Charlie Schlenker / WGLT
Bloomington aldermen are asking to halt scheduled discussion of a Welcoming City ordinance, clouding the prospects for future public consideration.
A coalition of advocacy groups has asked for an ordinance limiting cooperation between Bloomington Police and federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. They marched on City Hall last May, and in December more than 350 people turned out to a meeting to offer public comment at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.
An email from five aldermen to Interim City Manager Steve Rasmussen indicates a majority of the council have asked Rasmussen to pull the issue from the Feb. 12 meeting agenda. Council members Joni Painter, Mboka Mwilambwe, David Sage, Kim Bray, and Karen Schmidt said in the message the council gave the public a fair hearing in December when it extended public comment to 60 minutes to accommodate everyone.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot had promised to prevent Chicago Police officers from working with immigration agents by eliminating loopholes that allowed police to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in certain circumstances.
Sentinel Correspondent
WELCOME Welcome City Council will meet 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Welcome City Hall. It will be live streamed on Zoom also. If attending in person, please follow COVID protocol and wear a mask.
Condolences to the family of Steven Craig from Welcome. He will be missed.
COVID-19 testing continues at the National Guard Armory in
Fairmont. Testing will be done noon to 6 p.m. on Jan. 20-22 and Jan. 27-30. Making an appointment will help with social distancing. To register, go to www.primarybio.com/r/fairmont.
Welcome Fire Relief Association is holding a fundraiser raffle for multiple gift cards from local businesses and a grand prize of a dinner tasting for 10 people at the Cup N’ Saucer in Sherburn. Each ticket costs $10 and can be purchased from any Welcome firefighter. The winner need not be present to win on Feb. 7. They hope to have the drawing at their annual pancake feed at 9 a.m. on
Last Wednesday, we witnessed a violent attack on our democracy. The peaceful transfer of presidential power, required by the U.S. Constitution, was forcefully interrupted by those who refuse to accept the results of a free and fair election. We saw public servants and others in our national and state capitols directly threatened by a mob…