By Jake Fogal BLOOMINGTON-Governor JB Pritzker is touting his Family Relief Plan since his annual budget address on Wednesday. Thanks to a $1.7 billion surplus in the current state budget, he’s proposing one billion dollars in tax breaks for Illinois residents. One of those tax breaks is a one year suspension of the state tax…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD-It may not be much, but a suspension of the one percent sales tax on groceries and a freeze on the 39-cent tax on a gallon of gas will be a good start for Illinois families, said Gov. JB Pritzker in an appearance at a Chicago grocery store two days after he…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD-Gov. JB Pritzker has done it again – refer to his louder political detractors as “carnival barkers” – and the people of the circus and carnival cultures don’t like it. “The din of a crisis,” Pritzker said in his State of the State message, “is when a carnival barker’s shout becomes a…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD-The front-line person in your healthcare chain is probably the pharmacist. That person does far more than take pills out of the big bottle and put them into the little bottle. Brandi Strader, director of pharmacy services for HSHS St John’s Hospital in Springfield, says there’s far more education involved – and…… MORE
The cleanup of roadways across McLean County continues as crews continue to work around the clock.… MORE
Illinois State Police is investigating three more traffic crashes involving ISP squad cars.… MORE
A home in Lincoln is a complete loss after an early morning fire erupted in the 100 block of 1100 St.… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Local public works crews continue to clear roadways and the Town of Normal has started removing snow from residential areas. Ryan Otto, the town’s director of public works and engineering, says crews began plowing side streets Wednesday afternoon. He says crews are working 24-hours and snow removal will likely continue…… MORE
Illinois State Police are asking for the public’s help on the whereabouts of a Peoria man who was allegedly involved in an officer shooting in late January. … MORE
A Bloomington Police Vice Unit probe led to the arrest of a repeat drug offender from McLean County accused of cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking.… 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…