By WJBC Staff BLOOMINGTON – State Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) announced on Monday his retirement from the Senate at the end of his current term, which expires Jan. 10, 2023. Barickman has served in the General Assembly for 12 years. He currently represents the 53rd District, which covers parts of McLean, Livingston, Woodford and Ford…
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Looking back on his losing campaign for governor and just weeks away from being out of office entirely, State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) says it’s not as if some part of him were left unknown to the public. “I don’t think anything,” Bailey said this week. “I have no regrets.…
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Illinois State University’s Redbird Arena will soon be getting a new name. ISU’s governing board will vote Friday on a naming rights and sponsorship agreement to rename Redbird Arena to “CEFCU Arena.” CEFCU will pay ISU athletics approximately $3.1 million over ten years for the naming rights for Redbird Arena,…
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.” …
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…
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…
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…
