WGLT Newscasts - 6:32am 6-26-2025

Published Jun 26, 2025, 11:34 AM

This newscast aired at 6:32am on 6-26-2025 on WGLT.

From the WGLT newsroom, I'm John Norton. A new report says Illinois is facing a housing shortage of 142,000 homes. According to the report, Illinois would need to build 45,000 homes every year for 5 years to meet the demand.

Report co-author Frank Manso is an economist at the Illinois Economic Policy Institute. He says the shortage is due to a lack of housing inventory, high demand, and restrictions on home building across the state. The problem we currently have is that there are not enough homes available, and what is available is much more expensive than it used to be, and you simply cannot buy what you can't afford. Manzo says streamlining the home construction process and easing zoning restrictions could help close the gap.

At an open house in normal, at least 2 residents expressed concerns about how close a proposed solar farm would be to their homes southeast of Bloomington. Giovanta Blunt is public policy coordinator for Dariva Energy. He says the proximity to homes is a common concern. We always want to be a good neighbor. We work with them sometimes in some cases we can.

Change our project plans. Uh, we don't make promises, but sometimes we can change our project plans based on the neighbor's feedback, um, like I said, we just wanna be a good neighbor. Blunt says Dariva may look to use natural vegetation to partially conceal the farm from residents.

A woman from Normal has released a memoir about her 35 year flight attendant career. Cathy Davis's book The Closest Exit May Be Behind You reflects on how flying has changed since the 1970s and how her career started with a conversation with her mother about her fear of flying. Are you gonna

tell?

the truth that you're scared of flying and I said, well, no, this is, this is my best opportunity to get started on a career.

Davis's book is available at the Garlic Press in Normal, the McLean County Museum of History gift shop, Ryeburn Place in Normal and on Amazon, and a new mental health program at Karl Broman Medical Center helps patients discharged from their behavioral health unit transition back to daily life.

Daytime sessions are held Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at Carl Broman Medical Center for those referred to the program. I'm John Norton.

WGLT Newscasts

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