By Jake Fogal SPRINGFIELD – A bill in the Senate that would provide a $500 state income tax credit for volunteer firefighters is picking up steam in the final week of session down in Springfield. The proposal asks for the state budget to include an income tax credit, which would support Illinois’ dire need for…… MORE
COVID-19 remains a problem amidst the Public Health Emergency ending
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – The Federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency came to a close last week, but that does not mean the virus is going anywhere, according to a local health official. Jessica McKnight with the McLean County Health Department says just because the Public Emergency has ended, that doesn’t mean you can’t get…… MORE
Illinois’ assault weapons ban is before the state’s highest court
A state lawmaker’s challenge to the assault weapons ban passed last year is in the hands of the Illinois Supreme Court.… MORE
Bloomington man facing several child porn charges
A Bloomington man recently released on parole from the Illinois Department of Corrections is back in custody, this time on a slew of child porn charges.… MORE
Bloomington man pronounced dead after I-55 crash late Monday
By Jake Fogal TOWANDA – The McLean County Coroner’s Office has released information regarding a fatal crash that occurred late Monday night on Northbound Interstate 55 near milepost 170 in the Boyd Wesley Park Pond in Towanda. County Coroner Kathy Yoder pronounced 60 year-old Rick Plourde of Bloomington, dead at the scene. Preliminary autopsy opinion…… MORE
Pontiac hospital to shift birthing floor to Bloomington
By WMBD-TV PONTIAC – OSF Healthcare announced Monday that it would stop delivering babies at its hospital in Pontiac, instead routing patients to Bloomington. In a news release, the healthcare network said the change is due to a sharp decline in the number of children born at OSF Healthcare Saint James – John W. Albrecht Medical Center This,…… MORE
Illinois farmers continue to make good progress
There were 3.5 days suitable for field work during the week ending May 14, 2023.… MORE
Illinois lawmakers enter final stretch of spring session
By week’s end, Illinois lawmakers just may pass a budget and adjourn.… MORE
Illinois GOP members react to DeSantis visit
The state’s Republicans Friday could only look and listen, and think, someday that could be us, as they took in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ keynote address at a GOP dinner in Peoria.… MORE
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis makes stop in Peoria
Illinois Republicans Friday got a look at something they do not have of their own: a statewide winner.… 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…