Rep. Sorensen ‘optimistic’ Congress can beat farm bill deadline

MOLINE — Congress has a tight deadline to approve a new farm bill. Central Illinois congressman Eric Sorensen, D-Ill., is part of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee that recently reorganized at the start of the 118th Congress in late January. Listen to this story here.  Sorensen said it will take compromise to meet the needs […]

More bald eagles are nesting on the Illinois River. Here’s why that’s a good sign

Mike Miller has had his eagle eyes trained on the Illinois River Valley for a long time, and he says there’s a lot more of the national bird to see around these parts than in years’ past. The Peoria Park District supervisor of environmental and interpretive services and Community Word contributor has participated in the annual winter […]

How admittedly corrupt ex-Illinois lawmakers get to keep their pensions

Illinois has paid out millions in pensions to ex-lawmakers who have admitted criminal wrongdoing or are awaiting trial. CHICAGO — Illinois state senator-turned-government mole Terry Link infamously asked “What’s in it for me?” while wearing a wire in a 2019 federal bribery sting that snared a corrupt legislative colleague. Link played the role of undercover […]

Former trustee: Kinzy’s abrupt exit was about fit, not wrongdoing

NORMAL — Illinois State University marked its annual Founding Celebration on Thursday with the usual traditions – bellringing and a toast of faculty and staff – even as unanswered questions hovered as to why President Terri Goss Kinzy had abruptly resigned. Some faculty and staff told WGLT they were surprised by Kinzy’s exit. Others heard […]

Pritzker pledges more money for education and child care in his budget address

SPRINGFIELD — Building on a “remarkable” fiscal rebound, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker proposed a $49.6 billion state budget Wednesday, prioritizing increased spending on everything from early childhood initiatives to education to reproductive health care. In the first big swing of his second term, Pritzker also underscored his work the past four years in stabilizing Illinois’ […]

ISU President Terri Goss Kinzy resigns less than 2 years on the job

NORMAL — Illinois State University President Terri Goss Kinzy has resigned after less than two years on the job. The surprise announcement came Wednesday afternoon in an email to campus. Kinzy’s resignation is effective Tuesday, but she’ll be paid an additional 20 weeks of salary (about $144,000) and her unused vacation time, plus get to […]

FBI: Romance scammers made $20M off unsuspecting victims in Illinois in a year

Hundreds of Illinoisans fall victim to online romance scams every year. While the numbers for 2022 are still being calculated, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center preliminary results show a reported victim loss of $739 million, impacting 19,000 victims. In Illinois, the FBI reported 591 victims in 2021, the last year data was available. The […]

What does the start of Missouri recreational marijuana sales mean for the Metro East?

COLLINSVILLE — Collinsville City Manager Mitch Bair has managed a budget that’s seen between $1.5 million and $2 million in extra sales tax revenue since 2020 from the addition of recreational marijuana. But the sales tax generated from Illinois dispensaries is expected to drop now that Missouri approved its first shops to sell recreational marijuana […]

Rep. Mary Miller to boycott State of the Union Address

When President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union Address Tuesday, central Illinois Congresswoman Mary Miller won’t be in attendance.  The second-term Republican from Illinois’ 15th District says she is boycotting the speech in protest of what she calls “Biden’s record of lying to the American people.” “Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up President […]