Bloomington aldermen were unanimous Monday night in adopting a tougher stance against landlords who repeatedly violate city housing codes. The city council, with two members voting no, also agreed to reward a company with taxpayer incentives for moving its business to the former Wildwood Industries property on Ireland Grove Road.… MORE
The Bloomington City Council is considering taking a harder line on repeat offenders of the city’s housing codes.… MORE
It’s probably a good thing there were no overripe vegetables, raw eggs, or cream pies near the candidates at NBC Chicago Thursday night.… MORE
The executive director of the firm running the taxpayer-funded Grossinger Motors Arena told the Bloomington City Council Monday night the best the city can hope for is that the downtown Bloomington venue will lose about a $500,000 a year. Bloomington’s new city manager, Tim Gleason, said neither the aldermen who inherited the arena or the community should be satisfied with those results.… MORE
Should lawmakers tinker with the state’s income tax rates and scale them higher for people who make more money and lower for those who make less? That’s a question voters could answer in the governor’s race when they vote Nov. 6.… MORE
The city government-owned downtown Bloomington sports arena lost hundreds of thousands of dollars during the last fiscal year, but losses were slightly less than the previous year.… MORE
When the Democrat running for governor took the microphone at the City Club of Chicago Friday morning, mental health was on his mind.… MORE
With just over seven weeks until Election Day, Gov. Rauner sounds as if he is trying to reset the race.… MORE
A Normal Town Council member has announced he’s seeking a second four-year term.… MORE
Facebook has donated more than $250,000 to Illinois state senators and representatives since 2015, spending that a digital media professor says may be more of an effort to preempt future regulatory measures or boost brand awareness than serious lobbying.… 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…