By Neil Doyle NORMAL – The fall 2021 enrollment at Illinois State University is 20,233, down two percent from last year, but the freshman class saw a modest increase. ISU welcomed 3,374 freshmen to its student body, up one percent from last year, according to a news release Wednesday. “This most recent recruitment cycle presented several…… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Carle Health, which owns Carle BroMenn Medical Center in Normal, is increasing its minimum wage to $15 per hour. The health care system based in Urbana says this change supports team members by improving career opportunities and strengthening the work culture. “We believe that to provide the best possible healthcare for…… MORE
By HOI ABC HUDSON – The McLean County Sheriff’s Office said a man who fled apparently shoeless from a rural Hudson crash scene early Tuesday morning was still on the loose and might still be in the Hudson area. On the sheriff’s department’s Facebook page, police released a new photograph of Brian Morgan, who’s wanted on several…… MORE
By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – Family members are still searching for missing Illinois State University graduate student Jelani “J.J.” Day more than a week after he was reported missing. Carmen Bolden Day, Jelani’s mother, said she last spoke to him Aug. 23. She said they were planning a family trip for Thanksgiving. “He said ‘Mama, I…… MORE
Bloomington police report a Bloomington man died from injuries he suffered by an alleged drunk driver.… MORE
Hospitals in the twin cities are near capacity as health officials report 95 new cases of COVID-19.… MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – Some are frustrated with the indoor mask mandate in Illinois, but the state’s top public health doctor says “masks work.” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike says masks help prevent illness and help stop the spread of the virus. Ezike spoke with WJBC’s Scott Miller. Dir. Illinois Dept…… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Midwest Food Bank Bloomington-Normal is sending disaster relief to Louisiana and Mississippi for those impacted by Hurricane Ida. Two semi loads of family food boxes have already been sent. The organization is preparing for more requests, according to Tara Ingham, executive director of Midwest Food Bank Bloomington-Normal. “We are ready to support…… MORE
Beginning on Thursday, N. Hinshaw Ave., from Locust St. to Forrest St., will be closed for scheduled asphalt resurfacing operations.… MORE
Bloomington Police are probing a shots-fired incident that happened on Tuesday.… 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…