By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – A quarter of a million dollars is going to a local community center in honor of a longtime public servant to the Twin Cities. State Farm held a special ceremony Wednesday, looking back on the life of former executive Willie Brown. In his name, the company presented a check for…… MORE
By HOI ABC NORMAL – A TV show highlighting colleges across the country has made its way to Central Illinois. Illinois State University will be in the spotlight on the Amazon Prime show ‘The College Tour’. Crews have been in pre-production for the last two months getting to know the Twin Cities and the campus…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Unlimited sick time for covid-related reasons, a new law Gov. JB Pritzker signed for educators, is a godsend for Angela Bulger of O’Fallon. “As a new employee, I am allotted eleven sick days,” said Bulger, an aide. “Without this legislation, any additional days missed because of covid would mean a…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Illinois House and Senate Democrats – mostly lawmakers of color – are getting involved in what has become a big story in Springfield – racist social media posts, allegedly by a man who was on the police force. Officer Aaron Nichols resigned Tuesday, rather than sit for an interview with…… MORE
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – It has been nearly a week since Lincoln College announced it was closing the school after 157 years. Lincoln College President David Gerlach says the pandemic and an Iranian cyber attack led to the announcement that the college was closing it’s doors. He noted that the college is at a…… MORE
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – A state of the art microscope is making it’s way to Illinois State this summer as a National Science Foundation(NSF) grant of nearly $404,000 made it all possible. Dr. Mahua Biswas, Assistant Professor in Physics at Illinois State, spoke volumes on the impact this will have for not only ISU,…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – When senators convened a hearing into the nursing shortage, one of the witnesses showed up in black scrubs. Paul Pater, treasurer of the Illinois Nurses Association and a nurse at UI Health, said the black was not only for the two colleagues he lost in the early days of covid,…… MORE
By HOI ABC NORMAL – A federal mediator will now be involved after no agreement was made between Illinois State University and their worker’s union, AFSCME Local 1110. ISU and the union met twice last week hoping to come to an agreement over their contracts. Union workers have been working without contracts for the past…… MORE
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – Beginning April 16th, the Hopedale Wellness Center is collaborating with Kelly O’Keefe Martial Arts to offer a self-defense class for women. From 10:30 to Noon at the Wellness Center, women ages 13 and up are invited to learn self defense skills that will extend beyond discovering how to protect yourself.…… MORE
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – Gas prices in Illinois continued to inch down over the week, but are still well above four dollars, averaging $4.42 a gallon. According to GasBuddy, prices in the state are 26 cents higher than a month ago and $1.41 higher than a year ago. GasBuddy price reports show the cheapest…… 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…