SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C.  20549
                                        
                                        
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                                    FORM 8-K
                                 CURRENT REPORT
                                        
                                        
                     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934
                                        
                                        
      Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) - February 19, 1999
                                        
                                        
                             FIRST BUSEY CORPORATION
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             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
                                        
                                        
        Nevada                  0-15950                37-1078406
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    (State of other           (Commission             (IRS Employer
    jurisdiction of           File Number)         Identification No.)
    incorporation)

   201 W. Main Street, Urbana, Illinois                     61801
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   (Address of principal executive offices)               (Zip Code)

   Registrant's telephone number, including area code:  (217) 365-4513






ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS On February 19, 1999, the Registrant announced its Repurchase Program. The Registrant's Repurchase Program will cover up to 500,000 shares of its Class A Common Stock. The Press Release dated February 19, 1999 is attached as an exhibit hereto and is incorporated by reference herein.

ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PRO FORMA FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND EXHIBITS 99.1 Press Release, dated February 19, 1999.

SIGNATURE Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized. FIRST BUSEY CORPORATION Date: February 22, 1999 By: /s/ Douglas C. Mills ---------------------------------- Name: Douglas C. Mills Title: Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President

EXHIBIT INDEX SEQUENTIALLY EXHIBIT DESCRIPTION NUMBERED PAGE ------- -------------------- ------------- 99.1 Press Release, dated February 19, 1999

Contact: Douglas C. Mills First Busey Corporation Chairman of the Board 201 West Main Street urbana, IL 61801 Phone: 217-365-4512 Fax: 217-365-4592 February 19, 1999 PRESS RELEASE At the February 16, 1999 Board Meeting of First Busey Corporation, the Board of Directors approved a Repurchase Program authorizing Management to purchase up to 500,000 shares of outstanding stock of First Busey Corporation, or up to 4% of the currently outstanding shares of the Corporation. First Busey Corporation is headquartered in Urbana, Illinois. Its banking subsidiary, Busey Bank, has 18 community banking centers throughout Champaign, McLean and Ford Counties in Illinois and one banking center in Indianapolis. Busey also provides electronic delivery of financial services through Busey e- bank (www.busey.com). Busey has a Loan Production Office in Fort Myers, Florida, and a full-service broker/dealer subsidiary, First Busey Securities, Inc. First Busey Securities currently has in excess of $375 million under care. Busey Bank also owns Busey Travel as well as Busey Insurance Services, which provides insurance products in McLean and Ford counties. First Busey Trust & Investment Co. is a wholly owned subsidiary of First Busey Corporation specializing in asset management and trust services. Currently, First Busey Trust has total assets under care in excess of $760 million. First Busey Corporation stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol BUSE.