By: Diane Benjamin
Council members do NOT have a right to demand items be placed on the agenda. Aldermen have a procedure for doing it called Council initiatives. The public would know who is behind items and the Council has to vote to consider items at future meetings. Mollie Ward knows the procedure, maybe the other far leftists don’t. Here’s one Ward presented in 2021: https://blnnews.com/2021/08/18/bloomington-last-monday/
Allowing far left members to throw items on the Consent Agenda hoping nobody notices must end.
Two zoning changes were on the Consent Agenda Monday night. Sheila Montney pulled both them because she thinks zoning changes should be discussed in open, not put on a Consent Agenda. On August 18th the Optico “missing middle housing” discussion will be on the Committee of the Whole Agenda. Montney thinks zoning changes should wait until after that discussion.
Would you be surprised to learn Ward, Hendricks, Kearns, and Scott voted NOT to allow public conversations? Keep reading to find out what happened!
I REALLY hate writing this story because unless you are a zoning expert it is horribly confusing, I’m not a zoning expert!
Zoning is meant to bend free markets to whatever the will of government is. Remember the North Main Street property the City has been holding for years? The City under Tari Renner bought it to control what it was used for. He wanted mixed use development, like what is all over Main street in Normal, where buildings are retail on the first floor and apartments above. Heard of 15 minute cities? The scam can’t be recognized if you don’t know it’s a scam. $1.4 million has been tied up in that property for almost 9 years: https://blnnews.com/2025/07/16/flashback-to-2016/
That money could cover more than 1/3 of the lost grocery tax revenue if somebody wanted to buy it. It appears nobody wants prime real estate in Bloomington. No property taxes are being paid either.
A map of the areas of the City affected by these zoning changes was NOT included in the documentation. This is a link to the 2024 official zoning map: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/31577/638878475509980987
That map is ridiculous – just try understanding it! The colors aren’t distinct enough and no roads are labeled. Is it really necessary to have so many different zoning codes? Only if the City wants to rule instead of govern.
It’s impossible to understand local zoning without cue cards, this is from the City Code. These labels do not match the ones on the map above, for instance the map shows an R-1H that isn’t on this list: https://ecode360.com/34414623#34414623
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This was the first zoning change, it affects residential: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/3464360/Text_Amendments_Urban_Residential.pdf
On page 1 you will see items that used to require a special use permit are now permitted. That page references R-D zoning, the list above does not show R-D. The map says R-D is downtown neighborhood residence.
Page 2 is very difficult to understand. It appears to promote pack-em-stack-em housing. Density is greatly increased. Hasn’t it always been your dream to live feet from a neighbor in a single family house?
The rest of the document is more of the same. The presenter was asked what affect a delay would cause. She stated 4 ADU’s have applied for permits. ADU is: Accessory Dwelling Unit. That means building another house in a backyard that can be rented or used by a family member. They are common now in blue states, especially on the west coast. They cause parking problems since the original home wasn’t built for multiple places to live on one lot.
This is the second document: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/3383313/Z-03-25_Text_Amendments_Staff_Report_a.pdf
Even though the agenda item claims the changes promote ownership, everything about this document disputes that: https://d2kbkoa27fdvtw.cloudfront.net/cityblm/f3fac2245218fc29e1218ed335b962470.pdf
Why would building heights need increased for ownership? It looks to me like these items encourage building multi-family rentals, not ownership.
As stated above, 4 council members wanted this passed Monday night. 4 didn’t. John Danenberger was absent so Mayor Brady broke the tie. He voted yes with Montney, Mosley, Straza, and Lee. You now have time to find out how these affect you. Use it.
Is this the goal?
Just hit play to hear this discussion:
I can’t begin to explain how disappointed I am with Dan Brady – as Mayor.
I recall speaking w/ Dan on his campaign trail at the Farmer’s Market in dilapidated downtown.
I ended our conversation sharing with him that I thought if anyone could “fix” Bloomington it would be him – hometown, homegrown.
I told him that Bloomington’s fix needed to be hometown, homegrown, organic, driven from those components. That the fix needed to be fundamental. That would spur growth, then development.z
That a city without leaders has no vision. A city with no vision has no future.
I thought Dan Brady could step into those shoes, fill the void long plauging Bloomington and get us back on the path to fundamentals, homegrown, organic.
It doesn’t seem so.
The city is in shambles.
No growth.
No vision.
No leaders.
City Council members bringing with them ideals and ideas from agendas not fundamental to Bloomington’s fundamental needs is not the answer. It’s been tried by Councils here for the last 20+ years – all have failed as is evident.
City Council leaders – and the Mayor – must serve the fundamental needs in order to reach the road to success.
The list of irrelevant, unnecessary, misguided and self-serving agendas and policies must end.
There’s also a list of what’s important: at the top of the list is Bloomington’s citizens. Their needs and best interests. That coincides with Bloomington’s present state of affairs then it’s future.
Until those priorities are understood, acknowledged and put into place with action – homegrown and organic – all the nonsense that takes place at the hands of this local government will continue to blight our city.
And, Mayor Brady, its time you step up to the plate and perform as the citizens of Bloomington expected you to – for their best interests – when they put that X next to your name on the ballot.
Nothing less will do!
It looks like the council’s Politburo (Ward, Hendricks, Kearns, and Scott) does have a leader (Ward) and is connected to the McLean county board (Beirne and Able). Mayor Koos might be an affiliation in Normal. Having Socialist values and even a connection to the local Communist party through Able (Garcia) gives an indication about what they want to do even if they are afraid to speak it out loud.
So, you could speculate that generally their unspoken agenda would be to expand government’s heavy hand over the tax payers.
Currently the issue is zoning. What, where, and how you can build, how many cars you can own, etc. But eventually controlling rent, then possibly expanding the subsidizing of their particular small business choices.
Imposing controls and expenditures based on “sustainability” or climate alarmism (downtown remake, choosing what energy sources are allowed, etc.).
Supporting ideologically based community endeavors that they agree with but that most citizens reject. Sadly most citizens don’t vote so they can get away with it.
Also, gain control of as much of the tax payer’s money as possible and tax more if possible. Currently the pause of mental health funding is probably a grab to control of the use of the funds for their own causes for the next year. After that what happens?
Ultimately they do not intend to consider the tax paying citizen’s already excessive tax burden in favor of transfer of wealth and socially reengineering the local community according to their minority worldview.