WGLT's Sound Ideas

The Illinois State women's basketball team has its sights set on another postseason run in 2027. Head coach Kristen Gillespie and the Redbirds prepare for another season amidst a changing landscape in college basketball.

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Austin folk rocker Shakey Graves visits Bloomington this weekend. More than a decade since Graves played the NPR Tiny Desk, he’s got new music about becoming a dad and other big and little fond moments along the way. On WGLT’s Sound Ideas, Graves said he's glad people loved his Tiny Desk Concert — but there's one catch.

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The Bloomington City Council will consider several items to boost redevelopment of Eastland Mall as an East Peoria developer is under contract to purchase the property. The city announced Friday in a press release that East Peoria-based Cullinan Properties is under contract to purchase the entire 53-acre site for $11.3 million. According to the city, the deal could close as early as November.

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Halloween is a fun time for kids to get creative with costumes and go door to door collecting candy from friends and neighbors. But it becomes more "trick" than treat when the kids have food allergies. One wrong piece of candy with the wrong ingredients can have dire consequences. Red Sneakers for Oakley is an advocacy, education, and practical group started by families whose children face some of these issues every day. Lindsey Spangler of Peoria, whose daughter battles food allergy issues, saw the need to spread the word, educate the community and help raise funds for the efforts to share EpiPens with first responders, schools and the community.

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Illinois State University President Aondover Tarhule said administrators "have work to do" to restore trust and respect among some university employees after contentious union negotiations and ongoing contract talks. Tarhule also spoke with WGLT about ISU’s enrollment and efforts to improve its student retention rate.

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The Illinois Symphony Orchestra [ISO] opens its 2026-27 season this week with some of classical music's spookiest selections. The orchestra plays at Illinois State University on Halloween night, officially christening the Performing Arts Center's Carole and Jerry Ringer Stage.

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In Bloomington-Normal, several drive-thru only coffee spots have popped up in the past few years. Bloom's opened in late 2019 at the site of the former Bevande. Jasper's Java, Scooters Coffee, and Dutch Bros have all opened since 2023. Normal is planning a fifth location called 7 Brew on East College Avenue.

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Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me! host Peter Sagal isn’t afraid to play favorites when it comes to Illinois State University’s long roster of celebrity alumni, including Jane Lynch, Laurie Metcalf, John Malkovich, Sean Hayes and Craig Robinson. His favorite right now is Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard on the Apple TV series Ted Lasso. But that’s just because Hunt has agreed to join Sagal during a live episode of Wait Wait that will be taped Nov. 12 at ISU’s Braden Auditorium. Hunt is an ISU theatre grad from 1996.

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A $75,000 contribution from Gov. JB Pritzker’s campaign weeks before the election turbocharged the McLean County Democratic Party’s already substantial financial advantage as the party seeks to defend its county board majority and seize its first countywide elected office in decades. A review of campaign finance records in McLean County also shows donations from an energy company that will be seeking approval for a controversial carbon capture project.

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Among the contested races in the upcoming Nov. 3 election is the McLean County clerk. McLean County Democrats see an opening in the race for county clerk as incumbent Republican Kathy Michael has faced scrutiny about her budget and tax errors. If successful, Joshua Crockett would be the first Democrat elected to a countywide office in decades.

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