WGLT's Sound Ideas - Full Episodes

A new pilot program with ISU students helping people expunge their criminal records surprisingly doesn't deal with a lot of cannabis cases. Tom McClure tells you about giving people a second chance. Plus, State Senator Jason Barickman unpacks why a massive energy policy proposal is such a tough thing to pass in Springfield. Backyard chickens can help your urban garden...yet they're not that popular with the neighbors. Hear more on WGLT's Grow. And the Coalescence Theatre Project hopes to use one particular queer story to give voice to underrepresented groups within the community.

The Heartland Theatre Company is centering the voices of people of color. It's diverse storytelling out of the box. Plus, the national conversation about paying for healthcare and what kind to pay for continues. Check in with a Bloomington-Normal health executive about how that's going. A community can get a lot of insight by seeing itself reflected in the eyes of an outsider. Eleanor Roosevelt was one such outsider for Bloomington-Normal in 1937. Hear more in our latest episode of the WGLT series McHistory. And the new EP from soul-folk trio 'Sarah & the Underground' released on Father's Day was originally a gift for family.

Rivian employment is now about 1,900. It's heading for 2,500 by year and 3,000 to 4,000 by the end of next year. Heartland Community College's two soccer teams went to nationals for the first time, but it wasn't easy when several got sick. Yet they persevered. Heartland also set a new grade point average record among its student athletes. McLean County Jail inmates connect with their children by reading and recording books on CD. A northern Illinois woman tells you her experience of a chemical plant fire and dark plumes of smoke that made her sick and dizzy.

Evangelical church leaders say they can only go so far in promoting vaccines to their members. White evangelicals rank first among groups rejecting the vaccine. Plus, Normal City Manager Pam Reece reflects on how the town council addressed unfounded ethics allegations against her levied by one council member. The Human services sector in Bloomington Normal may be understaffed, underpaid, and under-appreciated, but its still a huge part of the twin cities economy. State Senator Dave Koehler talks about being the first Democrat to represent Bloomington Normal in the General Assembly in four decades.

The structural deficit for Unit 5 schools is $12.5 million and rising $1.5-2 million a year. Unit 5 Superintendent Kristen Weikle says she hopes to have deficit reduction plans developed by the fall. They will include cuts, new revenue, and efficiencies in existing operations. Plus, the town of Normal will rework zoning rules to allow permanent outdoor on street dining. it proved popular during the pandemic. Hear from City Manager Pam Reece. The prairie state doesn't have a lot of prairie left. Learn more during WGLT's gardening podcast 'Grow.' And Opera Under the Stars comes to an outdoor venue in Normal, courtesy of Prairie Fire Theater.

Bloomington based Hip-Hop artist Darius Williams says his new album was self-therapy during a difficult time. Listen to the new album Left Alone. Plus, a Peoria-based sexual health organization expands to Bloomington Normal. Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe says he doesn't want to second guess pulling out of the Metro Zone agreement on west side revenue sharing with Normal just as Rivian was taking off. Republicans don't much like the way Democrats handled legislative redistricting this year, but Illinois is far from an outlier among other states doing the same thing.

Adults berated and talked over Not In Our Schools leader Yvin Chin at a recent Bloomington school board meeting. The issue of Black History education has become heated in Bloomington Normal. Plus, a man who helped free 18 innocent people from Illinois prisons is retiring. John Hanlon talks about justice, injustice, and truth. The Illinois State University Athletics Director has been watching state lawmakers change gambling rules and gauges the impact on collegiate athletics. And Heartland Community College President Keith Cornille says the college is moving to address an underdeveloped area of the workforce, agriculture.

Normal Council member Karyn Smith says allegations against the city manager aren't about ethics, they're about gender bias. Six council members chastise the seventh, Stan Nord. Plus, the insurance industry workforce is about to become scarce. A lot of retirements coming up in the next few years. District 87 teachers say a pr campaign to score political points by protesting black history curriculum is way off base. And McLean County's legal community and housing advocates have a new plan lessen a spike in evictions once the statewide moratorium goes away in August.

The pandemic may have eased in Bloomington Normal but a lot of residents are still frantic about the danger to family members in India. Listen to south Asian community concerns about what's still a global problem. Plus the retiring head of the Center for Human Services in Bloomington says need for mental health services in the community outpaces supply by more than two to one. A week long series of activities marking Juneteenth begins. And legislators and advocates hope to make Illinois the second state to permit marriage certificate name changes for trans people.

The pace of vaccinations has slowed dramatically in McLean County and the health department may soon end mass clinics. It's still a long road from the current 40 percent inoculation rate in McLean County to herd immunity at 70 or 80 percent. Plus, it's garlic season in central Illinois. Learn about the ancient nutritious, even antiseptic herb and how to save your taste buds and tummy from the smelly thing. The identities of creative people can never truly be separated from the things they create, but Black artists often find themselves pigeonholed by White curators. Go behind a Bloomington Normal exhibition highlighting Black freedom of creative expression.