By: Diane Benjamin
Anybody remember BN Advantage? It was a huge collaboration of the unelected who got your money to operate. This story explains who: https://blnnews.com/2015/10/29/round-2-bn-advantage/
It would take a lot of research to figure out how much of your money was thrown to this group. This story shows $423,867 just from Bloomington: https://blnnews.com/2019/04/29/bn-advantage-magazine/
Where is BN Advantage now? Only in the way back machine (internet archive), unless you count their link now takes you to the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council website.
What it used to be: (March 31, 2018)
https://web.archive.org/web/20180331213002/https://www.bnadvantage.com/
Click on it, a really pretty and likely expensive website that is now ashes.
It’s only your money though. Why do both Town have economic development departments when they also pay the EDC to do it for them? (Just asking!)
Why did I mention this?
Because BN Advantage is mentioned in the nasty statement the Normal Town Council released on 2/27/2017 in response to the Bloomington Council voting to end Metrozone. Kevin McCarthy and Scott Preston signed on to it, as well as the others on council at the time: Cheryl Gaines, Jeff Fritzen, Kathleen Lorenz, and RC McBride. Of course Koos did too.
See the statement here:
Excerpt:
Read the rest, Normal is at war with Bloomington.
The minutes of the Bloomington Council meeting tell a different story:
https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=12412
Koos makes it sound like the Bloomington vote came out of nowhere, the Bloomington minutes say it didn’t. Who is lying?
Of course WGLT would take Koos’ side: https://www.wglt.org/post/normal-bloomington-rift-growing-over-metro-zone#stream/0
Pantagraph version contains more details: https://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/bloomington-council-nixes-metro-zone-tax-deal/article_bb09a977-1687-56db-81ae-176d6c2807fd.html
I’ve written many stories proving Normal is using your tax dollars to wage this war. If Koos and his buddies are elected the war will continue. There is only one way to end it:
Elect:
Marc Tiritilli – mayor of Normal
Normal Trustees: Harsh, Blumenshine, and Sila
War over.
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So well said. Thank you for bringing us the real news.
I 100% agree with FEDUP!!
And our household really appreciates BLNNEWS!!
It’s great to have you spread the real news as to why Normal has to dump Koos.
BN Advantage was a joke! Just a bunch of old crusties from the Chamber getting together trying to convince each other that BN is an amazing “destination” community. Building a website for no one, banners in Uptown that only locals see, and marketing materials that no one reads. It’s no different than any other local economic development initiative. It doesn’t matter which mayor or council supports/doesn’t support which initiative. Bottom line, Koos and Renner both want power and control to centrally plan Normal and Bloomington, respectively. If that means attacking the other mayor or community, wasting money, petty name-calling, whatever; they don’t care. Ironically enough, they are fighting over table scraps when it comes to potential economic development. It seems the fighting is so ferocious because the stakes are so small.
To even have a semblance of a local economic development program the local leadership would have learn what it is. Right now, its building public swimming pools, go- kart tracks at a vacant mall and free piano tuning. Anyone that was ever any good at the EDC was kicked to the curb by the Elitist Clique because they didn’t play along or look the part. Like you said BN Advantage was the biggest waste of money and the creation of the local clique sorority girls who thought pretty flowers on street corners and trendy restaurants were the catalyst to bring hordes of start-ups to ole BN. This community is infected with know-nothing wannabes that are under the delusion they know something about everything when in reality they know absolutely nothing about anything.
The Metro Zone was a cash cow for Normal. Under the agreement, revenue was to be shared. Too bad Normal didn’t do any development in the Metro Zone to generate revenue but instead used the revenue from Bloomington’s contribution to help develop Uptown…$1M annually to Normal from Bloomington. Then there is the shared sales tax initiative from Normal Trustee, McBride which would have benefited Normal. Koos’ idea of collaboration is more like confiscation.