Charlie Schlenker
Senior ReporterWGLT Senior Reporter Charlie Schlenker grew up in Rock Island, Illinois, and graduated from Augustana College. He has spent more than four decades in radio and has won numerous state and national awards for journalism. He lives in Normal with his family.
Contact Charlie at ceschle@ilstu.edu.
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U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood is voicing full-throated support for the massive Republican tax and spending bill, despite past opposition to Medicaid cuts and concern over the mounting federal budget deficit. LaHood represents parts of Bloomington-Normal. -
This term’s Supreme Court decision that allows states to ban gender-affirming healthcare for adolescent transgender minors is causing fear, frustration, and resolve in the LGBTQ+ community in Bloomington-Normal. -
The draft of a new McLean County Land Use Plan suggests future growth will largely happen on the fringes of Bloomington and Normal. -
Bloomington's city manager says the newly-passed massage business ordinance will do more than help shut down illicit businesses. -
The iconic Route 66 will hit the century mark next year. Before it became the "Mother Road," it was Illinois Route 4. And on it was a rest spot for those early motorists on the south side of Bloomington. -
The Miller Park Zoo is welcoming a baby giant anteater. The pup entered the world in the early morning hours of June 16. Mother and pup are doing well. -
The five-year delay of a ban on existing short-term rental units in residential areas of Normal might have been a wise move by the town. -
It took more than 30 years to bring 110 mph passenger train service from Chicago to St. Louis. It could take that or longer to get true high-speed rail along the same corridor. -
You should not expect any big transformational project to be straightforward. That's a takeaway from Part 2 of our series "Hard Things" about the heavy lifts and big dream efforts our society and community achieve. -
How does society do hard things? In this first part of our new series "Hard Things," WGLT unpacks the generational project that brought faster passenger train service to Illinois.
