By: Diane Benjamin

The three agenda items supporting the redevelopment of Eastland Mall all passed easily at last night’s City Council Meeting.

That will be the end of easy because Molly Ward and the other pretend nonpartisan aldermen made demands. Molly will not support any further plans unless they include a Project Labor Agreement (PLA). That means developers will be required to hire union labor locally.

Since the left is economically challenged, this is no different from raising the minimum wage, which can force businesses to automate and eliminate jobs when higher labor costs eat into profits. No profit means no investment.

See her comment at 34:15. Keep listening—Michael Mosley agrees with Ward.

Ward and crew weren’t done with simply threatening the Eastland Mall developer. Molly forced an amendment to the agreement with Royce Brinkmeyer that would also require a Project Labor Agreement to develop the North Main property.

Don’t be surprised if they walk away from the project because of that vote. If the numbers don’t work, the project gets canned. They may never attempt another project in Bloomington, and they could tell other developers to skip Bloomington, too.

Either free markets drive investment, or authoritarians bowing to campaign contributions from local unions destroy progress.

The developer who wasn’t chosen for this project spoke during public comment. See 18:10. At 44:24, Molly Ward asks staff for details about how the two projects were scored. The response shows that the selected developer scored much higher than the other applicant. The presentation last Monday night, when both developers presented their proposals, was simply confirmation for the Council.

If you watched, it was obvious even to me that Royce Brinkmeyer had the better project and track record.

The real fun begins at 49:50, when Molly Ward makes an amendment she had distributed to everyone included in the discussion before noon, as the rules required. She added a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) to the project.

The discussion then evolved into a debate over the definition of a PLA, especially when the City Attorney couldn’t answer the question. He didn’t think adding the requirement necessarily meant the project had to comply with Molly’s demands.

Sheila Montney read the City Code, stating that the City cannot require a PLA with private developers. Listen to the amendment at 52:30. Cody Hendricks seconded it. His seat was bought by local labor: Illinois Sunshine campaign finance records

The discussion was lengthy. City Attorney Chris Spanos couldn’t agree on the definition of a Project Labor Agreement. Sheila Montney argued that Ward’s language attempts to apply a requirement to this project that the City Code limits to public works agreements.

Molly Ward put the Council in a difficult position by introducing an amendment that raised questions about the City’s own rules. The Council had previously adopted a requirement that amendments could not be made during a meeting. Yet Ward’s amendment was considered, even though its language could not be clearly explained or clarified.

The icing on the cake was a comment from remote participant Michael Mosley at 1:08:10. He implied that the City needed to increase its contribution to the project so the developer could use local labor. That’s your tax dollars being redistributed to labor unions, giving them more money to buy more aldermen.

The amendment passed, with only Sheila Montney voting against it. The final vote received unanimous support.

It remains to be seen whether Royce Brinkmeyer will continue with the project. If Bloomington becomes a union-labor-only town, developers will disappear. Thank Molly Ward and her band of bought aldermen. If the Eastland Mall redevelopment collapses, it will be for the same reason.

A representative from the Chamber of Commerce also appeared during public comment. She referred to the organization as progressive. Why would businesses want to be part of the Chamber? Progressives don’t believe in free markets—it’s their way or nothing. Remember the award they gave to the Immigration Project?

BLNNews: Matejka—Chamber of Commerce Doing Comedy Now?

The Finance Director gave his report. See the slide recapping major revenues at 1:19:45. It shows the various taxes collected to date. People continue to eat out because, evidently, few know how to cook. Since motor fuel taxes are down, they must be ordering DoorDash. No wonder housing is unaffordable when people spend their income paying someone else to cook their food and deliver it to their door.

See the additional tax figures at 1:22:08. Package liquor taxes are down. What is NEVER included on a chart is cannabis tax revenue. Is that up because liquor taxes are down? Inquiring minds want to know.