More people visited Illinois last year than ever before, a record that state officials said helped boost the state’s economy and create jobs.… MORE
![Illinois tourism marks record year with nearly 114 million visitors](https://www.wjbc.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/389/2016/07/Cory-Jobe-AS-125x125.jpeg)
More people visited Illinois last year than ever before, a record that state officials said helped boost the state’s economy and create jobs.… MORE
Small businesses across the country are optimistic about the economy, but one expert says there could be dark clouds building in Illinois.… MORE
As warm weather returns to Illinois, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reminding people about the risk for tick-borne illnesses.… MORE
Some students in Illinois could soon get to use cannabis-based medicines in public schools.… MORE
Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs is again sounding alarm bells about how much more the lack of a state budget will cost.… MORE
The Illinois unemployment rate hit a 12-year low last month.… MORE
The Town of Normal now has the blessing of all six affected taxing bodies to keep certain properties off their tax rolls to stimulate Uptown development.… MORE
Joseph Baar Topinka, the son of the late Illinois Comptroller and Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, is reflecting on her life in a new book.… MORE
State Police are learning more details about the man who allegedly shot at a school resource officer.… MORE
Illinois’ chief executive said he is cheering for the success of Rivian Automotive, which received state tax credits and other incentives to begin making electric cars at the former Mitsubishi Motors plant in Normal.… 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…