The man accused of killing a McHenry County sheriff’s deputy before leading police on a high-speed chase ending in Lincoln last week could face the death penalty or life in prison.… MORE
Category Archives: Police and Fire
BPD: Parked car struck by gunfire
A parked car with no one inside was hit by gunfire Monday evening on Bloomington’s near east side.… MORE
SUV crash into Vermilion River leaves two people hospitalized
A child is in critical condition and a woman has been hospitalized after an SUV drove off I-55 into the Vermilion River near Pontiac.… MORE
Bloomington Police break down warrants against shooting suspect
By Katherine Murphy Details have been released from the Bloomington Police Department on specific warrants in McLean County against shooting suspect Floyd Brown. BPD says Brown is wanted in connection with three residential burglaries in the Twin Cities between May and December 2018. A reckless driving warrant for Brown’s involvement in a multi-vehicle crash…… MORE
Police mourn “dedicated” deputy, accused killer surrenders near Lincoln
The McHenry County Sheriff’s deputy who lost his life in Rockford Thursday morning while trying to arrest a man on various warrants, including one from McLean County, was remembered as a dedicated and hardworking officer.… MORE
Suspect in officer’s murder has been wanted here since Christmas for Bloomington home break-ins, high-speed chase
Suspected cop killer Floyd Brown, who’s now in police custody, was not a stranger to local authorities. Bloomington Police have been looking for Brown, 39, of Springfield, since just before Christmas when he led officers on a high-speed chase that ended in a multi-car crash on Veterans Parkway.… MORE
UPDATE: Suspect surrounded on I-55, U.S. Marshal Dead
Illinois State Police have surrounded an armed and dangerous suspect wanted on multiple warrants including a McLean County warrant. … MORE
BREAKING: Illinois State Police in pursuit with wanted ‘Twin-Cities suspect
Illinois State Police officers are in a pursuit with an armed and dangerous suspect wanted in McLean County. … MORE
Endangered Livingston County runaway found in Bloomington
Livingston County Sheriff’s detectives said they found an endangered runaway girl on Wednesday at a Bloomington hotel after she had been missing for five days.… MORE
Victim of fatal car crash identified
An Ellsworth man who died in a one car accident Sunday morning has been identified.… 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…