Politics and Government

The new head of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council is addressing past concerns and critiques of the organization as he lays out his vision for the future.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin questioned direct government investment in private businesses and lamented lost momentum in fixing social security, during a stop in Bloomington.

More than a year and a half after a dispute over shared sales tax money began, the City of Bloomington, Town of Normal and McLean County have no resolution and no talks scheduled.

The Bloomington city manager said a long public forum on data centers this week was just the early part of the discussion about data center policy.

In all, 655 phone calls came into Bloomington and Normal emergency call centers during recent thunderstorms and high winds. That volume overloaded dispatchers at certain points, but the system functioned as designed.

A clean audit of the McLean County Mental Health and Public Safety Fund won't wipe away all the disagreements over how the county spends sales tax money shared by Bloomington and Normal.

After a pause, wind farm development could take a step forward in McLean County, according to County Board Chair Elizabeth Johnston. A battery energy storage system attached to a wind farm is moving ahead in McLean County.

The state of Illinois is giving the Central Illinois Regional Airport $3 million to build an air cargo road. The grant is for half the $6 million estimated cost of the project. A federal grant and airport money will make up the rest.

Illinois State University leaders say they're "currently consulting with our state officials and legal counsel to determine what this decision means for affected students and the university."

Bloomington Election Commissioner Diana Hauman has resigned in the face of a complaint about social media posts she made in May, rather than face a court fight over her status as a commissioner.