SNAP

The changes in the SNAP work requirements could leave more than 120,000 people without benefits. Food pantries are uncertain about the future with rising cost and demand.

District 87 Superintendent David Mouser said cells phones are the leading cause for disciplinary referrals at Bloomington High School. A new policy rolled out this year bans phones in classrooms.

Federal service cuts, tight state budgets, and AI technology all threaten human services, according to members of a new coalition organizing in Bloomington-Normal as part of the statewide group Alliance for Community Services.

City of Bloomington Township provided emergency food assistance to nearly 500 people whose SNAP benefits were denied during the recent federal government shutdown.

The McLean County Alliance for Community Services is composed of advocates for low-income families fighting for food and health care for all.

Republicans and Democrats continue blaming each other for the government shutdown even after the vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government until the end of January.

The state expects all 1.8 million Illinoisans who use the food assistance program to get full benefits by Nov. 20 after SNAP was delayed and reduced during the federal shutdown, which ended Wednesday night.

Two food drives in Bloomington-Normal this weekend aim to provide additional support to pantries amid rising demand.

Food banks in central Illinois are waiting to see how a federal judge's ruling on SNAP benefits will impact their operations. The Trump administration has been ordered to fully restore food assistance while the government is shut down.

Beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] will only receive half of their normal payments, the Trump administration revealed in court this week.