Politics and Government

Curt Richardson of Normal found out as an adult that a fertility doctor had defrauded his parents decades earlier. Now, he's working to pass laws to "take some of that power back for victims."

Rising interest rates have blocked the hoped-for start of construction this spring on a flagship development project in Uptown Normal.

Town of Normal Finance Director Andrew Huhn said during a daylong budget workshop for the town council that a lot of the increase will be funded by projected double-digit revenue growth, mainly in sales and income tax receipts.

It started with a single simple case of nepotism. But an investigation by the state Executive Inspector General’s office shows a much more pervasive problem of preferential hiring practices and a startling lack of hiring policy within the division of the Department of Corrections tasked with keeping prisons safe and investigating alleged misconduct within the agency.

The head of Bloomington-Normal's bus system said his organization will forgo nearly $1.4 million in funding from the City of Bloomington and Town of Normal next budget year. Those are dollars for capital projects David Braun said Connect Transit doesn't need right now.

A legal memorandum to the Normal Town Council and mayor indicates dissident council member Stan Nord improperly used his position to try to influence the electoral process and could have placed himself in legal jeopardy. The memo came from town lawyer Brian Day with help from an outside law firm.

It could be time to discuss one of the proposals in a 2019 Connect Transit special working group report, says Normal City Manager Pam Reece, because it's an unusual development — an organization asking for less money instead of more.

Bloomington City Manager Tim Gleason and Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe said 2022 has been a good year for the city with COVID largely in the rear-view mirror and the city starting to get past the 50% to 100% COVID-related cost increases in materials and projects.

Normal Mayor Chris Koos is praising Bloomington for enacting auxiliary housing rules that allow a small second dwelling on a property.

Central Illinois Republican party leaders say they expect a lot of interest in the appointment to the soon-to-be vacant 53rd Senate District seat that Jason Barickman is giving up at the end of the year.