-
1 week ago | 
nprillinois.org | Cesar Toscano
Connect Transit, the transit agency that provides public transportation in Bloomington-Normal, confirms it will be taking over rural transportation in McLean County on July 1. The current provider, Show Bus, will no longer be serving the county as McLean County withdrew from an agreement with the provider last summer. Show Bus provides routes from Bloomington-Normal to other towns such as Chenoa, Lexington, Towanda, Bellflower, LeRoy, Downs and Saybrook.
-
2 weeks ago | 
nprillinois.org | Cesar Toscano
Republican state lawmakers have signaled they want to ban transgender girls from competing on girls school sports teams in Illinois. This comes after President Trump signed an executive order to narrow the definition of women protected by Title IX to include only cisgender women. The Illinois High School Association said it allowed three transgender girls to compete in girls sports last year.
-
2 weeks ago | 
nprillinois.org | Cesar Toscano
With hate crimes across Illinois in the last five years, lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow people to sue if they receive threatening flyers on private property due to protected identity characteristics. Democratic state Rep. Sharon Chung jumped on the bill as a co-sponsor after Bloomington-Normal faced its own incident recently with antisemitic flyers from white supremist groups.
-
3 weeks ago | 
ourcommunitynow.com | Cesar Toscano
Share
Illinois has a deep connection to the Underground Railroad, the secret routes that freedom-seekers journeyed to escape slavery. This is why lawmakers are pushing an initiative to preserve sites connected to this part of history. In Central Illinois, there were several checkpoints on the path to freedom along the Underground Railroad. One is in Peoria.
-
3 weeks ago | 
nprillinois.org | Cesar Toscano
Illinois has a deep connection to the Underground Railroad, the secret routes that freedom-seekers journeyed to escape slavery. This is why lawmakers are pushing an initiative to preserve sites connected to this part of history. In Central Illinois, there were several checkpoints on the path to freedom along the Underground Railroad. One is in Peoria. The abolitionist Moses Pettengill’s home was a secret respite for freedom-seekers heading north for more than 30 years until the end of the Civil War.
-
1 month ago | 
ipmnewsroom.org | Cesar Toscano |Eric Stock |WVIK-Rock Island
Over the last few years, environmental groups and others in Central Illinois have raised concerns about the region’s water potentially becoming contaminated by an emerging technology that’s intended to reduce the harm caused by greenhouse gas emissions. State senators responded to those concerns by voting unanimously, 55-0, on Thursday to ban carbon sequestration near the Mahomet Aquifer, the sole source of water for nearly 1 million people in the region, including much of McLean County.
-
1 month ago | 
nprillinois.org | Cesar Toscano
The Illinois House has passed two bills that would ban offensive portrayals of Native Americans and disabilities such as dwarfism in school logos, names and mascots. The Pontiac Indians, Deer Creek-Mackinaw Chiefs and other names would no longer be allowed if the bill is passed. Mascots or logos with arrows, tomahawks or headdresses also would be banned. The companion bill would ban offensive depictions of disability in logos, names and mascots.
-
1 month ago | 
nprillinois.org | Cesar Toscano
Over the last few years, environmental groups and others in Central Illinois have raised concerns about the region's water potentially becoming contaminated by an emerging technology that's intended to reduce the harm caused by greenhouse gas emissions. State senators responded to those concerns by voting unanimously, 55-0, on Thursday to ban carbon sequestration near the Mahomet Aquifer, the sole source of water for nearly 1 million people in the region, including much of McLean County.
-
1 month ago | 
wcbu.org | Cesar Toscano |Eric Stock
Over the last few years, environmental groups and others in Central Illinois have raised concerns about the region's water potentially becoming contaminated by an emerging technology that's intended to reduce the harm caused by greenhouse gas emissions. State senators responded to those concerns by voting unanimously, 55-0, on Thursday to ban carbon sequestration near the Mahomet Aquifer, the sole source of water for nearly 1 million people in the region, including much of McLean County.
-
1 month ago | 
nprillinois.org | Cesar Toscano
There were more than 2,000 human trafficking victims in Illinois from 2019 to 2023, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Nearly one-third of victims live in Central Illinois, one tally shows. Experts warn it can happen anywhere and to anyone — and they want something done to prevent this abuse and to help its victims. One of those experts on human trafficking is Carol Merna from the Center for Prevention of Abuse. The Peoria organization has been around for 50 years.
