The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a wide-ranging investigation into Illinois’ treatment of people with developmental disabilities, examining whether the state provides adequate resources for community living and protects residents from harm in public institutions.… MORE
A man from Normal medaled in the Special Olympic World Winter Games in Turin, Italy.… MORE
Later this month, a Bloomington man hopes his attorneys can convince an appellate court panel that he has new evidence which will prove he did not kill his 3-year-old daughter nearly 30 years ago.… MORE
Residents in Bloomington have a new tool at their fingertips.… MORE
The fall from grace continues, it appears, for a former biotech wunderkind who was indicted by a federal grand jury for having illegal items within the Peoria County Jail.… MORE
Sara Blair is finding hope after losing her salon in a fire.… MORE
Legislation that would prohibit public school students from using cell phones and other wireless communication devices during class time cleared a Senate committee Tuesday and could soon be considered by the full Senate.… MORE
Chicago police executed a search warrant at the wrong address more than six years ago that left social worker Anjanette Young handcuffed and naked in her home as she was getting ready for bed. … MORE
The family of an 11-year-old Chicago boy murdered last year by his mother’s ex-boyfriend the day after he was released from prison is suing the state — including the embattled Prisoner Review Board and Illinois Department of Corrections— for negligence.… MORE
The Peoria County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a woman who was found in the Illinois River, the sheriff said Tuesday.… 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…