Month: August 2015

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Stanford again, more shenanigans

By:  Diane Benjamin According to this bird-cage liner story from 2007, Allin Township Fire Protection District Trustee Mick Owen was superintendent of the Bloomington division of Entler Excavating. http://www.pantagraph.com/news/company-submits-new-plan-for-asphalt-plant/article_32724b55-645f-5c85-96e7-c12d061031f6.html In 2008 the Trustees awarded a $12,000 no-bid contract for demolition of a house to Entler Excavating.  At least Mick didn’t make the motion himself. Did Mick […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Coliseum Catering +

By:  Diane Benjamin The management agreement for the Coliseum specifies concessions will be handled directly by CIAM or an “independent contractor”.  BMI Concessions is NOT independent, since John Butler owns both CIAM and BMI, I can’t find where BMI ever received approval from the City Council to operate as a separate company. From CIAM’s management […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Uptown Transparency

By: Diane Benjamin I’ve wondered since Uptown Normal was completed what buildings the Town owns and rents.  I filed a Freedom of Information Request to find out.  Wendy Briggs provided the following information with a note that she forgot to put Subway on the list, otherwise, here’s what I received: First, thanks Normal for answering […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

The Tari podcast APPEARS!

By:  Diane Benjamin Surprise!  WJBC decided to post the Renner podcast.  Yes, he did call anybody who objected to spending money for flamingos “loud nasty voices”.  Listen here. http://cdn.stationcaster.com/stations/wjbc/media/mpeg/Tari_Renner__Bloomington_Mayor_8_12_15-1439477301.mp3 I bet you didn’t know the Zoo Master plan is a contract to fund their projects!  The Council is always told Master Plans don’t assure any […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Tari: Still think Bloomington is growing?

By:  Diane Benjamin From the Bureau of Labor Statistics:    http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LAUMT171401000000006?data_tool=XGtable People available to work in Bloomington metro area by year   Actual number of people working in Bloomington metro area Let’s assume fewer people are now available to work because they retired.  That doesn’t explain why the number of people employed is also down.  Retirements […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

WJBC: Does Renner embarrass you too? UPDATE

Update:  Comments to WJBC’s Renner story are CLOSED.  I wonder why? By:  Diane Benjamin Maybe whoever posts podcasts for WJBC is on vacation.  Maybe the other staff doesn’t know how to do it.  Maybe nobody listens to the podcasts, so they quit posting them. Tari Renner was interviewed way back this morning by Scott Laughlin.  […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Coliseum Sham

By:  Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council is being told by City Manager David Hales there is no reason to fire CIAM (Central Illinois Arena Management) when their current contract expires.  CIAM has first right of refusal when a new contract is constructed.   Hopefully it will be so radically different from the current contract that […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Why the Stanford Ordinance matters

By:  Diane Benjamin See this story from yesterday:  http://blnnews.com/2015/08/11/more-that-stanford-needs-to-explain/ The Allin Township Fire Protection District has the right to bill out of district victims for any assistance provided, like vehicle accidents requiring EMT services.  Illinois law states that an ordinance must be on file allowing these billings. I filed the following Freedom of Information Request […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

More that Stanford needs to explain

By:  Diane Benjamin Fire Protection Districts are allowed to bill for services performed inside the district for people who live OUTSIDE of the districts.  It makes sense because the people served aren’t paying taxes to them.  The one catch is:  an ordinance is required to be passed and signed before the billings can be enforced. […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Stanford: Please explain this

By:  Diane Benjamin Police service used to be contracted with the Village of Danvers.  In 2012, it was $5400 per month – $64,800 per year.  In 2012 the Village of Stanford decided they couldn’t afford that anymore, so they terminated the agreement.  Note:  One of the McGrath lawyers was present, I wonder if he billed […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

What happened to Ben Yount?

By:  Diane Benjamin Last Friday Ben was broadcasting from Fox and Hounds in downtown Bloomington.  He interviewed one of the co-owners, Vickie Tilton. The conversation should have stuck to the salon and the services offered, but it veered into politics. Lister to Hour Two, starting at 11:05:  http://cities929.com/portal.asp?pid=3557181&sid=3309 Vickie said she was raised in Uptown […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Tonight: Throwing more money away

By:  Diane Benjamin Tonight the Bloomington City Council will approve paying the McLean County Regional Planning Commission $54,212 for the plan they created:  http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8974 The plan was out of date before it was issued because it pretends Bloomington is growing.  Before Mitsubishi announced it’s closing, Bloomington was showing negative growth.  Now 1,200 jobs are being […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Corruption in Stanford

By:  Diane Benjamin Illinois Freedom of Information Law intro: (5 ILCS 140/1) (from Ch. 116, par. 201)     Sec. 1. Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of government, it is declared to be the public policy of the State of Illinois that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Truth about the Zoo

By:  Diane Benjamin From the Council meeting held October 8, 2012 where the Zoo Master Plan was passed (Stockton was still Mayor) The recommendation is to adopt the MPZ Master Plan, as presented without binding any financial requirements. The financial planning and funding would be decided within the citywide long term capital improvement budget which […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Proof: Pantagraph Corrupt

By:  Diane Benjamin Steve Vogel doesn’t think he needs to disclose EVERY TIME he writes about the City of Bloomington that he is Renner’s Campaign Daddy.  His DAUGHTER ran 2 campaigns for Renner, but I’m positive he isn’t the slightest bit corrupted by his baby’s allegiances.  Just like Lisa Madigan doesn’t take any direction on […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Buying Flamingos, Land, and filling their bellies

By:  Diane Benjamin At Monday’s Bloomington City Council meeting: Regular Agenda A.  Consideration of review and analysis of Bids and Approval of a Contract with CAD Construction, Inc., in the amount of $232,760 for construction of Flamingo Exhibit at the Miller Park Zoo (Bid #2016-05.) (Recommend that the contract with CAD Construction Inc.,for construction of […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Transparency in Name Only

By:  Diane Benjamin We know that Snyder Company has owed the City of Bloomington $562,194.78 since 1994.  We also know that an employee of Snyder is on Tari’s Budget Task Force. (http://blnnews.com/2015/07/23/bloomington-developer-gets-freebies/) Obviously, the City is looking out for the best interests of citizens!  I wonder if Dave Fedor, Chief Financial Officer for Snyder, will […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Tari’s Tragic Tyranny

By:  Diane Benjamin Either: In September, the Bloomington City Council will pass what Renner’s hand-picked Budget Task Force says needs to done (tax increases) Or: The entire exercise was another colossal wast of time if the Council rejects the recommendations. Wasting time is nothing new, think Paradigm and Giebelhausen.  How much staff time and legal […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Replacing Mitsubishi

By:  Diane Benjamin According to an interview on WGLT, the chances of finding a buyer for the Mitsubishi Auto plant aren’t good. Paul Eisenstein, of the Detroit bureau-dot-com, said dozens of plants have closed in the US in the last decade, most have been torn down.  Cleanup will cost millions.  New plants are built away […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Pantagraph – way over their head

.  By:  Diane Benjamin An anonymous editorial today must have been a reprint.  Maybe the bird-cage liner can’t think of new things to print. The blurb laments local school districts costing taxpayers money by bumping some salaries of teachers and administrators right before retirement so their pensions are higher.  They even spell out how much […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Recycling backfires

By:  Diane Benjamin Many people recycle.  Curbside pickup makes it pretty easy.  Evidently, curbside also makes recycling cost prohibitive.  Gee, somebody has to separate all the cans, bottles, etc. Also included in the June City Manager’s report is this: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8951 Blue bins are the reason why American recycling is stalling  (Page 23) Once a profitable […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Un-American

by:  Diane Benjamin City Manager David Hales’ June report is out:  http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8951 Let’s review history.  This country was founded on one principle:  man can govern himself. The founder’s purposely took power away from the Federal government and gave it to the states.  The states were to be a laboratory where different forms of government could […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Ameren responds

By:  Diane Benjamin I received the following email unsolicited in response to the Ameren story last week.  The guy who originally contacted me still has questions about the situation, look for the story to continue.  Meanwhile, if you have an Ameren problem – here’s the contact info. From: “Stockton-Shangraw, Stacey” <@ameren.com> To: “‘[email protected]’” <[email protected]> Sent: […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Why I’m not voting for Darin LaHood

By:  Diane Benjamin Is the GOP still breathing?  It’s hard to tell since nothing they promised to win elections has happened. The GOP won the House in 2010.  What have they done since?  The House is supposed to be the “People’s House”.  They control spending – the power of the purse.  The GOP has yet to […]