By: Diane Benjamin Luckily Alderman won’t be voting on the Middle Missing Housing report tonight, Committee of the Whole is meant to assess policy. It will reveal who believes government solves problems and who knows they don’t however. The Bloomington City Council has approved MANY housing projects, almost all have ZERO action from developers. The […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday night the Bloomington City Council is circling back to the May 27th discussion of Missing Middle Housing. In case you forgot, the City hired a California group called Opticos Design Inc. Some things you need to know: -The report is littered with the term “Best Practices”. That is a ridiculous term […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington’s website has a horrible Search Engine. Instead of fixing that problem, IT decided to re-do a part of the website that was actually easy to use. This is what the screen with meeting agenda etc used to look like: It was very easy to find meeting documentation! Look at what they […]
By: Diane Benjamin We spent the weekend in Wisconsin. We saw ZERO gas stations with gas over $2.95 a gallon. The roads are extremely better than Illinois, obviously freezing and thawing is just an excuse. There was a lot of road work being done. The area we were in received 7 1/2 inches of rain […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington obviously doesn’t believe in Martin Luther King’s vision of not judging people by the color of their skin. It appears they think no person of color is capable of succeeding on their own merits. In the latest version of expanding government and wasting money on non-essential events, see […]
By: Diane Benjamin I don’t track every artist fee anymore. At some point I might just FOIA all them. If people only look at event reports they would think the BCPA makes money. Listing actual expenses must be too difficult and too transparent. The first payment was a deposit, total artist fees for this show […]
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 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s meeting will take at least one more story. I don’t know when I will get to another story, so stay tuned. Bloomington voted unanimously to suspend payment of the 0.25% sales tax to the county for at least one year, intended for mental health services—primarily because the county holds more […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://granicus_production_attachments.s3.amazonaws.com/cityblm/334d59458cb7051d070970f18fdb52b10.pdf A Public Hearing and vote are on the agenda to annex 74.5 acres on Lutz Road for a solar farm. Under state law the solar farm can’t be stopped, so opposition isn’t possible. Once built this farm will be using city water to clean the panels. Unless they buy trucked […]
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 […]
Judy Stearns, age 74, from Bloomington, Illinois, was called home to be with the Lord on Friday, July 18, 2025. Her Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, July 25, 2025 at Epiphany Catholic Church in Normal. A visitation will be held from 10:00-11:00 a.m. prior to mass at the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since Bloomington canceled the Committee of the Whole meeting last night, I watched the Normal meeting only because suspending contributions to the County Intergovernmental Agreement was on the agenda. Funding for Mental Health was the reason since that fund has $20 million plus. (Why-the-county-is-sitting-on-20-million-for-mental-health/) The discussion was lengthy. I can’t say any […]
By: Diane Benjamin Evidently the media wasn’t listening to public comment at the 7/14/25 County Executive Board meeting. Former Board member Susan Schafer was heavily involved with the mental health funding and spending. She spoke about the expense involved implementing EGIS. It is some replacement 911 system that is going to cost $20 million over […]
By: Diane Benjamin Elected officials are once again exempt from prosecution. All future local elections will be highly partisan since 3 democrats got away with violating city code. Republican leaning candidates need to play the same game and expose the far left candidates who want you to believe they are just normal democrats. They aren’t. […]
By: Diane Benjamin In 2016 Bloomington bought a property at 807 North Main street: . Bloomington bought this property to control what was built there. Bloomington still owns it. Coldwell Banker couldn’t sell at after Bloomington hired them. https://blnnews.com/2020/07/02/bloomington-5-years-and-no-news/ A link in that story explains why nobody bought it. The City wanted to control what […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below are highlights from the meeting last night: 1) City Manager Jurgens reported the church that collapsed on E Mulberry was demolished because of the emergency of further collapse. The City hopes to recover the cost from the church’s insurance/congregation. It sounds like nothing could be salvaged because the building was unstable: […]
By: Diane Benjamin Decades of spending money downtown have failed to transform it from a place of lawyers by day and revelers by night. Bloomington’s new goal is to reposition downtown as the entertainment capital of Central Illinois (That was stated at a June meeting: https://blnnews.com/2025/06/17/committee-of-the-whole-recap/) The pattern of bidding projects “shooting for the stars” […]
By: Diane Benjamin Does anyone truly believe a consultant from California can offer advice to Bloomington on missing “middle housing”? Many people can no longer afford homes in California. I will only care about what Opticos Design says after they solve California’s housing problems where they are located. https://blnnews.com/2025/05/28/bloomington-part-2-missing-middle-housing/ Computers are rapidly becoming over 100 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Alderman Cody Hendricks isn’t on it. Neither is Alderman Jenna Kearns or Alderman Abby Scott. Elites can violate laws without consequences, these peons got dragged into Administrative Court.
By: Diane Benjamin Do people making laws, like completely eliminating fossil fuels by 2025, ever bother with facts? Wind turbines don’t work without fossil fuels. If the goal was to decrease the temperature, solar farms aren’t the answer. They actually increase the temperature. This link is highly scientific, like using photovoltaic (PV) renewable energy production […]
By: Diane Benjamin All the elected officials in McLean County will never tell those of you who don’t bother to vote thanks, so I will. The schools boards love people who don’t care enough to make sure the teacher’s unions don’t get the candidates elected they want. Negotiations are so much easier when those paying […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) See all Boards and Commission here along with a link to apply: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/government/boards-commissions Some diversity and new blood on Boards and Commission is badly needed. 2) I recently looked up a house that just went under contract. This was on Redfin, progressives want you to be too afraid of the weather […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/departments/human-resources/benefits-at-a-glance Bloomington has job openings: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/departments/human-resources/join-the-team
By: Diane Benjamin After a long line of licensed massage therapists spoke, stating that the ordinance still needed work, the City Council passed an amended version. Public comment begins at 33:25, and the discussion and amendments start at 56:00. Most of the outdated language from the 1970s was removed; however, the ordinance remains a complex […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://granicus_production_attachments.s3.amazonaws.com/cityblm/a982639c281d15cf5e4ea08f054b02060.pdf Only 1 item on the regular agenda: Existing State licensed massage therapists will not be subjected to licensing by the City: This was common sense. It still does nothing to rescue people being trafficked. The ordinance, including changes, took 25 pages to write. I’m glad the legal department came to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit owns a property they don’t need in downtown Bloomington – PIN #21-04-389-006. Connect held a special meeting on June 13th. This information is from the packet for that meeting: https://connect-transit.com/file/3675/06%2013%202025_BoT_Special%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf Connect Transit’s Oakland Avenue property is the former site of Connect Transit’s operations and maintenance facility prior to our current […]
By: Diane Benjamin What is government speak? It’s elected officials or staff who use terms you’ve never heard of before. One example: Road Diet That one was big a few years ago. It means narrowing the roads to slow down traffic. East Washington was put on a road diet so bike lanes could be added. […]
By: Diane Benjamin From this story: https://blnnews.com/2025/06/17/committee-of-the-whole-recap/ Bloomington continues exchanging employees with Decatur: From LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cordaryl-patrick-016b3633/
By: Diane Benjamin 3 of the 9 aldermen were absent: Mosley, Danenberger, and Lee. Bloomington has no idea how many local houses are uninhabitable. The goal now is to find out. Relatively new City employee Cordaryl Patrick – Community Impact & Enhancement Director, gave a presentation starting at 22:00. I find it hilarious that this […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://granicus_production_attachments.s3.amazonaws.com/cityblm/1319726fe65c44cda877648ed64432af0.pdf Of course nothing is on the agenda holding elected officials accountable for violating City Code. https://blnnews.com/2025/06/11/elected-officials-vs-city-code-bloomington-fail/ Were all 3 at the the No Kings protest Saturday? They are the local royalty exempt from laws. See the agenda – sound revioting? I will let you know Tuesday unless I nod off […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember when Tari Renner’s rubber stamp Council passed a 1% Sales Tax increase? https://blnnews.com/2015/09/16/taxes-increases-would-be-easier-with-truth/ The County wanted a 1/4% for “mental health”. Instead Bloomington raised Sales Tax 1% and took 3/4% for themselves. I believe this tax was mostly to fund the jail expansion but since “mental health” is always the reason […]
By: Diane Benjamin Sometimes I think readers know what I mean when I say Accelerated Payments since I’ve been writing about them for years. Since 1 commentor asked what the numbers in this story mean, I will explain in detail: https://blnnews.com/2025/06/05/bloomington-is-still-spiking-pensions-2/ Bloomington employees are allowed to accumulate sick days (Sick Leave Buy Back). They collect […]
By: Diane Benjamin This is the new list of people being prosecuted by the City of Bloomington for breaking City Code: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showdocument?id=28541&t=638139539977443234 . Note your elected officials who violated the same code are not on this list. The next consolidated election will be extremely partisan because there are no penalties for violating that part of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Previous stories: https://blnnews.com/2023/09/30/remember-bloomington-fireman-6/ Right now James Buenrostro is getting paid to not work. He has been since sometime in April. His latest problems began in Indianapolis when many firefighters were there for a convention. Buenrostro’s girlfriend was with in, she has a LONG history of failing to press charges for domestic violence. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s meeting featured extensive public comments from licensed massage therapists, who were livid upon learning that the ordinance to combat human trafficking would also require a city license for them—adding, of course, another fee. The staff that proposed it overreached and the Council failed to immediately fix it. They already pay […]
By: Diane Benjamin Previous stories: 2/26/24: https://blnnews.com/2024/02/26/guess-who-is-still-spiking-pensions/ 1/28/21: https://blnnews.com/2021/01/28/how-much-was-wasted-allowing-employees-to-spike-pensions/ 10/19/17: https://blnnews.com/2017/10/19/blatant-taxpayer-abuse/ I sent a FOIA request to IMRF on April 28, 2025 after receiving a tip. Normally IMRF is very prompt, this time they weren’t. I even sent a Past Due notice to them on May 8, 2025 and got no response. I received the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Think back to 2017 when former Mayor Tari Renner got the Council to pass this: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/15354/636469576356100000 . I don’t remember the Council approving anything after that Resolution expired. They might have but I sure don’t remember the Council approving this: PDF page 39: 3/10/2025 https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/31156/638767820922900000 . SBDC stands for Small Business Development […]
By: Diane Benjamin It didn’t take long! The Planning Commission will be hearing a presentation about Missing Middle Housing next Wednesday: Meeting agenda: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/22c56154-ab60-11ef-ab4b-005056a89546-71aa7719-c1df-4797-9411-79d5d861f4b4-1748660679.pdf Staff decided to hire the consultant from Berkeley California. The Opticos mission is right on their website: https://opticosdesign.com/ We are urban designers and architects who believe in the transformative power of […]
By: Diane Benjamin One more thing from Monday’s Council meeting: Mollie Ward made a comment at the end of the meeting. She was one of the 4 who voted for the Missing Middle Housing plan. Hit play: . She recently attended an event honoring people who died riding bicycles. She attempted to shame the council […]
By: Diane Benjamin Jenna Kearns violated City Code by claiming she was the only candidate that supports Democrats: https://blnnews.com/2025/03/24/jenna-kearns-violates-city-code-too/ Local elections are nonpartisan because local issues aren’t political. Essential services, which citizens can’t provide themselves, are why local government exists. Elections in Bloomington have taken a nasty turn toward partisan politics because far-left candidates either […]
