New officers join Bloomington Police Department
Fresh from graduating from the Illinois State Police Academy, four newly sworn officers have joined the ranks of the Bloomington Police Department. Pictured are (L to R) officers Brandon Finke, Logan Fosdick, Assistant Chief Gary Sutherland (the veteran of the BPD), Ken Nowatski and Travis Sherman. (Photo courtesy city of Bloomington)

McLean County

No independent candidates in County Board races

Local candidates running for a spot in November on the McLean County Board are running as Democrats or Republicans. A recent deadline for would-be independents to announce their candidacy has passed, and no one filed papers. A dozen County Board seats are up for grabs late this year, and three of those seats are contested.

Republican incumbent George Wendt is facing off against Democrat challenger Jessielee Hinshaw in District 3, while Republican incumbent David Selzer is running against Kimberly Pfeifer, a Democrat, in District 5. Democrat incumbent Victoria Harris is being challenged by Republican Jacob Beard in District. 7.

Unopposed board candidates are as follows: District 1 — Republican Catherine Metsker, District 2 — Republican Scott Murphy, District 4 — Republican William Caisley, District 5 — Republican John McIntyre, District 6 — Democrat George Gordon, District 6—Democrat Laurie Wollrab, District 8—Democrat Carlo Robustelli, District 9 — Republican Susan Schafer and District 10 — Republican Josh Barnett.      

Top ISU staffer leaving for position in Milwaukee

Janet Krejci, Illinois State University’s provost and vice president for academic affairs, has announced she is resigning from her position in December. Krejci has accepted a position as the dean of Milwaukee-based Marquette University’s nursing department.

ISU officials have appointed Jan Murphy, dean of the college of applied science and technology, to succeed Krejci on an interim basis in January. Krejci is a seven-year veteran of ISU.

Bloomington

New Muslim worship facility planned in Bloomington

With the goal of having a facility large enough to accommodate all local persons practicing the Islamic faith, a group of Muslim organizers have announced plans of constructing a new facility on nearly six acres of land near Olympia Drive and Wicker Road.

As part of the proposal, the Islamic Center of McLean County, as the new facility is to be called, will replace Masjid Ibrahim and the Islamic Center of Bloomington/Normal. Between 175 and 200 families in Central Illinois attend one of the two places of worship, and neither facility is able to accommodate all congregants during such large-scale observations as Ramadan.

For plans to proceed, the Muslim leaders will have to obtain building permits from the city of Bloomington. Since the land is near the Central Illinois Regional Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration will also have to sign off on the plans. 

Appeals Court upholds city decision on benefit reduction

A years-long dispute between the city of Bloomington and the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 49 reached a culmination last week, following a ruling by the 4th District Appellate Court in Springfield.

In 2013, the IAFF, which represents Bloomington’s firefighters, took aim at city officials’ decision to reduce maximum sick-leave payouts for future hires. At the time of the decision, city officials said the goal of the benefit reduction was to chip away at the unfunded liability in the union’s pension fund, which at the time hovered around $37.6 million.

Normal

Equipment at Mitsubishi plant to be auctioned off next month

Many of the assets linked to the now-defunct Mitsubishi Motors plant in Normal will be auctioned off next month. Representatives of Maynards Industries USA, which purchased the plant in June after Mitsubishi wound down its operations, announced the auction will take place at the site from Tuesday, Aug. 16 to Friday, Aug. 19.

In addition to taking bids on the site itself, Maynards will attempt to sell off most of Mitsubishi’s equipment, including paint, plastics, machine tools, tire and robotic assemblies and more than 10,000 lots of metal stamping.   

Architect hired for new Uptown Normal office space

The Normal Town Council on Tuesday, July 5, agreed to enter into a $70,000 contract with Chicago-based architecture firm Eckenhoff Saunders.

The consulting company is being tasked with developing plans for new office space within the mixed-use One Uptown Circle project in the Uptown Normal neighborhood.

One Uptown Circle has been touted as a destination point in the community that will include upscale apartments, retail space and a restaurant, in addition to offices.

25 organizations receive Harmon Arts grants

The Harmon Arts organization in Normal has distributed individual grants, ranging from $800 to $4,000, to 25 groups within the community for the 2016-17 fine arts season.

Grant allocations were based on several criteria, including making events accessible to the public — particularly for seniors, students and low-income persons. Illinois State University’s Shakespeare Festival, ShakesFEAR, received the highest grant amount, while such organizations as the Heartland Theatre Company and Illinois Symphony Orchestra netted grants of $2,500 and $3,500, respectively.

A complete listing of all grant recipients is on the town’s website, www.normal.org.

–McLean County News Briefs–