BLOOMINGTON — We’ve put 2023 to bed, and now The Pantagraph newsroom is looking forward to continued reporting on developing new topics as well as longstanding community issues. 

Here are 10 stories we’ll be watching in 2024. Got a story idea for us, or a tip to share? Visit bit.ly/pantagraphnewstip to reach the newsroom. 

Bloomington District 87 is buying State Farm’s Oakland Avenue Building to help it move out of its “preschool desert” status and expand career and technical education offerings.

Thanks to legislation signed by the governor last year, the school district did not need a referendum to be able to move forward with purchasing the building, which has been “mostly vacant” for years. District 87 is expected to begin remodeling the building to accommodate more pre-kindergarten space around the end of summer 2024.

Illinois State and Illinois Wesleyan universities are looking for new presidents in the new year.

For ISU, a committee is picking up the search for the second time in less than two years after Terri Goss Kinzy resigned abruptly in February, just 19 months into the job. Aondover Tarhule, the university’s vice president for academic affairs and provost, has filled in as interim president, and a search committee is working with Parker Executive Search to fill the role.

IWU officials took up the search in October when President S. Georgia Nugent, the school’s first female president, announced she planned to step down at the end of the academic year, having started as an interim president in August 2019. WittKieffer Executive Search is helping to find her successor.

Housing in Bloomington-Normal continues to be a sticking point as the community grow outstrips the availability of homes. A lack of affordable housing has brought homelessness to the forefront of city officials and nonprofits.

However, multiple housing developments are in the works, expected to bring more single-family and multiple-family options to the city and town in 2024 and beyond.

The Illinois State men’s basketball team hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 1998, but it’s off to a good start at 8-4 as of Thursday. The ISU women’s basketball team is also off to a good start at 7-3 as of Friday and is going for its second NCAA Tournament appearance in three seasons.

Both teams haven’t made the NCAA Tournament in the same season since 1985. Finishing near the top of the Missouri Valley Conference standings will be key — the bulk of MVC play will be in the new year.

Government reporter Drew Zimmerman spent a number of nights in the fall listening to discussion about the merits and risks of carbon sequestration in McLean County.

In December, the county board approved new requirements for developers who wish to drill wells to bury climate-changing carbon dioxide. The board also voted down a request from One Earth Sequestration LLC to allow drilling of wells to store carbon dioxide, generated as a byproduct of ethanol production at the One Earth Energy plant in Gibson City.

Under a plan under review by the Illinois Commerce Commission, the One Earth wells would be connected to the plant by a roughly 7-mile pipeline running through McLean and Ford counties. County board members suggested the company could reapply to drill the wells after receiving required approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

It’s unclear when that might happen — but with several companies exploring development of multistate carbon pipelines that could travel through parts of Illinois, there could be more lengthy hearings in Drew’s (and the county’s) future. 

Both the Normal Community boys and girls basketball teams are state ranked after fast starts to the 2023 portions of their seasons and hope to make this a year to remember for Iron basketball. The boys are off to a 10-1 start as of Thursday and are making a run at the State Farm Holiday Classic. Under legendary coach Dave Witzig, NCHS has two straight regional titles but is looking for its first trip to state since 2014-15.

The NCHS girls are also in the middle of a State Farm Holiday Classic run and are 15-1 as of Thursday. The girls, coached by Dave Feeney in his second stint, have also won two straight regionals. They haven’t been to state since 1994-95.

Rivian Automotive continued its growth last year, both at its manufacturing operations in Normal and with its groundbreaking for a new facility in Georgia. Company leaders in the fall increased their annual production goal to 54,000, up 2,000 vehicles from prior expectations.  

The company also said it would allow other companies to purchase its electric commercial vans. Rivian has committed to providing Amazon with 100,000 vans by 2030.

The company is expected to spend 2024 working on its 2,000-acre Georgia project site, which is slated to open the following year. 

Illinois, meanwhile, has signaled major support for the expansion of electric vehicles in the state. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said he wants to ensure a million electric cars in the state by 2030, and in 2023 signed legislation that requires new residential construction to include the basic infrastructure to allow electric vehicle charging.

Illinois State University and the union that represents its graduate teaching assistants are set to return to mediation in January. The parties have been negotiating since March on the terms and conditions for a contract that expired on June 30; that contract is automatically extended while the negotiations continue. 

Union leaders have said that 92% of members voted in favor of strike authorization in October; before a strike could take place, the union would need to provide a 10-day notice of its intentions as required by state law. 

The university said it issued what it described as its "last, best and final offer" on Oct. 27. The union said in November that the offer "fell far short" of bringing its members "out of poverty." The two sides met for mediation on Dec. 12, but plan to meet again next month. 

Connect Transit will progress toward opening a downtown transportation center in Bloomington, with support from the city council.

The transportation system’s leaders have not yet determined when work will begin to turn the Market Street parking deck into a center for their buses, but the Bloomington City Council has approved the site and the city is including it in streetscape planning.

The new hub has been in the works since 2018 when Connect Transit was awarded a $3 million federal grant that was seen as a “down payment” on the project.

Election season is beginning as we head toward the 2024 presidential election in November. Illinois will have its primary in March, two weeks after Super Tuesday.

Among the races already attracting attention: a Republican primary in the 12th Congressional District between longtime U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro and former state Sen. Darren Bailey of Xenia, whose name recognition is likely high after his unsuccessful 2022 gubernatorial run against Democrat J.B. Pritzker. 

In the 17th Congressional District, freshman Democrat Eric Sorsensen of Moline will face the victor of a GOP primary between retired Judge Joe McGraw or farmer Scott Crowl. 

As always, statehouse reporter Brenden Moore will be all over the political action. Make sure you follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @brendenmoore13 for all the latest.