Realtors are pushing back against the latest tax reform plan that they say removes many key incentives to buying a home.… MORE
Category Archives: Scott Laughlin
Task force working on busing remedies for Illinois schools
State Rep. Dan Brady is serving on a statewide task force that’s finalizing recommendations intended to give students a smoother bus ride to school.
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Renner schedules 3 town hall meetings in December
Bloomington mayor Tari Renner has scheduled three town hall meetings next month to seek feedback on a wide range of city issues.… MORE
Davis, LaHood distance themselves from Moore in Senate bid
Two Central Illinois congressmen aren’t supporting fellow Republican Roy Moore in his U.S. Senate race in Alabama, following allegations of child molestation and sexual misconduct.… MORE
Bloomington aldermen approve brick streets master plan, but don’t commit on cost
Bloomington aldermen have adopted a master plan to preserve the city’s historic, but deteriorating brick streets. However, the council deleted from the plan a section containing the nearly $7.4 million cost over the next decade to repair the remaining 3.5 miles of the city’s public brick streets.
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Durbin: Trump needs to stop ‘high school rhetoric’ with North Korea
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds hearings on Tuesday on whether the president should have the power to order nuclear strikes.… MORE
Rep. Davis not reading much into Democratic wins in Tuesday’s elections
Democrats say their election victories in New Jersey, Virginia and elsewhere on Tuesday served as a referendum on President Donald Trump.… MORE
Illinois names inspector general; lawmakers seek more power to probe complaints
Illinois has filled its inspector general office which has been vacant for two years.… MORE
Barickman: Harassment claims prompt need for culture change in Springfield
State Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, said the recent sexual harassment allegations that have embroiled the Illinois Capitol, and cost another Senator his leadership post, will hopefully expose a culture that he said needs to be fixed.… MORE
Retired museum director Koos named WJBC spirit award winner
He helped record McLean County’s history for decades and now he’s making history.… 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…