Economic Development

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.

Cutting back may have helped Bloomington balance its budget, but Mayor Tari Renner says it’s going to take more than budget cuts to help grow the local economy.

The mayor of Normal said Tuesday that increased town incentives for the Trail East project in Uptown are worth the money.

In spite of community worries over the number and average pay of State Farm employees in Bloomington-Normal, the company said the number of jobs is closing the year steady.

The mayor of Normal acknowledges the development of new State Farm hubs across the south and west has changed the distribution of talent in the community.

Sales tax revenues are up marginally in Bloomington-Normal, an increase of 1.4 percent through the first three quarters of the year.

Normal Town Council member R.C. McBride sees Rivian as an example of how Normal and McLean County can turn challenges of the changing economy into success stories.

Normal Town Council member Jeff Fritzen said Monday he won't run for another term.

Bloomington aldermen took formal steps Monday night to discourage chronic housing code violations with more fines and a new classification for repeat offenders.

Time continues to tick in a three month window to determine how or whether to proceed with a proposed multi sport complex in Bloomington Normal. That's how long, Mayor Chris Koos said last month would be the limit to decide.

Speaking on GLT's Sound Ideas Tuesday, Koos said the Town has now met with a private developer.

"It was really at a high level, get to know them - they get to know us. So, no details came out of that. But, they are very interested in the project," said Koos.

A health advocacy group suggests healthy food can do more than help us live longer—it can be an economic development engine.

Illinois Public Health Institute CEO Elissa Bassler said the group aims to encourage more businesses to invest in ways to improve access to healthy food, something farmers, restaurateurs and grocers can help.

"We want to look for more of those entrepreneurial initiatives and figure out ways that our economic development systems in communities (will) value that and invest in the development of that," Bassler said.

The mayor of Normal said the extension and enlargement of a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district won't hurt schools and other taxing bodies.