Jamal Simington

A student group at Illinois State University is honoring one of its former members — Chicago Police officer Aréanah Preston — who was shot to death in 2023.

Certain risk factors raise the likelihood of violent behavior among individuals. But it’s not perfectly cut and dry.

Police and prosecutors say they’ve seen a concerning increase in juvenile incidents involving guns. That includes shots-fired incidents that can be traumatizing for a neighborhood even if no one is injured or killed.

The Bloomington City Council on Monday received a presentation on how to make incentives more understandable and effective to developers.

Law enforcement in McLean County say the process for revoking someone's FOID card and removing those gun owners from their weapons is at best imperfect and — at worst — it's on the honor system. Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington says the problem of illegal gun possession goes far beyond FOID revocations.

Police say the Automatic License Plate Reader program has been successful in aiding criminal investigations over the first two years of BPD use.

At the meeting, the four police leaders from McLean County stressed the need for stringent checks in officer hiring, proper training to ensure safety, and corresponding with the community.

The elimination of cash bail as a means to detain people before trial has brought change to McLean County, including heavier workloads and lower jail populations, as officials navigate the implications of a massive rewrite of the state’s pretrial process.

Authorities have arrested a 15-year-old boy for a shooting overnight on Feb. 8. A 17-year-old boy received multiple gunshot wounds to his leg in the 1000 block of West Market Street.

Bloomington residents worry most about gun violence, according to a police department survey of people who have recently asked the department for help.