Economic Development

The job of a Normal Town Council member doesn’t pay much. It comes with a lot of headaches. It takes a lot of work to listen to residents and translate that into policy. Yet nine people are running for election to three positions on April 6.

The nine candidates running for Normal Town Council split down the middle on the proper role of government in building the tax base and offering development incentives.

The Normal Town Council on Monday OK’d spending about $150,000 on a three-year agreement with Midwest Fiber to continue the decades-old drop-box recycling program.

Rivian has leased the Phoenix Investors warehouse in north Normal as part of its ramp-up to production.

The West Bloomington Revitalization Project wants to build the economy with teeny tiny loans.

The outlook is not good for the nation's cities if current trends continue.

The head of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce said he disagrees with Normal Town Council member Stan Nord's view that "business and government should not be doing things together."

The new head of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council promised regular updates on development efforts during a joint Bloomington City Council, Normal Town Council, and McLean County Board meeting Monday night.

The vice president of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council said a change in data surveyed is a step in the right direction to better recruiting new businesses to the community.

The retail giant Amazon announced Thursday it plans to buy 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from Rivian as part of a larger effort to reduce its carbon footprint.

The Historic Preservation Commission had been set to hold hearings on two historic landmark nominations for the downtown building State Farm is offloading.

But Mayor Tari Renner said those won’t be needed.

Construction is scheduled to begin this fall on the $30 million mixed-use building that will rise on the northeast arc of Uptown circle. It is known as Trail East.

The Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council’s new CEO says his first plan of action is to work on business retention and expansion.

Internationally-known documentary maker and environmentalist Renee Scheltema said "Normal is Over."

Two candidates for a seat on the Heartland Community College Board both said they want to be careful to keep property taxes as low as possible, as did a third who is running uncontested.

Empty buildings. Aging infrastructure. An arena losing money. What can the city do to revitalize Downtown Bloomington?

Candidates for city council took on the question at a GLT and League of Women Voters forum Tuesday night.

When it comes to financial incentives for developers, candidates for Normal Town Council say who receives incentives is just as important as how much they receive.

Bloomington plans to spend $200,000 less on funding for the Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and BN Advantage next year.

Grocery chain Kroger has another year to complete infrastructure improvements at the Bloomington site where it had previously planned to build a $25.4 million store.