By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – The Social Security Administration is establishing a policy that could ease a burden on millions of it’s customers. The SSA is beginning to transition away from a physical signature requirement, and moving to a more electronic friendly method, Digital Signatures. Martin O’Malley, Commissioner of Social Security, thinks these changes will…… MORE
An employee of Farmington Central Elementary School will appear next in court in December on charges she tried to solicit a child for sex.… MORE
By WMBD-TV NORMAL – A 34-year-old Springfield man was identified as the person who was found dead amid recycling materials at a Normal facility last week. Dion M. Macklin was found in the materials that were being processed at Midwest Fiber, Inc. plant in Normal, said McLean County Coroner Kathy Yoder. The coroner said the…… MORE
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – The City of Bloomington has announced it will close the unhoused encampment in Eastview Christian Church’s parking lot. It will partner with Eastview, Home Sweet Home Ministries, and the Salvation Army to offer support to the unhoused people in the camp. In addition to the closure, the city council will consider…… MORE
By Jake Fogal NORMAL – The 30th edition of the Chili Bowl went the way of the Normal Community Ironmen for the second year and a row, as NCHS beatdown Normal West 48-7. The connection between quarterback Kyle Beaty and receiver Mar’Quan Gary was on display early in the game, as the duo put up…… MORE
The Bloomington Police Department is investigating after a shooting incident near Veterans Parkway and Washington Street on Friday.… MORE
Illinois has the potential to eradicate childhood poverty, but it will require a concentrated, sustained effort in partnership with families and disadvantaged communities, says Tasha Green Cruzat, president of Children’s Advocates for Change, a Chicago-based nonprofit focused on childhood wellbeing.… MORE
By WMBD-TV BLOOMINGTON – Two teenagers have been arrested and taken to the McLean County Juvenile Detention Center in connection with a shots fired incident from Thursday. According to Bloomington police, officers were sent to the intersection of Washington and Howard streets at about 3:15 p.m. Thursday after several people called, saying they heard gunshots.…… MORE
The “State of Public Schools” has returned as McLean County stakeholders gathered at Heartland Community College to learn about the changes and challenges in the local public school systems.… MORE
The Macomb police officers who were shot by an unnamed person have been released from a Peoria hospital, the police chief said Thursday morning.… 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…