Politics and Government

Rising gas prices caused by the U.S. war with Iran have caused a significant bump in the national inflation rate. A number of stopgap policy proposals have come up to ease the pain at the pump. It’s questionable whether those ideas really matter.

Bloomington appears ready to more aggressively market naming rights opportunities for the former Grossinger Motors Arena in Downtown Bloomington. Sponsorship by the auto group ended in 2022, and the city has called a news conference next Wednesday to highlight revived use of the building.

When the World Cup soccer tournament begins Thursday, a Central Illinois congressman will see nine years of work begin to pay off.

Republican U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood voted against the recent war powers act resolution in the House requiring an end to the war in Iran, even though LaHood has repeatedly said he wants the war to wind down.

Billions of dollars in wind farm projects all over Illinois are on hold, including two projects in McLean County, two in Peoria County, and one in Tazewell County.

Mayor Chris Koos said he’s pleased the firefighters’ union is willing to have conversations about the fire service, and the future of the department outside of collective bargaining with the town.

Electricity markets are volatile again this year and that will cost Bloomington-Normal residents on their heating and cooling bills. For the last two years, the so-called municipal aggregated rate negotiated by a group of cities and towns has seen a big increase — 30% this year alone.

As the City of Bloomington considers how to get more water in the future, planners could look to the city of Joliet for an example. One of the options under study by Bloomington would be for the city to build a pipeline to the Illinois River.

The website for McLean County Government just got a lot easier to use for people with disabilities. County board chair Elizabeth Johnston said a new module can read PDF documents aloud, and even interpret technical drawings like plans to change the design of an intersection.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the U.S. war with Iran has sent energy prices way up. Something similar happened back in 1973 during the OPEC oil embargo. Find out more in this episode of McHistory.