By HOI ABC NORMAL – McLean County’s largest school district will require students to wear masks to start the school year. The Unit 5 School Board, meeting in special session Wednesday night, voted 6-1 to mandate students wear masks as McLean County is considered a “significant” transmission point for the coronavirus. The only no vote…… MORE
By HOI ABC MCLEAN – A southern Illinois trucker was killed Wednesday afternoon when when his tractor tanker trailer hit a semi on northbound Interstate 55 in southwestern McLean County. The crash happened about 3:30 p.m. at milepost 143, about eight miles from an earlier collision, reportedly involving a semi and two cars on the…… MORE
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – A new state law aims to help older special education students. Special education students can remain in school until they are 22. But previously, if they turned 23 during the academic year they would have to leave. This new law lets students turning a year older finish out the school…… MORE
By Neil Doyle SPRINGFIELD – Due to a recent increase in COVID-19 cases, Secretary of State Jesse White announced that driver services facilities, secretary of state offices and the Illinois State Capitol Building will require all employees and customers to wear a mask beginning Aug. 2. White is reminding customers that his office extended expiration…… MORE
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health is adopting new masking recommendations from the CDC. State public health officials are urging Illinoisans, regardless of vaccination status, to wear a mask indoors in counties with high transmission rates. All teachers and students in kindergarten through 12th grade are encouraged to mask…… MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – Most of central Illinois will be under a heat advisory Wednesday afternoon as temperatures will be in the low 90s, but heat indices will push into the triple digits. Heat Advisory in effect 1 pm today to 8 pm Thursday. #ILwx pic.twitter.com/wzwlRPiVb3 — NWS Lincoln IL (@NWSLincolnIL) July 28, 2021…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – A package of legislation addressing the LGBTQ+ community is now law. Gov. JB Pritzker Tuesday signed bills allowing you to change the gender on your marriage certificate, decriminalizing the transmission of HIV, and requiring insurance coverage of infertility treatments for LGBTQ+ couples who want to be parents. “In our…… MORE
A little more than a week after the Town of Normal approved a nearly $24 million underpass for pedestrians and bike riders, the Town’s top elected officials say the underpass is at least three years away from completion.… MORE
Clinton Police encourage residents to document bicycle serial numbers after the department located several suspected stolen bicycles.… MORE
Residents in Ward 6 can now apply to fill Bloomington council member Jenn Carillo’s seat after the council member announced they were stepping down.… 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…