Leaders from Bloomington hold housing symposium to address housing shortage

Posted on June 12, 2024
Over 60 leaders ranging from relators to bankers and business leaders attended the event. (Photo courtesy: WJBC/File)

By Blake Haas

BLOOMINGTON – Over the past week, Bloomington city leaders hosted a housing symposium to learn how to fix the housing shortage in McLean County.

During the symposium, leaders hear from realtors, bankers, business leaders, and key stakeholders about strategies and solutions.

Over 60 people attended the event, which allowed attendees to share insights and explore housing opportunities.

“We’re really trying to stimulate growth and stimulate new ideas for solving this problem,” Katherine Murphy, City of Bloomington Communication and External Affairs Manager, said on WJBC’s Afternoon Show. “Not one person is going to have the answer, it’s going to take a collective, and that’s what we’re really trying to get together.”

The city has taken a significant step to address the housing shortage by creating a new website, buildingbloomington.com, a hub for online resources.

At last count, the housing shortage in McLean County was a staggering 7,000 homes.

Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…