Last year, many Bloomington-Normal residents saw their electric bills jump 40% in some cases, even after the municipalities teamed together with other Illinois governments. And there are signs the summer could produce some volatile electric rates again.

Reaction to Gov. JB Pritzker’s combined State of the State and fiscal year 2027 budget address fell largely along partisan lines as Democrats offered muted praise while Republicans dismissed his affordability message as campaign-style rhetoric.

A $1.9 million federal grant announced by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin will fund engineering and construction of the new stretch of trail that will extend the current endpoint at Gregory Street and Parkside to the west and south.

Democratic lawmakers mostly support the proposal, but have concerns about higher education funding. Republicans have concern about increases in taxes and increased spending.

Democrats are leveraging Department of Homeland Security funding to try and force reforms on Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen said Republicans need to come to the negotiating table.

The two came together at Braden Auditorium at Illinois State University for a question-and-answer session moderated by WGLT's Charlie Schlenker, in the first of a series of Democracy Dialogues.

The head of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council says addressing residential needs is one key piece to realizing business growth in Bloomington.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen met with veterans from Bloomington-Normal this week. Among their top concerns are the bureaucratic hoops they must jump through to receive services.

The town council approved a contract with Stone River Group to act as broker and consultant for Normal’s electric aggregation program.

Illinois municipalities face confusion on whether the Illinois election code allows for the implementation of ranked choice voting. Illinois lawmakers introduced a bill that would clarify how local governments can implement ranked choice voting.