By HOI ABC NORMAL – The mask mandate remains in place for McLean County’s largest school district. The Unit 5 School Board is not ready to make mask wearing optional in the district, defying demands from some community members after a Sangamon County judge issued a temporary restraining order last week making Gov. JB Pritzker’s…… MORE
By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – McLean County prosecutors contend a Heyworth man on trial for domestic battery went to extraordinary and illegal lengths to convince a jury that he’s not guilty. Prosecutors on Wednesday filed 14 charges, 13 of them felonies, against Steve Abdullah. Authorities say Abdullah and his wife, who is the alleged victim…… MORE
A Central Illinois lawmaker and McLean County’s chief prosecutor hope to protect all minor victims of sexual assault when they appear in court.… MORE
A Lincoln man was killed early Wednesday morning in an accident at the Sam’s Club loading dock.… MORE
As the state is set to lift the mask mandate at the end of the month, a central Illinois Congressman said the move was needed a long time ago.… MORE
Two Bloomington men remain behind bars at the McLean County Jail after a domestic dispute.… MORE
By WJBC Staff NORMAL – Beginning Wednesday, at the intersection of College Avenue and Towanda Avenue there will be lane reductions in the north lane of westbound College and the west lane of southbound Towanda. The lane reductions are for water distribution system improvements. Drivers are urged to use caution when traveling through the area.…… MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is coming to Bloomington-Normal this weekend to highlight work the Department of Transportation is doing to make electric vehicles more accessible to more Americans. According to a news release, that includes launching a new Rural EV Toolkit and announcing historic infrastructure funding under the bipartisan infrastructure law.…… MORE
Three men are in custody in Bloomington, but police remain tight-lipped — calling it an “active investigation.”… MORE
Property taxes will not rise for Normal residents as the town aims to build a new fire station at the tune of almost $5 million on the city’s east side.… 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…