Bloomington was the site of one of more than 1,000 demonstrations planned across the country over the weekend to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the wake of the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minnesota on Wednesday.

Illinois is on track to see a decrease in enrollment in the Affordable Care Act, though people can continue to enroll in the program through Jan. 15.

The ICE agent who shot and killed a woman in Minnesota this week is a 2001 Peoria Richwoods graduate, WCBU has learned through an examination of school and court records.

Illinois and the four other Democratic-led states that were subject to the Trump administration’s freeze on $10 billion in federal funding for child care and family services secured a restraining order on Friday in their lawsuit seeking to block the move.

The monthly initiative aimed at drawing foot traffic to businesses and art galleries downtown has seen waning participation, driving city staff to rethink their involvement. In addition to city-sponsored First Fridays in Feb., July and Dec., business owners are committed to leading the initiative the rest of the year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to send “bridge” payments to farmers who grow soybeans, cotton and other crops before March. Commodity groups and economists say the aid brings relief to farmers and their lenders, but they need long-term solutions.

The Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act incentivizes battery storage among other measures aimed at bolstering grid reliability.

The former prosecutor became a judge in the 11th Judicial Circuit in 2023. He presides over the circuit-wide Veterans Treatment Court.

The fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection passed with little note this week, as events in Venezuela, the economy and even chatter about Greenland consumed public attention. It didn't go entirely unobserved. House Democrats held an unofficial hearing on the issue.

Juan and Alvaro Bello faced political persecution and sought asylum in the United States. Both have become American citizens and love their lives in Bloomington-Normal. But they worry for family members who remained in Venezuela.

Last May, the grassroots advocacy group commissioned an artist to paint 15 circus-themed murals connecting the Bloomington Public Library and the McLean County Museum of History. The member organization will do the same thing this summer to celebrate the centennial of Route 66.

The union representing firefighters in the Town of Normal is continuing its campaign to keep the soon-to-close College Avenue fire station open — after a new station opens on the east side of town. The town insists there is no situation that needs to be addressed.