In a show of frustration over the lack of support for Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposed changes that would have allowed a casino there, Chicago lawmakers pulled their support and asked for others to do the same on a bill that, had it failed, could have held up the state’s other casinos and the rollout of sports gambling. … MORE
Some Illinois lawmakers said they didn’t get all they wanted to get done before leaving the capitol last week.… MORE
Most Illinois hospitals scored well in a new patient safety report.
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The Normal Town Council is scheduled to make a landmark decision Monday night whether to allow cannabis-related businesses in the town when recreational marijuana use becomes legal in Illinois on New Year’s Day.… MORE
The head of the Bloomington-Normal public transit board favors another delay in a planned fare increase to allow a working group to complete its comprehensive transit system review.… MORE
Medical examiners who received the body of 8-year-old Rica Rountree after her death said there is no doubt she was abused.… MORE
A new report says too many Illinoisans are doing it wrong: by not cleaning things before they throw them into the recycling. Not only are we throwing – basically – trash into the blue bin, nobody will take it. … MORE
The Illinois Department of Employment Security announced Friday the unemployment rate was unchanged at an historically low 3.9% in October.… MORE
The first woman president at Illinois Wesleyan University is prepared for different challenges as she takes over the top position.… MORE
How much is in your retirement account?… 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…