Amid an invasion of Ukraine, farmers across Illinois are feeling the pinch when it comes to fertilizer prices.… MORE
Category Archives: Local News
City of Bloomington Parks and Rec Summer registration begins April 13
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – The City of Bloomington’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts department will have Summer Registration open for Bloomington residents beginning April 13th beginning at 5:00 AM. Non-resident registration will begin April 20th. The programs and classes being offered deal with outdoor activities, sports, science, cooking and art classes, and even Zumba…… MORE
$250,000 donated to Bloomington community center in honor of Willie Brown
By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – A quarter of a million dollars is going to a local community center in honor of a longtime public servant to the Twin Cities. State Farm held a special ceremony Wednesday, looking back on the life of former executive Willie Brown. In his name, the company presented a check for…… MORE
ISU to be featured on Amazon Prime show ‘The College Tour’
By HOI ABC NORMAL – A TV show highlighting colleges across the country has made its way to Central Illinois. Illinois State University will be in the spotlight on the Amazon Prime show ‘The College Tour’. Crews have been in pre-production for the last two months getting to know the Twin Cities and the campus…… MORE
Governor signs bill granting teachers unlimited paid sick leave for COVID
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Unlimited sick time for covid-related reasons, a new law Gov. JB Pritzker signed for educators, is a godsend for Angela Bulger of O’Fallon. “As a new employee, I am allotted eleven sick days,” said Bulger, an aide. “Without this legislation, any additional days missed because of covid would mean a…… MORE
Social media postings of a Springfield police officer have gotten the attention of Illinois lawmakers
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Illinois House and Senate Democrats – mostly lawmakers of color – are getting involved in what has become a big story in Springfield – racist social media posts, allegedly by a man who was on the police force. Officer Aaron Nichols resigned Tuesday, rather than sit for an interview with…… MORE
Lincoln College Pres. David Gerlach still making efforts to stay open
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – It has been nearly a week since Lincoln College announced it was closing the school after 157 years. Lincoln College President David Gerlach says the pandemic and an Iranian cyber attack led to the announcement that the college was closing it’s doors. He noted that the college is at a…… MORE
Illinois State receives $403,900 grant for state-of-the-art microscope
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – A state of the art microscope is making it’s way to Illinois State this summer as a National Science Foundation(NSF) grant of nearly $404,000 made it all possible. Dr. Mahua Biswas, Assistant Professor in Physics at Illinois State, spoke volumes on the impact this will have for not only ISU,…… MORE
State Senate committee gets an update on the nursing shortage
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – When senators convened a hearing into the nursing shortage, one of the witnesses showed up in black scrubs. Paul Pater, treasurer of the Illinois Nurses Association and a nurse at UI Health, said the black was not only for the two colleagues he lost in the early days of covid,…… MORE
Federal Mediator to be involved in ISU and worker’s union negotiations
By HOI ABC NORMAL – A federal mediator will now be involved after no agreement was made between Illinois State University and their worker’s union, AFSCME Local 1110. ISU and the union met twice last week hoping to come to an agreement over their contracts. Union workers have been working without contracts for the past…… 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…