Rural

Sierra Mack-Erb is a design researcher and graduate fellow who surveyed participants of the Citizens' Institute on Rural Design. The nationwide program hosts three-day workshops assisting rural communities with planning revitalization projects of underused buildings, parks and public land.

Schools could use the extra cash to fund mental health resources, upgrade and maintain facilities or lessen community property taxes.

Experts say rural home buyers typically want a small town feel. Recent lending trends imply it's increasingly attractive.

McLean County's decision to drop Show Bus as its rural transportation provider and explore a partnership with Connect Transit poses challenges and tight deadlines for other counties in the region that Show Bus may still serve.

Normal City Manager Pam Reece said the town will keep a watchful eye on the spring legislative session in Springfield.

The McLean County Board’s executive committee unanimously approved a resolution Monday to place a referendum on the November ballot to eliminate the elected office overseeing county finances and bookkeeping, sending the issue to the full board on Thursday.

A new law allowed gun owners to keep assault weapons if they disclosed them. Illinois county registration rates ranged from 0.5% to 1.8%.

Judges will be limited in who they can hold in jail pretrial. Rural leaders say they don’t have the staffing to handle the change.

Called "Roadmap to Grow Illinois' Rural Health Workforce," the plan has been in the works for more than a year, Durbin said, and prioritizes recruitment and incentives for working in rural areas, as well as expanding educational programming at colleges and universities.

McLean County officials are studying the results of what they call an eye-opening survey on rural residents' level of satisfaction with their internet service.