Flooding

There are a lot of road-closed-except-to-local-traffic signs out there in the Town of Normal this summer during the height of the street repair season.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen said his success rate in getting funding for projects in the district this year is way above average compared with other U.S. congressman.

Bloomington and Normal city officials are thanking U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen for his help in getting nearly $5 million in federal spending for the community.

Bloomington-Normal has nearly $2.7 million in potential projects included in an appropriations bill that has advanced from a subcommittee to the full appropriations committee in the U.S. House.

Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe says two city council wards will need significant adjustments during redistricting. Ward 8, which takes in the east side Grove subdivision areas near the airport and Old Farm Lakes subdivision, had significant growth in the last decade and now includes more than 10,000 residents.

A Bloomington City Council member says she's worried the city will reject direct aid to flooded-out residents without knowing the full scope of the damage.

More than 50 people who sustained flood damage in June have applied for assistance from the City of Bloomington.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a natural disaster designation for McLean County and 11 other counties following heavy rains earlier this year.

The City of Bloomington is about to open the spigot on a $544,000 grant program that can help people with flood damages. Starting Tuesday, Oct. 12, residents can apply for money to fix flood and sewage damage, through the Illinois Housing Development Authority Single Family Rehabilitation Program.

Attorneys for the City of Bloomington have rejected an attorney's request for a settlement with nearly a dozen homeowners who experienced damage from summer flooding and sewer backups.