🌱 Peoria Among 'Best Places To Live' + City Gets 'Ted Lasso' Mention

Hello, Peoria! In today's edition of the Patch newsletter:

• A teenager has been arrested for throwing a brick at a 50-year-old Peoria man, who later died from his injuries.
• The police department will launch a weekly "Walk and Talk" campaign tonight.
• More than $1 million in federal grant funding will go toward the Peoria Housing Authority.

But first, today's weather: Hazy sunshine. High: 81 Low: 62.

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Here are the top 4 stories in Peoria today:

1. A South Peoria man died Monday, five days after being hospitalized when a teen threw a brick at him near Garden and Ligonier. The 14-year-old assailant has been arrested for aggravated battery, but the case is now being investigated as a homicide, according to Peoria police. (WMBD)

2. The Peoria Police Department’s “Walk and Talk” campaign returns tonight at East Bluff Community Center. Police will “hand out information fliers to residents listing available resources including family shelters, local food pantries and mental health services,” 25 News Now reports. The event runs weekly across the city’s neighborhoods. (25NN)

3. U.S. News & World Report ranked Peoria among the “best places to live” in Illinois, Patch reports. The city ranked number 70 on the list as a "brawling, bruising, sometimes bawdy and always big-hearted river town.” (Patch)

4. It’s official: Coach Beard is from Peoria! The “Ted Lasso” character made reference to his hometown in Wednesday's episode of the Apple TV+ series, confirming speculation from his Emmy-nominated portrayer Brendan Hunt that “he’s from central Illinois, like Peoria or something.” The Illinois State University alum told Vanity Fair, “I went to school in that neck of the woods, so I feel a bit of kinship.” (Vanity Fair)

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Today in Peoria:

• The Department of Public Works hosts an open house. (4 p.m.)
• Take a free tour of the Main Library’s History/Genealogy Collection. (4 p.m.)
• The McClure Branch of the library hosts “Art in the Park.” (6:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• The U.S. Department of Labor awarded a $1.5 million grant to the Peoria Housing Authority. (WMBD)
• Registration is open for summer swim lessons at Gwynn Family Aquatic Center. (Park District)
• The Peoria Chiefs have a full schedule of themed nights next week at Dozer Park, including ‘70s Night and Casino Night. (Chiefs)
• A new brewery opened this week inside a former Subway location in Peoria Heights. (Paid source: Journal Star)

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You're all caught up on the news for Thursday, May 18! See you Saturday for another guide to the headlines.

— Georgi

About me: Georgi is a Chicago-based newsletter writer and partner content curator. She spent five years on the entertainment beat for FF2 Media covering film festivals across the U.S. Her feature articles have been recognized with awards from the Illinois Women's Press Association and National Federation of Press Women. As editor-in-chief of the Lewis University newspaper, she and her staff earned honors from the Associated Collegiate Press and American Scholastic Press Associations. She began working for Patch in 2019.