Housing

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.

Gov. JB Pritzker is pushing for statewide zoning changes to spark housing construction. Not everyone is jazzed about the proposal though.

Illinois lawmakers questioned affordable housing advocates, municipal leaders and members of the public Thursday on Gov. JB Pritzker's Building Up Illinois Developments plan.

Organizations seeking to create community living arrangements for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities say local zoning laws in Illinois are "discriminatory" and are pushing for legislation to protect the federal rights of those residents.

The roundtable discussion was held at the McLean County Museum of History in Bloomington. The discussion advanced the governor’s Building Up Illinois Developments [BUILD] initiative.

Three residents of a Bloomington mobile home park have filed a lawsuit against the park’s out-of-town owner, claiming it’s used a “pattern of unfair and deceptive practices” to illegally force them to pay higher rent and improperly assessed fines and fees.

Single-family housing starts grew in Normal last year by nearly 49% — though the total number only reached 55.

Homebuilders put up just 58 single-family homes and duplexes in Bloomington last year — fewer than the 66 built in 2024. City officials hope other actions focusing on existing housing will help ease the community housing shortage.

The first Blo-No Home Show features over 60 vendors and exhibitors from an array of topics and products in the home, design and lifestyle industries. Proceeds from the event benefit Habit for Humanity, which hopes to build four new homes in McLean County this year.

Although a final recommendation from consultants who first floated the idea of closing the school will not come until March, Unit 5 will hold a meeting on Feb. 19 to lay out options for the school district moving forward.