WEBVTT - WGLT Newscasts - 6:05pm 8-26-2026

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<v Speaker 1>From the WGLT newsroom, I'm Jason Zehler. GOP candidate for

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<v Speaker 1>governor Darren Bailey tells McLean County Republicans that turnout is

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<v Speaker 1>key to victory in his second contest against incumbent JB Pritzker.

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<v Speaker 1>Speaking at the group's annual Lincoln-Reagan dinner last night, he

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<v Speaker 1>said the stakes are too high to stay on the sidelines.

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<v Speaker 1>It is going to be a typical midterm election for

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<v Speaker 1>the Democrats.

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<v Speaker 1>And if we don't do our job, it will be

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<v Speaker 1>a typical midterm election for us. Bailey joined numerous state

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<v Speaker 1>level candidates at the event, including his lieutenant governor pick

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<v Speaker 1>Aaron Del Mar and US Senate nominee Don Tracy. A

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<v Speaker 1>recent Supreme Court ruling allowing President Trump to pursue mail-in

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<v Speaker 1>voting restrictions will not immediately affect voting in Bloomington normal. Director.

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<v Speaker 1>Elections for McLean County, Mark Sanger says the public should

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<v Speaker 1>not hesitate to vote by mail. Nothing has changed and

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<v Speaker 1>quite honestly, we are seeing a great influx of vote

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<v Speaker 1>by mail applications coming in. The McLean County Clerk's office

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<v Speaker 1>is awaiting further instructions from the state board of elections.

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<v Speaker 1>Mail-in ballots will start being sent out on September 24th.

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<v Speaker 1>A former cheer and gymnastics coach says too often policing

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<v Speaker 1>behavior falls on coaches themselves. Ken Simmons says he encouraged

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<v Speaker 1>employers to drop by practices and copied them all on

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<v Speaker 1>communications with students and parents.

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<v Speaker 2>I always

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<v Speaker 2>kind of had that mental.

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<v Speaker 2>Awareness of like never be alone with a

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<v Speaker 1>student. Simmons replaced Andrew Miller as the cheer coach at

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<v Speaker 1>University High School following allegations of sexual misconduct with minors.

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<v Speaker 1>Miller was still coaching until a police investigation led to

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<v Speaker 1>his arrest on 56 counts. A bad odor detected over

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<v Speaker 1>a wide stretch of McLean County north of Bloomington Normal

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<v Speaker 1>came from a NICO utility chemical release. Hudson Fire Chief

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<v Speaker 1>Aaron Kinder says the first reports of the foul smell

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<v Speaker 1>came just after midnight Tuesday morning.

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<v Speaker 1>He said the release came from a building on Pipeline

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<v Speaker 1>Road where Nicor has a natural gas storage facility. The

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<v Speaker 1>chemical is added to gas so people can smell when

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<v Speaker 1>there is a leak. Kinder says reports of the bad

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<v Speaker 1>odor stretched from Carlock to Lake Evergreen and Hudson to

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<v Speaker 1>rural North Normal. It is not related to the house

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<v Speaker 1>explosion a day later in rural Bloomington.