Housing

Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe thinks it's worth paying the redeveloper of the downtown State Farm building a bundle over the next two-plus decades to get the project completed.

The Salvation Army's Safe Harbor shelter hosted a two-day resource fair to help clients exiting the emergency winter shelter connect with needed services.

The owner of the former State Farm building in downtown Bloomington is moving ahead with a $68 million redevelopment, including a renovation of the building into 183 residential units, plus ground-floor retail and a destination restaurant on the 13th floor.

The Cook County suburb amended the ordinance that forced Diamond Jones out of her rental home, and housing advocates are pushing statewide for further changes to these types of local laws.

A plan to build over 250 apartment units and townhomes near Shelbourne Drive and Beech Street in the heart of Normal has been revived, this time with changes designed to make the development more palatable to neighbors.

There are only two Bloomington City Council seats that have contested races in the April 1 election. Ward 9, which covers a good part of the northeast side, is one of them.

A summary of issue positions held by incumbent council member Jenna Kearns and challenger Ben Zimmerman.

The Normal Town Council has done little to address the housing shortage, up against daunting macroeconomic forces. All three candidates for Normal mayor say more action is needed over the next four years, though they differ on the specifics.

Home Sweet Home Ministries wants to build a shelter village — tiny sleeping cabins surrounding a community building — on a site near the nonprofit’s Bloomington facility.

Lawmakers are reviving an effort that’s been tried several times before. It has the bipartisan support of state Reps. Sharon Chung and Ryan Spain from Central Illinois.