Category Archives: Top Stories

Audit to clarify sales tax distribution in McLean County
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) - The McLean County Board and the Twin Cities met last night to discuss the terms of an audit, regarding the sales tax agreement, after confusion sparked for the cities earlie...
WJBC Staff Sep 12, 2025

McLean County Health Department wins excellence award
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) - The McLean County Health Department announced on Thursday that it received the Public Health Program of Excellence Award. The award was from the Illinois Public Health Assoc...
WJBC Staff Sep 12, 2025

'It's a gut punch:' Local lawmakers react to Charlie Kirk's death
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) - Some local lawmakers are devastated after conservative media giant Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at a public event. On Wednesday, Kirk was speaking and debating students at Ut...
WJBC Staff Sep 11, 2025 (Photo courtesy: Turning Point USA/Charlie Kirk Facebook)

Under emergency rule, Illinois prisons begin withholding physical mail
The Illinois Department of Corrections has enacted an emergency rule change to prevent contraband from entering its prisons through letters and books sent to people in prison. Under the rule that went...
WJBC Staff Sep 11, 2025 Pinckneyville Correctional Center is pictured in southern Illinois. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Campbell)

Country Financial marks 100 years with Rader Farms corn maze
NORMAL, Ill. (WMBD) - Rader Family Farms cut the ribbon to its annual corn maze, in celebration with Country Financial's 100th anniversary. "As we celebrate our hundredth anniversary throughout 2025, ...
WJBC Staff Sep 10, 2025 Sarah Franzen, COUNTRY Financial joined Adam Rader, Rader Family Farms for an interview on WJBC's Afternoon Show. (Photo courtesy: David Beigie/COUNTRY Financial)

NAACP Bloomington-Normal's Freedom Fund event this Saturday
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) - A banquet supporting African-American rights is happening this weekend in the Twin Cities. NAACP's Bloomington-Normal branch will be hosting their annual Freedom Fund event on Sa...
WJBC Staff Sep 10, 2025 (Photo courtesy: NAACP)

P. Scott Neville Jr. chosen as next chief justice on Illinois Supreme Court
SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday that Justice P. Scott Neville Jr. has been chosen to be the state's 123rd chief justice, succeeding Mary Jane Theis, whose three-year term as...
WJBC Staff Sep 10, 2025 Justice P. Scott Neville is pictured during the 2022 swearing-in ceremony of Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)

Sources: Darren Bailey to run for governor again in Illinois
Darren Bailey plans to run for governor for a second time in 2026, Capitol News Illinois confirmed with sources close to the campaign. The former state senator and farmer from Clay County would become...
WJBC Staff Sep 09, 2025 Former state senator and unsuccessful candidate for governor and later Congress Darren Bailey is pictured at the 2023 Illinois State Fair during his unsuccessful congressional campaign. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)

Harvest season underway in Central Illinois
MCLEAN COUNTY, Ill. (WMBD) - Illinois is the soybean powerhouse of the country, and it also produces the second most corn, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, and with that many crops...
WJBC Staff Sep 09, 2025 Despite high moisture levels, some farmers are beginning their 2025 harvest. (Photo courtesy: File)

City Council votes to ease housing barriers in Bloomington
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) - Housing was the controversial topic at Monday's Bloomington City Council meeting. City council members voted on three items and public comment ran long because of resolution...
WJBC Staff Sep 09, 2025 Photo courtesy: City of Bloomington/Facebook)