Pandemics

Luther Oaks retirement community in Bloomington and its parent company, Arlington Heights-based Lutheran Life Communities, have filed for bankruptcy in federal court.

A Bloomington City Council discussion about whether to apply prevailing wage rules to a private development if there are government incentives at stake is spreading beyond the apartment project in question. That's according to deputy city manager Billy Tyus who said in a WGLT interview the ongoing dialogue is not just about wages.

COVID-19 cases and deaths have begun to rise in Illinois as the newly dominant BA2 variant of the coronavirus moves through the population. It's hard to say just yet whether it will be a mountain of cases or a speed bump, according to the McLean County Health Department.

The Unit 5 and District 87 school districts plan to keep mask rules in place following Friday's order. But several smaller districts around McLean County are making masks optional, effective immediately.

Illinois State University said Thursday it has rescheduled its annual Martin Luther King Jr. dinner, in part because of the wave of COVID infections sweeping the region.

Normal Mayor Chris Koos, speaking Thursday on WGLT’s Sound Ideas, urged people to get vaccinated, boosted, and to “take care of the basics” of protection from the coronavirus as COVID-19 cases, positivity rates, and hospitalizations set McLean County records.

The president of Illinois State University said the first semester back on campus following last year's pandemic shutdown showed students were resilient.

Five big cats at the Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington are showing signs of COVID-19, the city said Tuesday, prompting the closing of the Katthoefer animal building after one Sumatran tiger and four snow leopards developed coughs and raspy breathing.

The Unit 5 school district was supposed to be considering deficit reduction measures this fall, but has pushed that off until the spring. Two superintendents and at least three board presidents have avoided dealing with a structural imbalance that now stands at $13 million.

The Town of Normal said Monday it wants public feedback on how to spend pandemic relief money. The town is making an online survey available to help shape how to use $10.8 million over the next two years.