Crime and Courts

A Bloomington couple known for their community involvement say a weekend encounter with police and a seemingly hostile neighbor shows Bloomington-Normal still has plenty of work to do to bridge the racial divide.

Normal Police Chief Rick Bleichner said Tuesday he hopes the arrests of nearly 20 people on looting and other charges stemming from this week's vandalism in Bloomington-Normal will curtail the crime spree.

The vandalism and looting that has hit Bloomington-Normal in recent days isn't limited to major retailers. Some of it has been happening in neighborhoods.

UPDATED 6:20 p.m. | A man from Normal accused of causing second-degree burns to a 10-year-old child with severe disabilities claimed Friday the girl's injuries may have come from bathing by her in-home nurse.

The McLean County state’s attorney and sheriff said it’s not so easy to say how they will enforce executive orders from Gov. JB Pritzker.

For two decades, Jamie Snow has fought his McLean County murder conviction, but his battle with an infectious disease that has killed 12 of his fellow inmates may pose the biggest threat to his life.

Snow is serving a life sentence at Stateville Correctional Center in the death of Bill Little, a clerk who was fatally shot behind the counter of a Bloomington gas station on Easter Sunday 1991. The Exoneration Project is representing Snow in his effort.

Donald Whalen Jr., who served 28 years in prison for his father’s fatal stabbing, is back behind bars for allegedly violating the rules of his home detention program.

The response to violence that has rocked places of worship across the country is the topic of a forum later this month in Normal.

A federal grand jury has indicted three Bloomington-Normal men on child sex trafficking charges.