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WCBU's Top 6 Stories of 2019

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As another year comes to a close, Peoria Public Radio is compiling a list of this year's top 6 local news stories.

Our staff compiled the list using a combination of website analytics and our own editorial judgment. 

1. 2019 Peoria Homicides

This year was one of Peoria's most violent on record in decades, with 25 homicides recorded between Jan. 1 and Dec. 30.

Some of the cases, like the shooting death of 4-year-0ld Jeremiah Ward on Peoria's South Side in May, still remain unsolved. 

Other cases, like the conviction of 14-year-old Zaveon Marks in the shooting death of Zarious Fair, raised questions about juvenile sentencing laws in Illinois. 

At times, community conversations over how to tackle the city's violence problem got heated for both local politicians and police

The number of murders in Peoria has ticked up considerably in recent years, from 11 in 2017 to 22 in 2018. 

2. Innovation Gains Momentum

The word "innovation" has been bandied about quite a bit in Peoria this year. The newly formed Peoria Innovation Alliance has worked to change the narrative around downtown to a more positive message. 

Other announced developments included formal kickoff for the Peoria Innovation Hub, a partner of the University of Illinois' Discovery Partners Institute; and OSF HealthCare's new headquarters in the former Block & Kuhl building. That's in addition to ongoing research at OSF's Jump Trading Education and Simulation Center, and the hospital's filing to construct a state-of-the-art cancer center on its Peoria campus. 

Morton's AutonomouStuff test-drove vehicles downtown this past summer. And the USDA's Peoria Ag Lab, the site where mass production of pennicilin was invented, received fundingafter several feints aimed at closing the facility in recent years. 

Peoria was a whiskey town before it metamorphosed into a Caterpillar town. As we enter the millenium's third decade, Peoria is plotting its next transformation on innovation.

3. Kim Blickenstaff's Bombastic Homecoming

Healthcare tycoon Kim Blickenstaff has made a flurry of major development announcements and acquisitions since returning to his hometown about a year ago. 

From the opening of the Betty Jayne Brimmer Performing Arts Center and his efforts to transform Peoria Heights, to his restoration of the historic Scottish Rite Cathedral and Peoria Armory, and major natural recreational iniatives on both sides of the Illinois River, the 1970 East Peoria Community High School graduate's big spending is a shot in the arm for long-neglected spaces in Central Illinois.

4. Fulton Sheen Beatification Victories and Pitfalls

Triumph, then a letdown for Peoria Catholics. 

The niece of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, an El Paso native, won a lengthy court battle in New York this year to move her uncle's remains to Peoria. The move opened the door for Sheen's beatification, which has been in the works for more than 10 years. 

But the Vatican called off the beatification ceremony just weeks before its scheduled date after the Bishop of Rochester, New York raised objections pending the release of a New York Attorney General's investigation into clergy abuse that they worry may allude to Sheen. Diocese of Peoria officials have fiercely defended the Woodford County native, but the process remains on hold indefinitely. 

5. Wet Weather And Trade War Packs A Double Whammy For Ag

It wasn't a great year for Central Illinois farmers. Between record wet weather washing out fields during prime planting season and a burgeoning trade war with China eating into the market share of American corn and soybeans, 2019 won't be missed by many in the local agricultural community. 

The USDA's Market Facilitation Program, or MFP for short, buffered farmers from some of the worst economic effects of the tit-for-tat tariffs traded between the U.S. and China. WCBU and WGLT jointly investigated how these payments were disbursed, and who they're benefitting over the summer. 

6. To Sell Or Not to Sell? Recreational Marijuana Legalization Divides Communities

Unified Democratic control in Springfield led to a slate of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's progressive policy goals being passed. Some of them, like a graduated income tax amendment to the state constitution, will ultimately be up to voters in 2020. Others, like a statewide capital bill, were passed with bipartisan support. 

Perhaps none have divided local towns as much as the recreational marijuana legalization bill passed over the summer. The law going into effect on Jan. 1, 2020 makes cannabis possession legal statewide. But it gives local communities the ability to regulate or even outright ban the sale, growth, and processing of marijuana within their borders. 

Some towns were quick to opt out. Morton barred pot shops by the end of June. El Paso, Eureka, and other communities quickly followed.

Others, like Peoria, took several months of council deliberation and public input sessions before ultimately opting in to sales and the hundreds of thousands of tax dollars they promise to generate. East Peoria and Canton dispensaries have also received state approval to sell recreational cannabis after their city councils approved sales. 

Recreational cannabis also offers an economic boon to Delavan, the small Tazewell County city that Revolution Global calls home.The company is doubling the size of its footprint to facilitate addtional demand for both recreational and medical cannabis.It's also exploring housing options in the community. 

Is there a story we missed? Send us your suggestions here.

Copyright 2021 WCBU. To see more, visit WCBU.

WCBU Staff