Ryan Denham

Local, state, and federal officials confirmed Saturday afternoon that COVID-19 testing criteria will be loosened further at Bloomington's drive-up site.

Bloomington’s new drive-up COVID-19 site has rapidly expanded the amount of testing happening in McLean County. But it’s still operating well under capacity—with no good explanation as to why.

The dean of Illinois State University’s nursing college says she supports a plan being considered to temporarily allow graduating seniors to enter the workforce early to help during the coronavirus pandemic.

The testing criteria were loosened Sunday after a lower-than-expected turnout for the first day of drive-up COVID-19 testing in Bloomington, officials said.

There was no line and no long waits Saturday when Bloomington’s first COVID-19 drive-up testing site finally opened.

Certain health care workers, first responders, seniors, and those with underlying conditions will soon have access to a drive-up COVID-19 testing site in west Bloomington.

The three men on board a small plane that crashed near Lincoln this month were conducting an aerial survey of a bald eagle nest nearby, federal officials said Tuesday.

Gov. JB Pritzker on Sunday ordered bars and restaurants to be closed to the public starting Monday through March 30.

UPDATED 5:30 p.m. | Gov. JB Pritzker announced Friday that all schools in Illinois will be closed from Tuesday, March 17, through Monday, March 30, due to the coronavirus.

Pritzker said keeping people at home — including school kids and their parents — is critical for stopping the spread of the coronavirus disease.

UPDATED 6:45 p.m. | Authorities are investigating after a small plane registered in Bloomington crashed Tuesday along Interstate 55 near Lincoln, killing all three people on board.

It’s hard for rural communities in Illinois to attract or keep the doctors, teachers, or even grocery stores which together make everyday life possible in a small town.

The top federal prosecutor for central Illinois says he plans to expand a youth outreach program aimed at high schoolers to Bloomington-Normal, Peoria, and other areas this year.

Two former U.S. attorneys for central Illinois are among over 2,000 former Department of Justice officials who’ve signed a letter calling for Attorney General William Barr’s resignation over his role in the Roger Stone case.

A landscape architect from Queens. A marketing professional in Colorado Springs. A systems engineer from Columbus, Ohio. A cancer scientist near San Diego. An electrical engineer from British Columbia.

A Bloomington hospital said Friday rumors that the dangerous new coronavirus had spread to central Illinois were untrue, as a second U.S. patient was confirmed in Chicago.

A tenured professor at Illinois State University claimed in a new sex-discrimination lawsuit that she’s unfairly making less than her male peers and was threatened with retaliation for raising her concerns.

The Illinois Senate’s top Republican said he’s disappointed so far in what he’s seen emerge out of the state’s property tax relief task force.

This month over a million Illinois workers who make the minimum wage got a pay increase, with another raise coming July 1. It was Illinois’ first minimum-wage increase in nearly a decade.

Rivian announced Monday that its owners will be able to use Alexa voice commands to control key vehicle features—the latest collaboration between the electric automaker and Amazon.

The show is over at the Monarch Music Hall in Peoria.

UPDATED 11:20 a.m. | Authorities have identified the 53-year-old man who's been charged with murder in connection with a triple homicide Christmas Day in Livingston County.

For recovering addicts, staying sober can more difficult around the holidays. Alcohol is as pervasive as gingerbread cookies at holiday parties. And as families come together, the pain of past relapses can linger even if a person is newly sober.

Rivian on Monday announced its fourth major investment of 2019—this time $1.3 billion led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price.

Rivian is looking to hire hundreds of workers for its Normal manufacturing plant over the next few years. Heartland Community College wants to be ready to help get them trained.

Central Illinois congressional representatives are praising the bipartisan House passage of an updated trade agreement among the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Rivian completed or started over $24 million in remodeling, demolition, and construction work inside its Normal manufacturing plant in 2019, Town of Normal building permits show.

2019 was a memorable year for central Illinois farmers—and not in a good way. Trade disputes cut into prices and drove up anxiety. A soggy planting season led to a late harvest. And just as farmers finally were able to get into this fields this fall, it snowed.

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis dug in Monday night as he again attacked the impeachment inquiry and called on Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring a free trade agreement to a vote.

The top federal prosecutor for central Illinois says a new anti-gun violence initiative will improve coordination between law enforcement agencies and keep more illegal weapons off the streets.

Illinois’ two senators are calling on the USDA to rework its massive trade aid program to fix what they see as inequities and a lack of transparency into how payments are doled out.