The Multicultural Leadership Institute Board of Directors has a new executive director.… MORE
Category Archives: Local News
One person dead after McLean County interstate accident
By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – One person sustained fatal injuries after a two-vehicle crash on southbound Interstate 55 in Mclean County. Illinois State Police said that at around 9:31 a.m. near mile marker 156, in southwest Bloomington, a truck-tractor semi-trailer combination was slowed or stopped in traffic when a passenger vehicle failed to slow and…… MORE
Local farm bureau donates $2 million for Heartland Community College agriculture facility
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Heartland Community College has received a $2 million donation from the McLean County Farm Bureau to help construct a new agriculture facility in Normal. The donation will be used for the development of a flexible learning lab space for Heartland students as well as community groups and K-12 students, according…… MORE
CIRA is seeing an uptick in travel but experiencing a pilot shortage
By Blake Haas BLOOMINGTON – Passenger travel is on the rise at Central Illinois Regional Airport (CIRA); however, the airport is experiencing a pilot shortage. A pilot shortage coupled with rising gas prices is putting a bottleneck into travel all across the board. “Airlines were already talking about pilot shortages prior to COVID, and what…… MORE
Federal Reserve raises interest rates, local financial advisor reacts
For the first time since 2018, the Federal Reserve approved its first interest rate increase by a quarter percentage point or 25 basis points.… MORE
IDOC informs state lawmakers about their plans to downsize Pontiac and Vandalia prisons
The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) is informing lawmakers about their plans to downsize the Pontiac and Vandalia Correctional Centers.… MORE
Reditus Labs CEO charged with filing false tax returns by federal grand jury
By HOI ABC PEORIA – Reditus Labs CEO Dr. Aaron Rossi has been charged by a federal grand jury with three counts of making and subscribing a false tax return. The federal indictment describes the years this allegedly happened – 2015-2017. Reditus Labs did not open until June 2019. Rossi, 39, of Bloomington is accused…… MORE
Normal Police officer honored for talking armed man out of suicide
By HOI ABC NORMAL – Normal Police are recognizing the life-saving work of one of their officers who talked an armed man out of committing suicide late last year. Officer Melanie Crays is being given the department’s Award of Meritorious Service for her actions after she was called to a local motel December 10. On…… MORE
Bloomington City Manager looking to turn Grossinger Motors Arena around; hiring new entertainment director
A year after the City of Bloomington took over management of Grossinger Motors Arena, the city’s manager is on the lookout for an entertainment director.… MORE
State higher Ed. board approves new College of Engineering at Illinois State University
A new College of Engineering is coming to Illinois State University – designed with a focus on equity to help close long-standing gaps in enrollment, retention, and graduation of underrepresented and underserved students in the engineering field.… 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…