WCBU Newscasts - 6:04am 7-17-2026

From the WCVU Newsroom, I'm Rich Draker. A decision by the Peoria City Council on establishing a funding plan for repairs in the Twin Towers condominiums is targeted for late September. City Attorney Patrick Hayes says state law requires a 60-day wait to approve special service area designation. We'll also in the interim finish our discussions with local banks. to see whether or not a financing mechanism other than a bond issue might be more attractive. Tower residents have asked the city to create the special service area to generate the $2.5 million needed for the repairs. In the first days of a week-long trial, testing a remote piloted drone, Peoria Police have used the technology to apprehend a suspect accused of stealing an ambulance. Officers responded to the 200 block of Northeast Glen Oak based on a report of a stolen ambulance being driven recklessly. They then deployed a department first response. drone to locate the ambulance found parked in the 300 block of Wayne Street. The driver then fled at a high speed, later striking a parked vehicle on St. Mark's court. The driver was taken into custody charged with possessing a stolen vehicle. Tazwell County is putting together an ordinance that will spell out the rules and regulations for data centers built on county property. The ordinance isn't expected to go to the county board for at least two months, but the board's land use committee got an earful this week about a neighboring county's proposed data center ordinance. McAnon resident Alan Green is Logan County's zoning officer. He said a one-year data center moratorium the Logan County Board passed was later ruled illegal by the county state's attorney. Democratic Illinois, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin says acting attorney general Todd Blanche was only nominated for the role to benefit President Donald Trump. He testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is weighing whether to confirm him as the nation's top law enforcement official. Todd Blanche faced questions from Dick Durbin and others about the Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein files, among other things. In a time in history when we are witnessing the most corrupt... presidency in the history of the United States. We need an attorney general who will stand up for what is right, stand up for honesty, and what do we have here, a fixer. Dick Durbin says Todd Blanche's quote, not loyal to the truth. I'm Rich Drager. Support for WCBU and WCBO.com. Each story you hear on Planet Money starts with a question. What happens if we refund tariffs? Why are groceries so expensive? At NPR, we stand for your right to be curious because the forces shaping our world can be hard to seek. Follow NPR's Planet Money wherever you get your podcast and start seeing how the economy really works.