By 25 News WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) bid farewell to the U.S. Congress on Thursday by criticizing Republicans and Democrats for not putting the country ahead of politics. Kinzinger, raised in Bloomington and elected to the McLean County Board when he was a sophomore at Illinois State University, was one of…… MORE
By 25 News BLOOMINGTON – A long-time Central Illinois educator has been chosen as District 87′s next administrator in charge of teaching and learning. The school board Wednesday night approved a three-year contract with Nicole Rummel in which she will be paid a $130,000 salary during the first year. Rummel will replace Diane Wolf, who’s…… MORE
By 25 News MCLEAN COUNTY – A 14-year-old boy from the St. Louis area is charged as an adult in McLean County for his role in a burglary in which 25 guns were stolen from a Bloomington business last December, including one weapon reportedly used last year to shoot a 13-year-old boy in Peoria. McLean…… MORE
A man is wanted for multiple fraudulent transactions in Central Illinois and Indiana.… MORE
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – McLean County’s Republican Party Chair is stepping down. Connie Beard announced Tuesday that she is resigning her seat and Dennis Grundler, the vice chairman of the committee, will take over as her successor and lead the county party in her place. Beard released a statement Tuesday morning. “I have been…… MORE
Bloomington will collect more in property taxes next year to help pay down its obligations to police and fire pensions, and to pay off some of the bonds for expansion and renovation of the city’s public library.… MORE
By 25 News BLOOMINGTON – Due to the continued labor shortage, Connect Transit is temporarily reducing weekend service, beginning Sunday, December 18. Connect Transit says the reductions are their way of providing reliability and stability to their service. Service will be reduced in the early morning and late afternoon when some routes have the least…… MORE
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – Gas prices continue to inch down across the country. In Illinois, gas has fallen about 18 cents over the past week, averaging $3.42 a gallon. GasBuddy price reports show the cheapest station in Illinois is priced at $2.72 while the most expensive is $5.79. Gas price in Illinois 73.5 cents…… MORE
By 25 News BLOOMINGTON – The McLean County Health Department reports two more people, including a woman in her 50s, have died from COVID-19-related illnesses. Data released Friday also new cases and hospitalizations moved higher during the weekly period, and for a second week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) classified McLean County’s community level…… MORE
By 25 News BLOOMINGTON – A man who said he resorted to sell drugs in the Twin Cities to get his family’s food truck up and running was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison. Edward Holmes, 51, was one of McLean County’s biggest drug dealers, if not the biggest, said Assistant State’s Attorney Jeff…… MORE
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…