By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – A Bloomington Police officer rescued a man from a burning west side home Wednesday evening. The man is hospitalized with burns, but the officer is fine, according to Bloomington Police Lt. Clayton Arnold. Bloomington Fire Department Battalion Chief Gavin Pitcher said firefighters saw fire and smoke coming from the back…… MORE
By HOI ABC DWIGHT – A section of Interstate 55 was closed Monday evening after police chased the driver of a stolen ambulance from Chicago to Dwight. Illinois State Police said the chase ended about 6:30 p.m. when the ambulance stopped and a suspect was taken into custody. Authorities said I-55 was closed in both…… MORE
By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – McLean County Sheriff’s Deputies will soon be wearing body cameras, following the lead of many other police agencies. The county board Thursday night unanimously approved a nearly $328,000 contract with Axon Enterprise Inc. for 53 body cameras, enough for all of the department’s officers. Sheriff Jon Sandage said his deputies…… MORE
By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – Police say a man was shot and killed Friday night in what is being investigated as a homicide. Just after 11:30 p.m., Bloomington police responded to the 400 block of East Mill Street for a disturbance call. Police say just before arriving on scene, gunshots were heard in the area.…… MORE
A Bloomington man with a felony record remains in the McLean County jail on gun charges.… MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – A Bloomington man was arrested for a shooting that injured one person Tuesday night. Charles Bell, 33, was taken into custody without incident for the shooting, according to Bloomington police. During the investigation, officers learned that Bell and the victim had a personal dispute which led to the victim being…… MORE
By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington Police are investigating a shooting that injured a man Tuesday night. Police said they were called about 7:20 p.m., and discovered a man who had been shot in the arm. The wounded man was in the 300 block of East Mulberry Street, near Downtown Bloomington, but it was not…… MORE
A Bloomington Telecommunicator is receiving recognition for helping a caller through a pre-hospital delivery in early March.… MORE
Catalytic Converter thefts are on the rise across central Illinois, and one local police department reports thieves are targeting select vehicles.… MORE
While Republicans try to make hay from Gov Pritzker’s record on crime … there’s also the record of the Prisoner Review Board to examine.… 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…