Business and Economy

The Central Illinois Regional Airport is giving a big thank-you to Congressman Darin LaHood for coming through with $1.5 million in grant money.

With a combination of state funding and repayment from student fees, the Illinois State University Board of Trustees on Friday approved $84 million in funding for three new STEM facilities. They include a new teaching building, an annex and a greenhouse.

Data centers are getting a lot of attention in Bloomington. In Normal, not so much — both in inquiries by business and concerns from the public.

So far, State Farm and Country Financial have fielded a combined 656 insurance claims in McLean County from the April 17 storms and tornadoes.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin doesn't think the current version of the Farm Bill will fly. During a news conference in Normal, he said the House version will not get his vote.

A Central Illinois Regional Airport spokesperson confirms that service is pushed back until Oct. 24 at the earliest due to Federal Aviation Administration restrictions at O’Hare.

In his first State of the City speech, Bloomington Mayor Dan Brady said the city has accomplished a lot in his first year in office.

City Manager Jeff Jurgens doesn't think there is any location inside city limits that would be suitable for a large-scale data center, though there may be places outside municipal limits that fall under county government.

Bloomington Mayor Dan Brady said Friday the city has no plans to consider a data center proposal in May, and the city will schedule a series of public forums on the controversial topic.

The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition said data center operators need to be transparent about what the public gets out of the big installations, releasing polling data showing 70% of Illinois residents support tighter regulation of the data center industry embodied in the POWER Act.