On Jan. 6, the Indiana General Assembly began its 2020 legislative session, a short cycle that's expected to wrap up by mid-March. 

To help inform members about legislation moving through the state House and Senate, the Chamber is hosting our annual Legislative Preview luncheon on Friday, Jan. 17. State legislators who represent parts of the Bloomington/Monroe County area will be on hand to give insights into the session. The event runs from 11 a.m. til 1 p.m. at the Bloomington Country Club, 3000 S. Rogers. Click here for details.

The Chamber is also hosting a Legislative Drive-In on Tuesday, Feb. 11. We'll be organizing a tour of the Statehouse and lunch there for members and legislators to meet informally while the House and Senate are in session. Click here for details.

Throughout the session, the Chamber's Advocacy Team and Legislative Council will be tracking legislation that's relevant to our members and the Bloomington/Monroe County community. You can find the full set of bills on the General Assembly's website.

Two board members for the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce – Lisa Abbott and Cindy Kinnarney – have been appointed to the Monroe County Redevelopment Commission and the Bloomington Redevelopment Commission, respectively.    

Lisa Abbott is executive vice president of the Bloomington Board of Realtors. Cindy Kinnarney is market president for First Financial Bank and serves as first vice chair on the Chamber board.

​The Monroe County Redevelopment Commission, on which Lisa Abbott serves, is a five-member board that oversees projects in the county's tax-increment finance (TIF) districts. Three members of this commission are appointed by the County Commissioners and two members are appointed by the County Council. Jim Shelton, the Chamber's government relations manager, is also a member of the county RDC.

Cindy Kinnarney is the newest member of the Bloomington Redevelopment Commission, which oversees the city's Department of Housing & Neighborhood Development (HAND), including the city's TIF districts. Three members of this 5-member board are appointed by the mayor. The other two are appointed by the Bloomington Council.  

The Chamber encourages our members to serve on advisory boards and commissions for local government. Click here for more information on how to find vacancies and apply.

Redevelopment of the 24-acre Bloomington Hospital site is taking a step forward with the selection of a master planning team to oversee the project.

Last fall, the City of Bloomington issued a Request for Information (RFI) and received responses from 23 organizations in December. Of those, eight were selected for interviews by a Technical Review Committee on Jan. 16-17. The committee is chaired by former state Senator Vi Simpson and is a subset of the Hospital Re-Use Committee, on which Chamber CEO Erin Predmore serves.

Click here for details about the proposed work of the master planning team. Click here for more info about the redevelopment project.

At a swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 1, members of Bloomington City Council, the mayor and city clerk took the oath of office for new four-year terms.  Watch the ceremony on CATS here.

Four new councilmembers were seated for their first terms: Kate Rosenbarger (District 1), Sue Sgambelluri (District 2), Ron Smith (District 3) and Matt Flaherty (At-Large). They replaced Chris Sturbaum, Dorothy Granger, Allison Chopra and Andy Ruff on council.

Returning to the 9-member council are Dave Rollo (District 4), Isabel Piedmont-Smith (District 5), Steve Volan (District 6), Susan Sandberg (At-Large) and Jim Sims (At-Large). In addition, Mayor John Hamilton and City Clerk Nicole Bolden were also sworn in during the Jan. 1 ceremony, following their re-election on Nov. 5, 2019.

Click here for the Chamber's directory of elected officials.