By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – All Illinois Secretary of State departments will reopen for in-person transactions – including driver services facilities – on Monday, Jan. 24. All departments and driver services facilities had been closed since Jan. 3 due to the surge of COVID-19 cases statewide. “The health and safety of employees and the public…… MORE
By HOI ABC NORMAL – All students, faculty, and staff at Illinois State University are receiving KN95 masks at no cost to them, but it’s costing the school $23,000, a university spokesperson said Thursday. ISU is paying that amount for industrial supply company Grainger to quickly deliver 25,000 KN95s, said university spokesperson Eric Jome. He…… MORE
A 70-year old man from Normal has been arrested after a McLean County grand jury indicted him on 45 counts alleging he was in possession of child pornography.… MORE
The trustees at Heartland Community College are signing off on creating an in-house security department.… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – McLean County’s largest school district is adding two early release days due to staffing shortages caused by the pandemic. In a Facebook post Thursday, Unit 5 says the pandemic has caused a great deal of pressure on its school system and has created staffing shortages for a variety of reasons.…… MORE
By Neil Doyle PONTIAC – An Aurora man has been arrested after an armed robbery Wednesday afternoon in Pontiac. Police say the armed robbery happened around 12:54 p.m. at the BP gas station located at 319 West Howard Street. A masked suspect entered the store and displayed a handgun before demanding money and forcing the…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – There’s skepticism over the government’s coronavirus numbers. And the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health says there is something to that. Dr. Ngozi Ezike gives one example: “Because of the ubiquitousness of omicron,” Ezike said during Gov. JB Pritzker’s news conference Wednesday, “there are people who maybe went…… MORE
By HOI ABC BLOOMINTON – A national theater chain is bringing vaccinated-only show options to select theaters around the country. The Bloomington location for Marcus Theaters is adding the option – starting Friday, January 21. Vaccine-only shows will be available for two titles every day, according to a release. Showtimes will be clearly marked on…… MORE
The Habitat for Humanity of McLean County welcomes a new Executive Director with more than 37-years of experience. … MORE
The aviation industry is warning against the rollout of 5G band networks across the country, but one airport in central Illinois says the rollouts are not affecting their airport.… 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…