Economy and Business

Harrison Meece wants to be on the team bringing a data center somewhere in McLean County — but only on the people's terms. He said as various moratoriums are put in place, now is the time to do more education for residents.

Rising gas prices caused by the U.S. war with Iran have caused a significant bump in the national inflation rate. A number of stopgap policy proposals have come up to ease the pain at the pump. It’s questionable whether those ideas really matter.

Bloomington Mayor Dan Brady said the summer is marking progress on more than $315 million in public and private investment projects.

Bloomington appears ready to more aggressively market naming rights opportunities for the former Grossinger Motors Arena in Downtown Bloomington. Sponsorship by the auto group ended in 2022, and the city has called a news conference next Wednesday to highlight revived use of the building.

Billions of dollars in wind farm projects all over Illinois are on hold, including two projects in McLean County, two in Peoria County, and one in Tazewell County.

Bloomington-based Country Financial, one of McLean County’s largest employers, announced the leadership changes on Wednesday morning. CEO Jim Jacobs plans to retire on June 30 after 21 years with the company.

Many State Farm agents said they feel angry and betrayed by the Bloomington-based company.

State Farm has told its 19,000 agents it is changing its compensation and benefits contract for them. The Bloomington-based company is also cutting benefits for retired agents.

Phase one, including the first 57 apartments, is expected to be completed by next summer. Justin Fern of Urban Equity Properties spoke to WGLT on details for the planned G.J. Lofts project.

Data centers may have a big geographical footprint, but they don't necessarily use a lot of water compared to other industrial facilities. WGLT gathered some data to help put data center water use in context, based on what's been approved in Joliet between here and Chicago.