Free Republic

He may have served two tours in Afghanistan protecting the freedom of his nation, but double-Bronze Star veteran David Wood has returned home only to battle ungrateful NIMBYS. Gifted a charitable home through the efforts of his local congressman, Aaron Schock for his wartime efforts, Wood, who has lost the hearing in one ear was told that the property plans for his family's house were opposed by his potential neighbors. Indeed, an unidentified cabal of neighbors in the Peoria suburb of Morton, Illinois, has clubbed together to oppose his wooden home saying quite clearly, not in my backyard. The father...

A 96-year-old Illinois man wrote a song about his wife of 75 years and when he sent the heart-wrenching ode into a singer-songwriter contest, they decided to produce it for him. When Fred Stobaugh talks about his wife Lorraine now, it’s hard for him to hold back tears after the life they led together he says was ‘like a dream.’ After she died, he was sitting alone in the Peoria home they once shared and for the first time in his life he decided to write a song.

Joining the chorus of Roman Catholic clergy in Illinois criticizing President Barack Obama before next week's election, Peoria Bishop Daniel Jenky ordered priests to read a letter to parishioners on Sunday before the presidential election, explaining that politicians who support abortion rights also reject Jesus. "By virtue of your vow of obedience to me as your Bishop, I require that this letter be personally read by each celebrating priest at each Weekend Mass," Jenky wrote in a letter circulated to clergy in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria. In the letter, Jenky cautions parishioners that Obama and a majority of U.S....

The discovery of bison bones in Peoria County proves the animals were in Illinois about 1,700 years earlier than previously thought, according to scientists. Radiocarbon dating confirmed a group of eight bison died at a site along the Illinois River around 265 B.C., said Alan Harn, an archaeologist with Dickson Mounds Museum. Until the dating tests, scientists did not have evidence of bison in Illinois before 1450... Archaeologists also found two partial deer skeletons and two partial elk skeletons near the bison, Harn said.

Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria told the 500 men who attended the diocese’s annual men’s march and Mass that “the days in which we live now require heroic Catholicism, not casual Catholicism.” “We can no longer be Catholics by accident, but instead [must] be Catholics by conviction. In our own families, in our parishes, where we live and where we work--like that very first apostolic generation--we must be bold witnesses to the Lordship of Jesus Christ,” he preached. “We must be a fearless army of Catholic men, ready to give everything we have for the Lord, who gave everything for...

Peoria Bishop Daniel Jenky (CBS) CHICAGO (CBS) – The Roman Catholic bishop of Peoria has set off a firestorm of controversy, comparing President Obama’s policies to those of Hitler and Stalin.Bishop Daniel Jenky made the comment Sunday. As the crowds who gather round him will attest, he is a firebrand outside and inside the pulpit.“Hitler and Stalin at their better moments would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services and health care,” Jenky said over the weekend. “In clear violation of our constitutional rights, president Obama with...

Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria told the 500 men who attended the diocese’s annual men’s march and Mass that “the days in which we live now require heroic Catholicism, not casual Catholicism.” “We can no longer be Catholics by accident, but instead [must] be Catholics by conviction. In our own families, in our parishes, where we live and where we work--like that very first apostolic generation--we must be bold witnesses to the Lordship of Jesus Christ,” he preached. “We must be a fearless army of Catholic men, ready to give everything we have for the Lord, who gave everything for...

Via Washington Examiner: In a homily delivered Saturday, Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois challenged President Obama’s HHS mandate, suggesting that the president was following the same path as Hitler and Stalin. “Hitler and Stalin, at their better moments, would just barely tolerate some churches remaining open, but would not tolerate any competition with the state in education, social services, and health care,” Jenky said. “In clear violation of our First Amendment rights, Barack Obama – with his radical, pro abortion and extreme secularist agenda, now seems intent on following a similar path.” Jenky added.

PEORIA — Peoria road rage now boasts a new threat: Vehicle-to-vehicle missiles. Granted, it's happened just once. And the attack didn't involve any military-grade ordnance. It was just a water bottle. Yet, that's a scary prospect, if The Mad Bottle Bomber still lurks out there. A hard-throwing motorist thunked it off another driver's head, leaving him dazed and car nearly out of control - on Interstate 74, no less. That could've made for a nasty wreck. "It all happened so fast," the 30-year-old victim says, his voice still what-the-heck-happened wondrous. "It was just shocking." For Peoria, yes. For elsewhere, no....

Caterpillar Inc. said it plans to shift production of small construction machinery from Japan to a new plant in North America that is expected to employ more than 1,000 people. The new plant, whose location wasn't identified, will become the company's global source for small bulldozers and mini-hydraulic excavators. It also will export partially assembled mini-excavators to Europe to improve delivery times for European customers. Caterpillar, which is based in Peoria, Ill., said it expects to begin construction during the first half of 2012.

PEORIA — Ryder has canceled all truck rentals for the coming week due to credible but unconfirmed threats of terrorist attacks in the wake of the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

A customer who did not want to be identified told the Journal Star that she had been informed by Ryder of the cancellation by phone call Friday. A Ryder representative told the Journal Star all local rentals for the weekend had been canceled, though that person declined to elaborate on the reason.

Further questions were referred to the head of rentals for the local arm of the company. That person did not...

Mob in Peoria shoots fireworks at police, firefighters... MAYHEM IN MOBILE: 300+ fight on street corner, man shot in face... 13 stabbed, shot in Boston in just 5 hours... CHICAGOLAND: 5 Dead, 23 Hurt Over Violent Holiday Weekend... 4-Year-Old Boy Shot While Watching Baltimore Fireworks... 2 Shot During Massive Brawl Outside Atlantic City Casino… Dozens of teens loot store, then attack passersby... VIDEO...

PEORIA — A "major incident" involving a large group of people shooting fireworks at police and firefighters occurred near the Taft Homes just before 10 p.m. Monday, about the same time the fireworks show on the riverfront was ending. Police had to briefly shut down Adams and Eaton streets, near Taft, as they dispersed the large crowds. No officers or firefighters were injured, dispatchers said on the radio. At one point, police were ordered to tell those in the crowd to go into their apartments, leave or be arrested for unlawful assembly.

PEORIA — Sixty or more young people fought and yelled racist comments at residents as they walked down Thrush Avenue toward Sheridan Road on Friday night, according to eyewitness accounts. “They were yelling ‘We’re gonna kill all the white people, this is our neighborhood,’” said Paul Wilkinson, 45, a resident who has lived in the neighborhood for 11 years and witnessed the incident about 11 p.m. He relayed the information over the weekend to police, city council members and at least one local blogger.

Tonight, around 11 p.m., a group of at least 60-70 African American youth marched down one of the side streets (W. Thrush) to the 4 lane main drag (Sheridan). They were yelling threats to white residents. Things such as we need to kill alll the white people around here.

SPRINGFIELD -- The chairman and CEO of Peoria-based Caterpillar Inc. is raising the specter of moving the heavy equipment maker out of Illinois. In a letter sent March 21 to Gov. Pat Quinn, Caterpillar chief executive officer Doug Oberhelman said officials in at least four other states have approached the company about relocating since Illinois raised its income tax in January. "I want to stay here. But as the leader of this business, I have to do what's right for Caterpillar when making decisions about where to invest," Oberhelman wrote in the letter obtained Friday by the Lee Enterprises Springfield...

Layers of mystery continue to twist around the sad, bizarre case of little Aryanna Inman, who died in a Macomb house fire last week. The 2-year-old’s death seems all the more peculiar in light of two new pieces of information I confirmed Wednesday: * It turns out her family was hit by not just one, not just two, but a remarkable three fires at three different rental homes this year. * The state has removed her surviving brother from the care of her father and his girlfriend. In fact, child-welfare workers began investigating a neglect charge regarding the children’s home...

PEORIA — When Aziz Ansari, a star on NBC's "Parks and Recreation," walked into an IMAX Theatre in California last year to watch Star Trek, he was disappointed. Ansari took to his blog and lampooned the Canadian-based company for what he called false advertising since the movie theater screen is much smaller than a typical seven-story IMAX screen seen at museums and theme parks. It generated a buzz in the media, and a response from the company's CEO who said consumers embraced the smaller-sized IMAX screens and the experience it provides. The TV star's disappointment in IMAX underscores some of...

Working with new information in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, authorities are set to dig in search of her body Saturday in an area east of Peoria, sources said. Illinois State Police confirmed Saturday that they are currently following a lead in rural central Illinois regarding Peterson’s disappearance and have set up a media staging at a location near Peoria, according to an ISP release. The ISP Investigation team that has been investigating the disappearance and possible homicide of Stacy Peterson is aware of the situation and at the scene, the release said.

Peoria, Ill. - A federal judge sentenced an Al Qaeda "sleeper" agent to eight years in prison Thursday -- about half the time prosecutors had requested -- because the agent received what the judge called "unacceptable" treatment in a U.S. Navy brig. U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm could have sentenced Ali Marri to as much as 15 years. Prosecutors had endorsed that, presenting testimony that he remained a threat. But Mihm handed down the lighter sentence of eight years and four months in consideration of what he called "very severe" conditions under which Marri was kept during the almost six...