Jobs were up over the year in Bloomington-Normal and all 14 Illinois metro areas saw a decline in the jobless rate.… MORE
Category Archives: Local News
Illinois residents still have questions about REAL ID
Starting October of next year, Illinoisans wishing to fly or enter a military base will need the REAL ID or have a valid passport.… MORE
Remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice
There’s one more thing to see in Springfield. A World War I monument now stands among the other war memorials, not far from Lincoln’s Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery.… MORE
Unit 5 hires superintendent’s search consultant, launches new sport, adopts budget
Unit 5 is hiring a consultant to help find the next superintendent who will take over when Mark Daniel leaves at the end of the school year.… MORE
First Student frustrations prompt Unit 5 School Board to consider other bus service providers
The Unit 5 School Board is fed up with the performance of bus service provider, First Student.… MORE
Former District 87 School Board member fills vacant seat
The District 87 School Board has selected a former board member to fill a vacant seat.… MORE
Police probing aggravated battery case in Downtown Bloomington
Police are asking for the public’s help to identify three suspects who beat a person in Downtown Bloomington.… MORE
Blue Ridge Board of Education will post offers made by each side
The Blue Ridge Board of Education said it will publicly post the offers made by each side after negotiations failed Tuesday with the union representing teachers and other employees.… MORE
Winning $400K lottery ticket sold in Saunemin
The Illinois Lottery announced Wednesday a gas station in Livingston County sold a $400,000 winning Lucky Day Lotto ticket.… MORE
IDOT seeks 900 snowplow drivers; no small feat in booming economy
The Illinois Department of Transportation is hoping to fill its annual snow plow operator ranks but the booming economy and demand for drivers has thinned the applicant pool.… 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…