Business and Economy

A draft McLean County Land Use Plan is getting pushback from various stakeholders. Regional Planning Commission staff now say they'll change the process.

U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood is voicing full-throated support for the massive Republican tax and spending bill, despite past opposition to Medicaid cuts and concern over the mounting federal budget deficit. LaHood represents parts of Bloomington-Normal.

The Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau has received a $150,000 state tourism grant to further restore Sprague’s Super Service in Normal ahead of Route 66's 100th anniversary next year.

The draft of a new McLean County Land Use Plan suggests future growth will largely happen on the fringes of Bloomington and Normal.

The Bloomington gallery's final day at its current location on the downtown square will be July 11.

Bloomington city leaders remain optimistic a modified plan to regulate massage businesses will still strengthen efforts to prevent human trafficking, despite the removal of an annual fee intended to fund investigations.

Bloomington is dropping the proposed licensing fees that massage establishments would have to pay to operate in the city. City staff had proposed a $250 annual fee to cover the cost of investigating the businesses to address concerns about sex trafficking.

The volunteer business assistance nonprofit SCORE Peoria is working to expand its presence in Bloomington-Normal. But those efforts could be facing a major roadblock, as the pending reconciliation legislation in Congress would eliminate the national organization's funding.

The five-year delay of a ban on existing short-term rental units in residential areas of Normal might have been a wise move by the town.

You should not expect any big transformational project to be straightforward. That's a takeaway from Part 2 of our series "Hard Things" about the heavy lifts and big dream efforts our society and community achieve.