By HOI ABC NORMAL – A TV show highlighting colleges across the country has made its way to Central Illinois. Illinois State University will be in the spotlight on the Amazon Prime show ‘The College Tour’. Crews have been in pre-production for the last two months getting to know the Twin Cities and the campus…… MORE
Depending on how long you’ve been in Springfield, it’s either a beloved memory for basketball games and concerts … or it’s a hulking eyesore.… MORE
A rainy day in Springfield cleared up enough for a pleasant setting for the annual celebration of the Second Amendment: Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day.… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Pretty soon, with a few days to go, it’ll be crunch time at the Capitol. Illinois House Democrats are the first to introduce a proposed budget. “Beyond what’s in the spending plan, we need to support families in our state by returning some money to them to deal with the…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Unlimited sick time for covid-related reasons, a new law Gov. JB Pritzker signed for educators, is a godsend for Angela Bulger of O’Fallon. “As a new employee, I am allotted eleven sick days,” said Bulger, an aide. “Without this legislation, any additional days missed because of covid would mean a…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Illinois House and Senate Democrats – mostly lawmakers of color – are getting involved in what has become a big story in Springfield – racist social media posts, allegedly by a man who was on the police force. Officer Aaron Nichols resigned Tuesday, rather than sit for an interview with…… MORE
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – It has been nearly a week since Lincoln College announced it was closing the school after 157 years. Lincoln College President David Gerlach says the pandemic and an Iranian cyber attack led to the announcement that the college was closing it’s doors. He noted that the college is at a…… MORE
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON – A state of the art microscope is making it’s way to Illinois State this summer as a National Science Foundation(NSF) grant of nearly $404,000 made it all possible. Dr. Mahua Biswas, Assistant Professor in Physics at Illinois State, spoke volumes on the impact this will have for not only ISU,…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – When senators convened a hearing into the nursing shortage, one of the witnesses showed up in black scrubs. Paul Pater, treasurer of the Illinois Nurses Association and a nurse at UI Health, said the black was not only for the two colleagues he lost in the early days of covid,…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – A bill to regulate how DCFS workers may use pepper spray is on its way to the governor, but not before some debate. Invoking a society-wide bias against Blacks, State Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) called it a Band-Aid. “This bill does not solve any problems of the Department of Children…… 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…