Cat shows support for immigration reform bill

A pair of heavy hitters in the business and political arenas joined Thursday to urge the U.S. House of Representatives to adopt the Senate-approved immigration reform bill because of its benefits to the economy.

Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Inc., met with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to give his support of the bipartisan Senate bill approved earlier this year and now awaiting House action.

"This is a very...

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Rated PG: Sandberg didn't fit into one category

I like it that people are, for the most part, being honest about Gary Sandberg when talking about him after his passing last week.

Often a person becomes different in death than he or she was in life and people gloss over their controversial times. Few are doing that in this case; considering Sandberg's controversies were played...

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Komen research continues focus on environment

With a focus on how the environment may be a factor in breast cancer, Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced it will fund $42 million in research in its 2013 research portfolio.

From that total $4.5 million in funding will research the environment issue, the organization said in a news release.

"The new environmental grants will build on research...

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Bustos joins Problem Solvers in introducing legislative package

U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos on Thursday joined several other members of Congress in introducing bills aimed at bringing bipartisan common sense legislation out of Capital Hill, including one of her own.

The East Moline Democrat introduced the Government Transformation Act, which would reduce waste and duplication in government, as part of...

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Cat makes a Q2 profit, albeit a lower one

Caterpillar Inc.'s topsy-turvy year continued in the second quarter; it was profitable, but only about half as much as in the second quarter of 2012.

A struggling mining industry again was the problem and dealer reductions in inventory added to it, the company reported Wednesday.

But again the company still made a profit and...

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Home sales show improvement in Q2

'Tis the season for home sales, so the Peoria Area Association of Realtors wants you to sell your home.

Sales were up slightly in the second quarter, the association reported Tuesday, but inventory is down and agents are looking for more houses to go on the market and take advantage of buyers entering the market. Inventory of available homes is off 18.3 percent from last year, PAAR said.

"We need more inventory. We can't sell what...

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Oh Sweet Lorraine: A Love Song 75 Years in the Writing

These are the types of stories we live for at The Peorian! Earlier this year, Jacob Colgan and Green Shoe Studios in East Peoria held a contest for aspiring singers/songwriters. While they received many submissions via YouTube (as they requested), the most surprising one came in a very large manila envelope via the mail. It was the entry of 96 year-old Fred Stobaugh.

Fred had just written...

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Veterans get one-stop-shop for services

Armed forces veterans will be able to get their needs assessed in one place at one time this week in an effort to streamline the process so services can be delivered in more timely fashion.

The Jobs Corps is bringing service providers together at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Illinois Department of Employment Services office at 406 Elm St. in Peoria in sort of...

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