Bloomington is losing its city manager to Joliet. The city council in the community just south of Chicago hired David Hales at an annual salary of 215-thousand dollars.… MORE
Category Archives: Politics
Bloomington aldermen see sharply higher sewer rates to remedy public health hazard
Bloomington aldermen are headed for a vote next week that could dramatically raise sewer rates to repair an aging sewer system that city staffers say is a public health hazard.… MORE
Dan Brady to seek re-election
State Representative Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, has announced that he will seek re-election for his seat in the 105th District.… MORE
Longtime Democratic leader Currie won’t seek reelection
The Illinois General Assembly has its biggest departure since Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno resigned early this summer.… MORE
District 87 board moves to calm immigration fears, ratifies teachers union contract
Bloomington school children, even those whose parents are undocumented immigrants, should feel safe and welcome in District 87, according to a resolution unanimously approved by the school board Wednesday night.… MORE
ISU professor: Sorensen sentence may have sent wrong message
Comments from the federal judge who sentenced former McLean County Board Chairman Matt Sorensen on Tuesday suggest Sorensen received a relatively lenient prison sentence due in part to his public service.… MORE
District 87 schools seek to comfort ‘dreamers’ and their families
The District 87 School Board is being asked to show support for kids in the Bloomington district whose parents are undocumented immigrants and might be forced to leave the country.… MORE
Fourth Local DACA protest held outside BCPA
By Sean Copeland A large crowd of demonstrators could be heard near downtown Bloomington Tuesday evening… chanting in Spanish, “yes we can!” It’s the latest rally protesting the Trump Administration’s plans to phase out DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The group Stand Up for Social Justice organized the protest, which attracted…… MORE
Former McLean County Board Chairman Matt Sorensen sentenced
A federal judge has sentenced former McLean County Board Chairman Matt Sorensen to a year in prison for billing State Farm Insurance for work that was never done.… MORE
Former Governor Blagojevich breaks silence, hopes for exoneration
Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich has broken his silence from prison, where he says he’s taking it “one day at a time.” … 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…