By Blake Haas BLOOMINGTON – To bolster the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve announced Sunday a rate cut, and one local financial advisor says the cut will not help. The Federal Reserve, led by Chair Jerome Powell, cut rates by a full percentage point to zero. The benchmark rate is now a…… MORE
WJBC is now accepting nominations for the thirty-eighth WJBC Don Munson Spirit of McLean County Award! Each year, the Spirit award is presented to someone who exemplifies the initiative, imagination and compassion that we at WJBC call “The Spirit of McLean County.” This year’s award will be presented at the American Red Cross of the…… 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…