This newscast aired at 12:04pm on 7-11-2025 on WGLT.
From the WGLT newsroom, I'm Colleen Holden. Governor JB Pritzker took the rare step of attacking one of Illinois's largest employers, State Farm, over its plans to significantly raise homeowners' insurance rates. The Bloomington-based company says the 27% rig hi is caused by inflationary pressures on home replacement costs and more frequent severe weather events. Pritzker says his Department of Insurance's own analysis suggests State Farm is out of state costs on.
Homeowners here, which State Farm denies. Pritzker says he'll ask the Department of Insurance to take regulatory action against State Farm, and he wants lawmakers to enact a legislative solution during the upcoming veto session. A speech and hearing clinic at Illinois State University could see a reduction in services if federal Medicaid cuts limit access to care. Clinic director Heidi Retichio says cuts to services.
Could lead to backlogs for those who need the care. That's just going to be a longer wait the fewer organizations and practices that are seeing clients who will take any kind of coverage that they would have. The clinic at ISU serves mostly Medicaid clients. One of the leaders behind the new homeless shelter village says he hopes the project sparks a broader conversation about housing needs in Bloomington Normal.
Robbie Ozenga with Catalyst Construction is working on the bridge. Ozenga says the bridge is just one piece of a broader housing puzzle.
Bloomington Normal has always been a place of innovation, generosity, and faith in action. So let this project be a signal that we are still that kind of community, one that builds bridges and not barriers.
Community leaders gathered for the project's groundbreaking ceremony yesterday morning.
And a Bloomington man has died following a single vehicle crash. Bloomington police say emergency crews responded to the intersection of Center Street in Oakland Avenue a few blocks south of downtown shortly before noon on Wednesday.
McLean County coroner Kathy Yoder says the driver, 66 year old Richard Tennis, died at a local hospital. Yoder says Tennis appeared to have had a medical episode which caused the crash. Police say an adult male passenger was also hospitalized with injuries that are not considered life threatening. I'm calling.