By: Diane Benjamin
So many things are wrong with what happened at the Connect Transit meeting, but start with the fake reporting:
Stan Nord wasn’t there!
Bloomington Alderman Donna Boelen did and she did ask the Board to wait until the Working Group was finished. Did a reporter even attend? Was stating Stan Nord said this some kind of attack on him? Was it to minimize the common sense of Donna Boelen?
Both deserve and explanation from the Pantagraph and both will never get it!
Meanwhile, everything the Pantagraph reports should be viewed as suspect.
In case somebody wakes up at the paper and decides to change the story, I screen shot it last night:
The rest of the meeting proves mental illness is rampant on the Connect Transit Board and with the General Manager.
The Board voted to buy electric buses even though a charge only lasts 200 miles and they weigh 2000 pounds more that the diesel buses. The roads don’t need to be fixed, Connect buses will just destroy them again.
200 miles on a charge is not enough for 6 of Connect’s route – per the article. The buses are coming from California, have they been tested when the temperature is below freezing? Will they still get 200 miles before needing charged?
The biggest mental health issue is what we are now told the purpose of the Working Group is. It isn’t to find a way to meet the needs of people with no other options.
This part isn’t in the Pantagraph article. The attendees were told the Working Group is studying only financial sustainability. In other words, their report will say they need to be their own taxing district. Prepare the tar, feathers, and pitchforks folks. Remember all those people who showed up at both Council meetings just wanting to be heard? The Working Group isn’t listening. Connect Transit isn’t buying fancy electric buses to serve them. The large new empty buses will not be able to navigate areas of both cities that are under served.
Connect Transit is discriminating against the poor and disabled in favor of subsidizing rides for people who can afford other options. Donna Boelen’s Ward 2, has no bus service. It was cut when routes were restructured. Connect doesn’t care.
The Working Group is a joke – by design. Meanwhile Connect Transit is on a spending spree claiming no local money is being used. They are installing showers and solar panels to charge their electric buses. Millions of your tax dollars are being flushed, just because it isn’t local money doesn’t mean it isn’t your money.
Who do we call for mental health exams?
Nobody, the Board was appointed by Koos and Renner, 2 guys who also need mental health treatment.
Meanwhile it appears the only ads Connect can sell on their buses is from local government entities. I wonder how much the BCPA paid for this:
The only way this nightmare will end is when locals show up to vote in 2021. Until then, nobody in authority will use common sense or listen to people who have it.
Everybody has yard signs for this or that. Someone needs to make some Connect Transit Stupidity signs. I know I’d put one up, even pay for it.
If you live in Normal, signs should be available soon that will also help Solve the problem. They’ll say something like ‘Marc Tiritilli for Mayor’.
Hopefully somebody in Bloomington will come up with similar signs…
Great, electric empty buses now? Wonderful! Only in the Democratic Socialist Elitist Alternative Universe does this make sense. With our electric vehicle maker (who has yet to make a vehicle) and electric buses we will become the go-to place in the United States for those who want to be environmentally friendly. This will surely attract people and businesses to Bloomington-Normal. Just ask Mayor Little Man or Fuhrer Koos… they know how to move our area forward with the right kind of tax payer funded amenities. This could mean an Amazon headquarters or Google hub in the future.
Although you make light in your comment about BN being a “go to place for electric” Koos, Renner and their political apologist really believe it. In their twisted minds they think this is some kind of a recognition/tourism benefit that will put the area in the national spotlight. I had to work with people like this. They really believe it. No different than the local leadership thinking we are going to be a center for pot tourism. They are all loons in serious need of mental analysis.
It is obvious that they do believe it. They are now believing that a company that has never made 1 production vehicle is going to make electric cars, trucks, SUVs and now 100,000 large delivery vans in the old Mitsubishi plant. This is a special kind of stupid that indicates that their desire for something to be true is making them believe that reality is something they can create in their own minds.
I’m surprised they aren’t clamoring to put windmills and solar panels on the buses to charge them while they drive. Then watch the windmills cut power lines or take out traffic control devices.
If they absolutely have to have the electric buses, paid for still with our tax dollars paid to the state/federal government, they could look local. Perhaps they use the $10+ million they want to spend to work with the electric vehicle manufacturer in town to develop smaller, electric buses (large transport vans?). The requirement would be they have to produce the buses/vans here in town. Then they would at least be supporting local jobs versus shipping the money to California.
common sense? not allowed.
The issue is not electric vs. diesel vs. hydrogen.
Years ago, when Connect purchased the large diesel buses they ended service to many trailer parks, entrances to our hospitals, medical facilities, retirement centers, the ARC, etc. The buses are too large to navigate and meet the needs of B/N. The size is the issue.
The arrogance of Connect and the mayors blind them to the fact the huge buses rarely have people on them. They are ignoring the voices of the citizens and are openly rebelling against the people of B/N and the County who will be forced to pay for this or leave Illinois.
Really, Connect believes spending an additional $450k plus millions to charge them, in order to save $200k is a good thing…can these people even do math?
Our taxes will certainly be going up further. I hope Vaseline will at least be sent with future tax bills.
Lincoln said “Government of the people, by the people, for the people…” in B/N it is more like “Government in spite of the people, paid by the people, to feed the egos of the elite.”
This isn’t a train wreck, it’s far worse. Can we call it a bus crash?
I wonder how long a bus will need to charge before it can get back on the road. Service will no doubt be worse than it is now and route changes will likely happen as well. I think the real objective of this bus transit charade is to give a lot of our tax dollars to the bus manufacturers. Good service is not the priority.
No, the objective is to prove to the local masses that electric fuel is the wave of the future. Koos is a firm believer in all things Agenda 21 which includes stopping the production and use of fossil fuels. Koos believes he is a champion for such causes due to his appearances and talks on these issues at national mayors functions. Also, the future of his business depends on more people thinking like he does. He has continually used his elected position to promote his business. Renner comes along for the ride because he is also an over the cliff leftist and groupthink and promotion is the best way to convince more people to take up the cause. It is a known fact that Renner regularly promotes far left views to his students at IWU and the university does nothing about it.
So what you are saying is that Mayor Little Man and Fuhrer Koos are probably in agreement with AOC and her Green New Deal? They most likely think our great President Trump should be impeached and jailed for (insert today’s reason here)_________? They are probably OK with wide open borders and think ICE should be abolished? They probably think Diane and the rest of us are white nationalist Nazis who need to be silenced or jailed?
I think the story intended to reference a comment Stan made at one of the town council meetings where he recommended CT delay action until the working group findings were in. Very poorly written to have created confusion by leaving out that context.
I don’t recall if he made that request before or after we realized the findings of the working group would never be forthcoming, just the findings of the ‘facilitator’ they hired to dictate the outcome.
Donna did make that comment, why not use her comment?
the heck with waiting until 2021. these crazies need to be impeached NOW! FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE!
we should start a money pool. the date and time the first bus gets stranded on Vets pkway or Hershey road cause its to cold for the batteries to hold a charge. Winner gets the pool and bragging rights. They also get to stand up at both council meetings and say ‘WE TOLD U SO!”
You mean Bloomington hasn a mayor. I left info on my situation at least twice in the past year and a half. Still haven’t had any response. Electric buses? How ludicrous! Fares would go up 10, 20, 50x’
Taxes go up, wealth redistribution
Cancelled our subscription when they decided to print fake news. Why read or watch news channels that lie or twist the truth? Sad the media thinks people are too stupid to fact check .