Normal Town Council

The Normal Town Council on Monday approved three resolutions to proceed with work on the long-delayed Uptown underpass.

The underpass project is up for a second vote because the first contractor pulled out of the project. Since then, the cost has risen from $32 million to $34 million, but the town's cost remains the same. That's close to $15 million.

Town staff say data centers present “distinct challenges and impacts” that the town’s land-use regulations are not currently built to address.

It takes more than Facebook comments and email blasts to get results when advocating for change in local government. WGLT talked to those who've done it successfully to create this Local Democracy Playbook — a resource for you to follow in their footsteps.

The town council on Monday approved a license agreement with the Illinois State University Board of Trustees for the Main Street water tower.

After more than eight years of trying, the Town of Normal may be able to move ahead with the Trail East and West developments on Uptown Circle. And if council members balk at a price increase for the Uptown Underpass, the town could have to repay millions in grant funding.

The Normal Town Council approved four measures related to the Uptown Normal TIF District at its meeting Monday night.

The new version of the proposed Trail East and West development project in Uptown Normal would be primarily residential housing on the north side of the traffic circle straddling Constitution Trail. And a controversial mural on a building in the project footprint would likely be torn down.

The Normal Town Council has a new code of ethics, and though it’s mostly symbolic, the resident who proposed the idea says it is needed in today’s political climate.

There are still a lot of details to work through with a prospective contractor on the Uptown Normal underpass project for another revised bid, and with state, federal, and railroad partners. City Manager Pam Reece has more to say in a WGLT interview.