Illinois lawmakers will return to Springfield next week in hopes of crafting a budget this spring after an unprecedented stretch of two straight fiscal years without a spending plan.… MORE
Illinois lawmakers will return to Springfield next week in hopes of crafting a budget this spring after an unprecedented stretch of two straight fiscal years without a spending plan.… MORE
Democratic candidate for Illinois Governor, J.B. Pritzker, is promoting his plan for a progressive or graduated income tax, but is declining to provide specifics.… MORE
Normal Town Council members took action without discussion Monday night on millions of dollars in spending on insurance and infrastructure improvements.… MORE
Normal Mayor Chris Koos is taking a leave of absence to be treated for prostate cancer.… MORE
Veteran McLean County Board member Paul Segobiano won’t run as a Republican or as a write-in candidate to retain his seat, but he will not endorse the woman who soundly defeated him in last month’s Democratic primary.… MORE
A candidate for McLean County Board favors a civilian board to handle complaints about the sheriff’s department and elimination of the Bloomington Election Commission.… MORE
The woman who defeated a four-decade McLean County Board member says she’s “incredibly disappointed” in her primary opponent.… MORE
The Bloomington City Council favors expanding the public library at its current site on East Olive Street, rather than moving it to the northern part of downtown.… MORE
A proposed welcoming city resolution to protect undocumented immigrants is again revealing tensions between some Bloomington aldermen and the mayor.… MORE
Bloomington State Senator Bill Brady is hoping this weekend’s March for Our Lives demonstrations against gun violence, including Saturday’s protest in Downtown Bloomington, will spur bipartisan action in the Illinois General Assembly.… 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…