NORMAL, Ill. – The state of Illinois officially ended cash bail on September 18, implementing the most controversial section of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s SAFE-T Act. The Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act was signed in 2021 but its biggest change to the criminal justice system did not go into effect until this week. From the time the act was signed in 2021 till today, the act was often […]
NORMAL, Ill. - Governor Pritzker visited Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) on April 6 to continue to highlight his higher education plans. In attendance of the event were the Chancellor of SIUE, James Miner, the Mayor of Edwardsville, Art Risavy, attended along with representatives of the State government. Representatives in attendance were Amy Alec from the 111 district, and Katie Stewart from the 112 District, along with Representative J. Hoffman […]
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois has struggled with a teacher shortage that has impacted the community for years. Beyond educators no longer wanting to enter the profession for various reasons, current teachers are also stepping away from the classrooms. In the college of education at Illinois State University, Kelli Appel explained why this is an ongoing issue across the state. “I mean this definitely is a national issue even beyond Illinois. […]
NORMAL, Ill. - Earlier this week, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed HB4664, a sweeping reproductive rights and gender affirming care omnibus bill that protects health care providers and their patients from legal attacks by neighboring states and expands health care access and options across the state. The act takes major steps to expand access by guaranteeing that abortion medications, PEP/PrEP, and gender-affirming care be covered by insurers at no extra cost […]
Photo provided by Illinois State University SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The office of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker stated in a press release on December 6th that the governor has signed HB1095, a series of amendments and clarifications to the SAFE-T Act. The Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act was signed in 2021 and was a center of controversy in the 2022 Midterm Elections. A center point of each campaign […]
Photo Courtesy from Unit 5 NORMAL, Ill. - Unit 5 schools in Normal have undergone many changes related to how they handle COVID-19 restrictions as of late. A recent lawsuit in the state of Illinois has made schools in other areas shift their COVID-19 guidelines to a ‘mask recommended’ rule. Since this lawsuit has came to light in the Bloomington-Normal area--schools from both Unit 5 and District 87 have made […]
Photo courtesy to IDJJ Facebook page LINCOLN, Ill.- The Governor's administration has announced a new center for incarcerated youth is coming to central Illinois. The Youth Center will now be located in the old, abandoned Lincoln Development Center. About 40% of Illinois' juveniles are from Central Illinois and until now they've been located in northern and southern parts of the state, away from their families. Heidi Mueller, director of the […]
Photo courtesy to BloNo DSA Facebook page BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - This week, organizers and activists with the Bloomington-Normal Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America are doubling down on efforts to mobilize the community to call for the end of wealth-based pretrial detention known as “cash bail” or “money bond”. This week BloNo DSA joined allies around the state in mobilizing nearly 3,000 people to file witness slips in support […]
NORMAL, Ill.- Gathering outside Hovey Hall this morning, Sept. 9, 2020, were Normal's most familiar faces. The 2020 Census was advocated for by State Rep. Dan Brady, Mayor Chris Koos, Illinois State University president Larry Dietz and Governor JB Pritzker. According to Pritzker, just a 1% under-count could result in the state losing over 195 million in federal funding each year "at a time when we need our funding the […]
