"Being a good citizen is tough work." That was part of the message from former Congressman Lee Hamilton in discussing the 2019 Indiana Civic Health Index, a look at civic indicators including voter turnout and cultural attitudes. He was part of a panel discussion on Nov. 20 with attorney Bill Moreau and former Indiana Chief Justice Randy Shepard at the Indiana Memorial Union.

​In 2018, Indiana ranked 37th in the nation for voter registration and 43rd for voter turnout.

In addition to measuring current civic health, the report makes two recommendations:

1. Convene a civic education task force to improve civic education opportunities for all ages and to prepare specific policy recommendations for civic education.
2. Increase turnout among Indiana voters substantially in 2020, with the goal of moving Indiana from the bottom 10 to the top 10 states.

To help address those goals, Bill Moreau has co-founded the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation Inc., a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on increasing the number of informed, engaged Hoosier Voters.

​Go to IndianaCitizen.org to learn about the work of the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation. The group is also organizing the Indiana Civic Health Alliance, a coalition to support the recommendations of the 2019 Indiana Civic Health Index.

The Tobacco-Free Coalition of Monroe County is looking for 5 youth between the ages of 13-18 years old who would like to participate in VOICE, a youth advocacy campaign.

​VOICE is Indiana's statewide youth empowerment program, an initiative to engage, educate, and empower teens to celebrate a tobacco-free lifestyle. 

Do you know a teen who might be interested? Contact the coalition's Youth Coordinator, Patricia Colon, at pcolon@iuhealth.org for more information.

The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce is a member of the Tobacco-Free Coalition. Click here to learn more about our community's tobacco cessation efforts.

The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce is a partner for the U.S. Census 2020, working with a broad coalition to ensure that our community has a high participation rate.

​As part of that effort, we're publicizing the availability of jobs to help with the Census count in 2020. The U.S. Census Bureau is hiring a variety of temporary jobs, including census takers, recruiting staff, and office staff.

Click here for details about Census 2020 jobs and how to apply.

U.S. Senator Mike Braun was the featured speaker at the Chamber's Nov. 15 Federal Focus Luncheon, drawing about 200 people to Ivy Tech's Shreve Hall.

During a Q&A with Chamber CEO Erin Predmore, Sen. Braun discussed his views on the federal deficit, tariffs, climate change, the current impeachment process and ... mushroom hunting!

The event was recorded live for the Chamber's 3 Things Podcast , available on Nov. 20.

 Click here for the Herald-Times coverage of this event.

​BEAD is a state-designated cultural district that's overseen by the City of Bloomington's Department of Economic & Sustainable Development. It is an area in downtown Bloomington that includes a variety of cultural venues, including the Bloomington Playwrights Project, the Buskirk-Chumley Theater (where the BEAD Info Shop is located), WonderLab Museum, Arts Row and more. Click here to view a walking map of the district.
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For more information, go to VisitBEAD.com.

On Nov. 6, Bloomington City Councilmembers Susan Sandberg and Chris Sturbaum released the final report of the Affordable Living Committee that they've been working on since 2015. 

From the introduction: "This report is not intended to be the authoritative word on affordability in Bloomington. Instead, it is intended to point out the need for a systems view of affordability – a vision that is bigger than just housing.  It is our hope that as the community conversation about affordable housing continues to evolve, that it does so mindful of a comprehensive approach to the problem. One that includes, but is not limited to: wages, housing, child care, health care, and food. "

​Click here for a copy of the report.

Thanks to Chamber Ambassadors and staff for helping out Monroe County Election Central on Election Day!

At the request of Election Director Karen Wheeler, we placed signs to alert voters in districts where elections weren't held this year, to help avoid confusion.

Results of the Nov. 5 local election for Bloomington City Council: In District 2, Democrat Sue Sgambelluri defeated Republican Andrew Guenther. In District 3, Democrat Ron Smith prevailed over Independents Nick Kappas and Marty Spechler. No other local races were contested.

​Thanks to Ambassadors Kelsey Haislip (right, at Summit Elementary) and Michele Tierney, as well as Chamber staffers Jim Shelton, Stacy Bruce, Tammy Walker and Rachel Levy for helping out. Look for more nonpartisan election support in 2020!

The City of Bloomington is seeking input on how to redevelop the site of the current Bloomington Hospital, a 24-acre area that the city is buying from IU Health.

The committee that's working on this project got an update at an Oct. 28, 2019 meeting. Click here to see the slidedeck from that meeting. Erin Predmore, the Chamber's CEO, serves on the reuse committee.

Per terms of the agreement with IU Health, the city needs to make a decision by Nov. 21 about whether to keep the Kohr Administrative Building and/or the four-story parking garage, which was built in 1989 and has 480 spaces. The main hospital building  must be demolished. The site is located at West 2nd and Rogers.

​The site will be transferred to the city when the new IU Health Regional Academic Health Center opens in the fall of 2021 along the 45/46 Bypass. Options for residential, retail and office development are being considered.

For additional background about this project, check out the city's IU Health Hospital Redevelopment Site website.

Click here to take a survey about the site redevelopment.