by:  Diane Benjamin

I moved to the Bloomington-Normal area in 1980.  McLean County was a solid conservative arena of small government and low taxes.  Those days are gone.

When clear rules about the role of government do not exist, government makes up their own.  Even local Republicans no longer believe in limited government.  Taxpayers expect government to fund maintaining roads, police and fire, and water/sewers.  That used to be the role they played, boring but essential.  Judy Markowitz, a Republican, changed that with the Coliseum.  It doesn’t fall under limited government, it falls squarely under “I’m smarter than you-sit down shut up”.

The Bloomington City Council meeting last night showed your elected officials think government is now beyond essential services and entertaining you.  They MUST solve every problem.  They have an agenda and they are not above stretching the truth to accomplish control.

The con game was on display during the discussion of purchasing the Sugar Creek Packing facility.  The purpose for purchasing the property kept changing.  The value of the property kept changing.  The dangers of hazardous materials on the property kept changing.  Even if they do get a letter from the Illinois EPA stating the property is fine, the IEPA can always change their mind.  Renner tried to act like he didn’t want it just because it was for sale, but there is no firm plan for using the property.  In the future the Council will be told “we own the property, we have to do this.”  The “this” will be made up to fit whatever agenda they have.  It could be parking, bike trail, green space, library annex, or maybe some idea they haven’t stated publicly yet.  Below is a discussion of the value of the property.

The prize for the best spin has to go to David Hales.  See how many points you can find in this video:

Just a thought, but when has encapsulating hazardous waste from the TOP (like a parking lot) been considered enough?  What about chemicals leaching into the soil?  There is some kind of storage tank buried on the property.  I’ve never heard the EPA approving paving over one.  Maybe they have different rules for government.

There is much more though:

The agenda was packed with informational presentations last night.  The United Way presented the results of a survey they completed.  Only 10% of recipients returned the survey, but  they considered it enough to establish a precedent.  Why was this presentation even made to local government?  They are setting the stage for the future.  Some of the problems they identified:

• not enough subsidized housing in Bloomington
• transportation to doctor’s offices is a problem
• people are unaware of poverty in Bloomington
• rental property is expensive

The list goes on and on.  You can see the presentation here, starting on page 283:  http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=7126

The Council is now set up for Renner’s next step.  Who is going to vote against poor people?  Remember last June when the Council voted 7-2 to hire the National Development Council – $5000 per month? http://blnnews.com/2014/06/10/more-on-the-60000-bloomington-council-spent-last-night-ndc/  Why did Renner want them hired?  Last night the answer became clear.  Plans will be forth-coming to redistribute your wealth because the poor need it more than you do.  Liberty in Bloomington is dying, social justice administered by government is now the plan.  Stay tuned.

Part 2 next.

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