By: Diane Benjamin

h/t a reader for the video

Monday night Bloomington will consider the same pause in funding to the County for mental health that Normal did: https://granicus_production_attachments.s3.amazonaws.com/cityblm/334d59458cb7051d070970f18fdb52b10.pdf

The Behavior Health Coordinating Council (BHCC) was changed to a secret group in 2024. Advising on spending millions of dollars in secret is a huge part of the problem. Stockpiling over 20 million sales tax dollars isn’t representative government or transparent. That is why Normal suspended funding and Bloomington probably will too. The vote will probably be close because Bloomington alderman largely throw money at anything, results and facts are immaterial when they can claim compasion.

What happens if Bloomington and Normal both vote to stop funding and the County doesn’t agree? This could get fun since the County proposed the language both have on their agendas without passing it first at the County level.

There are many factors in this discussion. One is funding “The Bridge” project in downtown Bloomington for the homeless. Another is throwing money to NGO’s who claim to be experts. Yet another is local businesses who do not prosecute shoplifting. They are contributing to homelessness and mental illness by funding that lifestyle.

Below is an interview with a guy who lived on skid row in California for 10 years due to drug addiction. He wasn’t a degenerate who wanted to be taken care of. California enabled his lifestyle. He became an addict in college.

Key points in the video:

-he could earn $300-$500 a day panhandling and shoplifting, all of it went to buy drugs

-every person on skid row was handed a free cell phone courtesy of taxpayers

-sobriety wasn’t required to obtain housing (just like The Bridge)

-California made life on skid row easy

-There was no accountability for the millions spent with NGO’s hired to solve the problem

The video is fascinating. Jared Klickstein is the person McLean County is trying to move from homeless to productive citizen. He begged a judge to put him in jail for 6 months to get sober. He was jailed, when released he was dropped off back on skid row. He relapsed briefly before HE decided to change his life.

I cued this video to 45:00 because he was asked how to fix the problem. His answer was to re-criminalize crime. This video should be watched by everyone spending local mental health dollars. Where is the accountability for the local NGO’s supposedly helping people like Jared? In the CLOSED meetings of the BHCC or nowhere? Where is the accountability for businesses who enable theft? Home Depot isn’t the only one, we need a master list of where not to shop until they re-criminalize crime. https://blnnews.com/2025/07/24/shoplifting-is-legal-at-home-depot/

Homelessness has exploded in California because they make it easy. McLean County is headed in the same direction, thus homelessness has increased here too. I’ve heard stories of liberals handing these people gift cards which they instantly sell at a discounted price to continue buying whatever they are addicted to. Stop it! Jared needed tough love. Jail enabled him to help himself.