By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – The homeless encampment that grew in downtown Bloomington was shutdown in mid-October, but the issue has stayed top of mind for City officials. Before its closure, around 30 individuals called a tent city home in the Eastview Church parking lot near its Community Center on Mission Drive. Bloomington City Manager…… MORE
By Jake Fogal NORMAL – The top two teams of the Big 12 Conference squared off in the final week of the 2024 regular season Friday night. Normal Community hosted Peoria at Dick Tharp Field in Week 9, and with both programs already securing postseason spots, focus was pointed towards a conference title. The Lions…… MORE
In Mr. Lincoln’s hometown, in the museum dedicated to telling his story, 75 people from 37 countries became United States citizens.… MORE
There’s a new chairman at the head of the Board of Directors for State Farm.… MORE
A McLean County Judge handed down a 15-year prison sentence to an 18-year-old Bloomington man for a shooting that took place in 2023.… MORE
By early 2019, Mike McClain had been a fixture around the Statehouse in Springfield for the better part of 50 years, first as a Democratic lawmaker in the 1970s and then for decades as a high-profile contract lobbyist.… MORE
It seems like scammers are trying to call or text you asking for personal information and money.… MORE
In 2006, electric utility Commonwealth Edison was riding out the last year of a decadelong state-mandated rate freeze, which had put the company in “dire” financial straits.… MORE
A potential nuisance gathering ordinance was tabled at Monday night’s Normal Town Council Meeting after a lengthy public comment portion, and now town leaders are looking to modify the ordinance.… MORE
It was a day of déjà vu at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse Tuesday as veteran Statehouse lobbyist Mike McClain sat at a defense table listening to opening statements in his second corruption trial in 19 months and prosecutors called their first witnesses.… 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…