By: Diane Benjamin
Since I’m still appalled at the comments made by Tari Renner on WGLT, I want to make sure you saw them too.
See the WGLT story here: http://wglt.org/post/update-attempt-filed-knock-bloomington-mayor-ballot#stream/0
“I think it’s unfortunate that some people, frankly on the extreme fringes of the right, want to cheat their way into elections,” said Renner.
It’s equally appalling that WGLT didn’t question his stupid statement.
WGLT & Renner:
It isn’t possible to “cheat” into elections by challenging petitions!
If the filed petitions are legal, the candidate is on the ballot.
If the petitions are filed illegally, the candidate isn’t on the ballot!
There is no “cheating” involved!
Do laws matter?
The people challenging Renner’s petitions aren’t “the extreme fringes of the right“.
Unless, under Renner’s definition, anyone who demands laws be followed are extreme right. People noticed problems with the petitions and want them resolved. Petitions are required to show public interest in the person being a candidate. Challenging questionable petitions is a RIGHT, not cheating.
If Tari’s petitions are ruled illegal, we know who the “cheater” is.
Since WGLT didn’t question their “buddy” on his dishonest statement, WGLT can’t be considered real media. Tari might not come back for interviews if they had asked hard questions. Therefore, they never do.
This guy truly thinks he’s enlightened and better than those with whom he disagrees. He’s an embarrassment. Guys like him would fail if he were in the real world.
WGLT is a legacy media station that is always going to perpetuate the establishment narrative. True journalism is not part of their equation or the equation of any of the corporate mainstream media outlets. It is their job to distort, distract, create propaganda and maintain the narrative. I would not waste my time listening to crap on WGLT or the TV or the thing that is called our newspaper (bird cage liner). They all tell you what they want you know in order to manipulate or control you. Thankfully, the legacy media is dying and the new people’s media is rising to replace it.
Spread the word, more reader needed!
Citizen involvement is a essential part of making a democracy work. I guess that why our country is now officially an oligarchy.
The general manager of Wglt is the progressive RC McBride who also serves on the Normal city council. At times one would think there could be a conflict of interest when doing stories on local issues. However, that never stopped him when he worked at WJBC and was appointed to the Normal Planning Commision by Mayor Koos.
Considering Taris recent “rant”-CONSIDER the source. He’d be a LOT better off if he kept a pacifier around to work on. He’s seems to be about as arrogant as a person can get, and I guess when you go to CUBA, everything seems RIGHT WINGED! It’s a shame he has ANY kind of city job, especially mayor.
When Mayor Renner says, “extreme fringes of the right” and “cheat their way into elections” . . . he’s referring to himself. Replace the word “right” with “left.”
He who smelt it dealt it.
Good luck, Kevin. Will there be a transcript of the proceedings? If you could prove the unctuous little man lied/forged his petitions . . . on written record, that would be awesome. For many reasons. Forging signatures on a notarized document is a pretty big deal.
I will be reporting with video
We are a Constitutional Republic, not a democracy.
An individual with a PhD in political science should be an expert in the political process. The challenge is just part of that process. Renner doesn’t like it because it is working against him. He should be worried, especially if there are serious infractions.
As a long-time listener of WGLT who bought in into their ‘only locally-owned media source” and their surface appearance of being the seroius news source, I had my epiphany moment earlier this year that WGLT wasn’t giving me the whole story. So I started branching out in my news sources and started researching on my own, even started reading stories on some of those “white supremacist” and “fake news” sites, including this one. It wasn’t just a matter of not getting the whole story from WGLT and the rest of the mainstream media, I was shocked at how many stories were being raised by the right-wing media sources that were not even addressed by the mainstream/alt-left media. Mainstream media and especially WGLT lost all credibility with me and it’s obvious by the November election and the rise of the alt-right media that I am not alone.
Alt right is just another made up term in an attempt to marginalized opposition.
Ahem!
Oops, meant Amen!
Bloomington politics and corruption make old school Cook County corruptocrats proud! Let’s see, Renners fair haired boy who he has mentored for years ( rumor is he brought him on up with him to BLM) is the Development Director at WGLT. This fellow also sits on the County Board like Renner did, and these two chums often dine out together on the taxpayers dime. Yes, that’s right! We allow these two little piggies to take advantage of us- the taxpayer. I just wonder if we are paying for their livin in girlfriends too? They do entertain as couples, Is it any wonder WGLT is news is so unbalanced in there reporting? Have you ever heard them really challenge city government? Who funds this station? If it is us , the taxpayers, we should start demanding some accountability. When state employees posing as news people get to close to the people they are supposed to be watching, there is a problem. WGLT is nothing more than a dumping ground for either retired or fired WJBC staff. It’s like going from the major league back to the farm team.
What irritates me about this is that Kevin Gerrard is referred to as “a frequent critic of the Bloomington Mayor and Council.” But they don’t stop there. It continues, “Kevin Gerrard has, over a period of years, been critical of a wide range of city and council decisions, expressed through e-mails to media outlets and blog posts.” How dare he!
The Pantycrap does the same thing toward Gary Lambert whose running for Bloomington City Council. They refer to him as “Gary Lambert who frequently comments at City Council meetings.” Gary was mayor for Bloomington 101, but there’s never any mention of that.
The message from WGLT, The Pantycrap and WJBC is sit down, shut up, pay your taxes and don’t you dare question a thing from our local leaders.
And then to top it off, we’ve got RC McBride running this government subsidized show at WGLT. Does anyone believe we’ll get any kind of objective reporting from WGLT when it comes to news about Normal and the Town Council? Hardly! All things considered this is crap.
Stay tuned. It will be VERY interesting how they spin what happens this morning!