Transportation

An 80-year old man has died in a crash at Veterans Parkway and Fort Jesse Road in Normal this morning.

McLean County Coroner Kathy Davis identified the victim as 80-year-old Wayne L. Miller of El Paso. Police Chief Rick Bleichner said three vehicles were involved about 9:30 a.m.

The number of passengers through the Peoria International Airport dropped slightly last year.

The General Wayne A. Downing Airport reports more than 623,000 passengers used the airport in 2016, a drop of about three percent from the record set in 2015.

Normal residents will see Division Street reconstruction in the Spring. The Town Council has approved a $190,557 contract for Roe Construction to repair the road and sidewalk on Division Street between Lee and Adelaide streets. 

Town of Normal staff are asking the Council to approve sidewalk and road construction along a stretch of Division Street. 

The Council will vote this evening on a $190,557 contract with Rowe Construction Company for Division Street roadway and sidewalk construction across the Main Street corridor. 

For Kelly Garrett of Bloomington, her father's first plane ride at the age of 89 was a great experience. The second, not so much.

State Farm Insurance has now raised its auto rates in Illinois more than in any time in the last fourteen years.

Other insurers have also been increasing premiums charged to customers.

GOP Congressman Rodney Davis said he looks forward to the Republican Congress led repeal of Obamacare. Davis represents a part of Bloomington-Normal in the House.

Davis said he favors the road map put forward by House Speaker Paul Ryan which would continue a prohibition on denial of insurance coverage because of pre-existing conditions after a single new enrollment period.

"We can also address some of the problems that were in place before Obamacare was shoved onto families in this country with promises that were never meant to be kept," said Davis

Illinois’ constitution has been amended for the 14th time since it was adopted in 1970.

Voters overwhelmingly approved what’s known as a “lockbox” for transportation dollars.

A well-funded alliance of business and labor organizations waged a campaign for the amendment, after lawmakers skimmed millions from Illinois’ road fund to pay for other needs.

Mike Sturino is the CEO of The Illinois Road and Transportation Builders.

The Unit Five School District and its bus service contractor have agreed on more than thirty-thousand-dollars in penalties for late bus problems since the start of the school year.

A twenty-eight-year-old man has died in a motorcycle crash in Normal.

Police say the incident happened on Shelbourne Drive east of Towanda Avenue about three a.m. Sunday.

A new high-speed passenger rail station has been completed in Dwight. Illinois Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn announced the completion.

The new station is among upgrades aimed at improving high-speed service between Chicago and St. Louis. 

Authorities say an American Airlines plane caught fire and passengers evacuated on the runway at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Tony Molinaro says American Airlines Flight 383 departed Chicago for Miami on Friday afternoon when it blew a tire and damaged an engine. Molinaro says the pilot aborted the takeoff and everyone evacuated. There were no injuries.

Television reports showed a large plume of black smoke coming from the Boeing 767, which appeared to be damaged at the rear. Evacuation chutes extended from the plane.

Residents of McLean County have mixed reactions about the possibility of a highway route running between I-74 and I-55. An environmental assessment of the project was discussed during a public hearing Wednesday night at Central Catholic High School.

A Chicago disability rights group has sued the mobile ride-hailing service Uber for allegedly violating U.S. laws mandating wheelchair accessibility.

The suit was filed Thursday in Chicago federal court on behalf of Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago and several individuals. It seeks an order requiring that Uber comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and provide more wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

An Illinois group that wants to prevent transportation funds from being diverted elsewhere has spent about $2.5 million in television advertising to persuade voters to approve their idea.

Figures released Thursday by the Center for Public Integrity show that Citizens to Protect Transportation Funding has spent the money to air their ads nearly 1,300 times this election cycle.

Illinois is among 14 states that have received a year-long extension to comply with stricter federal requirements for driver's licenses and identification cards.

The extension means Illinois now has until Oct. 10, 2017 to comply with the 2005 Real ID act.

The Unit Five School Superintendent hopes the district's bus contractor has turned the corner for on time performance.

Mark Daniel says there was only one bus late Wednesday morning and the contractor, First Student, has now settled a labor agreement with bus drivers that offers a raise, a signing bonus, and guaranteed hours per shift.

Illinois voters this fall will have a chance to amend the state constitution. The governor refuses to say whether he supports the change. 

Illinois has gotten into the habit of using money that was supposed to be used to fill pot holes, and instead using it to fill holes in the budget.

Road contractors and construction workers got sick of it, so they came up with an idea.  Put road money in a sort of "lock box."  Amend the constitution so it has to be used on transportation needs, and nothing else.

Unit Five Schools continue to have driver shortages for school buses this week.

And that has meant some students are still getting to school around an hour late.

Connect Transit General Manager Andrew Johnson is speaking out against the 2016 Republican Platform released last week at the Republican National Convention. The document calls for the removal of Highway Trust Fund money from public transit systems such as Connect Transit in Bloomington-Normal.