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 are a lane nightmare?
TWO reasons:
- Bike Master Plan
- Complete Streets
Thanks to the worst mayor Bloomington ever elected, and the lackeys he recruited for the Council, local government took a hard left turn. Taxpayers subsidize Tari’s travels where is instructed in progressive ideology: government must force change. Progressives do not believe in representing the people, they believe they know better than you and must therefore run your life.
Tari believes he was elected and can therefore do whatever he wants. For 6 years now he has pushed for spending (likely MILLIONS) on Master Plans. So far they have 13: http://www.cityblm.org/government/advanced-components/documents/-folder-107
These plans control everything the Council does, if it isn’t in the plan it won’t happen. If the plan makes no sense – it doesn’t matter. The plan must be followed.
Tari’s Council buddies passed the Bike Master Plan and Complete Streets which means all work on the roads must promote bikes and buses. Vehicles the citizens drive are secondary. Washington lost lanes to “calm traffic”, meaning you aren’t allowed to drive as fast as before. Instead of an arterial street to downtown, East Washington is now residential with very few (if any) bikes in sight.
Jim Karch is a City employee. His job is subject to the whims of Tari and the Council. He doesn’t have any choice but to comply with the PLAN.
The City Council is why the roads will never get fixed. Money is wasted on Complete Streets engineering and construction to comply with the plan. Nothing will get better for at least 2 years because not enough good people are running to make a difference.
Read this story from Michael Gorman on the Bike Blono website: https://bikeblono.org/2016/06/why-a-complete-streets-policy-is-a-win-win-win-for-bloomington-normal/
Gorman’s view of roads took priority over your right to not damage your car driving on Bloomington roads. Gorman is now chairman of the Board of Directors for Green Top Grocery, easy to see why they struggle.
See the REAL problem now?
That brings me to the April 2 election. Amelia Buragas decided at the last minute not to run for re-election. Tari had to quickly recruit a replacement for her that would rubber stamp anything he wants. He picked another college employee Julie Emig. Now see who circulated petitions for her: Emig petitions
All of the far left-wing activists hurriedly worked to get her on the ballot: Tari Renner, Justin Boyd, Michael Gorman, Jeff Crabill, and Shayna Watchinski.
Crabill is running unopposed in Ward 8, so Renner has one automatic vote already.
Tari will recruit his IWU student to get out and vote. Since few citizens will bother to exercise their right to vote, Emig will likely be elected by students who will graduate and leave Bloomington.
The only two candidates running Tari does not want to see on the Council are Chip Frank (Emig’s opponent) and Donna Boelen in Ward 2. If both are elected citizens will at least have a voice on the Council. If both lose nobody will care about the average citizen – it will be full speed ahead with the plan.
It’s up to voters but most probably don’t know there is an election coming or what the issues are. Thank the media, especially the local supposed conservative radio station that has abandoned local politics. Early voting starts February 21st.
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AMEN !!!
Talk about an uninformed comment! The poster sounds like they have a personal issue with Jim. I believe he would have better priorities than bike lanes and traffic patterns. Imagine the calls and emails his dept gets over the state of the roads! The roads absolutely suck but that’s not on him. I’m not sure there is any fill that would work in this weather. Consistent road management is needed. The council does not see this as a priority. Thanks for addressing this head on.
The media has done NOTHING to tell the truth. I don’t blame him for not knowing.
Well said
Great points Diane and Karch’s hand are truly tied by the council. His repairs are dictated by what Tari and the council budget for his department. As long as the city continues to waste money on “quality of life” projects the streets will continue to crumble.
Hopefully the bike lanes will get as many potholes as the streets and they’ll have to get BIKEBLONO out and patch the lanes! As for the 2 lanes merging into one at regency/fairway that’s an accident or five WAITING to happen!
You’re exactly right, Diane. This happens in both Bloomington and Normal. A huge part of what staff does is to please the Mayor and Council. Does anyone really think Town staff want’s to spend huge amounts of time on this underpass project? No way. They have better stuff to do then waste their time with a pet project of the mayors. Staff does as they’re told. Karch is no different.
Most of this applies to Normal as well, with the names and details changed to protect the guilty.
Luckily for the citizens of Normal, the biggest exception is that we Do have reform candidates. All six of the non-establishment candidates promote some version of better representing the people of Normal, and three are fiscal conservatives if you include the write-in candidate Karl Sila, so we don’t have to follow Bloomington’s lead on continually putting pet projects ahead of things like driveable roads.
Spot on except for one minor detail: “Taxpayers subsidize Tari’s travels where he is instructed in progressive ideology: government must force change.” Yes, we paid for the trips, and yes, progressive ideology is championed at these conferences, but Tari didn’t need instruction. He was already there. He could teach the seminars. He was a radical leftist ideologue long before he ever went on one of these trips as mayor. Same could be said of anyone who goes to these events on the taxpayer’s dine. These conferences are preaching to the choir and our Council’s in Bloomington and Normal are the choir.
He always comes back with new ideas requiring more of your money!
I wish Frank would start putting out his agenda. I live in that ward and haven’t been represented since the Buragas was elected.
I can’t stand Renners pick but Frank seems to be mute.
I usually disagree with your politics but we agree almost 100% on local issues with the exception of Karch. He lied straight to my face.
Thanks for your work.
I heard he was going door to door last weekend. Google him and see if he had a website. Just being a local business owner has to mean he’s a better choice.