Business and Economy

An economic analyst of the Peoria area says the present downturn in manufacturing employment is nowhere near comparable to the huge job losses of the 1980's.

The fourth quarter snapshot of the Peoria economy is flat, according to the Center for Business and Economic Research at Bradley University.

The College Avenue Kroger Grocery Store is preparing to move to Bloomington. The new location targeted is still on College, but on the east side of Veterans Parkway, opposite Meijer. The Bloomington City Council is considering economic incentives at their Monday meeting to facilitate the deal.

A Bloomington Normal Brewer is building a new $14 million production facility in north Normal. Destihl Brewery says it has plans for a 47,000 square foot facility north of Menards.

Low interest rates and comparably mild weather helped make the first month of 2016 strong in terms of home sales. Karen Stailey-Lander, president of the Bloomington-Normal Association of Realtors, says the closing of the Mitsubishi plant has so far not impacted the housing market.

Illinois Republican congressman Rodney Davis is pushing a bill that he says will provide a more open market for things like corrective lenses. During a tour of Identity Optical in Normal, Davis says the bill would allow companies like Identity Optical compete in markets where health care industries limit patient choice.

Despite a 7.2% increase in digital ad revenue for Lee Enterprises, the parent company of the Pantagraph, overall revenue fell 5% in the first quarter. In a quarterly release, Lee says other forms of electronic revenue also increased, with mobile ad revenue shooting up over 12%. Lee says just over 40% of those who subscribe to print papers are also E-paper subscribers. Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Ron Mayo says over the past year, debt was reduced by $80.5 million, total debt for Lee now stands at $678-Million. Mayo says Lee will dedicate it's free cash flow to paying down debt.

Governor Bruce Rauner is expected to use his executive powers to sign an order to create a privately run and funded state economic development agency. He says the Illinois Business and Economic Development Corporation will help create jobs. The former businessman has pushed the idea since taking office.

A thousand people are now owners of Bloomington's proposed "Green Top Grocery," and the co-op has raised over $900,000 this fall. That's the good news for the community grocery with an accent on local foods, and filling an existing food desert. Green Top spokesman Katie Novak says now the group needs to come up with $600,000. "If we don't raise the amount of money we need this spring, we'll have to turn back all of the funds we've raised so far to the owners who've given it to us.

Exelon officials say the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved licenses for the Braidwood Generating Station southwest of Chicago for another 20 years. The plants, Unit 1 and Unit 2, have been operating since the late 1980s. The new licenses are valid through 2046 and 2047 respectively. They were originally issued through 2026 and 2027. Nearly 900 employees with a nearly $90 million payroll work at the site.

The December unemployment rate rose by more than half a point in the Bloomington Normal area last month compared to a year ago. The December rate was was 5.4%. The Department of Employment Security says the Peoria jobless rate was seven percent, also a significant increase from last year.

Department Director Jeff Mays says many metro areas in the state took job hits. Both Peoria and Bloomington Normal had slight increases in the workforce over the 12 month period.

An Illinois Wesleyan University Economist says estimates of the one to two million dollar a year economic benefit from the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts are probably fairly accurate. IWU Scholar Diego Mendez Carbajo says reality is probably somewhere in the middle. The one million dollar estimate comes from the Convention and Visitors Bureau and uses commercial modeling software. It does not include some potential effects of patron spending. The other estimate is from the group Americans for the Arts.

2015 was a good year for home sales in the Peoria area, right up until Caterpillar announced significant layoffs. Fourth quarter sales dropped noticeably.

More homes sold in the twin cities in 2015 than during the previous year.. That's according to the end of year Bloomington-Normal Association of Realtors report.  Overall sales were up 5.6% last year from the year before. 2,780 transactions were recorded.

The price of existing homes that changed hands this past year was up slightly, .7%. New home prices dropped 1.4% from the previous year. President of the Bloomington-Normal Association of Realtors, Amanda Wycoff, says the currently low number of homes on the market, 622, means it's a seller's market.
   

The Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington is adding one flight a day between the Illinois twin cities to Dallas-Fort Worth Texas. The American Airlines flight will take off from CIRA begining March 3rd. The airport is coming off a rough year during which it experienced an eight percent decrease in passengers as Frontier Airlines discontinued Bloomington service to Denver and Orlando.

The rift between Governor Bruce Rauner and the state's public employee union has escalated. Rauner Friday morning announced he's asking the state labor board to decide if negotiations with AFSCME have reached an impasse. Just days ago, Rauner -- a Republican -- said his bargaining team is spinning its wheels. After many months and 67 sessions, he claims:

An Illinois State University labor expert says a case before the US Supreme Court over union dues paid by non-union employees would not directly affect private sector unions. The case is being pursued by some California teachers who say they shouldn't be force to pony up dues when the disagree with the union. ISU's Victor Devinatz says it has nothing to do with union politics.