BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) - Construction is officially underway on a major redevelopment project in downtown Bloomington. The former State Farm headquarters building is being transformed into the new GJ Lofts apartment complex. The project is being led by Urban Equity Properties out of Rockford. Bloomington Mayor Dan Br...

By WMBD TV PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) - Republican Gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey was in Peoria Monday, criticizing Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic state lawmakers for being unable to pass a bill to build a new Chicago Bears stadium. The NFL team, who's been in Chicago since 1921, made a move to potentially build a sta...

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) - The Constitution Trail runs around the entirety of McLean County, and the friends of said trail are planting trees to make the trail more beautiful. "The Friends of Constitution Trail was established in 1989 as an advocacy group to promote expansion and beautification of the Constitution...

By BRENDEN MOORE & BEN SZALINSKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Article Summary Gov. JB Pritzker acknowledged Monday that the Chicago Bears may be on their way to Indiana. But he and Democratic leaders defended their decision not to move a bill incentivizing them to stay. The leaders say th...

By BEN SZALINSKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Article Summary Democrats largely joined together to support the fiscal year 2027 budget as Republicans warned the plan will harm the state's financial picture. The budget totals about $56.9 billion and is just slightly less than what Gov. JB Pritzker...

By JENNA SCHWEIKERT Capitol News Illinois jschweikert@capitolnewsillinois.com Over the past five months, a sea of rideshare drivers in yellow T-shirts flooded the Illinois state Capitol almost weekly, lobbying for the right to form a union. They may be able to do so soon, after Illinois lawmakers passed a bill givin...

By WMBD TV MACKINAW, Ill. (WMBD) - The Tazewell County Coroner has released the name of the man killed in a Saturday wreck on Illinois Route 9. Coroner Charles Hanley said Jefferey Foster, 62, of Armington, died from multiple blunt force injuries after the motorcycle he was driving was in a wreck with a truck. Hanley s...

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com Article Summary Illinois lawmakers approved a budget after 4 a.m. Monday that includes the full $350 million increase in Evidence-Based Funding for public schools. The budget calls for just over $10.8 billion in state funding for the Illinois Stat...