By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – The state quit giving municipalities a ten-percent slice of the state income tax a number of years ago. And the cities, towns, and villages of Illinois have not stopped asking for it back. Restoration of the Local Government Distributive Fund – LGDF – again tops the list of priorities the…… MORE
El Paso mother seeks justice after school bus driver grabs her son
By 25 News EL PASO – A mother in the El Paso-Gridley School District wants justice after a school bus driver grabbed her son’s head, which was caught on video. The bus driver was disciplined, but the district says she is still driving in McLean and Woodford Counties. The video shows the driver yelling at…… MORE
McLean County man heads to prison for trying to produce child pornography at his home
By 25 News BLOOMINGTON – A Chenoa man has pleaded guilty to a felony charge for videotaping two young teenagers using a bathroom at his home two years ago. Curtis Cleary, 40, was sentenced to six-years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted production of child pornography. Prosecutors said Cleary placed a phone and an…… MORE
Illinois gaming now a multi-billion dollar industry
What was once just a couple of riverboats, Illinois gaming is now a multi-billion dollar industry.… MORE
Choate Mental Health and Development Center is in danger of closing
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker – as of Feb. 16 – sounds as if he is ready to give up on the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna. “If we can’t take care of the problems, if the problems can’t be fully addressed, then we ought to close it down,”…… MORE
State Senator proposes bill to do away with the subminimum wage
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Ah, that unspoken contract among the server, the diner, and the restaurateur – the twenty percent tip. “Even though the workers have a subminimum hourly rate, the tips are supposed to make up for that. But that doesn’t always happen,” said the sponsor, State Sen, Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago). “This legislation is…… MORE
Illinois Republicans respond to recent Wirepoints report about public education
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Some statehouse Republicans – members of the “Illinois Freedom Caucus” – say Illinois public education offers little result, especially for all the money spent. “When only 30 percent of the kids can read at grade level,” said State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville), “and barely 25 percent can do math at…… MORE
Bloomington woman given 14-years in prison for sexually abusing a teenager
By 25 News BLOOMINGTON – A McLean County judge has sentenced a Bloomington woman to 14-years in prison for sexually abusing a teenager in December of 2020. Amanda Peterson, 43, and her husband were charged almost two years ago with molesting a teenager they knew at a Bloomington hotel. A jury late last year found…… MORE
Illinois facing critical shortage of engineers
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – If you have college-bound kids, you might urge them to major in engineering. There is a critical shortage, according to P.J. Fitzgerald, chairman of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois. “The current demand for skilled engineers and thousands of engineering positions here in Illinois will remain unfilled if…… MORE
U of I introduces statewide ‘broadband lab’
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – In the year 2023, you may be taking reliable, high-speed Internet for granted. But it’s still not available in some parts of Illinois. That’s where the Illinois Broadband Lab comes in, as a creation of state agencies and universities. University of Illinois associate vice president Jeannette Tamayo says the numbers…… 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…