PEORIA MAGAZINE April 2022

Three Underground Ra i l road conductors – Washington farmer George Kern and residents James Patterson Scott and John Randolph Scott – will be honored at 2 p.m. April 24 at Five Points Washington, in commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the arrest and trial of Kern and Scott for harboring runaway slaves. Abraham Lincoln served as their defense attorney. Sponsoring the event are the Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society, NAACP Peoria Branch, Washington Historical Society and Tazewell County Clerk John C. Ackerman. NEWS YOU CAN USE Bradley University is experiencing a major increase in international students . In the 2021-2022 academic year, Bradley enrolled 197 students on F-1 student visas. In comparison, over the previous five years pre-pandemic, Bradley enrol led on average 75 international students per academic year. BU received three times as many international applications this academic year as the year before. The country with the most international students on campus is India, followed by Canada, Vietnam and Sudan. Computer science is the top program of interest, engineering second. OSF HealthCare will have a beam signing for its Cancer Institute , now under construction, from April 18-22, with the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis participating on April 21. A BeamRaising Ceremony will take place onApril 28. TheTomBrewer AnnualWalk benefiting theHeller Center for Kidswith Cancer programwill be from8 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 29-May 1 and May 6-8 within OSF Children’s Hospital. The Nun Run will start at 7 a.m. Saturday, May 7 at the

The Sun Foundationwill hold its Spring Awakening event at 6 p.m. April 23 at the Trailside Event Center in Peoria Heights in the hopes of raising funds for its children’s programs. Tickets are $60. More information can be had at https://www.sunfoundation.org/ winter-warming-childrens-benefit. Morton Industries is the newest investor in the Greater Peoria EDC . The company employs about 400 people and is an industry leader in metal tube fabrication, as well as sheet metal fabrication and laser cutting. Morton Industries also will be joining the Greater PeoriaManufacturing Network. HITTING THE JACKPOT Knox College has received a $248,000 federal grant for new humanities based domestic study programs . The grant, from the National Endowment for the Humanities, wi l l fund a project called “Local Contexts, Global Connections: Revitalizing Immersive Cultural and Language Study at Home.” In three programs, Knox students will engage with immigrant communities in the Galesburg area, explore the meaning and consequences of diversity and wrestle with issues of participation and representation in U.S. society. Peoria Public Schools is getting $100,000 in federal funding to buy five environmentally friendly buses. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency included PPS among $1.2 million in rebates afforded for 49 replacement buses in the Midwest.

new OSF Ministry Headquarters, with proceeds going to the OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute. The Tazewell Broadband Committee is launching a countywide household survey to gather information from citizens on current internet speeds, providers, concerns and needs to guide broadband infrastructure plans in Tazewell County. In 2021, Tazewell County was awarded the Illinois Connected Communities grant. By the end of the 12-month program, the team will have a strategic plan that articulates the community’s broadband vision and identifies an action plan for progress toward improved access for economic development, education, civic engagement, health care, agriculture and more. The survey can be accessed at connecttazewell.com. Eight Peoria-area business and civ ic leaders spent a recent morning shadowing Peoria Public Schools principals . It was part of a PPS Foundation effort to facilitate relationships between community members and schools. Participating were Peoria City Council member Andre Allen (Richwoods High), Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria (Whittier Primary), Chamber of Commerce CEO Joshua Gunn (Sterling Middle), OSF HealthCare Foundation President Tom Hammerton (Kellar Primary), Unity Point Health CEO Dr. Keith Knepp (Rolling Acres Middle), Center for the Prevention of Abuse CEO Carol Merna (Dr. Maude A. Sanders Primary), Peoria Riverfront Museum CEO John Morris (Lincoln K-8), and Peoria Community Against Violence CEO Becky Rossman (Roosevelt Magnet). To learn more about the PPS Foundation, visit www. ppsfoundation.org.

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APRIL 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 87