Time is running out for Illinois to pass a budget before the current fiscal year expires, but State Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) has suggested Illinois Democrats have their eye on another clock.… MORE
Category Archives: Scott Laughlin
Central Illinois man claims Obama, Trump are related
President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump could hardly be more different when it comes to their backgrounds and political philosophies, but they actually share a distant family history according to a Central Illinois genealogist.… MORE
District 87 to buy more student laptops for high school
District 87 is moving closer to its goal of equipping every student in grades 3 through 12 with a laptop.… MORE
Democratic leader: Rauner treats legislators like Blagojevich did
One of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s harshest critics in the Illinois legislature said a state budget won’t happen until Rauner realizes legislators don’t work for him.… MORE
Rutherford promotes travel club to Cuba
President Barack Obama is one of a select few Americans to visit Cuba now that the U.S. is moving to lift travel restrictions there, but you can now travel there too.… MORE
LaHood, Kinzinger comment on Brussels terrorist attacks
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, said Tuesday’s terrorist attacks in Brussels are a reminder that it’s not a matter of if but when there will be a terrorist strike in the U.S.… MORE
Chefs for PATH to help plug funding gap due to state budget stalemate
A local human service group is counting on its largest fundraiser to account for a lack of state support during the budget stalemate.… MORE
IWU alum details president’s intelligence briefings in new ‘secrets’ book
A Normal Community and Illinois Wesleyan alum who worked as an intelligence officer for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush has published a book about what was one of his primary tasks – producing the president’s daily brief, a summary of what the intelligence community considers the most important information the president needs to know daily.… MORE
ISU study: Foster care to college graduation ‘Against All Odds’
Illinois State University has been researching children in foster care, specifically the challenge they face in getting a college degree, as only six percent of foster youth graduate from college.… MORE
GOP strategist: Open convention still a possibility for Trump
Donald Trump increased his lead in the delegate count in the Republican race for the presidential nomination after winning primaries on Tuesday in Illinois, Florida, North Carolina and possibly Missouri, but it’s possible he will still fall short of the delegates needed before the party convention in July.… 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…