By: Diane Benjamim
Both the WGLT reporter and I watched the same Normal Town Council meeting last night. Nothing in the story I wrote this morning was mentioned in their story.
Mine: https://blnnews.com/2022/01/19/message-to-trustee-mccarthy/
Media picks and chooses what to report, obviously fraud isn’t something WGLT cares to cover if the Normal Town Council is involved.
They did save me some time however by covering the mundane business. What they didn’t report is the new interactive Community Investment Plan doesn’t have a list of items the Town currently doesn’t have funding for. The old way was a spreadsheet that showed a wish list for the next few years as money became available. Got a crappy road or bad water that isn’t on the interactive map? You now have no idea whether you matter or not. Worse, that digital plan can be revised without any notice – just a few clicks of their mouse.
The Open Data Portal was supposed to go Live today, if it is Live it’s hidden.
The Public Art is going to cost you money. Beth Whisman presented possibilities and what other cities do. Chris Koos wouldn’t allow discussions about funding. That will happen when the plan is done and the Council gets to rubberstamp the bills.
I do have information about Champaign. They wanted to pay artists for murals on downtown buildings. I know people who presented plans, they weren’t hired because all murals had to have a social justice theme. The two artists I know well refused to comply, even for $10,000.
WGLT also failed to report Stan Nord’s comment about separation agreements. I wrote about the problem last September: https://blnnews.com/2021/09/18/normal-again-tries-to-silence-people/
Normal continues to violate 1st Amendment rights by telling some employees they aren’t allowed to talk about the Town when their employment ends. Normal must want sued. I suggest former employees go ahead and talk, Normal isn’t going to sue you. They know they would lose.
I hope you realize media picks what to report. I pick what to report, usually things nobody else does.
What else does WGLT fail to report?
The only way to be informed is to read a lot of different sources and then draw your own conclusions. Nobody reports all of the facts all of the time.
Hit play to hear Stan comment at the end of the meeting, he also talked about the Council being uninterested in items being passed under fraudulent circumstances.
It is appropriate to address issues during the public meeting, as then there is a legal record taken and preserved.
So we have a leftist media outlet reporting on a leftist authoritarian government with an agenda to shove their ideology down the throats of everyone in the area? So what else is new? Same crap different meeting…
Thank you for pointing out “the media” of which you are a member, prints only what they want.
The real question is why did you miss what they covered?
Miss? Where was that?
So you put Diane in your media bag with a leftist publically funded radio station that only propagandized fools and communists believe? And then you say she missed something? There is something missing here for sure…. And you certainly will not be able to find it.
Its just incredulous to me that someone doesn’t tell Koos they are going to discuss it whether he likes it or not. Is he a Dictator? No, he’s a public servant. Is there anywhere in any rule that gives him the power to literally tell people to shut up regarding taxpayers business? I’d be in that guy’s face.
BLM didn’t let him run over them
Trustee/Aldermanic comment is listed as an agenda item, correct? It is my understanding any topic during that time is fair game. McCarthy was allowed his diatribe.
Last of course so nobody could correct his errors. Koos had already called for a motion to adjourn and received a so moved when Kevin was allowed to speak.
Wonder what Robert’s Rules says about the mayor’s action? Not that Koos follows any rules.
Call to adjourn and motion ended comments, no it doesn’t matter