Bloomington, IL Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

Bloomington's Historic Preservation Commission, established under Chapter 44, controls more than private landmark buildings. Under Section 44-1710(A)(4), the Commission's certificate-of-appropriateness process also reaches proposals affecting City property or right-of-way: installing an historic marker, installing educational or interpretive signage about the history of an area, building, person, or event, and the honorary naming of any City street, alley, right-of-way, or property for a historic figure. Those City-property proposals are judged under the Subsection (J) standards, which direct the Commission to apply National Association for Interpretation heritage-interpretation practices and National Park Service 'Wayside Exhibits' guidance and weigh the accuracy of the proposed information, how the person, place, or event contributes to the City's, McLean County's, or the Nation's development or cultural character, the context of the content, and the tone of the descriptive text.

Every application, including plans and specifications, goes to the Commission within 20 days of being deemed complete under Subsection (C), and the Commission must issue or deny a certificate within 45 days under Subsection (H), sending written notice of the decision, with reasons for any denial, to the applicant within seven days. A denial on a private landmark or historic-district project can be appealed to the City Council within 30 days if fewer than five Commissioners voted to reject it, and a final administrative decision can then go to the McLean County Circuit Court under the Illinois Administrative Review Act.