By HOI ABC NORMAL – A Normal Town Council member is indicating he’ll request another council vote on a proposed $180,000 outdoor fitness center because town staffers gave him wrong information in which he based his vote earlier this month. The council at its January 4 meeting voted 4-2 to work with the National Fitness…… MORE
Six more people have died from COVID-19 in the twin cities as local health officials report 1,618 new cases of COVID-19 since Friday.… MORE
A Little Free Pantry in front of the West Bloomington Revitalization Project got new looks on Monday. … MORE
Kevin Sylwester, a professor in Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s College of Business and Analytics, says the current economic status is nearly unprecedented, as demand remains strong but supply is not.… MORE
Attempting change can be frustrating – when you’re in the minority. … MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – A Republican who has represented Bloomington’s east side on the McLean County Board since 2016 is not seeking re-election. “It has been the honor of my lifetime to represent the people of Bloomington on the McLean County Board, but I have decided now is the right time to step down and…… MORE
By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – State Farm Insurance said Monday it is looking to hire more than 3,400 employees, and have scheduled two virtual job fairs in the coming days to meet with prospective candidates. In a news release, State Farm said it’s hiring full-and-part-time workers across the country after “a record breaking year of…… MORE
By HOI ABC BLOOMINGTON – Elected McLean County government leaders are opting to pay bonuses to all county employees who worked during the early months of the pandemic instead of using the money as an incentive to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Roughly 750 union and non-union employees, who worked on-site instead of remotely from March…… MORE
By Blake Haas NORMAL – In an attempt to stop thieves in their tracks, the Normal Police Department is launching a social media campaign called “Manhunt Monday.” Each week, the department displays photos of alleged criminals while in the act. Brad Park, Public Information Officer with the Normal Police Department, said the social media campaign…… MORE
By Blake Haas BLOOMINGTON – The Vice President of the Bloomington-Normal NAACP Chapter says we still have a ways to go to bring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dreams to fruition. While some significant progress has been made on a local and national level, Dr. Carla Campbell-Jackson said opportunities are on the horizon for the…… 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…