PEORIA MAGAZINE February 2023

COVER STORIES 42 A Tale of Three South Peoria Families By Denise Jackson 44 Let’s Improve Peoria for All By Denise Jackson 46 Cover Commentary: An Overdue Appreciation By Rita Ali 50 Cover Commentary:

SPOTLIGHTS 20 ‘There’s Plenty of Pie for All of Us’ By Mike Bailey 26 Peoria Power Couple By Nick Vlahos 30 Peoria’s Carver Community Center Turns 100 By Linda Smith Brown 34 A Modern-Day Renaissance Man By Steve Stein 38 ‘The Most Dynamic Branch in Illinois’ By Steve Tarter 56 From Athlete to Orthopedist By Amy Talcott

60 Nourishing the Brains and Souls of South Peoria By Laurie Pillman 65 ‘Bringing Life Back to the City for People Who Look Like Us’ By Roxy Baker 78 Entrepreneur, Author, Advocate By Steve Stein 80 From Mississippi

Progress in Peoria? Perhaps By De’Marcus Hamilton

Sharecropper to Peoria School Board President By Linda Smith Brown

82 Allergic To Animals But Not to Wildlife By Laurie Pillman 84 Man on the Move By Bob Grimson

COVER ART: “Black Girls Rock,” original art by

Jonathon Romain of Peoria. This and other examples of Jonathon's work can be found at artbyromain.com ABOVE ART: Left to right: Romeo B. Garrett, Valeska Hinton, Annie Turnbo Malone and Nance Legins-Costley. This series can be found at the Peoria Public Library Downtown

2 FEBRUARY 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE