McLean County

Brightpoint runs two long-running programs in the McLean County court system. The nonprofit is about to run out of money for those programs after the federal government cut $150,000 in October.

Winter weather complicates an already scarce parking situation in Downtown Bloomington. The Market Street parking deck has closed. And the Front and Center block has yet to finish demolition and become surface parking. That’s likely to become available sometime next spring.

McLean County Board Chair Elizabeth Johnston said there's significant movement on mental health program spending in the county. That comes from sales tax money shared with the county by Bloomington and Normal.

SunVest’s plan calls for a solar energy generating site, as well as a battery energy storage system [BESS], at 2105 W. Oakland Avenue in Bloomington Township, and the area immediately east of Oakland Avenue, about a third of a mile north of Six Points Road.

The latest missive on the dispute between the City of Bloomington, Town of Normal, and McLean County over how the county government handles shared sales tax money includes a vigorous defense of previous allegations against the county and proffers a reciprocal olive branch.

A big chunk of the counselors and social workers in McLean County just got trained in a rising therapy model that can help people overcome anxiety, depression, and PTSD. It's called Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR.

The Bloomington-Normal branch of a statewide program called Recovery Oriented System of Care is gathering feedback and implementing trainings to reduce stigma surrounding mental health and substance abuse.

McLean County's three-year plan is the third of its kind, developed by an independent council of mental health stakeholders.

McLean County Board chair Elizabeth Johnston said the priorities in next year’s $144.5 million budget approved this week remain similar to the current year spending plan.

The McLean County Board unanimously approved all five items related to the 2026 budget at its meeting on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.