Unable to meet during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Illinois Joint Commission on Ethics and Lobbying Reforms missed its deadline to provide recommendations to clean up some questionable practices in Springfield, but a member of the commission said it will get back to business.… MORE
The leader of the Bloomington Police Department is asking the community to help other local agencies during the pandemic.… MORE
Truckers are delivering essential medical equipment to the front lines across Illinois.… MORE
Three more Livingston County residents have tested positive for COVID-19.… MORE
Plan on hanging around the house a few more weeks.… MORE
With Gov. Pritzker extending the “stay-at-home” guidelines until April 30, local hotels are feeling the pinch of decreased travel.… MORE
A state lawmaker who represents parts of Springfield and Decatur — and plenty of wide open spaces — says it’s the federal government which is helping create the coronavirus crisis.… MORE
The McLean County Health Department announced a second person in the county has died from the coronavirus.… MORE
Remote Learning Days begin Tuesday for Illinois students.… MORE
Illinois’ senior U.S. Senator says so far he supports several decisions made by President Trump during the coronavirus pandemic.… 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…