By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – Auto rates are increasing for State Farm customers in Illinois by 5%, but the company says it’s still below pre-pandemic levels. Back in June 2020, the insurance giant cut auto rates by nearly 14%. The company says the increase is driven partly due to the rise of labor and materials…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – The governor’s road show – following his Feb. 2 budget address – continued Wednesday in Decatur. “I urge every local taxing district to take a hard look at reducing property taxes that they impose on their communities. It in fact is imposed at a local level,” said Gov. JB Pritzker…… MORE
Conversations are underway between the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) and state lawmakers about the status and future of the Pontiac and Vandalia Correctional Centers.… MORE
A bill to make it easier to file an order of protection was the subject of a news conference at the Capitol.… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Connect Transit is reinstating fare collection beginning Monday, Feb. 28. According to a news release, this includes Connect Transit fixed-route bus service and Connect Mobility paratransit service. Starting Monday, front door boarding procedures will also return. Bloomington-Normal’s transit system has also reinstated late-night service after 9:00 pm, Monday-Saturday. Face masks…… MORE
By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON-Miller Park Zoo is searching for volunteers to assist with a pair of events in mid March. The first two identical sessions held at Miller Park Zoo will be Thursday, March 10 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. and the second will be the following Sunday, March 13 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.…… MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – The IHSA girls wrestling and boys dual team wrestling state finals will take place this weekend in the Twin-Cities. According to the Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the two-day event is expected to draw about 4,000 people to the area, with an estimated direct economic impact of $308,000. This…… MORE
The District 87 school district is looking to tab one of their own to serve as the next Principle at Washington Elementary School.… MORE
A man trespassing in an Illinois State University dorm raises concerns from students living in the dorms- and now the university police are increasing patrols on campus.… MORE
The mask melodrama in the Illinois House of Representatives just won’t go away.… 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…