Search results for

It is the fourth measure approved by Congress in less than two months to combat the pandemic. This one, totaling $484 billion, will supply fresh funding to a new small business lending program.

A manufacturer in the southwest suburbs of Chicago received $2.6 million from electric utility Commonwealth Edison this week as part of a state program for generating its own electricity using solar panels and storing it in one of the largest batteries in the country.

A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows that Americans overwhelmingly reject criminalizing abortion while remain divided on other election-year issues like Biden's 2020 win. Plus: some signs of hope.

Young voters and Native American voters are two groups that showed up for President Biden in the 2020 election. But ahead of his 2024 match-up, it's unclear if he'll be able to keep their support.

Obstetrics experts say the evidence points to the idea pregnant women should get the coronavirus vaccine. But it's not an official recommendation. Plus, baby boom or baby bust? The evidence is now clear on the impact of the pandemic on birth rates in the twin cities. Hear from the first woman to drive a garbage truck for a living in the town of Normal. And Jon Norton brings you music of Bloomington singer/songwriter Nolan Kelly from Kelly's new 6-song album "It's Gonna Be OK."

WGLT's The Leadoff is everything you need to know for Wednesday, March 9, 2022. Correspondent Edith Brady-Lunny tells Ryan Denham about new context that's important to consider in the case of 29-year-old Kimberlee Burton. Burton has been charged with the concealment of a death and her daughter, seven-month-old Zaraz Walker has not been found. Plus, the Mayor of Normal says the stressed financial situation in Unit 5 could have wide-ranging affects on the community. Chris Koos also says a recent lobbying trip to Washington, D.C., was productive.

Insulin costs are ten times higher than they used to be and some diabetics in central Illinois are taking their lives in their hands by rationing insulin to save money. Plus, a central Illinois hospital bites the dust. In a new episode of Food Trek, hear how a bio diverse prairie that stored carbon turned into a monocrop contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. And people in Bloomington Normal long term care facilities have a sense of déjà vu from the pandemic, though there is one BIG difference.

State Senator Dave Koehler hopes his new law will reduce gun violence. His Firearm Owner Identification Modernization Act updates the process of renewing a Firearm Owner Identification card with some plusses and minuses. OSF Saint Joseph Medical Center is taking steps to compensate for backbreaking COVID patient loads but the crush of patients and staff shortages caused by COVID have forced central Illinois hospitals to delay elective surgeries. And hear how to muster comedy in dark times. A Daily Show writer visits Bloomington Normal.

Suburban sprawl is very expensive to cities and towns. It's far more cost effective to have cities go up instead of out. Bloomington wants to offer incentives for infill and rebuilding instead of more of the same old edge-of-town subdivisions. Three Afghani men evacuated when that country fell to the Taliban are relocating to Bloomington...Hear about the Afghan Welcome Home Project of Central Illinois. And there's a new resource guide for those with autism in Bloomington Normal and those who want to learn about the condition.

The Bloomington City Council is close to signing off on a plan to reduce the likelihood of future floods like the June deluge that hurt thousands of homeowners. A 50-minute recording of a wind chime is the center of a new album from a Bloomington Normal musician. Big development projects are always complicated heavy lifts. And a five year effort in Uptown Normal with Bush Construction is now over, for a while. The developer exits saying the time is not right. Normal City Manager Pam Reece says she's optimistic a four or five story mixed use building will eventually happen.