By: Diane Benjamin
Everybody occasionally gets sucked in by things they see on the internet. Everybody should do more research before they post anything. (including me!)
Two days ago the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council posted this on Facebook:
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Ever heard of Pheabs? It didn’t take much research to find out who they are, the EDC should have done some research before posting the above:
According to their website: www.pheabs.com
Their address is 515 E Las Olas Boulevard, Suite 120, Fort Lauderdale FL. A deeper search reveals that is a virtual office that is rented for $99 a month. A ton of other “businesses” rent that same address.
All of these sites rank small towns, Normal didn’t make a single one:
https://www.aarp.org/home-family/your-home/info-2022/most-livable-small-towns.html
https://money.com/collection/best-places-to-live-2021/
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/best-places-live-united-states-america/
https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/best-small-towns-in-america
https://travel.usnews.com/rankings/best-small-towns-in-the-usa/
The guy (Daniel, no last name) advertising Pheabs on YouTube looks very young, he claims he can get loans for people with bad credit. The EDC (that gets lots of your tax dollars) took this guys word for Normal. Maybe he’s an ISU grad that fled to Florida like so many others.
2 minutes of research. I found https://www.tudorlodgedigital.com/
Daniel is out of the UK. His last name is Tannenbaum.
He does Search Engine Optimization.
He has sold 4 lead generation websites.
They specialize in finding leads within the predatory lending arena, ie. payday, installment, bad credit, and guarantor loans.
Like in life, people are judged by the company they keep. The EDC should better vet its sources or lose credibility.
Since when is flat, picturesque?
The article mentions, “bike friendly roads.” A lot of our tax dollars were diverted from roads to the bike friendly Constitution Trail. It is no surprise king koos and queen pam would choose deception to promote Normal. If nothing else they’re consistent. Consistently deceptive.
I am sick of the spin they put on trying to polish Normal’s reputation instead of fixing the problems making Normal a turd. Yes, the shit roads, shit taxes, and the shitty attitudes of the manager and council towards those who don’t want shit roads, shit taxes, and shitty attitudes from government make Normal a turd place to actually live. Firing the mayor and town manager and their minions would be a great step in actually making Normal a great place to live: