Category Archives: WJBC’s Top Stories

One dead after Tazewell County crash

One dead after Tazewell County crash

By WMBD-TV PEKIN – Tazewell County Coroner Charles Hanley reported that a man is dead after a single-vehicle crash near Illinois Route 9 and Mennonite Church Road in rural Pekin at approximately 2:32 p.m. on Sunday. According to Hanley, a 51-year-old rural Mapleton man was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 3:05 p.m. The…MORE

Gov. Pritzker announces plans to rebuild two Illinois prisons

Gov. Pritzker announces plans to rebuild two Illinois prisons

During a news conference in Chicago on Friday, Gov. JB Pritzker, along with officials from the Illinois Department of Corrections, announced plans to rebuild Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln and Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill. Money for the projects is already part of his 2025 budget, he said. Statesville opened in 1925 while Logan opened in 1978, according…MORE

Tazewell County asking voters for permission to install new monument

Tazewell County asking voters for permission to install new monument

By WMBD-TV PEKIN – Tazewell County voters will go to the polls next week to decide, among other things, if they want a monument to honor the three county residents who earned the nation’s highest military decoration for valor. William Reed, John Ayers and Thomas Murphy earned the Medal of Honor for their actions in the 1863 Battle of Vicksburg during…MORE

McLean County collecting data to receive broadband for rural areas

McLean County collecting data to receive broadband for rural areas

By WMBD-TV MCLEAN COUNTY – A lack of affordable high-speed internet is an issue for residents in rural McLean County. Chad Walden is the village president of Arrowsmith, a small community in eastern McLean County. He said Arrowsmith, population of about 300, would benefit from having high-speed internet. “We have struggled with the lack of…MORE

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…