Among Illinois’ 250 or so new laws for 2019 are a pair of hotly debated new gun laws. … MORE
Among Illinois’ 250 or so new laws for 2019 are a pair of hotly debated new gun laws. … MORE
A new report on Illinois underfunded pension systems says the state needs to put more money into the benefits programs before they become unsustainable and consume an even larger share of the state’s tax revenue.… MORE
Unemployment rates increased in Bloomington and the Peoria metro areas in November 2018 compared to November 2017. … MORE
A women’s prison at the Logan County Correctional Center in Lincoln is now home to a transgender prisoner who allegedly suffered repeated abuse and sexual assaults while being housed in various prisons for men.… MORE
Hog numbers in Illinois are varied according to the state’s statistician.… MORE
Illinois’ special education students would benefit if their teachers had better and more specific training.… MORE
Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin is strongly hinting he’s a candidate for re-election in 2020, as he said on NBC’s Meet the Press, which was heard Sunday on WJBC.… MORE
The Village of Tremont, in Tazewell County, said farewell this weekend to Cpl. Daniel Baker, the U.S. Marine missing and declared dead after a crash between two military planes earlier this month over the Sea of Japan.… MORE
Amid political gridlock, the White House and Congress are unified that the U.S. Post Office in Uptown Normal should be named in honor of U.S. Army Ranger Joshua Rodgers, who died almost 20 months ago while battling ISIS in Afghanistan.… MORE
A truck driver is being held in the Logan County Jail accused of picking up a teenager in Texas, having sex with her, photographing, and videotaping their sexual encounters before dropping her off on Interstate 55 near Lincoln.… 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…