Michele Steinbacher
CorrespondentMichele Steinbacher is a WGLT correspondent. She joined the staff in 2020.
Steinbacher previously worked as a reporter at The Pantagraph in Bloomington, and taught communication at Heartland Community College.
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As the Unit 5 school board began its meeting Tuesday — to make expected budget cuts — a crowd partially filled the Normal West auditorium. By 5:15 p.m., more than 40 people had signed up for 3-minute slots to make public comment before the board's vote. -
Henson Disposal’s proposal to build a waste transfer station south of the city advanced Monday, with the Bloomington City Council approving a preliminary plan, and agreeing to extend sewer and water mains to the property.
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The Unit 5 school board spent more than three hours Wednesday digging into which stark cuts to potentially make — given the district’s $11 million deficit.
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As expected, the Normal Town Council on Tuesday OK'd the annexation agreement of 36 acres for the planned Carden Springs development, making way for nearly 500 new apartments and townhouses, near Interstate 55.
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On the agenda are a final plat for three Weldon Reserve houses on Beech Street, and an annexation agreement that sets aside nearby property for Carden Springs, a complex of garden-style apartments and townhouses.
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The Unit 5 school board voted Wednesday to return to voters in April with a referendum asking for an increase to a key fund’s tax rate.
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The Bloomington City Council on Monday OK’d a four-year contract that increases pay for police sergeants and lieutenants, who have been working without an agreement since April 2020.
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Normal’s latest five-year outlook calls for putting $175 million toward hundreds of capital projects — about $18 million more than last year’s plan.
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Unit 5 Finance Director Marty Hickman noted the district set the levy, assuming an 8% growth in equalized assessed valuation. But leaders expect an actual 6% EAV increase.
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The Bloomington City Council on Monday increased its combined property tax levies to about $28.6 million, an estimated 7% increase over last year’s figure.
