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McLean County child abuse reports dropped during the pandemic, but abuse thrives in isolation and now with kids back to school, child advocates expect the numbers to rise. Illinois State University enrollment slid for the second year in a row. That's in spite of a slight increase in the size of the freshman class. University leaders say that's not too bad, considering everything else going on. Bloomington state Senator Jason Barickman criticizes Democratic Party redistricting moves. Plus, the Illinois High School Association adds an e-sports tournament.

WGLT's The Leadoff is everything you need to know for Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. You'll hear about Illinois State University's fall enrollment numbers. Plus, an interview with state Sen. Jason Barickman of Bloomington.

Linda Hatfield says her grandmother never ever gave up on bringing missing World War II casualty Clarence Brotherton home to Gibson City. She refused to put up a marker because she didn't want him to think she had given up on him. 77 years later Brotherton's body has come back to central Illinois. A new music venue comes to downtown Bloomington. A big chain restaurant opens soon on the east side of town. And there's a new brew pub coming to Lexington, Illinois. The Normal Public Library is collecting remembrances and recollections of 9-11 as the 20th anniversary of those attacks approaches. And taking down a big central Illinois bridge all at one go is almost as interesting as engineering exercise as building one.

WGLT's The Leadoff is everything you need to know for Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. You'll hear about U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood's call for resignations over the Afghanistan exit. Plus, a preview of Make Music Normal.

Unit 5 school buses have been running late the first few weeks of school. They're doing better but still need to improve. Pandemic relief money will help McLean County move ahead on technology, roads, and other long running projects. A Bloomington mom fought for months to have her son correctly diagnosed with a rare disease. She says doctors need to be more receptive. And Heartland Theater resumes live in person performances with the classic comedy Tartuffe. The 400 year young play is, about a sanctimonious scoundrel and a wealthy pious gullible guy.

WGLT's The Leadoff is everything you need to know for Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. You'll hear about trying to sort fact from fiction when it comes to ISU campus safety. Plus, an interview with Normal City Manager Pam Reece.

WGLT's The Leadoff is everything you need to know for Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. You'll hear about ISU President Terri Goss Kinzy's first State of the University address. Plus, an interview with Jelani Day's mother.

State money will flow to Bloomington Normal healthcare providers to lower barriers to care for people on Medicaid and other underserved populations. Chestnut Health Systems says it's fund electronic monitoring, a dental clinic, telehealth, and other services. It is possible to build unity even in a fractured society. Hear from a Bloomington Normal NAACP speaker. Olivia Haerr started a bass fishing team at University High School in Normal to help take her to her 'happy place.' It took her three years to get the Athletic Department on board. Finding faculty coaches was the easy part. A lot of them fish already. And Grand opera comes to a garden and a theater in Bloomington Normal.

WGLT's The Leadoff is everything you need to know for Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. You'll hear about a new partnership between OSF HealthCare and Chestnut Health Systems. Plus, a preview of the NAACP Freedom Fund speaker.

Relief efforts for Haitian earthquake victims are still going strong, but for a Bloomington man and the charity he founded it's just continuing more than a decade of that work. Central Illinois jazz musician Yoseff Henry says it all started when he and his brothers started singing as kids while doing the dishes and their dad grabbed a cassette recorder. It used to be you could get from Peoria to Bloomington and back without driving yourself. A look back at the light rail system known as the interurban. People at a job fair in Bloomington are countering one conservative narrative that they soaked the government for pandemic jobless benefits. They say they've been trying to get a job all along. Others say they still fear COVID.