 years, Haddad’s West Peoria Market was recently purchased by a businessman from northern Illinois.While that’s a major change, customers won’t see anything different, said Mark Wrhel, the former owner who became general manager of the store last week."There will be absolutely no change," he said. "The customers will see the same faces, the same products, the same recipes — everything ..read more

The city of Pekin hopes that the proposed creation of a Business Development District will result in a municipal New Deal.They could vote to move forward with one as soon as Monday’s City Council meeting."I believe Pekin’s at a crossroads," said Pekin City Manager Mark Rothert. "If we’re happy with the way things are, let the status quo remain. But, if we really want to see improvements – see our community grow and have good infrastructure, job ..read more

PEORIA — On Wednesday, the daily total of new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. exceeded 100,000 for the first time since the pandemic began, and on Thursday, the daily count was over 121,000.This week, seven states set records for hospitalizations while seven others saw jumps of more than 45 percent in their seven-day rolling average of new infections, the best measure of how far the virus has spread ..read more