One person is dead after a three-vehicle collision just north of where Interstates 55 and 74 merge, the Illinois State Police said.… MORE
Category Archives: Local News
Tazewell County Coroner identifies deadly crash victim
By WMBD-TV PEKIN – Tazewell County Coroner Charles Hanley has identified the victim of Sunday’s nights one-car crash. According to Hanley’s Facebook, 51-year-old Dennis Speck of Mapleton death was caused by multiple blunt force injuries due to the car crash. The crash occurred near the intersection of Illinois Route 9 and Mennonite Church Road in rural…… MORE
Internet crimes up in Illinois; residents lost over $300M to internet scams in 2023
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Illinoisans lost hundreds of millions of dollars to internet crimes last year.… MORE
Illinois State names Dr. Tarhule as the University’s 21st President
Illinois State University’s Interim President has dropped the interim title, as the Board of Trustees named him the University’s 21st President.… MORE
One dead after Tazewell County crash
By WMBD-TV PEKIN – Tazewell County Coroner Charles Hanley reported that a man is dead after a single-vehicle crash near Illinois Route 9 and Mennonite Church Road in rural Pekin at approximately 2:32 p.m. on Sunday. According to Hanley, a 51-year-old rural Mapleton man was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 3:05 p.m. The…… MORE
Normal Police Assistant Chief graduates from FBI National Academy
One of the top cops at the Normal Police Department now has the backing of the Federal Bureau of Investigations.… MORE
Gov. Pritzker announces plans to rebuild two Illinois prisons
During a news conference in Chicago on Friday, Gov. JB Pritzker, along with officials from the Illinois Department of Corrections, announced plans to rebuild Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln and Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill. Money for the projects is already part of his 2025 budget, he said. Statesville opened in 1925 while Logan opened in 1978, according…… MORE
Tazewell County asking voters for permission to install new monument
By WMBD-TV PEKIN – Tazewell County voters will go to the polls next week to decide, among other things, if they want a monument to honor the three county residents who earned the nation’s highest military decoration for valor. William Reed, John Ayers and Thomas Murphy earned the Medal of Honor for their actions in the 1863 Battle of Vicksburg during…… MORE
McLean County collecting data to receive broadband for rural areas
By WMBD-TV MCLEAN COUNTY – A lack of affordable high-speed internet is an issue for residents in rural McLean County. Chad Walden is the village president of Arrowsmith, a small community in eastern McLean County. He said Arrowsmith, population of about 300, would benefit from having high-speed internet. “We have struggled with the lack of…… MORE
Bloomington church vandalism displaces some voters from polling location
An act of vandalism is forcing some voters in Bloomington to go to a different polling location during the Primary Elections on March 19.… 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…