By: Diane Benjamin
Since some Federal Holidays are more important than others, the Bloomington City Council is delaying the Committee of the Whole meeting until tomorrow night. Remember when they met on Columbus day? https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4125/files/agenda/9240
The Council held a retreat in November to set priorities. Of course there is no video since it wasn’t held in the Council chambers where it could have been filmed for posterity and you.
In December they violated their own priorities. See the resolution they will all applaud Tuesday night here: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4125/files/attachment/5142
2 items:


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What did 7 of the 9 Council members do to violate their self-stated principles?
Since the City has needs and knows where more money comes from, they raised property taxes. https://blnnews.com/2025/12/16/rent-to-increase-again-in-bloomington/
That isn’t “fiscal discipline”.
That isn’t “quality of life”.
It sure isn’t going to be sustainable for the long term as people continue to move out of Illinois and Bloomington because of property taxes.
Increasing property taxes makes home ownership unaffordable. Proactive code enforcement makes Bloomington government authoritarian. The worst offenders are always targeted first, they will get to people with grass an inch too long or garbage cans visible from the road after.
Another excerpt:

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Is that list of deferred maintenance alderman Montney has requested forever finally done?
What’s your guess? Mine is NO.

The sad part is that a lot of people will keep voting these idiots into office.
When few vote this is what you get
Maybe just one or two words about cutting costs and looking for waste?????
I think the word “sustainability” to this council means – how can we keep our pocket book full so that we can sustain our ability to spend money on our special and peculiar interests whenever the mood hits us.
Cody. Molly. Abbey.Dannenbager. ..principles you say ? lol. they couldn’t care less about us plebeian sheep.