By: Diane Benjamin The proposed zoning changes will be before the Bloomington City Council soon. Everybody claims it isn’t form based code which takes away your right to do with your property what is in your best interest. This is a link to what is proposed: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=20438 It 246 pages of gibberish you will only […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington likes to pretend they are transparent. They even have a transparency portal on their website: http://www.cityblm.org/government/transparency One of the items listed is: As I’ve written before, the BCPA documents are mostly non-existent unless I FOIA them. https://blnnews.com/2019/02/14/it-a-secret-bcpa-creativity-center/ These are the event reports currently on the City website, there […]
BY;; Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal continues to have an illegal public comment policy. Normal was forced to change the policy in 2017 when the Attorney General told them they can not have a policy that allows a citizen to only speak every 45 days. Instead of slapping the Town’s entire policy into oblivion, […]
By: Diane Benjamin The following bills are under consideration in Springfield. Pritzker wants Illinois to be the abortion capital of the Midwest, taxpayers will be getting the bill. One bill legalizes infanticide. The other allows your child to get an abortion without your knowledge. What you can do: Join the rally in Springfield, IL against […]
By: Diane Benjamin What would happen to freedom if an election was held and nobody showed up to vote? I predict VERY low turnout on April 2nd. Except for the Town of Normal, few other races are even contested. Unit 5 residents will have much higher property tax bills this year. When fiscally responsible candidates […]
By: Diane Benjamin Elections for Wards 2, 4, 6, and 8 are on the ballot. Note: Ward 8 does have two candidates even though Travis Wilson was disqualified. Crabill can’t get any farther left, so you could vote for Wilson. Tari would then have to appoint his replacement. If he appoints the loser Crabill, it […]
By: Diane Benjamin The ISU College Democrats endorsed Jenn Carrillo! Do you know what the Progressive agenda is? In short, socialism. Progressives want to force government to run everything because they do not believe in freedom, liberty, and capitalism. They want to tell you how your property can be used. They want higher taxes because […]
By: Diane Benjamin If the residents of Bloomington still haven’t figured out the Council doesn’t represent you, watch last night’s meeting. The schmoozing was over the top with accolades for each other for everything but breathing. There were a few slaps in the face to citizens. The first one was made by City Manager Tim […]
By: Diane Benjamin The financial statements from the year that ended June 30, 2018 are still not on the website. No audits are posted under Financial Information. What are they hiding? https://www.connect-transit.com/about/financial_information.asp The empty buses came REALLY close to losing $1,000,000 in January: PDF page 7 https://www.connect-transit.com/documents/Meetings/Packets/RevisedFebruary%2026,%202019%20Board%20Packet.pdf The money borrowed from capital funds […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bills and Payroll: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=21131 The BCPA hasn’t posted an event report since my last FOIA. Transparency isn’t part of their game! Most artist fees are $5000 or less, not this one. Do I really need to FOIA every report to get them on the website? Looks like throwing parties for themselves. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Taxing Tari has mentioned more than once that Tim Gleason has some “creative financing” ideas. This morning I think I figured out their game – at least part of it. We know they want to double the gas tax. We also know the entire amount raised won’t be spent on roads – […]
by: Diane Benjamin According to the City mouthpiece, Bloomington will double the local gas tax to $.08 for every gallon: https://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/road-weary-city-officials-eye-doubling-local-motor-fuel-tax/article_258321e6-928b-57d7-a1c0-ad250fb8e18b.html#tracking-source=home-breaking Another prediction: Somebody will say it’s only a few bucks. Quote: Here is what the mouthpiece forgot to add to the story: The $.04 a gallon Motor Fuel Tax was passed […]
By: Diane Benjamin Just yesterday I predicted the Hot Wheels Monster Truck event recap would magically appear after I FOIA’d it: https://blnnews.com/2019/02/21/arena-event-reports-fail/ Surprise – here it is. All I need now is a FOIA denial. This was four shows, average attendance per show was 2,136. Note too this show was a rental. Many of the […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this previous story: https://blnnews.com/2019/02/22/will-bloomington-elect-socialists/ If you didn’t think the Normal Town Council is already socialist – it could get worse. I really appreciate socialist Sonny Garcia posting on social media which candidates fit that plan: He listed the candidates voters need to avoid: Alex Campbell, Joel Studebaker, and Pat Turner. The […]
By: Diane Benjamin Some people in Bloomington admit they are democrat socialist. The “democrat” part is added to make it sound like its real people leading the movement. They are pure socialists, just like the ones who destroyed Venezuela. They want to take your money, attack wealth producers, and hand money to people who didn’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is a short video of an interview with a Dallas Police Officer. He claims across the country police have been forced to not do their job in fear of citizen panels instituted to oversee what they do. He wants to know how untrained panels can judge actions taken by the police […]
By: Diane Benjamin According to the contract between the City of Bloomington and VenuWorks: PDF page 17 http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=10901 The good news is the Competitive Cheerleading Finals shows an estimated profit of $49,539.52. Competitive Dance Finals showed a profit of $23,655.62. One report is missing: February 10th is more than 10 days ago. “No Later” […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’m purposely going to be somewhat vague because I want to give people one more chance to do the right thing. Here’s the story – I’ve been involved for weeks. The Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) needs substitute teachers. That facility is run by the County. A local disabled veteran applied for a […]
By: Diane Benjamin This item was on the Consent Agenda for the County Board meeting yesterday: https://mcleancountyil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/6509 This was merely a renewal of an existing lease for the Child Advocacy Center in Livingston County. Since it was on the Consent Agent it wasn’t anything controversial and was passed the previous year with no discussion. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Someplace on the video is Tim Gleason claiming working with Normal is a high priority. I really don’t want to re-watch it again to find the exact spot. Meanwhile, Normal is poaching two Bloomington businesses: Farnsworth and AFNI. Both plan to relocate in the new controversial Uptown Circle building. Normal is also […]
By: Diane Benjamin A comment was left on BlnNews last night that deserves a longer response than just my reply. The citizens of Bloomington need to understand who is REALLY responsible for the roads and new designs in recent years. It isn’t Jim Karch. The comment: Why are few roads getting fixed and those that […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you have never watched a City Council meeting, last night is the one you need to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDOCilmu80A I can’t possibly cover everything that happened. Toward the end of the meeting Joni Painter read something that demanded no more video gaming machines. It was pretty incoherent. 2 people demanded the same […]
By: Diane Benjamin Even though many of the Council people questioned Isaac Thorne of Connect Transit about the empty buses, he continued to claim at times they have 60+ boardings per hour on many routes. Below is when Mboka asked about it – just hit play. Thorne’s presentation and discussion starts at 11:15 if you […]
By: Diane Benjamin What a scam! Unless the citizens of Bloomington are willing to pay more to fix the roads they aren’t going to get fixed! Tim Gleason is so cute the way he talks about tax increases. He claims he isn’t making recommendations, he’s just throwing numbers out for them to consider. Here the […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council is holding a Committee of the Whole meeting tonight: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=21055 On the agenda: Annual report to be given by Isaac Thorne, General Manager at Connect Transit. Thorne will tout the new electric buses and solar infrastructure. He will also talk about locations in downtown Bloomington for the transfer […]
By: Diane Benjamin Meeting docs: http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/31937 In this story about Bloomington spending: https://blnnews.com/2019/01/26/bloomington-bills-for-monday/ I listed 4 payments to the EDC for $1600 each. It looks like Renner, Buragas, Mathy, and Tyus won the One Voice trip this year to Washington DC. Buragas is leaving the Council April 30th and Tyus is the brand new Assistant […]
By: Diane Benjamin Democrats have only been in complete control of the state for a short time. Already they have passed a $15 minimum wage which make Illinois even less competitive with all of the surrounding states. Other things being seriously considered: Removing all regulations including parental notification on abortion Allowing abortion up to birth […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this previous story: https://blnnews.com/2019/02/07/normals-1000-memorial/ It does appear to be a memorial as requested in the obituary of the lady who died. She wasn’t local and I haven’t found any connection to Normal. Since the documents say this expense will be reimbursed by MICA, I filed one last FOIA. It was paid […]
The TIF Administrator has confirmed that issuing a Request for Proposal was legal. It is also still true that this Mayor and this City Council have never publicly mentioned doing this. What that means is that a backroom deal is being set up. Non-existent transparency caused this problem. Obviously something is brewing, the question is […]
This Facebook post from a local lawyer with Hinch Law may have had something to do with it: The New Bloomington Business Registration Ordinance – Reasonable Clarification Is In Order I’m seeing several recent posts about the new City of Bloomington – City Hall business registration ordinance that just took effect. I’m not going to […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’m pretty sure the City of Bloomington doesn’t advertise this, but they pay a lot for liability insurance. According to the proposed budget, here’s what it covers: PDF page 194: http://www.cityblm.org/home/showdocument?id=18372 Since Bloomington has refused to fund infrastructure adequately for many years, they should be responsible for any loss you incur […]
By: Diane Benjamin Operations of the BCPA and the Creativity Center are looking a lot like a private club for the well-connected. Zero transparency existed with shows until I FOIA’d the recaps, all of them have not been posted. The last event report posted is from November. Obviously unless I FOIA the information nobody will […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Planning Commission just passed the new Zoning Ordinance. The City council will fall right in line and pass it too. You will no longer have the right to do with your property what you want. Congrats Bloomington! https://blnnews.com/2018/12/17/proposed-zoning-may-crush-you/ Progressives want to run your life, they will have the law to […]
By: Diane Benjamin After the next election Bloomington won’t be represented by a majority of alderman who understand what made America great. Jeff Crabill will be elected since he is running unopposed (congrats Ward 8). Guess who is going to a No Ice In Dwight rally? Crabill obviously doesn’t know […]
By: Diane Benjamin Stan is running for the Normal Town Council. Meet him tonight! He actually wants to hear from you, unlike the current Council.
By: Diane Benjamin There are two bills making their way through the legislature that would promote Voter Fraud. If this concerns you, please submit witness slips – directions below. What the legislation will do: Both are similar. From HB257: “Provides that for the 2020 general primary election and each election thereafter, each election authority shall […]
By: Diane Benjamin The video of last night’s Council meeting claims to be 34:26 long. Since the meeting didn’t start until almost 14:00, the meeting was incredibly short. I wonder if the budget will be passed in 10 minutes too? Karen Kinsella, a west-side rental property owner, addressed the Council about the recent increase in […]
By: Diane Benjamin Justin Barr is the guy from Lexington now charged with numerous felonies in Will County: https://blnnews.com/2019/01/20/justin-barr-the-charges/ I know other counties are looking at charging him too. The good news is Barr has been charged with a Class 2 Felony in Marshall County. The charge is theft/deception for more than $10,000 and less […]
