By: Diane Benjamin
Illinois Comptroller, Leslie Munger, posted this video on Facebook recently. I guess she assumes everybody is on Facebook, if you can’t see it and aren’t on Facebook, that’s why.
It’s about control
It’s a devastating look at Illinois finances. Bloomington is right behind Illinois now. Buying votes with projects citizens don’t want, control development, and pretend government is capable of things government was never created to do. Constant tax increases followed by massive spending increases will have people fleeing locally as fast as they are leaving the state – 1 every 5 minutes. Don’t be surprised when I announce we are leaving next. My husband and I have been talking about it for quite a while, the only thing left to decide is which place to choose. Illinois has made it impossible to afford living here anymore and no fix is coming anytime soon.
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This ad was in the Peoria newspaper:
Obviously performing essential services for citizens is not what Tari Renner thinks the job of government is. Talent Acquisition / Development Manager are labels corporations use, not government.
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Renner has mentioned numerous times that Bloomington is like a multi-million dollar corporation. He fails to realize that corporations used their own money, evidently your money IS his money.
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Renner has declared war on Jiffy Lube and car washes. They don’t fit his economic development plan. Low wage retail and fast food joints do fit his plan. He makes a killing off food and beverage taxes, so the more fast food the better. He must be sick that Normal is getting most new fast food places right now.
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Luxury apartments over retail shops do fit his plan. He is copying Uptown. He probably thinks Ensenbergers didn’t work because it’s missing the retail on the main floor. Renner wants them along Empire where GTE used to be and the property on Main they just purchased. He’s never mentions who is going to live in them.
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Monday night the Council will hear the latest City idea. It is billed as making life easier for developers. The City will assign a “project manager” to make government compliance easier.
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Capitalism will take another hit because government won’t set it free. Instead of allowing the private sector to pursue development their research has deemed worthy, the City wants to spearhead their efforts. Rules, regulations, zoning, and permits all make starting a business much more difficult. Since the City wants to decide what’s a “right fit”, they will manage the whole process. How many projects will die the first day because they were instantly rejected?
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Tari believes he needs to grow the size and scope of government. We’ve seen this story before and it always fails. Winning an election doesn’t make him a developer. Winning and election doesn’t make him a dictator. Winning an election doesn’t make him an expert at anything other than at making more people believe him that than the other guy.
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Everything Tari is now doing is aimed at winning re-election – creating jobs for the trades and job security for government employees.
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He is risking your money to do it.
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The residents of Normal didn’t mind when Koos did it, Renner is hoping Bloomington residents won’t either.
TRANSPARENCY baby! That’s what ole Bow tie boy is gonna bring to the table with his “one stop shopping” Plan, apply and BUILD your building, just LIKE a fast food restaurant. WHOA, there Tonto, methinks a ONE stop shop for all this would make it MUCH easier to grease a palm, get a permit and BAM-build a Flamingo Feather Fluffer right next to the Koala Kare Korner! Is this being “suggested” as a way to get developers on the “fast track” or a way for the city to streamline the process or have as much transparency as a fleeing squid? It’s smells if you ask me, as WHO is going to OVER SEE this “fast track” get up? IF it’s the mayor, manager or council-may as well let the fox in the Leghorn house RIGHT NOW!
And secondly, WHAT exactly does a “Talent acquisition” person do? Maybe start at the top and clean house? OR is this a secret code for “Looking for new arena manager” or Will train with salary! Need to get my Captain Midnight de-coder ring out for this one.
Diane. The public rejects the Tpublicans.
Move to KS or LA. T hot beds and both financially devastated by horrible governance.
At least they will all be like u.
What a whiner. Your ideas were rejected. Now learn and compromise.
Better to be inside trying to reform things than outside simply whining.
Regards. Tom
Sent from my iPhone
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Typical idiot liberal response. No discussion, just bend over for the compromising position.
A few years back, his most Rebuked Dishonor told us that the city finances were in a deficit, the pension liability was growing by the minute and the city’s infrastructure (roads and sewers) were in need of serious upgrades, so we needed to pay more in taxes. Some of us said there were things in the budget which could be cut to avoid raising taxes. True compromise would have been a cut in certain expenditures and, if necessary, a tax increase.
All we got was the tax increase.
I then compromised by not burning City Hall down to the ground when they raised those taxes. See how grown up I can be!
Now our finances are fine, thanks to the tax increases….YAY!
Yet the pension liability is still growing (made worse actually with new hires….EXPENSIVE hires), and judging from the 238 potholes I hit on the way out of town this morning, I’d say the infrastructure has gotten worse. So…what HAVE I received for my mature compromise?
An expensive empty lot full of rocks and pebbles under the Main Street Bridge.
A expensive leaky building on Oakland Street.
And now another expensive empty lot of rocks and pebbles that Illinois Wesleyan should have bought for themselves.
Oh…and, of course, his Most Rebuked Dishonors thrice weekly lunches at Rosies and Disthil.
This is just in the last year, Tommy.
But, since you place little to no value on YOUR money, send Diane your bank account information so we can use YOUR money to pay our next years property tax installments…and maybe a nice lunch at Rosies or Disthil.
I’m so glad we were able to compromise.
Regards. Gent
Sent from nowhere close to Tommy’s La-La Land
Well said Gent!
BTW car washes and Jiffy Lube employ few and at minimum wage.
Your argument is daft.
Tom
Sent from my iPhone
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Big difference. Tari subsidies his projects
Lol, great answer!
Fast food restaurants, for that matter, most restaurants have few employees and pay minimum wage. Larger restaurants pay less than minimum wage for servers who have to rely on tips for income. Tax revenue is generated from the sale of prepared food and beverages–only affordable to those with disposable income.
Fire Hales!
So how much did she spend to produce that video, while not having the money to do so?
There lies the problem. Frivolous spending continues.
I’d guess $50 on PowerPoint
If you have access to Sunday’s Pantagraph, there is a commentary on page F-1 that reads as a campaign narrative for the Mayor.
Not surprising the media is pro Renner – they still have a building to unload.
The advertisement for a Talent Acquisition / Development Manager directs interested persons to the city website to apply. The position is not listed on the city website.
Well for starters, I would fire Hales and all his lackeys. From there we can find real talent. In this job market, there are literally hundreds of well qualified applicants out there that would put city manager Hales to shame in financial direction and management.
This advertisement may be how Hales is trying to recruit management for the Coliseum. Since there is no job description on-line, it is hard to tell.
Renner claimed the City is NOT going to manage it. Hopefully he wasn’t lying. It would be another disaster.
Diane, check the proposed budget summary. There is a line item showing operating expenses for the Coliseum. It wouldn’t be the first time false information is disseminated by the Mayor.
I see lots of numbers, including fictitious revenue projections. Which one are you talking about?
It is in the “General Fund Detailed Expense Breakout” from Silva’s power point presentation at the Council meeting of 2/22/16 listed as General Fund to Coliseum Fund–an increase of 181.85% (page 10). Then see the fine print at the bottom of page 19.
http://www.cityblm.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=9854
Since the Coliseum was suppose to pay the bonds and hasn’t been, that number isn’t close to what the City really pays for the MarkCell