By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – The McLean County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois State Police are probing a deadly shooting that happened Monday night in Bloomington. McLean County Coroner Kathy Yoder identified the victim Kiejoun Watts, 20, of Bloomington. Watts died from a gunshot wound and his body was found by authorities near Victory Church in…… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Four residents were displaced after an overnight house fire in Normal. Firefighters were called Thursday at 12:42 a.m. and responded to 208 Parktrail Road for a blaze in an upstairs bedroom. According to a news release, firefighters fought the fire upstairs while other crews searched the residence for any other…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – You can’t write the story of wrongful convictions without at least one chapter about Illinois. And the police officers of tomorrow will perhaps erase the state’s shameful legacy. The director of the Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mike Schlosser, says many wrongful convictions result from…… MORE
By 25 News BLOOMINGTON – A Bloomington murder suspect fatally shot a man a year ago during an armed robbery, according to grand jury indictments filed this week in McLean County Court. In addition to the murder case against Jaylin Bones, prosecutors filed additional charges alleging Bones was in possession of a pistol and ammunition…… MORE
By 25 News EAST PEORIA – A year after a deadly shooting in Bloomington, police have arrested a suspect. A McLean County grand jury on Wednesday Jaylin S. Bones, 22, for the shooting death on Jan. 24, 2022 of Timothy Q. Manns. The 29-year-old man was found shot to death in an apartment in the 600 block…… MORE
Tazewell County Coroner Charles Hanley has identified a Peoria woman as the victim of a fatal crash Saturday.… MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – Crews were called for a garage fire Thursday afternoon on Bloomington’s east side. Authorities responded around 2:30 p.m. to the 1900 block of Woodbine Road. When crews arrived, they found smoke and fire coming from the garage. Authorities say the fire was contained to the garage, was quickly put out,…… MORE
By 25 News BLOOMINGTON – A Bloomington man is being held on $200,000 bond for sexual attack against a woman in July of 2021. Jayden Mitchell, 23, is charged with two counts of attempted criminal sexual assault and a less serious charge of criminal sexual abuse for an attack that happened July 17, 2021 in…… MORE
By Neil Doyle MCLEAN COUNTY – Coroner Kathy Yoder has identified the victim of a fatal crash Friday in rural McLean County. Conner McHale, 29, of Normal was pronounced dead after a two car crash on Route 24 at McLean County 2480 East, between Gridley and Chenoa. Preliminary autopsy results indicate McHale died from multiple…… MORE
By 25 News EL PASO – An El Paso man escaped a collapsing building he lived in on Wednesday night. The owner claims he heard bricks falling a little after 9 p.m. and called 911. The homeowner escaped safely and spent the night in a hotel, courtesy of the El Paso Fire Department. The building…… 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…