Politics and Government

The major party candidates for Congress in Central Illinois have significantly different views of how to deal with looming financial crises over the federal budget deficit, national debt, and Social Security.

A legal cease fire between the Town of Normal and City of Bloomington on one side and McLean County government on the other shows signs of deterioration. The two sides again appear headed for court.

Delays and glitches in a new McLean County Computer Aided Dispatch system are frustrating public safety agencies. McLean County is implementing a new suite of software applications to speed up fire and police response in the county. It has not gone well.

The Emergency Telephone System Board in McLean County wants to update its unified emergency responder radio system. It will be expensive.

McLean County government is getting into the heart of its budget season. The proposed $150 million spending plan would be up 4.1% from the current fiscal year — an increase of $5.9 million.

The new head of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council is addressing past concerns and critiques of the organization as he lays out his vision for the future.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin questioned direct government investment in private businesses and lamented lost momentum in fixing social security, during a stop in Bloomington.

More than a year and a half after a dispute over shared sales tax money began, the City of Bloomington, Town of Normal and McLean County have no resolution and no talks scheduled.

The Bloomington city manager said a long public forum on data centers this week was just the early part of the discussion about data center policy.

In all, 655 phone calls came into Bloomington and Normal emergency call centers during recent thunderstorms and high winds. That volume overloaded dispatchers at certain points, but the system functioned as designed.