By: Diane Benjamin
The Illinois Supreme Court just ruled Danville is responsible for injuries a woman sustained because she tripped on an uneven sidewalk: https://www.ilnews.org/news/justice/illinois-supreme-court-rules-city-liable-in-trip-and-fall/article_c7227c6e-9ccc-11e8-945c-6725ad9095d1.html
If government stuck to essential services, like maintaining sidewalks, they wouldn’t have a problem. Bloomington has a BIG one.
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WGLT held a forum to discuss local media last week. Much of the discussion concerned lack of enough reporters to cover the news. The BIG question was never asked: Why can’t you hire more? Obviously local news staffs are a shadow of what they used to be. They can’t afford to hire more reporters because people don’t want their version of the news.
My opinion: For the stories that are reported (they ignore many), they ask the Who-What-When-Where questions. They never ask WHY. The answer to that question would likely reveal the ideology behind decisions. The local media assists government in hiding the WHY because their buddies wouldn’t be in office if the truth was told. Therefore, people don’t care about their version of the other four questions. If local media gave citizens usable knowledge their newsrooms wouldn’t be shrinking. See the story and video here: http://www.wglt.org/post/media-distrust-seeping-b-n-not-enough-resources-push-back
The story doesn’t portray what was actually said. WGLT’s Charlie Schlenker and the Pantagraph’s Mark Pickering really don’t like BlnNews. Listen at –26:40.
By the way, I only started BlnNews because of the disgusting reporting of the Pantagraph. I have FIRST HAND knowledge, if I didn’t write the truth would never be told. You deserve better.
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Remember this statement from the Bloomington 2019 Budget concerning Connect Transit? https://blnnews.com/2018/08/02/bloomington-2019-budget-connect-transit/
I sent a FOIA to Connect Transit, this is the response:
The operative word the City used in the budget is “could”. So far food and medical isn’t happening, but we need to watch October. I wonder if some “community organizing” will suddenly take place on the Community Bus right before the election?
They lose hundreds or thousands every month, but still spent $4,336 on a community bus? I guarantee they have a WHY.
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Tari Renner was on WJBC this morning. He brought up Modified Wards again. Remember when his good buddy Rob Fazzini tried that in 2014? It was soundly defeated.
Members of the Council are elected to stand between the City and the people paying the bills. Instead of taking your representation even further away from you, voters need to elect people who will stand up for your wallet.
The Council isn’t and hasn’t.
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The lawyer representing Mikey’s mom – Amber Buck – is also the chair of the Bloomington Zoning Board of Appeals: http://www.cityblm.org/government/boards-commissions/zoning-board-of-appeals
Any surprise that he was appointed by Tari Renner?
In case you missed the latest Mikey story: https://blnnews.com/2018/08/13/why-no-child-abuse-charges/
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Thankful for the community bus. I’ve used it at the downtown transfer site on Front Street when it was brutally hot so I could cool off and to warm up when bitterly cold. And didn’t WGLT add reporters? I keep hearing and reading they’ve added a couple. Finally, I read “why” answers in the paper and at WGLT’s website all of the time. So they’re asking the questions AND providing the answers.
Are you talking about the radio station where the General Manager makes news on the Normal Council and then reports his spin on the radio?
Is that the same radio station employing Judy “I’m above the law” Valente?
I don’t know. I only started listening to them/visiting their website about 6 months ago. Their reporting is not out of line with what I also read in the Pantagraph or read at WJBC’s website. I assume they’re not colluding to push a pre-agreed to set of facts. They’re competitors, after all.
They have ONE good reporter. Figure out which one it is and let me know.
You are clueless….Serving him….unless you mean serving Tari Renner and company’s false news and lies.
To pile on….Pantagraph Breaking news story at 2pm 8/15/18….College students return to town. Now there is some serious research and hard to find info going on. One would have never known this if they weren’t there leading us out of the darkness. What crap media,..
Meidaghpst — why are you attacking me? I’m asking Diane about where to go get news. Praying for you, more wisdom, and your anger issues. Proverbs 12:18 “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
WJBC, WGLT and the Pantagraph are all the same lamestream media. Their “news” is just more government swamp propaganda… “More taxes and higher government salaries will bring you peon citizens prosperity” and “We hate Trump”. They are the epitomy of fake news and their employees should be charged with sedition!
Diane, I can’t thank you enough for reporting. It is absolutely impossible for WGLT to report news accurately or without bias. When Normal Town Council member RC McBride is running the news station it is impossible for anyone who works there and wishes to keep their job to report accurately. He’s part of the incestuous local government. I’m not asking for opinion pieces from any of the local News Organizations, just accuracy and a bit of real journalistic research. It can’t or won’t be done. What you do is absolutely necessary. The majority of local politicians have created this us against them mentality. Politicians work for the government, leaders work for the people. We need more leaders. You bring that to light on a daily basis. We, as a community, need people like you to wade through the corruption and so that we can get out and vote to remove power from those who would take our freedom through theft of our hard earned money, disregard for the law, and their back door deals for the favored few. The swamp is indeed full and as I have said, anyone who assisted in the harm caused to Mikey needs professional help and probably jail time. I can add Tari Renner to the list for his appointment of the scum bag attorney Bullington, someone who obviously lacks integrity. These types of appointments by Renner only serve to empower the worst of the worst.
So true and very well said.
If the local media spent more time covering real stories and not just political propaganda feel good pieces….. Unfortunately that will never change with the lackluster incompetence displayed by TV, radio and print…they just want to work 9 to 5 or steal other people’s work. The concept of working hard to get a story does not exist with these people.
Don’t forget that many downsized former Pantagraph staff are now cozily employed by the City.
Didn’t know that, not surprised.
What I see here is a media advancing a particular “accepted” narrative. And this comes from the top down. What reporter at WGLT News is going to do a story about anything that challenges the establishment narrative on Upscale Normal? Would RC McBride allow it? A reporter that would want to do a story about the reality of the massive investment in the Upscale Normal boondoggle would soon be on a track to be fired. We have an entire area filled with people who are conformists. They don’t rock the boat…they keep their heads down and reap the rewards of being good boys and girls. The only real journalism in the area is coming from Diane and this publication. Good journalists are feared and sometimes hated by the establishment…. they are at the very least respected for being the watchdogs for the people. The mainstream media here is composed of establishment shills and lapdogs who act as stenographers instead of journalists. Have you ever seen a hard question asked in any article or interview with the con man… currently not building cars at the old Mitsubishi plant? No and you never will. But you will see the false narrative that has been created by Rivian and Normal’s elitist establishment advanced and reinforced whenever they have an opportunity. Yes, nothing to see here residents of Bloomington/Normal… move along…. everything is fine….go buy a government subsidized hot dog.
https://youtu.be/5NNOrp_83RU
BTW Tristan Bullington was Jamie Mathy’s campaign manager the first time Jamie ran against Kevin Lower.