Community leaders concerned about a surge of deadly violence, mainly involving young people in the Twin-Cities, will gather on Saturday at the Miller Park Pavilion to figure out ways to solve the problem.… MORE
Category Archives: Police and Fire
Late night house fire in Cooksville
Cooksville Fire Chief Roger Clark said a man who lived alone in the house on the LeRoy-Lexington Blacktop said he heard the crack of thunder, smelled smoke, and saw a neighboring shed on fire.… MORE
BPD seeks public’s help to solve six year old murder mystery
A half-dozen years have passed since a homeless man was found dead under the Center Street Bridge, just south of Downtown Bloomington, and police say they’re still actively pursuing leads in the case.… MORE
Prosecutor: BPD meth seizure one of McLean County’s largest
A Tazewell County man is jailed in Bloomington after what a local prosecutor said was one of McLean County’s largest ever seizures of the highly addictive stimulant known as crystal methamphetamines, or ice.… MORE
Firefighters honor late comrade with procession to Bloomington
A solemn procession of Central Illinois fire and rescue vehicles escorted the body of an area firefighter for an autopsy at the McLean County Coroner’s office in Bloomington.… MORE
Man hurt in rollover crash in west Normal
A 34-year old man was hurt when the car he was driving rolled on its top in west Normal.… MORE
Elderly woman dies in Woodford County crash
A single-vehicle crash on Interstate 74, between Carlock and Goodfield, killed a 72-year old Peoria woman and badly injured her husband.… MORE
Bloomington police report catching man leaving home with stolen items
Bloomington police say they caught a man red-handed carrying stolen items out of a home.… MORE
Local man charged with raping woman, beating her with metal pipe
McLean County prosecutors have charged a Bloomington man with sexually assaulting a woman and beating her with a metal pipe.… MORE
Extra security may have quelled courthouse melee
McLean County Sheriff’s Police have beefed up security at the Law and Justice Center since a man in mid-July smuggled a knife into a courtroom and stabbed himself after he was convicted of child molestation.… 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…