Bloomington's mayor says he empathizes with people who are rent-burdened, but that doesn't mean he supports the idea of rent control.
By some metrics, a person with an income of $60,000 per year should pay no more than $1,200 per month in rent. It's now difficult to find an apartment with a rent that low in Bloomington-Normal.
Recently, an advocacy group rallied for legislation to allow municipalities to pass rent control measures. But Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe said cities should be cautious about adopting such a proposal to address skyrocketing rents.
"You might bring up some other concerns. It might result in developers leaving the market," said Mwilambwe, adding there is a need for more developers, not fewer. He said a rent control policy also cuts against the local culture.
Shootings
With 2 1/2 months to go in the year, the number of shootings in the city nearly matches the total for all of last year. Mwilambwe, speaking on WGLT's Sound Ideas, said the city council has provided police with a lot of tools to address gun violence.
He said it's unfortunate there will always be some people who make bad decisions, and the police need to react to that.
"Some of the things that they're going to continue to do is, number one, educating people. And then we have other things. There are more people reporting when people have guns or use of guns," said Mwilambwe.
He said the city has instituted a text-to-tip program that can help suppress shootings through enforcement.
Holy Trinity landmark proposal
The city council will soon decide whether to grant historic landmark status to Holy Trinity Church. Though the Mwilambwe said he is not taking a position on Holy Trinity's case, in general he favors such designations.
"They not only add to the beauty and character, that's also important for people as they consider visiting different areas," he said.
Landmark status would make Holy Trinity eligible for grants, but prevent some changes to the property. The Catholic Diocese of Peoria opposes the city recommendation, saying it is too limiting.
Mwilambwe said the proposal must pass the council with a two-thirds vote to take effect. He said he prefers not to twist arms to achieve a vote, but to have council members express their own views.
Homeless issue
The City of Bloomington's permission to expand the capacity of the Salvation Army Safe Harbor homeless shelter this winter won't make up for the effect of the city order to dismantle the downtown homeless encampment.
Between 30-35 people have lived in the encampment. The expansion of Safe Harbor would add about 30 beds. City staff have previously estimated the number of unhoused people downtown at 100. Not all of the unhoused people in the encampment say they will use the Salvation Army shelter. And some cannot or should not live in congregant settings.
Mwilambwe said the city will try to deal with the unhoused compassionately, though there still is no public direction for expanded shelter capacity to handle the estimated numbers.
"That is one of the things that is being considered. We're discussing that and we're going to see what the best way is to go about it," said Mwilambwe.
The recent declaration of emergency that increases capacity for the homeless at the Salvation Army shelter downtown regains some beds cut some time ago when the city enhanced its fire code enforcement. Mwilambwe said that does not suggest the city should have been more flexible and creative back then.
"We can go back in time and armchair quarterback this thing, but I think sometimes it does take a little bit of time for people to come together around a solution," he said.
The city will allow Safe Harbor to add the extra beds if the Salvation Army hires more staff and does more training.
Mwilambwe acknowledged it will not fill the gap between the number of unhoused people downtown and available shelter beds.
