By: Diane Benjamin If you listened to Tari Renner’s WJBC interview yesterday, you heard him mention “real journalists” not following up on what bloggers report. WMDB TV was at the council meeting when both Kirk Allen and I spoke. Yesterday: https://blnnews.com/2019/10/16/tari-on-wjbc-3/ See these redacted emails received by FOIA. What is Nora telling the POLICE CHIEF concerning […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Public Library wants another tax hike. They are still looking to expand. What is clear is they aren’t expanding for books. To keep traffic coming to the library their focus is events. http://www.bloomingtonlibrary.org/Assets/files/bpl_board/boardpackets/2019/2019.10bplboardpacket.pdf Do taxpayers get a voice? Does the Bloomington Library exist to hold free events? Is that something […]
By: Diane Benjamin Ol’ Mayor Renner called “bloggers” liars this morning on the Scott Miller show. So far I haven’t been able to find a podcast. If somebody sees it please let me know! This link was posted in the comments: https://post.futurimedia.com/wjbcam/playlist/2/listen-233.html?cb=1571239016.737804 Tari also complained about negative reporting by bloggers. I thought I would do […]
By: Diane Benjamin One bit of new information: Connect Transit does track transfers even though they aren’t reported anywhere. Mike McCurdy stated transfers aren’t up when he appeared at a Normal Town Council meeting, so I FOIA’d that info per month. I got this: This is one step closer to finding out exactly how many […]
https://www.businessinsider.com/cities-in-the-midwest-americans-are-fleeing Excerpt: Using data from the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates program, we found the metropolitan areas located in the Midwestern states with the most negative net migration between 2010 and 2018, adjusted by the size of the 2010 metro area population. The article recaps the top 20 Midwest cities losing population: Danville is #1 Decatur is #2 Rockford […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal decided to let Chemberly Cummings throw her own event. According to media reports, 175 overall attended and only 75 attended the keynote speaker’s address. I know from emails I received by FOIA some City of Bloomington employees attended. This story has information about the sessions: https://blnnews.com/2019/09/20/this-explains-the-divide-in-america/ Keynote speaker […]
By: Diane Benjamin Eric’s Too Beer Garden got sent back to the Liquor Commission. I was disappointed to see Scott Black absent sent he had sent this email: (Received by FOIA) If Eric’s was doing outdoor seating before the Council approved it, the Liquor Commission should deny their request. Otherwise the meeting was fairly boring. […]
By: Diane Benjamin On October 9th I received a “press release” from Michele Anderson which I read and filed. I don’t know who else she sent it to, evidently to WGLT who took the bait and did a story. For an elected official to publicly name call was unprofessional at best. See it here: Press […]
By: Diane Benjamin This email was included in the latest FOIA from the City of Bloomington. I didn’t have to redact any names, the City did it. Names can’t legally be redacted, only personal information (like email addresses) can be. I guess this couple won’t get any calls for jobs since nobody knows who they […]
By: Diane Benjamin If the City Code doesn’t apply to the City, it doesn’t apply to you either. Right? https://blnnews.com/2019/10/13/bloomington-violates-their-own-code/ If they do meet tonight, here’s what’s on the agenda: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1039&Inline=True The City has already budgeted $100,489.40 for repairs to Oneil Pool. Tonight they are adding $24,900 for sidewalk repairs around the pool. This will […]
https://nypost.com/2019/10/12/columbus-day-haters-are-missing-the-entire-point-of-the-holiday Excerpts: Some 60 cities and states have stopped celebrating Columbus Day, in many cases replacing it with Indigenous Peoples Day. There’s no doubt Columbus — and the conquistadors who followed — enslaved and slaughtered on a mass scale. But Columbus didn’t bring cruelty to peaceful, benign peoples. The indigenous people were also cruel to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tomorrow is a Federal Holiday – Columbus Day. Evidently the Code Bloomington writes for themselves is immaterial. The City Council is scheduled to meeting tomorrow anyway: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/calendar.aspx Tari must think he can ignore a Federal Holiday because he is doing this: Proclamation Recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the City of Bloomington on […]
By: Diane Benjamin I think I know what is going on between the McLean County Auditor and Treasurer, it isn’t the huge problem Michelle Anderson is making it out to be. Back in 2014 there was a referendum asking if the Auditor job should be abolished. I said NO – but the person holding that […]
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By: Diane Benjamin I received a lot of information from a FOIA filed with the City of Bloomington. Almost everything is redacted including discussion of Holiday Decorations for downtown. That must be a state secret! This is what you get when you pay a law firm in Springfield almost $60,000 every month! (pre Tari the […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this previous story: https://blnnews.com/2019/07/19/new-illinois-vehicle-tax-is-class-warfare/ This law goes into effect on January 1st. It is one of those brilliant government plans that was slipped into a bill before anybody could protest. It is also one citizens won’t notice until it hits them. The law limits the amount of vehicle trade-in credit allowed […]
By: Diane Benjamin Ryburn is the lady who got the sweet Koos deal to live at the old Sprague’s Gas Station on Pine Street in Normal. See this story for more details: https://blnnews.com/2018/01/07/sweet-deal-for-koos-buddy/ This email was included in the latest FOIA – this building will continue to cost taxpayers money: Another email referenced a visitor […]
By: Diane Benjamin I was going to let this story ride to see if it ever showed up on a Normal Town Council Agenda. Since my FOIA request was denied, I’m going to show you what I know: Emails received by FOIA: Since my FOIA was denied, the Town still has buying this property on […]
https://www.autonews.com/manufacturing/ev-startups-grapple-huge-cash-demands Since most of you are capable of reading, read the article yourself. This is the most wide-ranging article I’ve seen to date. Automotive News is a more reliable source for information than the press that doesn’t specialize in the auto industry. The road signs have been replaced: Maybe some people can’t read! Do you […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below are some things from the last Normal FOIA I found interesting. Some other things are very interesting, I had to file another FOIA for those. For now – enjoy these: On September 1st at 8:55 pm a resident of Normal sent an email with this title: The email is long, basically […]
By: Diane Benjamin One way Normal has tried to justify problems is to state they had to decrease staff a few years ago. Is that true? Not according to what the Town sent to the Illinois Comptroller’s office: The warehouse This site was created years ago for citizens. The format is easier to understand than […]
By: Diane Benjamin This will be the final story documenting the Normal council meeting held on 10/7/2019 See the other parts here – they all tie together: https://blnnews.com/2019/10/08/the-normal-circus-last-night-part-1/ https://blnnews.com/2019/10/08/the-normal-circus-last-night-part-2/ https://blnnews.com/2019/10/08/the-normal-circus-last-night-part-3/ The Connect Transit problem is now clear. The Board, appointed by both mayors, has a mission that doesn’t align with what taxpayers expect a transit […]
By: Diane Benjamin As reported in this story, the Public Comment by Marc Tiritilli was cut from the posted video at the 9/30/2019 joint meeting of the McLean County Board, Town of Normal, and Bloomington City Council: https://blnnews.com/2019/10/07/comment-cut-from-video-tiritilli/ I filed a FOIA Request with Bloomington since they had posted the rest of the video. It […]
By: Diane Benjamin The email was included in the latest FOIA from Normal. This email is about the bike share program. Evidently Town policy is: If we think you need it we will force you to subsidize it!
By: Diane Benjamin Part 1: https://blnnews.com/2019/10/08/the-normal-circus-last-night-part-1/ Part 2: https://blnnews.com/2019/10/08/the-normal-circus-last-night-part-2/ Most of the Connect Transit discussion will be in Part 4. (likely tomorrow!) Two points needs clarifying first: 3:07:00 – Karyn Smith stated at the last meeting Kevin McCarthy said if there was a choice between a full fare rider and one that is subsidized of […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you FAILED to watch Public Comment in Part 1, go there now: https://blnnews.com/2019/10/08/the-normal-circus-last-night-part-1/ Stan Nord pulled both the minutes and expenditures from the Omnibus Agenda. Stan’s first problem with the minutes is that they do not reflect Koos allowed a speaker to talk about an item not on the agenda. Koos later […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Town posted the Work Session and the Council meeting together. Since you likely don’t have 4 hours to spare to watch both, I will start with the Council meeting. The 7 pm meeting starts at 2:05. Since Public Comment was outstanding, begin there. Craig Stimpert was up first. He was following […]
By: Diane Benjamin The information below was given to the Connect Transit Working group. Maybe it was meant to justify losses. It does show common sense and fiscal responsibility aren’t considered.
By: Diane Benjamin On September 30th a Joint meeting of the County Board, Normal Council, and the Bloomington City Council was held. This was an official meeting which was required to comply with the Open Meetings Act. Public Comment was held at the beginning of the meeting. Marc Tiritilli was the only speaker. His topic […]
By: Diane Benjamin The statement below on correspondence from any government official or employee is meaningless. It is meant to intimidate you. You can freely share anything you receive. All documents belong to the citizens unless government can prove they have a right to withhold them. This isn’t proof! Disclaimer The information contained in this […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3430 Payments you aren’t supposed to question: Why was Koos spending a lot of money in DC? Neither of the claims paid below are to the person in this story: https://blnnews.com/2019/10/02/normal-has-your-vehicle-been-damaged-by-the-roads/ Like “free” entertainment? Yes, the artist is a very talented relative and good friend of Chris Koos. I’ve seen her maybe […]
By: Diane Benjamin The sales tax plan for the Fiala brothers created some havoc for some of the Trustees. The citizens of Normal are really tired of the Town’s giveaways, especially to their “friends”. The citizens remember all the properties given away to create Uptown. Nobody would have built there without them. The citizens see […]
By: Diane Benjamin Pam Reece can’t understand why Stan Nord is questioning the actions of past Councils. If Pam can’t understand why Stan was elected, she had an opportunity handed to her: Stan has raised questions about a number of issues. Some of them included Town owned properties being leased for much less than market […]
By: Diane Benjamin On September 12, 2001 we were all Americans. American flags lined neighborhoods. For one day we were a united country. It didn’t last. The citizens of Normal sponsored the Racial Equity Summit held yesterday and today: Why are some minorities wildly successful and some aren’t? Maybe they didn’t “stand idly” waiting for […]
By: Diane Benjamin Citizens of Normal can expect more backroom deals and handouts to friends because most of the Normal Trustees didn’t get the message from the last two elections. Voters can permanently get a representative government in 2021. Meanwhile Stan Nord and Karyn Smith are by themselves expecting fiscal sanity. The excessive spending trying […]
By” Diane Benjamin A Federal lawsuit was filed on September 24, 2019 in the Peoria Division of the Central District of Illinois naming the McLean County State’s Attorney’s office, Don Knapp, Kristen Alferink, and Jason Chambers as defendants. The lawsuit was filed by a former Assistant State’s Attorney – William Layne Roberts. The suit alleges: […]
From this email received by FOIA – is should be:
By: Diane Benjamin Don’t expect a fast reimbursement! I redacted the name, it isn’t important to the story. Emails received by FOIA: A month later: Any other responses were not included in the time period covering the FOIA.
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