🌱 New Legislation On Reproductive Healthcare + Homicide Investigation

Hello and happy Saturday. I'm back in your inbox this spring morning to walk you through all the most important things happening locally.

But first, your local weather:

• Saturday: Showers of rain and snow. High: 47 Low: 31.
• Sunday: Mostly sunny; breezy, warmer. High: 64 Low: 45.

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Here are the top three stories today in Peoria:

1. On Tuesday, Mar. 21, the Peoria Police Department found the body of a missing woman in the Illinois River, and the case is now being investigated as a homicide. According to a recent press release, officials have determined that the woman was last seen walking from Morton Street into the Constitution Garden Park near Dan Fogelberg Memorial while wearing a black coat, blue jeans, and white shoes. Peoria police are urging community members to share any helpful information about the incident. (CIProud.com)
2. Prior to their Friday deadline, city officials passed a slew of new legislation including proposals aimed at protecting reproductive healthcare in Illinois. Legislators voted on Senate Bill 1909 which would give the state's attorney the ability to explicitly crackdown on "limited services pregnancy centers," also known as crisis pregnancy centers or CPCs. Following a heated debate, the proposal ended up passing on a partisan 36-19 vote. (WCBU)
3. This week, the New Hope Apartments experienced an electrical fire that displaced residents of 23 apartments. Peoria firefighters responded to a call on Thursday, Mar. 30 for smoke in the building which led them to an electrical fire and activated sprinklers on the fourth floor. The Red Cross is helping all residents who have been impacted by the fire. (25News Now)

Today and tomorrow in Peoria:

Saturday, April 1

• Easter Egg Scramble At Peoria Zoo (10:30 AM)

Sunday, April 2

• Egg Hunt & Pancakes For Service Dogs At Shore Acres Park And Clubhouse (8:00 AM)

From my notebook:

• Illinois State University is celebrating its 2023 graduates by giving away two mini-photoshoots just in time for commencement. Students are now able to enter the giveaway via social media, and it will officially close on Thursday, April 6. Both winners will be able to choose an on-campus location to take their photos and receive 10 limited top shots. (Illinois State University)
• On Wednesday, Apr. 5, the Peoria Park District will be hosting a Job Fair during which attendees will be able to learn about a variety of part-time, full-time, seasonal, indoor, and outdoor positions. If you're interested, visit here for more information. (Peoria Park District)
• The Peoria Heights Chamber of Commerce will be celebrating the groundbreaking of the new Together We Play accessible playground in Tower Park. The playground comes as an achievement of a group of students from St. Thomas the Apostle School to bring an accessible play area for children in Peoria Heights. The opening ceremony will be held at Peoria Heights Village Hall on Saturday, Apr. 1. (Peoria Heights Chamber of Commerce)

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That's it for today. I'll be back in your inbox soon with a new update!

— Nicole Fallon-Peek

About me: Nicole Fallon-Peek is a journalist and copywriter with a degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. She has served as a freelance reporter, managing editor, copy editor, and editorial director for a variety of B2B news outlets. She currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.