Bloomington Police Department has added a new face to their force, but this time the new face comes with fur and four legs.… MORE
Category Archives: Local News
After $1 million in renovations, Bloomington blood center helping in nation wide shortage
With a nation wide calling for blood, the American Red Cross Blood Center finished $1 million in renovations that will provide a more suitable area for the need for blood.… MORE
GOP picks new candidate for McLean County Board seat
McLean County Republicans have found a new candidate to run for the county board seat covering south Bloomington.… MORE
Albanian national avoids deportation after local jury acquits him of sex-related crime
A McLean County jury has spared an Albanian national from being deported by finding him not guilty on charges he held a woman against her will and tried to sexual abuse her. … MORE
Black Lives Matter rally aims to end the killings
Organizers of a rally in Miller Park Friday evening sought to put a stop to the violence in Bloomington-Normal that has claimed the lives of nine people so far this year.… MORE
U.S. Marshals asked to review Law and Justice Center security following courthouse stabbing
After an elderly man stabbed himself with a plastic knife at the Law and Justice Center, the McLean County Sheriff’s Department is investigating how he managed to sneak the knife through security.… MORE
Sydney Mays Jr. extradition process is underway
A Bloomington man accused of murder may be back in McLean County soon. … MORE
Unit 5 starts search for third new school board member
Unit 5 is seeking candidates to fill one last school board vacancy.… MORE
Council told arena needs $610,000 elevator to ease access for disabled patrons
Bloomington aldermen are being asked to spend a little more than $600,000 in public money for a new elevator so the city-owned Grossinger Motors Arena can comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.… MORE
Convicts no longer to perform community service for Boys and Girls Club after rape case
The head of the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal said the organization has taken itself off the list of agencies in which people convicted of crimes can perform community service work.… 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…