Category Archives: Police and Fire

Mobile home fire Sunday night in Bloomington

Mobile home fire Sunday night in Bloomington

Posted on May 22, 2023

By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington fire crews responded to a mobile home fire Sunday night on the city’s west side. Firefighters were called to #3 Snow Lane around 7:55 p.m. and reported smoke and fire from multiple windows of a single-wide mobile home. According to a news release, the main body of the fire…… MORE

ISP provides update after Monday’s pileup on I-55 south of Springfield

ISP provides update after Monday’s pileup on I-55 south of Springfield

Posted on May 2, 2023

By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – A day after the chain reaction collision that killed six people along Interstate 55, State Police director Brendan Kelly told reporters in Divernon two of the victims cannot be identified, and he wants the public’s help. One person, he said, was in a blue Chrysler 300, and the other person…… MORE

Coroner identifies victim in deadly I-55 vehicle and pedestrian crash

Coroner identifies victim in deadly I-55 vehicle and pedestrian crash

Posted on May 1, 2023

By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – McLean County Coroner Dr. Kathy Yoder released the identity of the person who died in a vehicle vs. pedestrian crash on I-55 near milepost 158 in McLean County Friday. Yoder said 58-year-old David E. Williams of Bloomington died from multiple blunt traumatic injuries after being struck by an automobile on I-55.…… MORE

Danvers man indicted for 1st-degree murder in strangulation case

Danvers man indicted for 1st-degree murder in strangulation case

Posted on April 27, 2023

By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – A Danvers man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Melissa Ostrom. 41-year-old Josh Livingston was arrested Wednesday and is being held at the McLean County Jail, according to a news release from the Bloomington Police Department. No bond information is available. Ostrom was reported missing on April…… MORE

Coroner identifies victim of motorcycle crash in Normal

Coroner identifies victim of motorcycle crash in Normal

Posted on April 24, 2023

By WMBD-TV NORMAL – The McLean County Coroner’s Office has identified the victim of a motorcycle and car crash Friday night in Normal. According to a Normal police press release, 22-year-old Douglas Wriston of Warren, Michigan died in the crash. The cause of death is still pending. Officers were called to the I-55/74 overpass on…… 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…