By: Diane Benjamin
The Bloomington City Council meets tonight at 6:00, Normal meets at 7:00.
Bloomington tonight: https://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1055&Inline=True
PDF page 19
Who decides what the “right” fit is and why does their opinion matter?
I hope nobody still believes the Council does the budget. See PDF page 21:
The Council gets 10 MINUTES to discuss it! That amounts to a little over a minute each.
Meet the people who will be at least partially responsible for emptying out State Farm’s buildings in Bloomington.
https://thefinancialtechnologyreport.com/the-top-25-insurtech-executives-of-2019/?fbclid=IwAR0g1fM3_-ayACM0MxwaO4YnMIB-JYFCc3OvapV08kgaLWG1smdCR0KvAJM
And we talk about “right fit”?
As a business owner is there anything more insulting than the government (in this case, local) playing favorites with businesses and/or maligning businesses or industries that they don’t like based on their own politically-motivated formula. “Right fit” is crony capitalism and worse! Basically, Bloomington doesn’t care about you business owners unless you’re in an industry or are a business/business owner that politicians like/endorse/approve. The City should be rooting for all businesses to succeed. Let consumers in the marketplace decide what there’s a demand for. Could you imagine if the City did absolutely nothing in Downtown Bloomington? No micromanaging, no capital-intensive taxpayer-funded projects. At worst, Downtown would look the same, but with 100s of millions more of taxpayer money either returned to taxpayers or applied to municpal needs not wants.
Diesel Dicks can’t rebuild because of zoning. I’ve always heard insurance companies have to rebuild. Maybe he’s celebrating
I’m sure the Downtown Cabal has already made it known who and what would and would not be welcomed on that property. (Evidently, the “Welcome Ordinance” doesn’t apply here.) Does anyone want to put odds on the CT transfer station? How about another so-called catalyst project? Or, perhaps another art studio for the “thriving” arts community in BN? No matter what, I can’t envision a scenario where there’s not some sort of taxpayer giveaway. Meanwhile, an existing and operational business – free of taxpayer money, as far as I know – gets the boot. Over-under on how long the land remains undeveloped while the Downtown Cabal argues over how to centrally plan the community?
It would be cheaper than tearing down the other asbestos filled vacant buildings!
Immediately 1-2 blocks west of Diesel Dicks is a less than highly desirable neighborhood. Lol, good luck with that one.
There is something macabrely amusing about leadership who goes through all these “right fit” machinations, as the area’s sole economic driver is being disrupted! Yes… pay no attention to the 40 foot Sword of Damocles hanging over Bloomington/Normal. They need a ___________ (insert worthless retail businesses here) to locate in our downtown…. because they want to shape the future of the economy here. They wont let the reality of insurance company disruption and the age of exponential technological change hinder their dreams of creating a socialist elitist utopia with your tax money.