Peoria Charter Coach was forced to layoff 132 workers due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.… MORE
Category Archives: Local News
Will Renner run in 2021?
While local elections are still months away, Bloomington’s top elected official contemplates a re-election bid.… MORE
Bloomington man charged with child molestation
McLean County prosecutors have charged a Bloomington man with sex crimes involving a child over several years.… MORE
Local libraries permanently become fine-free
The Bloomington Public Library and Normal Public Library have stopped charging overdue fines.… MORE
Demonstrators “die” on the BCPA lawn
Mayor Renner addressed the crowd, saying we must fight for the better part of human beings.… MORE
Elected leaders condemn KKK as recruitment leaflets are distributed in Central Illinois
The Bloomington City Council is speaking out on the discovery this weekend of racist pamphlets from the Ku Klux Klan distributed in parts of Bloomington and other Central Illinois locations, including Stanford and Atlanta.… MORE
McLean County adds 12 new coronavirus cases
The McLean County Health Department on Tuesday announced 12 new cases of coronavirus as the testing site in Bloomington set a new record for single-day testing.… MORE
IHSA Executive Director: “It appears to be difficult” to have football in the fall
With the IHSA Board of Directors set to convene later this month, the top leader of the IHSA says the football season in the fall “appears to be difficult.”… MORE
BFD: Family saved by working smoke detectors
A Bloomington family was able to escape a house fire over the weekend thanks to working smoke detectors, according to the Bloomington Fire Department.… MORE
Council votes not to allow a chicken coop on land in north Bloomington
Bloomington City Council members narrowly rejected a proposal Monday night that would have allowed a woman to keep up to four chickens on a property she leases on the north side.… 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…