Unit 5 Superintendent Mark Daniel says the district will likely be able to fund increased minimum teacher salaries recently imposed by the state, at least right away.… MORE
Category Archives: Local News
Bloomington seeks beautiful homes and buildings
The City of Bloomington Citizen’s Beautification Committee is looking for well-kept homes and businesses for its annual Beautification Awards.… MORE
NY Catholic Church tries again to prevent transfer of Sheen’s remains to Peoria
The legal wrangling isn’t over between Central Illinois and New York Catholics about the final resting place for El Paso native, Archbishop Fulton Sheen.… MORE
Midwest Food Bank opens new location in Texas
A local organization is headed to the Lone Star State.… MORE
Special Olympians come to town to spread their joy
Special Olympians gathering Friday night at Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium were experiencing the thrill of victory even before their competitions. … MORE
I-55 car-semi crash kills Chenoa woman
A Chenoa woman was killed and another person was hurt when a car and a semi-trailer truck collided in the southbound lanes of Interstate 55, just south of Lexington early Friday evening.… MORE
Man gives up nursing license for stealing patients’ opioid patches
A local nurse who pleaded guilty to entering rooms of nursing home patients and stealing pain-killing opioid patches from their bodies has agreed to surrender his license to be a practical nurse.… MORE
High court ruling on voter registration worries McLean County Clerk candidate
The Democratic candidate for McLean County Clerk believes voters here should be concerned by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling backing Ohio’s attempts to purge voter rolls.… MORE
Local nurse admits stealing patients’ opioid patches
By Howard Packowitz BLOOMINGTON – A local opioid case that drew national attention has resulted in a guilty plea and possible prison time for a nurse who took painkilling fentanyl patches from patients’ bodies at two Twin-Cities nursing homes. James Rellihan pleaded guilty to residential burglary, and faces up to 15 years in prison.…… MORE
Man charged for opioid-induced homicide in Bloomington
One of a dozen opioid-related deaths in McLean County so far this year has led to a criminal charge of drug-induced homicide against a Champaign County man.… 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…