Before former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson was accused of shooting Sonya Massey after she called police to investigate a prowler, he had a rocky, one-year tenure with the Logan County Sheriff’s Department. … MORE
Category Archives: WJBC’s Top Stories
Quantum business park coming to Chicago, backed by $700M from state of Illinois
A California-based quantum computing company wants to build one of the largest quantum computers in the world on Chicago’s southeast side and the state is chipping in hundreds of millions of dollars to help make it happen. … MORE
Two men arrested after shooting, stand-off outside Bloomington apartment Thursday afternoon
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – Officers with the Bloomington Police Department arrested two men Thursday afternoon for their involvement in a reported shooting that resulted in a stand-off outside a local apartment complex on Morris Avenue. According to a Friday press release from Bryce Janssen, a public information officer with Bloomington police, 25-year-old Lashawn McDonald from…… MORE
Safety Town in Normal to be expanded
A feature located in Carden Park for decades that teaches children about road and pedestrian safety is set to be expanded, while reaching out to more advanced age groups.… MORE
Pekin babysitter remains in custody until trial; accused of killing infant
A judge on Thursday morning ordered a Pekin woman to remain in custody until the outcome of allegations that she suffocated a 10-month-old baby under her care earlier this month.… MORE
Illinois State Police working with IDPH on an anti-violence campaign called “Pause to Heal”
Public health and police leaders will tell you gun violence has become a public health problem. … MORE
Bat tests positive for rabies, Tazewell County health officials say
By WMBD-TV TAZEWELL COUNTY – The Tazewell County Health Department announced Wednesday that it found and tested a bat for rabies in the county. According to a news release from the health department, this is the second year in a row that a bat has tested positive for rabies within the county after another bat…… MORE
YouthBuild getting new open space from Lowe’s grant
By WMBD-TV MCLEAN COUNTY – YouthBuild McLean County has some building going on, all thanks to the Lowe’s Hometowns Program. YouthBuild is a program for low-income youth and adolescents, where the kids are able to build, learn and develop skills for adulthood, and the YouthBuild location in Normal has an open space next to its…… MORE
Man sentenced to 123 years for Bloomington murder
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – A man was sentenced to more than 100 years in prison on Monday for the death of Jaleel Johnson in Oct. 2020. According to McLean County Circuit Court records, Malcolm J. Johnson, 31, was sentenced to serve 123 years in prison. That breaks down to 75 years for murder, 45 years…… MORE
CR-V rollover crash in Tazewell County injures 1
By WMBD-TV TAZEWELL COUNTY – One person was injured as a result of a Wednesday morning single-unit rollover crash in Tazewell County. According to a crash report from Genelle Jones, a trooper and public information officer with Illinois State Police, the incident happened just before 9 a.m. Wednesday on Interstate 74 headed westbound near milepost…… 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…