By: Diane Benjamin
http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=15356
PDF page 147
Bloomington sealed its own fate last April. When the people elected believe they can create economic growth by stealing your money, the future is bleak. Essential services aren’t funded because things like fixing roads aren’t sexy. Building a legacy is. Tari Renner lost his self-defined economic development role because of the numerous expensive unrealistic projects he promoted: https://blnnews.com/2017/11/08/49548/
So let’s give the job to his employer: Illinois Wesleyan University!
The Small Business Development Center discussed earlier this month is up for funding tonight. No matter how this discussion is framed, it amounts to only one thing: jobs at your expense. This is more bureaucrats attempting to control local business. The description says all you need to know:
What is the “right fit” and why is anybody’s opinion more important than the entrepreneurs willing to risk their own money?
How many businesses will they discourage from starting because they aren’t the “right fit”? Is the City going to send everybody looking for a permit to this IWU office for permission?
The City of Bloomington is merely buying votes with jobs. Whoever works in this Center will know funding could be cut if elections in the future produce a Council that knows government programs destroy economies. Possibly losing your job is a powerful motivator for campaigning to keep the status quo.
Alderman Scott Black mentioned at the last Council meeting that economic development can no longer be left to chance. In other words, capitalism doesn’t work. Of course, he is a product of the Renner version of economic development. See this website if you think IWU isn’t heavily influencing local elections: https://blogs.iwu.edu/argus/2013/04/15/professor-tari-renner-wins-mayoral-election/
Since the Council doesn’t understand what makes an economy prosper, tonight they will most likely vote to further Bloomington’s decline. Alderman Schmidt will recuse herself since she works for Wesleyan. Her ward won’t get a vote. Wouldn’t it be funny if the remaining 8 aldermen were split 4-4 and Renner had to break the tie? Although it would be fun seeing him squirm to say why he can vote for his employer, I doubt it will happen. I predict an 8-0 vote for the “right fit” philosophy.
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Given that our current economic situation and the ongoing downsizing of State Farm is going to turn our area into the next Decatur, the right fit is anything or anyone who will bring products/services/jobs here. At this point even a prison should be welcomed.
Tax dollars are already building that!
Yes you are correct…
Economic development can no longer be left to chance? So what does the Chamber, EDC, and BN Advantage do? Looks to me that we are letting another set of hogs feed at the taxpayer trough? So how many people (inside and outside of city government) work right now on bringing businesses here and where are the businesses that they have brought here recently? Total economic output for our area set a national record here in 2016 with a drop of over 8%. And we are talking about screening entrepreneurs and businesses for the right fit? This is institutionalized insanity.
The right fit is a business owner or entrepreneur willing to risk his/her capital to make or produce things people want, need, or desire. Done, end of story. We can’t afford to be picky anyway. BN is in rapid and serious decline. I’ve been to the SBDC office. It’s a professor’s office. The SBDC hosted a workshop to discuss copyright laws and charged attendees $20 despite having a sponsor. We’ll encourage businesses to start and grow in BN, but it will cost you to learn how. In an era of open-source information? Really?! As Larry said, it’s another in a long line of failed private-public organizations. Will the 100th organization or committee on BN economic development be any more successful than the previous 99?! No.
Yes this is just another attempt by not-very-smart 20th Century oriented people in the city government to solve 21st Century problems with people who don’t have clue about starting or running a business. The right fit is anything that will bring money and jobs into our area. We are in trouble and this and all the other failed approaches to economic development are not going to work. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the classic definition of insanity. I would call this institutionalized insanity that is funded by taxpayer money.
Entering downtown Bloomington coming from the south on Main St. several blocks before crossing the viaduct, what one sees is the McLean County Jail. Now, two buildings stretching towards the sky. Route 66 memories are blocked. Ironic but fitting. Another well thought out plan? Here’s our jail, welcome to Bloomington!
Maybe they can hang Christmas Lights on it.
Political correctness, Diane! You know better than that! They are “winter solstice” lights powered by green energy. Haha!
SO SORRY!
Amelia is back at wanting to spend massive amounts of money to fix the brick streets in town, article in the pantagraph today. Bloomington has 320 miles of road 41 miles used to be brick only 3.5 remain brick, gee I wonder why? She proposes using existing money earmarked for resurfacing to fix the brick roads but she doesn’t state which roads that need resurfaced are to be let go. Many years ago my parents had to pay for the cost of installing gutters on a street that they lived on I believe it was Adelaide street. If the residents that live on a brick street want to keep the bricks as I suggested in an earlier comment let them pay the difference in the cost of resurface versus repair. Amelia uses the reasoning that these brick streets are part of our historic past and they make Bloomington unique. I can only hope that the city council bobble heads go in the opposite direction for once side to side instead of up and down for her request to squander taxpayer dollars.
I’m getting there – too much nonsense tonight!
The Council has already bought into the brick street plan. This is item will be moving forward.