By: Diane Benjamin

The meeting wasn’t as long as the video shows. It includes close to 14 minutes of commercials before the meetings starts. If you want to know about upcoming events, watch them.

4 people spoke at Public Comment, 3 wanting the Council to go with Mboka’s Liquor Commission recommendation to deny the Liquor License I wrote about yesterday: https://blnnews.com/2024/08/12/bloomington-tonight-could-be-short/

Nobody mentioned only 1 person on the Liquor Commission has made most of the recommendations this year. Remember the old days when the commission was 7 or 8 people? Tari Renner changed government For and By the People to by Renner with 2 other handpicked people. Mboka has taken it farther to only 2 members instead of 3. Of course Illinois law supports this, it’s all about power – not representation.

The Council voted to deny the license. The 4th person to speak was Surena Fish. She thanked Jeff Jurgens for cleaning up Constitution Trail but also stated people are afraid to go downtown because of all the vagrants. She also stated she is normally against hiring consultants, but not the one on the agenda because working with the City is too difficult. Hear her at 24:40.

Hiring the consultant got little discussion. It passed unanimously.

The most interesting part of the meeting was City Manager Jeff Jurgens’ report. Remember when they wanted shelter before the summer heat for the tent city inhabitants at the old YMCA? That didn’t happen so now the goal is before winter. He covers lots of topics, just hit play to hear him.