Economy and Business

The new head of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council is addressing past concerns and critiques of the organization as he lays out his vision for the future.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin questioned direct government investment in private businesses and lamented lost momentum in fixing social security, during a stop in Bloomington.

The new permanent CEO of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council [BNEDC] is Tyler Cravens. Cravens has been the interim president and CEO since March when previous CEO Patrick Hoban left for another position.

The Bloomington city manager said a long public forum on data centers this week was just the early part of the discussion about data center policy.

Bloomington-Normal groups are having early conversations about creating a Tourism Improvement District that would impose fees of up to 5% for hotel and short-term rental guests.

Amtrak is performing well nationally, according to an Illinois-based member of the board of the nation’s passenger rail service. Illinois numbers were not as accomplished, according to Amtrak records.

As artificial intelligence budges its way into the business world, insurance companies are grappling with the changes to the kind of work that happens, the types of workers they need and how to develop them.

Most insurance companies, including State Farm and Country Financial, are already implementing AI across their businesses. Here's how they're going about it.

The electric automaker Rivian confirmed Thursday it plans to add a second shift for R2 production at its Normal manufacturing plant within the next two months.

The Normal Town Council has adopted a new strategic plan for the next three years. Mayor Chris Koos talks about some of the details.