By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Face coverings will be recommended, but not required in most facilities starting March 21 at Illinois State University. In a coronavirus update, the university said its updating the guidelines to reflect the state and CDC face covering guidance. Face coverings will still be required in clinical settings, at university events…… MORE
By HOI ABC NORMAL – The Unit 5 School Board will vote next week on staff recommendations to cut programs and staff, part of a plan to reduce massive deficits in the district’s education fund. A longer-term solution, to be decided later by the board, is to ask voters for a property tax increase to…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – The top Republican in the Illinois House, Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), waved the 106-page, 22-count indictment of former House Speaker Mike Madigan as he reacted to the news during a late-afternoon news conference Wednesday at the Capitol. “Speaker Welch, Mike Madigan’s hand-picked successor, and all of the House…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – Anyone who thought former House Speaker Mike Madigan would slip away from the feds was wrong. “Today a federal grand jury returned a 22-count indictment charging former House Speaker Michael Madigan with racketeering conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, and extortion offenses, said U.S. Attorney John Lausch at a late-afternoon news conference…… MORE
A Bloomington piano teacher convicted and sentenced for assaulting a young student in a prior child molestation case waived his right to a jury trial in his upcoming case.… MORE
Depending on your definition of cool, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association is again inviting you to put up a nomination for the “coolest product in Illinois.” That’s what Makers’ Madness is all about.… MORE
Illinois’ Senior Senator is charring a committee set to question President Biden’s Supreme Court nomination.… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Masks are no longer required in Illinois schools, and the leader of McLean County’s largest school district says the transition has gone smoothly. Unit 5 Superintendent Dr. Kristen Weikle spoke with WJBC’s Scott Miller. “When we initially made the change to mask recommended there is always a period of transition…… MORE
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Fair is announcing part of the grandstand concert lineup. Some of the acts scheduled for the State Fair in Springfield this summer include Sam Hunt, Brooks and Dunn, TLC and Shaggy, Jon Pardi, Disturbed and Sammy Hagar and The Circle. Fair manager Rebecca Clark says they are…… MORE
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – State Police are ready to protect the public and the right to peaceful protest as several convoys are set to roll through Illinois. Some of the convoys are well organized and in touch with the state police, while others are more grass roots efforts says ISP Sgt. Joey Watson. “Our…… 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…