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The Bloomington-Normal labor market saw the second highest unemployment rate increase in the state in March. The increase was more than half a point. The 4.2% jobless rate is still the lowest among major Illinois metro areas.
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By now, most people know the Rivian story in which a scrappy startup electric automaker brought a mothballed Mitsubishi plant back to life, hired 8,000 people, and has now gone on to make more than 100,000 vehicles. Fewer may know Rivian was not the first electric automaker in Bloomington-Normal.
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Restaurant workers depend largely on tips. They don’t get a full minimum wage. A bill in Springfield would change that.
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Jon Farney, an Illinois State University alum, took over as State Farm president from Michael Tipsword at the start of the year. He’s been with State Farm since 1993.
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The jobless rate in the Bloomington-Normal area ticked up to 4.4% in January, up from 3.9% a year ago, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Wednesday. That increase comes despite the Twin City economy has 3,600 more jobs in January than it had a year ago, according to state data.
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The mayor of Normal said a potential ban on more smoke shops in Uptown relates to the purpose of the district. Mayor Chris Koos said the idea behind Uptown is to have an area that gets used 18 hours a day, and not just by university students but by the community. That requires a mix of businesses.
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The Bloomington Planning Commission will take up a proposal next week for a 51-unit apartment project on the site of the old Coachman Motel at Washington and Gridley Streets downtown. The Laborer’s Home Development Corporation (LHDC) has asked for a variance to reduce the amount of required parking.
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The City of Bloomington has begun condemnation proceedings on the long-vacant Front N Center building downtown. The former Montgomery Ward department store building has been deteriorating for decades and been a matter of concern during the administrations of the last three mayors.
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State Farm posted a net loss of $6.3 billion in 2023, driven largely by a "significant increase" in catastrophe claims by homeowner policyholders, the Bloomington-based company reported Thursday.
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Electric automaker Rivian had negative gross profit of $606 million in the fourth quarter alone. Yet the company that has a production facility in Normal said it will bridge to a modest gross profit in the fourth quarter of this year.