The Illinois Department of Transportation is reminding the public to visit and bookmark gettingaroundillinois.com, a website with continually updated information on road conditions.… MORE
Category Archives: WJBC’s Top Stories
Arrival of a winter storm in Central Illinois during peak holiday travel
By 25 News CENTRAL ILLINOIS – This incoming winter storm will barrel through Central Illinois right as people are trying to get to their holiday destinations. The Illinois Department of Transportation says lower staffing levels mean plowing and treating roads will take longer, but don’t think it will severely impact their response. AAA reports this…… MORE
Ameren Illinois customers can qualify for free smart thermostats
As inflation has driven up energy costs, Ameren and Google have teamed up with the Environmental Law and Policy Center, to offer customers some smart savings.… MORE
Lawmakers pay their respects to Scott Bennett
It took a performance hall on the University of Illinois campus to hold all of the people who wanted to pay their respects to Scott Bennett, the state senator who died of complications from a large, undetected brain tumor Dec. 9.… MORE
ISU honors baseball star who’s giving back after making the big leagues
By 25 News NORMAL – Illinois State University is honoring one of its baseball standouts who’s became a major leaguer with the St. Louis Cardinals. ISU is building an indoor hitting and pitching facility along the right field line at Duffy Bass Field. Friday, the university’s governing board voted to name it in honor of…… MORE
Two juveniles charged as adults for theft of 25 guns from Bloomington business
By 25 News BLOOMINGTON – Two juveniles are being tried as adults for allegedly stealing 25 guns from a Bloomington sporting goods store in December of last year, with one of the stolen firearms being used to shoot a 13-year-old boy in Peoria. Earlier this week, 14-year-old Antwan Freeman appeared in adult court on charges…… MORE
Bloomington native Kinzinger denounces both parties as he bids farewell to Congress
By 25 News WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) bid farewell to the U.S. Congress on Thursday by criticizing Republicans and Democrats for not putting the country ahead of politics. Kinzinger, raised in Bloomington and elected to the McLean County Board when he was a sophomore at Illinois State University, was one of…… MORE
Assault weapon debate continues in Springfield
A high-ranking state official – who says he is a two-time survivor of gun violence – is in favor of outlawing assault weapons in Illinois.… MORE
Bloomington District 87 hires administrator in charge of teaching and learning
By 25 News BLOOMINGTON – A long-time Central Illinois educator has been chosen as District 87′s next administrator in charge of teaching and learning. The school board Wednesday night approved a three-year contract with Nicole Rummel in which she will be paid a $130,000 salary during the first year. Rummel will replace Diane Wolf, who’s…… MORE
14-year-old boy charged as adult for theft of 25 guns from Bloomington business
By 25 News MCLEAN COUNTY – A 14-year-old boy from the St. Louis area is charged as an adult in McLean County for his role in a burglary in which 25 guns were stolen from a Bloomington business last December, including one weapon reportedly used last year to shoot a 13-year-old boy in Peoria. McLean…… 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…