With owner Boyd Gaming preparing plans for a new gambling facility, Peoria city leaders have taken steps to make sure any land-based casino is located within their city’s boundaries. But what does this mean for East Peoria?

A City of Peoria program is helping unhoused people overcome the last few barriers between them and a home.

Wild rice grows in shallow waterways in the Great Lakes region and parts of Canada. It’s a plant that holds important ecological and cultural significance, but it’s been on the decline since the early 1900s.

Three candidates want to represent the district that includes downtown, much of the West and Center Bluffs, and a swath of Central Peoria that runs up to Glen Ave. That area also includes major higher ed institutions like Illinois Central College and Bradley University.

A wood building material can be used in high-rise structures, giving it the potential to replace materials that are bad for the climate, while also locking carbon into buildings for decades.

Anxious. Uncertain. Fearful. These are just a few of the emotions Peoria’s unsheltered residents and advocacy groups are feeling in the aftermath of the city’s recently approved public encampment ban.

WCBU Reports airs weekdays with an in-depth local news story from the WCBU Peoria Public Radio newsroom. New features are available every weekday by 5 a.m. WCBU Reports is also available wherever you get your podcasts.

Access to news in rural communities is dwindling, as newspaper staffs shrink and publications shutter. For these communities, some reports are coming from unexpected places.

The pumpkin pie Americans enjoy each Thanksgiving often comes from pumpkins grown near Morton, Illinois. The region accounts for more than 95% of canned pumpkin in the U.S.

Peoria Public Schools currently has 326 children identified as homeless.

Thousands of insect species use vibrations to communicate. Now, in part because of the foundational research of a Midwestern biology professor, more researchers are exploring insect vibrational communication to ward against pests and understand climate change.

District 150’s chronic absentee rate was 39.4% during the 2023-24 school year, compared to the state average of 26.3%. That's according to the latest state report card.

Greater Peoria’s LGBTQ community is anxious about what Donald Trump’s second presidency will mean for them.

WCBU Reports airs weekdays with an in-depth local news story from the WCBU Peoria Public Radio newsroom. New features are available every weekday by 5 a.m. WCBU Reports is also available wherever you get your podcasts.

The need for mental healthcare services is constant. In some places, particularly rural areas, it can be a struggle to find a provider.

The construction of Peoria County's third landfill is back on track, even if it is coming later than anyone expected. But if you ask any member of the deliberation group who hammered out the latest agreement on Landfill Three, the end was nowhere in sight just a few short months ago.

You might have an image of a farmer in their tractor or with a bucket feeding livestock. The reality is farmers can often be found in office cubicles, driving school buses or stocking shelves.

WCBU Reports airs weekdays with an in-depth local news story from the WCBU Peoria Public Radio newsroom. New features are available every weekday by 5 a.m. WCBU Reports is also available wherever you get your podcasts.

The most recent hire for the position says he's prepared to bring some stability.

WCBU Reports airs weekdays with an in-depth local news story from the WCBU Peoria Public Radio newsroom. New features are available every weekday by 5 a.m. WCBU Reports is also available wherever you get your podcasts.

The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge is the core of a major flyway for migrating birds and one of the most visited refuges in the U.S. Anglers and outdoor enthusiasts saved it from being drained 100 years ago, but the next century brings new challenges.

Fueled by interest rate cuts and rising consumer confidence, home sales in the Peoria market seem to be turning a corner.

This year's inductees for the Illinois Outdoor Hall of Fame include an archer with an incredible resume tucked into his quiver.

On election day, you may take just a few minutes to go to your nearest polling place, make sure your registration is in order and cast your ballot. A handful of students from a Bradley University government class will be spending their entire day there to make that process go smoothly.

WCBU Reports airs weekdays with an in-depth local news story from the WCBU Peoria Public Radio newsroom. New features are available every weekday by 5 a.m. WCBU Reports is also available wherever you get your podcasts.

Sandwiched between Roanoke and Benson a little less than an hour outside Peoria, there's a white farmhouse sitting on almost an acre of land. That's the new home of Down River Farm and its owner, first generation farmer Evan Barry.

A $6 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development will be used to continue the health department's Lead Safe Program that provides inspections and lead removal for Peoria homes built prior to 1978, when the federal ban on lead paint went into effect.

A broad coalition of city, county and state organizations are working on a new approach to juvenile justice.

Imagine today’s Major League Baseball stars picking up offseason side jobs as theater actors. It may sound strange now, but it happened relatively often in the sports “deadball” era.

WCBU Reports airs weekdays with an in-depth local news story from the WCBU Peoria Public Radio newsroom. New features are available every weekday by 5 a.m. WCBU Reports is also available wherever you get your podcasts.

WCBU Reports airs weekdays with an in-depth local news story from the WCBU Peoria Public Radio newsroom. New features are available every weekday by 5 a.m. WCBU Reports is also available wherever you get your podcasts.

Getting a new small business off the ground can be challenging, and even more so in some smaller communities. But one local company is working to help people across Peoria and Tazewell Counties navigate the process.

WCBU Reports airs weekdays with an in-depth local news story from the WCBU Peoria Public Radio newsroom. New features are available every weekday by 5 a.m. WCBU Reports is also available wherever you get your podcasts.

As the fall harvest season arrives each year, the economic significance of agriculture in the Peoria area becomes highly visible. That’s a fact Greater Peoria Economic Development Council CEO Chris Setti has come to appreciate after growing up in suburban Los Angeles.

Gardening is a thousand-year-old practice. For the past 100 of those years, growers in the Peoria area have turned to the Peoria Garden Club to flex their green thumbs.

Voters at the polls on Nov. 5 are choosing who will fill the seat of the tenth district circuit court judge.

In this interview, WCBU's Collin Schopp speaks with John Spears, the Democratic candidate for a Peoria County resident circuit court judge seat. He's running against Republican Judge Frank Ierulli. 

The termination of the Cure Violence program has raised questions and prompted a criminal investigation into possible financial malfeasance. Mayor Rita Ali discusses the problems with the program and how the void it left behind can be filled.

Peoria recently agreed to spend $1.75 million to buy the downtown PNC Bank Building, along with an adjoining office building and parking deck. In part one of our latest monthly interview with Peoria Mayor Rita Ali, she explains the benefits of the acquisition.

If you’re feeling exhausted at your workplace, it’s not just you. Experts say the American workforce is undergoing a “Great Exhaustion.” The term, coined in a Dec. 2023 New Yorker article, is how West Virginia University Chair and Professor of Behavioral Medicine and Psychology James Berry describes the phenomenon resulting in 60% or more of the U.S. workforce saying they are “moderately burnt out” or more.

A cluster of urban greenery running along six blocks of Western Avenue near Bradley University may not seem like anything terribly remarkable to a casual passerby, but this grassroots park isn't quite like any other in Peoria. The Western Avenue Greenway Project isn't managed by the city of Peoria or by the Peoria Park District, but by the neighbors themselves.

The average American household throws away more than a thousand dollars of food every year. The Food and Drug Administration estimates that, nationally, 30 to 40 percent of the food supply is wasted annually. Fortunately, there are paths for food waste that don’t end at the landfill.

Peoria is the largest city in Illinois without a senior wellness and activity center. Peggy Jacques is spearheading a push to get a senior center built in Peoria.

The city of Delavan in southern Tazewell county is making a reinvigorated push to revitalize its historic downtown corridor.

The organization Peoria Grow Your Own distributed a $5,000 grant among 9 women last year, for necessities like professional clothing, gas and childcare.

If you've ever been on the operating table, there's a good chance you took it for granted that the medical staff surrounding you were certified to do their jobs.While that's mostly the case, there's one job specific to surgery where that may not always be true.A bill in Springfield is seeking to change that.

A growing number of hospitals are looking for other solutions to no-show appointments, instead of costly fees.

East Peoria Mayor John Kahl says he’s committed to making sure the city maintains a welcoming atmosphere for businesses, and that’s a big reason behind the move to establish TIF district along the Illinois River.