NOTE: This interview with the President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore, was originally aired by Bloomington's Voice Glass in the Afternoon on Monday, November 27th, 2023.
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NOTE: This interview with the President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore, was originally aired by Bloomington's Voice Glass in the Afternoon on Monday, October 30th, 2023.
NOTE: This interview with the President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore, was originally aired by Bloomington's Voice Glass in the Afternoon on Monday, September 25th, 2023.
It's Your Business: Chamber ready to support Bloomington in recruiting new police officers3/23/2023 NOTE: This "It's Your Business" column by Chamber CEO Eric Spoonmore was published in the March 10, 2023 edition of the Bloomington Herald-Times. ![]() The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce believes the most fundamental role of government is to protect the safety and well-being of all residents. In January, I addressed the Bloomington City Council to express concern about what seemed to be an increasing number of high-profile crimes in the community over the past several months including rape, stabbings, shootings, attempted murders, murders and other violent behaviors. In February, the city of Bloomington delivered its annual State of Public Safety report to the community, which confirmed violent crime in the city has increased by nearly 6% over last year. Any increase in crime rates — and particularly violent crime rates — is of significant concern to the business community. It is also important to recognize that the increase in violent crime in our community is not solely a policing issue; much of the problem can be attributed to a lack of public health investments in addiction and mental health services. The Chamber fully supports the law enforcement agencies who make many sacrifices each day to protect and serve our city, working tirelessly around the clock to keep residents and businesses safe. We recognize that police work is difficult and that many communities around the nation are experiencing significant police officer shortages. The Bloomington Police Department (BPD) is currently understaffed by nearly 20 sworn officers. NOTE: This interview with the President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore was originally aired by WGCL Glass in the Afternoon on Monday, March 6th, 2023.
NOTE: This interview with the President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore was originally aired by WGCL Glass in the Afternoon on Monday, February 20th, 2023.
It's Your Business: Greater Bloomington Chamber works to improve life for businesses, community1/13/2023 NOTE: This "It's Your Business" column by Chamber CEO Eric Spoonmore was published in the January 13, 2023 Bloomington Herald-Times. ![]() The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce deeply appreciates the support we receive from our members and the Bloomington-Monroe County community. 2023 marks the 108th year of the Chamber’s presence in Greater Bloomington. For more than a century, the Chamber has been working to improve the quality of life in our community through a thriving business sector. Our membership includes over 850 organizations in the Greater Bloomington area. More than 80% of our members are small, locally owned enterprises — the businesses we know and love that make Bloomington such a wonderful, vibrant, and compassionate community. We also partner with our public-school corporations, numerous nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, local government and many corporate employers in the Bloomington metropolitan area. Membership in the Chamber sends a powerful message that you care about our community, and you want Bloomington to thrive for generations to come. In other words, we recognize that our businesses and employers are instrumental to achieving the high quality of life that our residents deserve. NOTE: This interview with the Director of Advocacy & Public Policy, Christopher Emge, was originally aired by WGCL Glass in the Afternoon on Monday, January 9th, 2023.
NOTE: This "It's Your Business" column by Chamber CEO Eric Spoonmore was published in the December 30, 2022 Bloomington Herald-Times. ![]() The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce continues to support the expansion of the Monroe Convention Center. The expansion will be paid for by revenue from the 1% food and beverage tax that was passed in 2017 by the Monroe County Council. Disappointingly, there has been no tangible progress on the expansion despite nearly $15 million in food and beverage tax revenue collected over the past five years. However, a glimmer of hope came in November when meaningful steps were taken by county government to move forward with expansion plans. All three county commissioners unanimously agreed to create a Capital Improvement Board (CIB) that would give the city of Bloomington equal representation on the CIB. In the following weeks, all seven county council representatives unanimously supported the county commissioners’ CIB plan. Two weeks later, a supermajority of city council members voted 8-1 to support the plan for a CIB. For the first time in six years, strong momentum was building for the long-awaited convention center expansion project. Elected officials across the city and county were working together to achieve progress on this shared community goal. NOTE: This interview with the President & CEO, Eric Spoonmore was originally aired by WGCL Glass in the Afternoon on Tuesday, December 21st, 2022.
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