WRPW-FM (Normal, IL)

5 days ago | cities929.com | Jim Talamonti

(The Center Square) – Legislation allowing therapists and other professionals to temporarily practice without being licensed is back in the Illinois House. State senators approved House Bill 1365 after it was amended to add occupational therapists to the list of those who could practice while awaiting licensure from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. The bill also includes clinical psychologists, marriage and family therapists, counselors and social workers.

1 week ago | cities929.com | Jim Talamonti

(The Center Square) – A bill to address tornado preparedness at warehouses advanced to the Illinois Senate. State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, spoke on the House floor and recalled six workers who died in 2021 when an Amazon warehouse collapsed during a tornado. “We want to make sure that the warehouses have a site-specific safety plan and that that safety plan is shared with local first emergency responders,” Stuart said.

1 week ago | cities929.com | Tom Davis

A small basement fire on the city’s northeast side Monday afternoon prompted a multi-unit response from the Bloomington Fire Department but resulted in no injuries and only limited damage. Firefighters were dispatched to 38 Rounds Road at 4:06 p.m. after residents returned home to find smoke in the building and alarms sounding. According to fire officials, the first crews arrived five minutes later and found no visible smoke or fire from the outside.

1 week ago | cities929.com | Kevin Bessler

Chicago hiring practices investigatedThe U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the city of Chicago for possible race-based hiring practices following comments made by the mayor during a public appearance Sunday. In a speech at a church, Brandon Johnson listed several officials he hired, pointing out their race and titles, including deputy mayors and the city’s chief operations officer.

2 weeks ago | cities929.com | Kevin Bessler

Outage impacts passport verificationA nationwide outage Wednesday impacted U.S. passport verification. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias wrote on X just after 9:30 a.m. that “due to a nationwide outage, U.S. passport verification is currently unavailable.” As of 11 a.m., a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office said they “activated a process” that enabled them to process U.S. passports and immigration documents at DMVs in Illinois.