By: Diane Benjamin
Chris Koos’ bike shop sells electric bikes. https://www.vitessecycle.com/product-list/bikes-1000/ebikes-electric-bikes-1038/
These bikes can reach speeds of 30 MPH, but they are not banned on Constitution Trail. Signs on the trail say “No Motorized Vehicles”, so why are electric allowed? Safety doesn’t matter? Aren’t some bikers on the trail already a hazard? How is “electric” exercise? Maybe “Quality of Life” isn’t a priority if you own the business selling these?
Yesterday I got the sweetest card ever in the mail. Since it was sent anonymously, this is the only way to thank “Friends . . ” THANKS!
Did you know the Illinois Department of Natural Resources “accidentally” published the Social Security numbers of all boat owners? Illinois-accidentally-published-social-security-numbers-of-all-boat-owners
Another Did you Know: Peoria is sending bills to residents to fund public safety pensions: Property-owners-to-be-billed-public-safety-pension-fees
Meanwhile Springfield won’t fix the pension system. They will raise taxes with a “progressive” income tax and try to sell it as decreasing property taxes. Obviously the rich aren’t going to pay up – Pritzker proved that by removing toilets.
I know at least one person who emailed Tari wanting to be considered for the Cannabis Task Force. That person never received a response from Tari. No surprise, the results are always predetermined.
Connect Transit is “testing” a huge electric bus. As proved above, the Working Group conclusions are pre-determined. They will not conclude smaller buses are needed. Empty-huge-heavy-road destroying buses will not be replaced with common sense sized vehicles.
Will Amazon be charging their Rivian electric vans at the local taxpayer funded charging stations?
The news yesterday said the number of birds are decreasing. How many have been killed by wind turbines? That’s not in the story. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-many-birds-do-wind-turbines-really-kill-180948154/
Finally:
The Edgar County Watchdogs did this story pertaining to Public Comment at a Decatur Public Library Finance Committee meeting: https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2019/09/decatur-public-library-board-shows-contempt-for-citizens/
The point of the story was to show how public officials react to Public Comment. If the camera wasn’t pointed at the speaker during public comment here, you would see the same disinterest at local meetings.
Start watching the video at 8:00. A Decatur watchdog is talking about expense reports he FOIA’d. Evidently a Board member traveled all the way to Bloomington (est travel time 1 hour at most), spent $50 on food between Decatur and Bloomington, $73.00 on VIP cab ride, and $1400 for a suite at the Hilton! It sounds like people went with him without the library knowing. Without the FOIA, the taxpayers wouldn’t have known either.
There’s more, the watchdog is incredible – worth watching for a couple minutes. We need more like him!
The cannabis task farce was most likely already organized behind closed doors. Jenn may not be the chair, but I suspect she’ll try some sort of powerplay to control the group or at least pull the strings. The task force is likely not interested in a broad set of inputs from the best-and-brightest in applicable sectors (law enforcement, medicine, legal/regulatory, tax), but rather people that agree with the predetermined findings and/or are friends of the Renner Administration. Connect Transit continues not to care about taxpayers, but rather political ideology and continuing to feed from the political trough. No one of reasonable judgment would come to the conclusion that BN (or a community of its size) should continue to deploy large buses as a transportation solution. However, the conclusion has already been made, they’re just waiting on the spinmeisters to write an overly detailed and glowing report that no one will read or care about except for the Connect Transit cheerleaders. Rivian seems to be accepting a lot of investment and customer orders for a company that has yet to produce a vehicle. I’m hearing from some Mittsu ex-pats that the funds required for the production of any vehicle coming out of the old plant will cost billions with a “b”. The news seems positive, but I’m cautiously optimistic. Investment money in a startup is generally not a good measure or predictive outcome of potential success. An order for one’s product is a better sign, but of course, it means nothing until the company can produce results and fulfill the order.
The cannabis task force is not necessary at all. Adult use of cannabis will be legal in Illinois after Jan. 1, 2020…end of story. Renner is drooling over the potential tax revenue. Carrillo may or may not be the chair. The members of the task force will vote who is to be chair but the outcome will probably be her given Renner’s choices.
IF bloomington tries implementing a special pension assessment, I am most certainly going to move. There is no way I am going to tolerate that.
The payment plan they passed can’t exist without it. The future is bleak.
So you think an assessment WILL BE coming to Bloomington? That it is just a matter of time?
Since the current clowns aren’t capable of budget cuts they will claim they have to. They could increase property taxes for permanent revenue instead.
Emig is a puppet. She’ll be named chair; it doesn’t matter what actual desires are because Mathy, Black, Emig, Carrillo, and Crabill will vote for it regardless.
Subtract 5 more. My in-laws just hit the road yesterday. The state of ILL-annoy is in their rearview mirror,,,forever!
Lucky them!
Per Normal’s website, electric bikes are not allowed.
Trail Rules and Regulations
All forms of motorized vehicles are prohibited (except for emergency and maintenance).
https://www.normal.org/1121/Constitution-Trail
Since the trail has many families with little children no one should be biking fast let alone going 20+ mph on a motorized bike. Child vs. fast moving bike… child loses every time… For public safety, the existing Trail Rules should be enforced.
I heard from a Koos customer they are allowed,.of course he was.trying to sell one.