By: Diane Benjamin Source: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/interactives/middle-class-metro-map/?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email This analysis of incomes was published yesterday by Pew Research. Click on the link above to see an interactive map. This is Bloomington: (it’s easier to read on the link) From 2010 – 2014 Incomes above $124,925 INCREASED 3 points Incomes from $41,641 to $124,924 DECREASED 8 points Incomes below […]
By: Diane Benjamin Adam Andrzejewski continues to expose government corruption. His latest is an interactive map showing Federal weapons loaned to public bodies. You can see the map here: http://www.openthebooks.com/map/?Map=1&MapType=Pin&Zip=61704 National stories about this investigation: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-05-11/militarization-americas-police-despite-obama-promises-war-weapon-spending-soared-201 http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/#1745e79954fe Below are what some area cities acquired in the militarization of the local police: (click to make a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Illinois State University is paying all the bills to import employees from other countries. See this contract Illinois State University made with one law firm: Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell FY14-1 It’s for 1 year, $70,000, and renewable for up to 9 years. Since the contract doesn’t say what this firm is […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Mayor was on WGLT yesterday: http://wglt.org/post/bloomington-mayor-tari-renner-tif-district-downtown-and-city-manager-hales#stream/0 Much of the conversation was the same as his WJBC interview this morning. WGLT appears to love him and wants him re-elected since the host brought it up over and over. Renner plans to tout his record of creating minimum wage jobs to win! Expect […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below are three contracts between ISU and the same Law Firm. All cover the same time period. All are for services not to exceed $19,999. The only difference is the scope of the work to be performed. See this link for 2016 Expenditures Guidelines: http://purchasing.illinoisstate.edu/ Yes, the contracts are from 2014 – […]
By: Diane Benjamin Renner was on WJBC this morning: https://audioboom.com/boos/4550788-tari-renner-bloomington-mayor-5-11-16?t=0 Update: I think the interview has been moved – try this link: https://audioboom.com/boos/4551685-tari-renner-bloomington-mayor-5-11-16?t=0 He REALLY hates video gaming because the machine owners are making way too much money. He actually mentioned a guy who told him he invested $1 million in his business, Renner calculated […]
By: Diane Benjamin State Farm isn’t growing here. Formally local jobs now exists in other states. Send Mike Madigan a thank-you card. A recent report rated all 50 States from Best to Worst for business. See this story: http://chiefexecutive.net/2016-best-and-worst-states-for-business-full-list/ Celebrate now – Illinois is number 48. Businesses and jobs will never return to Illinois as […]
By: Diane Benjamin David Hales got his raise last night with only Alderman Lower voting no. Lower stated Hales salary is not representative of the local economy and that other employees will expect the same raise. Considering the Hales’ review took many Executive Sessions, I imagine Lower’s comments and probably more were expressed behind closed […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner was quoted in today’s paper: “No tax dollars that we’re currently getting will go to this project”. Judy Markowitz said the same thing about the Coliseum. She hired consultants – they were WAY OFF projections: https://blnnews.com/2016/02/11/the-tale-of-the-coliseum-tari-a-hotel/ Tari, please explain where the money to pay SB Friedman to consult came from? […]
By: Diane Benjamin I was at Nord Outdoor Power yesterday for Gov. Rauner’s press conference. Quit listening to the liberal media demanding that Rauner compromise just to pass a budget. He won’t. He will do what ever it takes to bring jobs back to Illinois and grow the State’s economy. The Democrats are blocking everything. […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Sick Leave Buy Back policy continues to kick Bloomington taxpayers. Hales gets a huge raise without fixing the abuse. Yes David Sage and crew, the Budget Task Force was a joke! It’s way to difficult for your elected “public servants” to look overpaid employees in the eye and tell them […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday night: That’s a 2.3% increase. Yep, the structural deficit worsens because government employees get what the people paying the bills don’t. Last year Hales earned $239,274.54 when benefits are added to his base pay. http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=21&parent=5443 I wonder what the vote was. Considering many recent Closed Sessions (Secret Meetings) have featured “personal” […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Pantagraph sells papers by printing feel good stories complete with heart-grabbing pics. The objects get their names in print and therefore buy copies for family and friends. If some actual news was mixed in they would sell a lot more, but they can’t afford investigative reporting. (Or they chose not to) […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did you know Bloomington didn’t have an Economic Development person until 2012? Are things better or worse now? From 2016 Total Compensation report: http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=21&parent=5443 GRAMMERAUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COORD Salary and benefits: $94,583.89 . Where do some of your tax dollars go? UN-accountable government agencies! The EDC (Economic Development Council) is getting $490,000 […]
By: Diane Benjamin It’s no secret that Bloomington’s Mayor and many past ones think government creates Quality of Life. Therefore, they get to decide what that means – you pay for it. YOU don’t have the freedom to create your own quality of life with your money. Government knows better than you. I seem to […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this survey of the safest cities in Illinois with a population over 5000: http://www.homesnacks.net/cities/safest-places-in-illinois/ 291 cities included. Bloomington was a dismal 226 out of 291, Normal wasn’t a lot better at 189. The survey is from 2014. How’s that for Quality of Life! The meaning of rank out of 291 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Local Sales Tax in both Bloomington and Normal was raised 1% as of last January 1st. Do you remember being told that 1/4% would go to the County for Mental Health? The below is from Book 1 of the 2017 Bloomington budget – page 384 http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=21&parent=9844 15% disappeared into the bureaucracy since […]
By: Diane Benjamin Finally somebody at City Hall decided to release information! Surprise surprise. February and March both neglected to include anything about the library. They must have forgotten to count the visitors and distribution since they are under new management. BCPA for February: That’s 133 people per event. How about some real data – […]
By: Diane Benjamin Luckily I have a huge network of people who want the truth told. The local media has failed miserably at being government watchdogs. Below is a post that WAS on Tari’s campaign Facebook page from 2013. It has since disappeared. It was sent to me MONTHS ago by a reader who copied […]
By: Diane Benjamin The next meeting of the CIRA (Central Illinois Regional Airport) Board of Commissioners is May 10th. Since the April meeting, Minutes for January-March have been posted on their website: http://www.cira.com/ See the bottom of “About CIRA” If you missed previous stories, CIRA was violating the Open Meetings Act by not posting meeting […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Pantagraph has a long history of “floating” ideas fed to them from local government. It’s always the first step in making happen what government wants to happen. Watchdogs they aren’t. The last example was “sharing sales tax” – first mentioned in the paper and expanded since. Sunday more ideas were floated […]
By: Diane Benjamin Between 2007 and 2015 my total property taxes went up almost 15%. The assessed value went up a little over 9%. That’s EIGHT years. All those rate decreases mean nothing when the assessor thinks your property values went up. Remember the 2008 crash when property values supposedly dropped? For taxes, mine didn’t. […]
