by:  Diane Benjamin

David Hales wants a communication director.  He is not going to contract one, he wants one on the payroll, complete with another pension.

The population of Bloomington is listed as 77,733.  The capacity of Soldier Field in Chicago is 61,500.  Obviously Bloomington is NOT a large City!   79% of  all the citizens would fit in Soldier Field, all residents would if adults held the babies and small children.  However, David Hales thinks he needs to hire a spin-mister.

Here is the job description from the City website:

SUMMARY
The purpose of this position is to enhance City communication efforts with the general public, stakeholders and City employees to increase governmental transparency, foster a well-informed citizenry and workforce. The Communication Manager provides high level organizational leadership and formulates strategy for City communication efforts. This position assists the City Manager, Mayor, City Council and City departments in communicating with citizens, stakeholders and employees. The Communication Manager works to ensure that accurate, consistent, and comprehensible information is received by targeted audiences and assists in identifying target audiences for a diverse set of communications. 

This position collaborates with the City’s Economic Development Coordinator in formulating and implementing marketing strategies to attract businesses to the City and to enhance the City’s image. 

The work environment for this job is fast paced and deals with complex issues of a highly diverse content.

I love how TRANSPARENCY is thrown into every City discussion, meanwhile the Council votes to keep executive sessions a secret and 4 members plot against the citizens to change representation. The Council continually violates the Open Meetings Act either because they don’t know the law or don’t care.  Here’s a tip City:  Transparency is not trying to stay out of sight while plotting behind the scene to acquire more power!  Tip 2:  A City employee can send an email to Council members asking for opinions, but if anyone hits REPLY ALL – you just violated it again.  I could have filed dozens of these violations!  You aren’t allowed to discuss City business in private!  Got it this time?

Do you believe anything the President’s spokesman Jay Carney says?  His job is to make the President look good, the facts don’t matter.  Hitler had one too – Joseph Goebbels, only he wasn’t called a communications director, he was the propaganda minister.  Bloomington isn’t in the top 10 cities in Illinois based on population, but they need their your very own minister of propaganda?  Maybe City government knows more than they are telling about State Farm moving out and are attempting to spin new businesses into locating here.  They still haven’t figured out that taxes and regulations make businesses flee.  The last attempted payoff for a business to locate in Bloomington didn’t work,  maybe they will offer more of your tax dollars next time.

The rubber stamp members of the Council didn’t have a problem with Hales hiring his own personal spokesman.  According to the help wanted ad, the position will pay between $62,230 and $93,345.  There is good money in conveying talking points!

Is it really a full-time job?  After all, the City already has WJBC and the Pantagraph supporting anything they do.  The Pantagraph even thinks the Fazzini, Black, Fruin, and Renner plan to deprive citizens of representation on the Council, and only allow elitists to run for office, is a great idea.

I bet you can’t wait to hear what Bloomington’s new propaganda purveyor in chief says about the ward change.  Let the spinning begin, you can believe about as much of what this person will say as you do Jay Carney. The Mayor, City manager and Council won’t have to answer (or get the opportunity in some cases) to answer questions anymore.  I wonder if they will be told do direct all questions to the new Carney?

Maybe a Pantagraph reporter will get the job, they are already trained.

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