By WMBD-TV NORMAL – Connect Transit, serving the Bloomington-Normal area, has announced its Christmas Eve and Day hours. The service will be shutting down early on Sunday and will be closed Monday, Christmas Day. Connect Transit has created a schedule showing the last trips and times from different locations in the area. For more information,…… MORE
By WMBD-TV FARMER CITY – The Farmer City Police Department asked the public for help locating a missing teen on Tuesday. According to a Farmer City police Facebook post, 16-year-old Raheem Crowder was last seen near Green and Thomas Streets at approximately 7:40 p.m. on Monday. He was last seen wearing a black colored shirt with…… MORE
By WMBD-TV NORMAL – Colene Hoose Elementary School added another aspect for wildlife in its natural playground. On Wednesday, students installed birdhouses at the Ilse and Charlie Jobson Natural Play Park. It was a joint project with volunteers from the John Wesley Powell Audobon Society. There are now seven boxes for bluebirds, one screech owl…… MORE
By WMBD-TV PEORIA – Rural schools in Illinois fought to have their voices heard. State Senator David Koehler sponsored legislation that was responsible for creating the Rural Education Advisory Council. By law, the council is required to have five superintendents, one principal, and one student. Senator Koehler said rural schools are facing problems like transportation…… MORE
By WMBD-TV CHICAGO – Illinois underwent its 10th straight year of population decline, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. An Illinois Policy Institute news release states that this year, roughly 83,839 people left the state, or one for every 6 minutes and 16 seconds. However, population outmigration has slowed to pre-pandemic trends after two years of…… MORE
By WMBD-TV NORMAL – Heartland Community College announced grant money coming to a program for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. According to a Heartland Community College news release, money from an Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) Innovative Bridge and Transition grant will expand the Heartland Academy for Learning Opportunities (HALO) program. “This funding furthers…… MORE
By WMBD-TV SPRINGFIELD – The minimum wage will increase for Illinois residents in 2024. According to an Illinois news release, starting Jan. 1, the minimum wage will see a $1 an hour increase from $13 an hour to $14 an hour. Tipped workers will also see a minimum wage increase to $8.50 an hour, and…… MORE
By WMBD-TV NORMAL – A previously vacant home on Glenn Ave in Normal has been rehabilitated, thanks in part to a youth organization that serves McLean County. Students from a program called Youthbuild helped turn a house that was previously occupied by a hoarder into one fit for a first-time homeowner. An open house was…… MORE
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL – Leaders from the Bloomington-Normal NAACP Branch acknowledge State President Teresa Haley’s remarks about immigrants should not have been said. They also said they accept Haley’s sincere apologies. Despite Haley’s apologies, former DuPage County NAACP President Patrick Watson has been calling for Haley’s resignation. According to the Bloomington-Normal NAACP Watson “received an…… MORE
Illinois’ entry in the 2024 Tournament of Roses Parade will sound like we’re in the “Middle of Everything.”… MORE
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.” …
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…
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…
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…