Waking up on Wednesday, I was prepared to spend the morning poring over all the results from the day before. What I didn’t anticipate was that my world would be rocked by a story from the New York Times entitled “Cesar Chavez, a Civil Rights Icon, Is Accused of Abusing Girls for Years.”

Waking up on Wednesday morning after the Illinois Primary election, I was prepared to spend the morning poring over all the results from the day before. What I didn’t anticipate was that my world would be rocked by a story from the New York Times entitled “Cesar Chavez, a Civil Rights Icon, Is Accused of Abusing Girls for Years.”

I am writing this on, March 18, 2026, to explain to my colleagues and friends my regret and utter disgust in what I now know to be the real Cesar Chavez. 

Anyone, having visited my Springfield office, will have noticed the picture on my wall (not anymore, however) of myself with Cesar Chavez at a press conference, probably around 1972 to 1973.  I would have been 23 or 24 years old. I was a staff member of the National Farm Worker Ministry, having joined while in seminary in Dayton, Ohio, and working with the UFW.

I was proud to tell people that I had worked for the farmworkers’ movement and Cesar Chavez for six years.  In fact, I met my wife, Nora, in Cleveland in 1973, where I was the director of the United Farm Workers Boycott office.  (The boycott of lettuce and grapes, was the economic tool used by Cesar to bring growers to the table to negotiate union contracts for farmworkers). After our marriage in 1976, we moved to New York City, where I took over as director of the boycott there.  While in New York, I was able to work with Fred Ross, the person who found Cesar in California in the early 1960’s and taught him and everyone else in the union about organizing. Fred was a protégé of Saul Alinsky. It was also in New York that our first daughter was born. 

In 1977, we moved to La Paz, the UFW's headquarters, where I served as the National Farm Worker Ministry director of the California Division.  Nora and I lived in a mobile home in La Paz, because we had a family at that point.  We had many friends in La Paz.  Nora became involved in community-building activities for the community and its staff members. 

We ended up leaving the farm workers in the summer of 1978, after realizing that living on $10 a week, plus room and board, was not something we wanted to do for the rest of our lives.  And so, we moved to Peoria, to work at Peoria Friendship House of Christian Service.  They wanted an ordained minister/community organizer to work on Peoria’s Near Northside neighborhood.

The New York Times article listed many of the people with whom we lived and worked. We were all devoted to Cesar and the cause of bringing justice and dignity to America’s farmworkers.  He was bigger than life to most of us.  He would break his nationally publicized fasts, which he did to bring attention to the plight of farmworkers, with notables like Bobby Kennedy, and Coretta Scott King. 

The UFW became a powerful political force, helping Jerry Brown become Governor of California and other politicos in the 1970’s. Hollywood was also no stranger to Cesar and the UFW.  I remember, during a California ballot proposition regarding farmworkers, going to rallies and seeing Kris Kristofferson and Sissy Spacek lending their support.

And so, to hear that the current leadership of the UFW was suspending all celebration activities for Cesar’s birthday on March 31st, I knew there was something to the story.  When women say they were raped and abused, we need to believe them. When I read about Dolores Huerta and the abuses that occurred to her and to the girls who were his victims, I believe it. 

This has been one of the saddest days in my memory.  My hero and idol just came crashing down off his pedestal. I don’t regret spending six years of my life working for the cause of farmworkers, because it is still important.  But I do regret having put so much faith, trust and admiration in a man who will now go down in history as a pedophile and a rapist.

PEORIA – State Senator Dave Koehler announced that close to $75,000 in grants is coming to the Midwest Bioprocessing Center in Peoria.

“Strong small businesses help make up the backbone of every local economy, providing jobs and trusted products with a familiar face,” said Koehler (D-Peoria). “This innovation grant not only expands one local business, but it also increases our reputation as a thriving district with a growing economy.”

The Illinois Innovation Voucher Program connects small businesses with the state’s world-class universities and research institutions. Through competitive awards of up to $75,000, the program enables companies to pursue research and development projects in partnership with a qualified Illinois institute of higher education to support technology validation, accelerate product development and strengthen commercialization pathways.

In the 46^th Senate District that Koehler represents, Midwest Bioprocessing Center was selected to receive a total of $74,980 from the innovation Voucher Program. 

To learn more about the Innovation Voucher Program, click here. 

PEORIA – State Senator Dave Koehler is encouraging local food processors to apply for the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s new grant, with funding to support food processing, aggregation and distribution. Grants will be available for collaborative projects from $1,000 to $250,000 and for individual projects from $1,000 to $75,000.

"When we say farm-to-home food, we forget about the critical infrastructure in between," said Koehler (D-Peoria). "This investment ensures that our food makes it from farm to local food processor and distribution safely and cleanly to your plates at home."

To be an eligible applicant, organizations must meet these qualifications: be an Illinois resident who stores, processes, packages, aggregates, or distributes value-added agricultural products, or plan to do so. These entities must meet one of the following criteria: a farm, cooperative, or slaughter/processing facility with fewer than 50 employees. As well as an Illinois food business, a food hub, a non-profit organization, or a unit of the local government of Illinois. Those interested can prepare for the upcoming application by pre-registering with SAM.gov and the GATA Grantee Portal. 

To encourage further expansion of the local food industry, all grant funding must be used for purchasing, leasing to own, renting, building or installing infrastructure related to the processing, storage, aggregation, or distribution of value-added agricultural products.

Additional information about the program, supporting links and helpful guidance on getting ahead on the application can be found on the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s website.

NORMAL – State Senator Dave Koehler helped secure $350,000 in state grant funding through the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program for Youthbuild McLean County in Normal.

“Education is a fundamental right – and should be treated as such for students of all incomes,” said Koehler (D-Peoria) “This investment into one of our local institutions gives an equal chance for all students to succeed in school and beyond that.”

The Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program launched in 2021 with the goal of increasing diversity and access to apprenticeship programs. Comprehensive pre-apprenticeship programs help participants gain admission to apprenticeship programs, which provide a greater opportunity to obtain employment in the construction trades and secure a lifelong career.

In the district Koehler represents, Youthbuild located in McLean County will receive $350,000 through the program.

Through Illinois Works, DCEO is expanding its statewide network of providers to recruit, prescreen and provide pre-apprenticeship skills training. Equally important, the program providers offer structured pathways and manage the program graduates' transition from the pre-apprenticeship program to a full apprenticeship program in construction and the building trades.  

Click here to learn more about the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program.