WCBU Newscasts - 5:04pm 8-14-2026

From the WCBU newsroom, I'm Courtney Conroy. It appears the Tri-County region was mostly spared of any major storm damage from the system that moved through central Illinois on Thursday. Peoria County Emergency Management Director Jason Mark says the county wasn't hit nearly as hard as Bloomington Normal in McLean County. No significant damage has been reported to us. You know, we've observed some flooded roads and some branches as we've been traveling throughout the community. Taswell County reported some minor flooding and power outages. The storm knocked out power from more than 20,000 customers across McLean County. Central Illinois Congressman Eric Sorensen is questioning President Trump's latest executive order to reduce the number of vaccines recommended by the federal government. Sorensen says the best directives for vaccinating a parent's child should not come from the president or his cabinet. And I hope that everyone will seek out the advice of their medical professionals, those nurses, those doctors, everyone who is taking care of your children to help you decide what's best for your children. Sorensen represents parts of Bloomington normal. The city of Peoria is looking at strengthening its enforcement targeting chronic nuisance properties. City Attorney Patrick Hayes says the changes intend to curb an increase in criminal activity at some rental housing complexes. We're looking at the management of these congregate units as a whole and retooling it to apply across that entire property instead of just a unit-by-unit basis. The changes would allow the city to intervene in instances of criminal activity by trespassers as well as owners, tenants, and guests. The council defer to vote on the changes for 30 days. And Governor J.B. Pritzker says the state needs to do more to regulate funeral homes and crematories. Last week, Chicago Police discovered 57 decomposing bodies at a funeral home. The incident has sparked calls for stricter oversight from the Illinois Department of Financial Planning and Regulation. J.B. Pritzker says the state agency and the legislature need to work together to figure out reforms. IDFPR is a licensing organization, but the investigatory endeavor, we should all discuss whether that's something that should belong to IDFPR or to. some other body. State Representative Marcus Evans says he's working with other Democrats on new legislation. I'm Courtney Conroy. Support. The fatal shooting of a teenager at a protest in Seattle has gone unsolved for six years. This is open in your face. How are there no answers? Our investigation has uncovered new evidence and witnesses who say they've never talked to police. Did police ever call you? Not once. Listen to We Keep Us Safe, a new true crime series on the Embedded podcast from NPR.