This newscast aired at 8:32am on 6-17-2025 on WGLT.
From the WGLT newsroom, I'm John Norton. Several short-term rental owners spoke out against the Normal town council's plan to ban those properties in single-family neighborhoods. The town council approved the ban in a 5 to 2 vote. Rental owner Liz Austin says the town of Normal did not reach out to owners of those properties.
And she says the decision feels rushed and the voices of small business owners were not included, and most likely not even explored. We were left out completely. The ordinance bans any new short-term rentals for single family zones and forces owners of current listings to transition to more long-term housing over the next 5 years.
Bloomington city leaders are seeking to implement a multifaceted strategy aimed at addressing vacant and derelict homes throughout the city over the next several years. Council members got their first look at the proposed housing rehabilitation program during last night's Committee of the Whole meeting. Bloomington's community impact and enhancement director is Darryl Patrick. He says the program would provide several community benefits.
The neighborhood housing rehabilitation program is a targeted it would be a targeted community-wide.
Uh, city-wide initiative designed to address property deterioration, increase neighborhood safety, expand housing opportunities to promote community pride. Patrick
estimates Bloomington currently has 300 to 400 properties that would be targeted by the program over the next 5 to 6 years.
And a central Illinois lawmaker says a bill to bypass the Food and Drug Administration sets a bad precedent. State lawmakers have approved a bill to guarantee abortion medication would still be available even if the FDA were to reject it. It would instead take the recommendation of the World Health Organization. Republican Representative Bill Hauter, who represents Western McLean County, says he doesn't trust the.
WHO's guidance. It's a foreign, unelected, unaccountable organization that's mostly controlled by China. Well, Illinois legislators said they'd rather have the WHO do it because they want to make sure that their abortion drug is available in Illinois. The bill is now awaiting Governor JB Pritzker's signature. I'm John Norton, WGLT News.