WCBU Newscasts - 3:04pm 7-1-2026

From the WCBU Newsroom, I'm Colleen Holden. The Peoria Public School Board of Education has delayed a vote on proposing a half-cent sales tax increase to help pay for facility maintenance. The action comes after incoming member Andy Diaz said he had his bid denied for a temporary restraining order to postpone the meeting. The fact that this school board continues to have open meeting violations that continues to dismiss the public and quite frankly just do as they please, those days are going to come to an end. Diaz and fellow newcomer Sarah Howard took their oaths after being elected to the board in March. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin says President Trump's SAVE Act is a voter suppression bill. The proposal would require a photo ID and proof of citizenship to register to vote and to vote. Speaking in Bloomington, Dick Durbin said driver's licenses alone would not be enough and birth certificates are often hard to find. He says passports to prove citizenship are expensive. That turns out to be a voting charge, a requirement that you pay a fee in order to be able to vote in this country. When did we get into that business? I thought we got out of that business. The Senate has so far refused to take up the matter because there aren't enough votes for it to overcome a filibuster. A jury in Cook County has returned a record high $50 million judgment against the Chicago-based owners of a Peoria fitness camp after an 8-year-old boy was allegedly sexually assaulted by another male camper. The incident happened in July 2022 in a shower at what was then called the Kids Climbing Camp, where a 13-year-old boy was accused of attacking the younger boy. Attorneys for the boy's family alleged employees knew of a previous incident involving the older boy, but did nothing to prevent the two from being together unsupervised in the bathroom. The jury determined the first ascent climbing and fitness camp was negligent in its lack of supervision, protocols, and communication in handling children. And the City Council meeting room at Pekin City Hall has a new $3,200 podium. It's a gift from the family of the late Bill Jansen who served as Pekin City Clerk for four decades. The walnut podium was presented to the city recently by Jansen's 90-year-old son William Jansen, a Pekin native who now lives in Las Vegas. I'm Colleen Holden. Support. 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 see. Follow NPR's Planet Money wherever you get your podcast and start seeing how the economy really works.