Nicor

With a natural gas leak from Nicor ruled out, officials said Thursday they're still looking for the cause of a house explosion and fire in rural Bloomington that's left three people critically injured. A GoFundMe has been set up for the Hoefer family.

A bad odor detected over a wide stretch of McLean County north of Bloomington-Normal came from a Nicor utility chemical release, according to the Hudson Fire Department. It's not related to the house explosion overnight in rural Bloomington.

The Illinois Commerce Commission Wednesday sharply cut rate increases proposed by Nicor Gas and Ameren Illinois, slowing the speed of rising energy bills for customers in much of the state.