By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD– Part of the frustration – his word is “passion” – Brock Long feels as a freshly departed administrator of FEMA is a lack of financial education, including among community leaders. “If you are a citizen, you get money from FEMA because you are uninsured. What if Congress started providing incentives…… MORE
Illinois has made it easier for beer drinkers to refill a growler or crowler.… MORE
When Clifford “Pop” Horton created Gamma Phi Circus 90 years ago at Illinois State University, it would have been hard for him to imagine the student circus performers would someday display their talents on the national stage that awaits them in 12 weeks.… MORE
Former Central Illinois Congressman Aaron Shock has been cleared of federal criminal charges alleging misuse of campaign funds.… MORE
A University of Illinois student organization is calling for an extensive and open investigation after a man from Normal was arrested for hanging a noose on campus.… MORE
The Illinois Department of Transportation wants to remind drivers to be safe over Labor Day weekend.… MORE
Gov. JB Pritzker pledges to remain “fully engaged” in his job even as he recovers from a hairline fracture to his left thighbone.… MORE
Illinois Wesleyan University has announced a sudden change of plans for the President’s Convocation, scheduled for next week. That’s because of sexual assault allegations against the keynote speaker.… MORE
McLean County government’s attempt to recover costs tied to the opioid epidemic targets dozens of drug manufacturers and distributors, including the family-owned maker of the addictive painkiller OxyContin.… MORE
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) can describe former Congressman – turned Presidential candidate Joe Walsh in two words: “political windbag.”… 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…