By: Diane Benjamin
Tari Renner appeared with Scott Laughlin this morning on WJBC. The interview was mostly a campaign commercial! Listen to it HERE
Somebody at WJBC frequently reads stories on BlnNews – especially before interviews. This morning was no exception:
Did Scott Laughlin ask Tari Renner about this Moody’s report which clearly states Bloomington is in a recession?
NOPE.
Tari bloviated about his greatness, including “his” reserves that may now be $17,000,000 when policy only calls for $15,000,000.
Did Scott question Tari’s claim that roads can’t be fixed if new sewer lines will be needed in 5 years? (Evidently you are expected to drive another 5 years around potholes!)
NOPE.
Did Scott ask Tari about all the businesses closing in Bloomington?
NOPE.
Did Scott mention Tari’s numerous tax increases when Renner claimed Bloomington’s fiscal house is in order – unlike Springfield? Tari’s response was Springfield needs to get their fiscal house in order like Bloomington did – so evidently he wants Springfield to fleece the people too!
Did Scott ask any questions that didn’t allow Tari to regurgitate his talking points?
NOPE.
Tari took a swipe at Kevin Lower for voting NO on spending plans. Tari has 8 automatic YES votes on most issues, but Kevin offends him. It can’t have anything to do with Kevin is running against him! Silence from Scott.
Most of the discussion had nothing to do with the Monday Council meeting, therefore it was a campaign commercial.
WJBC needs to review the conditions for their broadcasting license:
https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/public-and-broadcasting#POLITICAL
The other 4 candidates must be allowed to bloviate on air too!
(Don’t ask them tough questions Scott, Tari didn’t get any)
Everyone know WJBC is a whining snowflake radio station. They NEVER ask tough questions to anyone. The try to sugar coat it all. Shit is shit call it shit. City people arent doing their job call them on it. The mayor is wrong call him on it. People want and need to know this. They are a news radio station. Act like it
The Pantagraph didn’t even do a story Tuesday on the Monday Council meeting! GREAT local media.
There were 2 articles about BLM and the Jefferson St. Community Center in Tuesday’s Pantagraph.
Must not have been on line. there is one today.
All of this would require people in the media here to become actual journalists.
“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.”
― George Orwell
I want to raise one point here that really needs to be addressed. Bloomington-Normal is not is a recession, it is in a state economic decline… which is different.
Recession: a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters.
Economic decline: is not temporary and is characterized by declining employment opportunities, business closings and declining populations.
We have many business closings already (it will continue). We will next have people moving from the area. This may have already have begun. We have a economic contraction occurring right now. The real world implications of this contraction will soon be very hard for anyone (even Mayors) to ignore. The contraction will followed by a dramatic economic decline (empty houses, storefronts, and businesses).
The article says we are. Patti-Lynn Silva reported tax receipts are down. Since the City decided citizens don’t need to know that information anymore, we can’t say how long they have been down.
The truth about what is beginning happen here is most likely very hard for city officials to accept. Tax receipts are going to continue to go down and there is nothing anyone at this point can do about it. Because our leadership (and many citizens) wish to live in an alternative reality, the area is headed for severe economic decline. Only a dual focus on infrastructure maintenance/repair and diversifying our economy with new businesses (not hot dog stands or hotels) can we hope to lessen the impact of the coming economic decline.
Water usage has declined steadily over the past few years. This indicates definitively that population has decreased. The numbers don’t lie–only politicians do.
We NEED FOCUSED leadership in BOTH towns and not some do-goody”see what I ACCOMPLISHED” idiots telling us that everything is cool when it’s NOT!!
Look at UPTOWN (gag) and their electric cars from Mitsubishi and ALL those unused powering stations, NOT to mention those fancy parking “outcrops” they built a few years back, only to tear them out shortly afterwards, Bloomington is even WORST, Hotel, TIF’s, More taxes, blah, yeah yeah! What they need to do is FOCUS on the issues at HAND and what can be done to alleviate future problems in ALL aspects of the city management, streets, sewer, traffic, buildings, economy, etc, Only then will we have growth, IF it isn’t too late.
People need to quit voting for Democrats is they expect fiscal responsibility! Look at what Democrats have done to Illinois – the locals are no different.
I am so tired of the manipulation of the truth (usually called lying) by the Mayor and certain council members. The “balanced budget” for the city is a result of the 1% sales tax increase which took effect Jan. 1, 2016. It is projected that there will be another “structural deficit” for FY2019. The 0.25% of the tax increase for street resurfacing is well below the projections and the amount Renner quoted on the radio yesterday. He even referenced Silva’s report which he must not have read. Fix the damn broken sewers now, not in 5 years!! Stop the political crap about “Streets 2.0!” Priorities…priorities!! Renner doesn’t want to announce the rate increases for water and sewer until after the election.
The 0.25% for Mental Health was not a “political risk during an election cycle.” The newly elected Council members took office in May of 2015–the tax increase was voted on Sept. 21, 2015–well after the election–similar to all of the other tax increases immediately following Renner taking office in May of 2013. The “award winning pension funding” is also a result of the tax increases of 2013. The 0.25% tax increase “for Mental Health” is in reality a revenue source to secure the bonds for the expansion of the jail for the purpose of providing 10-15 beds for mentally ill prisoners so they don’t have to be housed in holding cells–a State mandate. It is insulting to the residents of the West Side of Bloomington and demeaning to the mentally ill to refer to that tax allocation as part of “solving the issues” related to crime and safety in those neighborhoods. Equating criminal behavior with mental illness is a sign of ignorance and bias.
What I liked about Monday’s Council meeting was that all of the Aldermen had an opportunity to share their thoughts regarding the use of the Jefferson St. property–very insightful. The Mayor was suspiciously silent unlike most meetings where he dominates the discussion. He was pandering to the west side voters and Alderman Lower was correct in questioning the Mayor’s position. Alderman Black’s statement was eloquent and passionate but make no mistake, it was written in advance, well practiced and read like only a true politician can. The two appointed alderwomen are obviously not comfortable with public speaking.