With a deadline approaching for U.S. citizens to obtain Real IDs, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is urging Illinois residents to “Get Real.”… MORE
Category Archives: WJBC’s Top Stories
Referendum could lower property tax in McLean County
A referendum on the April 1 ballot could, at the same time, help support local schools and lower property taxes in the county.… MORE
Heartland Community College increasing tuition costs
Students at Heartland Community College will be paying more for their education after a Tuesday night decision.… MORE
City of Bloomington helps residents remove lead paint from their homes
According to the CDC, homes built before 1978 could have lead paint in them.… MORE
Black, Latino lawmakers criticize Pritzker’s proposed budget
Majority Party Democrats had mixed reactions to Gov. JB Pritzker’s budget address Wednesday, with leadership in the General Assembly offering praise amid criticisms from members of the legislature’s Black and Latino caucuses. … MORE
Former doctor pleads guilty to videotaping people in Peoria hospital bathroom
A former neurological surgery resident with the University of Illinois College of Medicine pleaded guilty to illegally videotaping people in bathrooms at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center.… MORE
BREAKING: Pritzker proposes $2B in spending growth without new income or service taxes
Gov. JB Pritzker has proposed growing spending by about $2 billion without new income or service taxes in the upcoming fiscal year – though his administration acknowledged policy changes by the Trump administration could drastically alter the fiscal landscape. … MORE
State official: renewable investments ‘best thing’ to lower energy costs
With an increasing number of officials warning Illinois might struggle to meet its renewable energy goals, regulators and lawmakers met Tuesday to discuss how the state should regulate its energy industry. … MORE
Eliminating immigrant spending, boosting education funding top Senate Republican budget priorities
A day ahead of Gov. JB Pritzker’s annual budget address Wednesday, Senate Republicans said they want budget negotiations to include cuts to noncitizen spending while bringing in “transparent accounting.”… MORE
4th District Appellate Court to hear two cases on the ISU campus
Next month, judges from a Springfield-based appellate court will listen to oral arguments, not in their usual courtroom, but on the Illinois State University campus.… MORE
Blogs
Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all
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.” …
Is federal mobilization the answer?
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…
In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans
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…
Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life
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…