From WCBU News Director Tim Shelley:
"It's hard to narrow down just 10 stories to define an entire year. Some stories are lighter; some are very heavy. But all of them are important, and they all play a role in painting the picture of what our community cares about — and what its values are. These are just a few of the stories the WCBU Newsroom covered this year that we believe made an impact."
In no particular order:
- Copi – Officials are attempting to rebrand the invasive fish that crowd out native species in the Illinois River, in an effort to create a human consumption market in an effort to reduce the species’ numbers.
- Peoria-to-Chicago passenger rail – a longtime priority of Peoria Mayor Rita Ali, the proposal aims to connect the River City to the Windy City. It’ll take years and billions of dollars, but city leaders are hopeful the rail line would be transformative.
- Mental health – Peoria-area health officials identified behavioral health as the top health concern for the region. It’s a major priority, given that behavioral health issues like untreated trauma and substance abuse disorders can also be a root cause of other problems.
- Samuel Richmond - The fatal police shooting of 59-year-old Samuel Richmond in October is the fourth to occur in Peoria since 2017. It left the community asking questions and seeking answers.
- Reditus/Aaron Rossi – Pekin’s Reditus Laboratories started off the year as the state’s premier COVID-19 test processor. But the legal troubles of CEO Aaron Rossi played a role in the company heading into receivership, and ultimately ending operations altogether.
- BioUrja explosion – The explosion of bins at BioUrja’s South Peoria ethanol refinery in May led to a challenging situation for the Peoria Fire Department and the company as they sought to fully extinguish the flames and make the site safe.
- Spirit of Peoria leaves the city – The city’s namesake riverboat left Peoria after proponents of buying the boat lost that battle around the city council horseshoe. The boat’s new owner is retrofitting the vessel in La Crosse, Wisc. The Spirit’s former riverfront location remains vacant.
- Peoria County Auditor – The battle over the future of the auditor’s office started before this year, but it intensified in 2022, ultimately culminating in lawsuits and a referendum where Peoria County voters overwhelmingly voted to eliminate the office, though the auditor contests the ballot language used, among other things.
- Anti-violence – Peoria dealt with a record number of homicides in 2021. Conversations around reducing the violence came to a head in 2022, when the mayor’s Safety Network coalition garnered closer scrutiny – and criticism – after the group’s recommendation to the city council to fund an assessment by the Chicago-based Cure Violence.
- Navin Jones – The murder of 8-year-old Navin Jones of Peoria shook residents of the city – and drew many to take a closer look at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which was intimately involved with Jones’ family ahead of his death.
