The city of Bloomington has some unpleasant choices ahead. The city council has five options to close a million dollar deficit but is a long way from clarity. Many of the lawmakers in Springfield weren't even born the last time there was a House Speaker NOT named Mike Madigan. Hear an assessment of the new House and Senate leadership performance in the spring session. State Senator Jason Barickman blames the Governor for an evictions moratorium that may cause a spike in evictions when it goes away in late summer. Barickman says the courts should have been trusted to deal with the issue during the pandemic. And Bloomington Normal's largest COVID testing site is closing. Find out who will pick up the load.

Nearly half the federal money for Bloomington Normal pandemic rent help has yet to go out. The reasons are a mixed bag. More than a thousand buildings in Bloomington have water damage. An expert in restoration tells you how rare that is and what can be done about it, even the nasty smelly, sometimes dangerous sewer backups. The city of Bloomington Public Works Director lays out why sewer backups are happening during heavy rain events.

Past expansions at State Farm and Mitsubishi offer an example for Bloomington-Normal as Rivian accelerates. Those include good things like increases in municipal revenue from sales taxes and opportunities to enhance cultural offerings in the twin cities, but also challenges such as prolonged workforce shortages, and pressure on schools. Hear about the challenges sudden job growth can bring to a community. Plus, the ten inches of rain that fell on parts of McLean County over the weekend were much worse than a once in a century. The State Water Survey tells you how rare this kind of event is. U.S. Representative Rodney Davis evades a question on how seriously he's thinking about running for Governor. You can, though, hear Davis's take on the big infrastructure deal.

A new pilot program with ISU students helping people expunge their criminal records surprisingly doesn't deal with a lot of cannabis cases. Tom McClure tells you about giving people a second chance. Plus, State Senator Jason Barickman unpacks why a massive energy policy proposal is such a tough thing to pass in Springfield. Backyard chickens can help your urban garden...yet they're not that popular with the neighbors. Hear more on WGLT's Grow. And the Coalescence Theatre Project hopes to use one particular queer story to give voice to underrepresented groups within the community.

The Heartland Theatre Company is centering the voices of people of color. It's diverse storytelling out of the box. Plus, the national conversation about paying for healthcare and what kind to pay for continues. Check in with a Bloomington-Normal health executive about how that's going. A community can get a lot of insight by seeing itself reflected in the eyes of an outsider. Eleanor Roosevelt was one such outsider for Bloomington-Normal in 1937. Hear more in our latest episode of the WGLT series McHistory. And the new EP from soul-folk trio 'Sarah & the Underground' released on Father's Day was originally a gift for family.

Teens in Bloomington Normal have a fairly low vaccination rate. And there are reasons for that: a need for parental consent, transportation gaps, scheduling around a summer job or a parent's job, and so on. A Bloomington nonprofit hopes to chip away at low vaccination rates among young people. Plus, Pridefest in Bloomington-Normal this weekend continues a long tradition. Hear why it takes on a special significant this year. ISU students have mixed opinions about a potential vaccine mandate to be on campus in the fall term. Finally, some in law enforcement wonder if perceptions about police have turned people away from a career behind the badge.

Rivian employment is now about 1,900. It's heading for 2,500 by year and 3,000 to 4,000 by the end of next year. Heartland Community College's two soccer teams went to nationals for the first time, but it wasn't easy when several got sick. Yet they persevered. Heartland also set a new grade point average record among its student athletes. McLean County Jail inmates connect with their children by reading and recording books on CD. A northern Illinois woman tells you her experience of a chemical plant fire and dark plumes of smoke that made her sick and dizzy.

Evangelical church leaders say they can only go so far in promoting vaccines to their members. White evangelicals rank first among groups rejecting the vaccine. Plus, Normal City Manager Pam Reece reflects on how the town council addressed unfounded ethics allegations against her levied by one council member. The Human services sector in Bloomington Normal may be understaffed, underpaid, and under-appreciated, but its still a huge part of the twin cities economy. State Senator Dave Koehler talks about being the first Democrat to represent Bloomington Normal in the General Assembly in four decades.

The structural deficit for Unit 5 schools is $12.5 million and rising $1.5-2 million a year. Unit 5 Superintendent Kristen Weikle says she hopes to have deficit reduction plans developed by the fall. They will include cuts, new revenue, and efficiencies in existing operations. Plus, the town of Normal will rework zoning rules to allow permanent outdoor on street dining. it proved popular during the pandemic. Hear from City Manager Pam Reece. The prairie state doesn't have a lot of prairie left. Learn more during WGLT's gardening podcast 'Grow.' And Opera Under the Stars comes to an outdoor venue in Normal, courtesy of Prairie Fire Theater.

Bloomington based Hip-Hop artist Darius Williams says his new album was self-therapy during a difficult time. Listen to the new album Left Alone. Plus, a Peoria-based sexual health organization expands to Bloomington Normal. Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe says he doesn't want to second guess pulling out of the Metro Zone agreement on west side revenue sharing with Normal just as Rivian was taking off. Republicans don't much like the way Democrats handled legislative redistricting this year, but Illinois is far from an outlier among other states doing the same thing.