WGLT Newscasts - 9:04am 5-22-2025

Published May 22, 2025, 2:06 PM

This newscast aired at 9:04am on 5-22-2025 on WGLT.

From the WGLT newsroom, I'm John Norton. The two US House members who represent Bloomington Norma split their vote on a massive bill to enact the heart of President Trump's domestic agenda. Republican Darren LaHood voted for the so-called big beautiful bill. Democrat Eric Sorensen voted against it.

The legislation would cut trillions of dollars in taxes while scaling back safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAPP. LaHood says the bill would prevent the largest tax increase in American history. Sorensen says it blows a $5 trillion hole in the national debt and targets the most vulnerable.

Administrators in the Olympia school system say they are frustrated by county government's efforts to fix an error in this year's property tax bills. Superintendent Laura O'Donnell says she wants the county to send out corrected tax bills that reflect the referendum voters approved last year. The McLean County tax bills mistakenly did not include it. We're a part of 5 different counties, and the other counties got it right. We're not sure how McLean County got it wrong when that is the county that actually

Houses and manages the election. O'Donnell says the county told the district it wants to recoup the costs on next year's bills. About 10 people living in a tent in Camment near AutoZone in normal will be dispersed on June 1st to make way for a major sewer construction project.

One of the encampment residents is unhoused veteran Louis Ray Starr, and he is not happy about being forced to leave.

It shouldn't exist. I'm going to put an injunction against it.

The nonprofit Home Sweet Home Ministry says they'll continue to provide services to the people removed wherever they may end up.

And a multimodal business park on the east side of Bloomington is nearing completion. Central Illinois Regional Airport director Carl Olson says work is done on water and sewer extension to the 250 acre site on airport land. We'll be working with the city of Bloomington, the EDC to really aggressively market this.

I think it's gonna be more of a process than a project with a deadline. Olson says the airport has had talks with several potential industrial tenants, but none has worked out so far. Scattered showers today with a high near 58 degrees. I'm John Norton, WGLT News.

WGLT Newscasts

Local newscasts from WGLT, Bloomington-Normal's Public Media, part of the NPR Network. Updated throu 
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