By: Diane Benjamin
Public Comment was filled with the far left again wanting special treatment for illegals. Of course they hate Donna Boelen’s Welcoming America initiative because it doesn’t ban dealing with ICE. I wonder how Corey Cottrell’s family fells since he was killed by an illegal? https://blnnews.com/2019/07/12/corey-cottrell-memorial-ride/
The far left doesn’t care that Corey would still be alive if illegals were not allowed in the country. Their response would be: it could have been American who hit Corey. It wasn’t an American is immaterial to them.
Since regular citizens just want to live their lives without the government telling them how to do it, they don’t call in to protests the far left’s disregard for laws. That leaves public comment open for the far left trying to bully the Council into kneeling before them. If those regular citizens sit out another election the FAR left will council the City. Illegals will not only be welcomed, they will be allowed to vote.
BTW, Tari Renner banned Public Comment at his special Liquor Commission hearing last week. I’d love to hear how he thinks that was legal, but then it is Tari.
The longest presentation was on the Cloud Invoice and Payment system the City will be adding early next year. You can see the presentation starting at 47:00. It will not be mandatory for citizens but they hope a large number do sign up because it will save time and money.
The Finance Director announced the City received a CHECK for $3.2 million from the State under the Cures Act. Following that is his presentation on City Finances. Income tax receipts are above budget because the deadline to file was changed past the City’s year end of 4/30/2020. Use tax is also up because people are paying sales tax for on-line purchases. Home Rule Sales tax, Food and Beverage taxes, and Hotel/Motel Taxes are WAY below budget.
Keep shutting down restaurants Tari!
The re-zoning of properties around downtown was tabled until December. Carillo made the motion, the rest of the Council agreed.
If you want to hear the discussion of capital leases, see 40:00. It has more depth, but it is essentially what I stated yesterday. They wanted to stop doing them but COVID made that impossible.
The zoo applied for a grant for a South American exhibit. The bankrupt State is going to give them $750,000 of the $1 million project. (How long before the zoo is the only thing at Miller Park?) The balance of $250,000 has been pledged by the zoo foundation, so no tax dollars are being used – except the $750,000 which of course is tax dollars the State took from you.
Jamie Mathy wants citizens to know they can look up when leaf collection will be in their neighborhood: https://www.cityblm.org/government/departments/public-works
Welcoming City
A proclamation made by a city in the name of the citizens of the city should not promote an agenda that is not universally accepted by the all the citizens. Therefore it should be simple, narrowly focused and non partisan. Otherwise it will end up dividing, not uniting the citizens to a common cause. It will cause more damage than good.
All initiatives that seek to change the way the police force acts need to come through higher level channels. Preferably voted on by the citizens.
We SHOULD use the zoo to “LOCK UP” several of our council folks, starting with Jenn and Craybeak. Maybe put them in with the tigers??
But then again, I like tigers, and they never did me wrong!
While I’m opposed to a so-called welcome ordinance, as I suspect is true the vast majority of the citizenry, I think we’re missing the plot. The local “leadership” is so obsessed with and utterly distracted by SJW activism that we’re not addressing the economic decline of Bloomington (which long pre-dates COVID). Big Red shipping out top paying and/or high tech jobs to be replaced by low-skill, entry-level positions. Retail closings left and right, being replaced by discount stores. Runaway debt and lavish spending on pet projects. Meanwhile, business owners continue getting spit on by local leadership, not just the mayor. We hear police are being told to drop in on restaurant owners. Tell me that’s comfortable for either the restauranteur or the officer placed in that uncomfortable position. Bloomington is in serious trouble and I don’t think a chocolate factory is going to be enough to reverse the current downward spiral.
sounds like a good place for nuts though.
It will get much worse as more SJW’s are elected to local offices. This takeover of the local government has been planned for some time by certain locals with the help of organized labor, Springfield and Dick Durbin. The local economy is of zero consequence to these people because most are supported by government either through the organizations they work for or by gaming the system through intimidation. They have no long-term loyalty to the area and don’t plan to stay that long anyway once they establish their political bona-fides. They have know that jobs in politics require no skills, no knowledge and no talent. Just an ability to BS their way through life which most have made an art form. BN will eventually become the joke of all of Illinois with no future, no people of talent or abilities and no reason to exist. It will be just another Illinois craphole being left to rot like Cairo, Decatur, Rockford, and others. This state is dead. This community is dead. Liberalism is indeed a mental disorder.
YEAH, and Dec 1st you won’t even be able to get Laffy Taffy! They are going to shut that line down, just like Golden Crumbles.. ALWAYS THE GOOD STUFF!
I do not understand. If legal citizens kill other citizens at rates much higher than illegals, why are we so worried about illegals commiting that crime?
Liberal logic! 🔥
What part of ILLEGALS do you not understand?