By: Diane Benjamin The Council held an Executive Session last night, the mayor stated it was to discuss Tim Gleason. Considering he told WGLT he wanted the opportunity to counter the Arizona offer, that’s likely what was discussed. Gleason just got a 5% raise in September: https://blnnews.com/2023/09/11/tonight-gleason-gets-a-raise/ The mayor also stated Bloomington has momentum. “Momentum” […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tonight’s agenda: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/f6f358da-5bbe-11ee-ae13-0050569183fa-d854eb82-3702-4140-9de6-ac3a8e3f379d-1709935302.pdf In case you missed this story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-03-07/bloomington-city-manager-is-a-top-candidate-for-arizona-job The only reason tent city still exists in downtown Bloomington is because the far left screamed at the City for planning to disband it. Some laws are okay to break which means all laws are okay to break if leadership is intimidated […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington wants to condemn the Front and Center building since it’s been sitting empty for a long time. WGLT reported: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-02-29/bloomington-condemns-landmark-downtown-building-at-front-and-center If the current owners object, taxpayers get to fund a court battle. With or without legal fees taxpayers will get the demolition cost which includes asbestos removal. Keep […]
By: Diane Benjamin Just info: Tari Renner got the City to buy this property on North Main so the City could control what was built there. 3 Kirk Holdings was involuntarily dissolved in 2018 according to the Secretary of State website. Search corporations here: https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/business_services/business_searches.html After years of realtors unsuccessful trying to unload it, the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I saw a social media post asking why the arena was built downtown instead of along the interstate that could have brought people in from nearby cities. (Common sense?) I didn’t respond but the answer is clear. It was built downtown because the people who are elected to represent you have been trying for DECADES […]
By: Diane Benjamin Everyone should know by now the Coliseum never performed as sold to the citizens of Bloomington: It will never cost you a dime! Billy Tyus, Deputy City Manager, admitted the obvious to WGLT: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-02-01/with-hockey-team-in-place-bloomington-looks-to-bring-arena-back-to-life?fbclid=IwAR1YSf-4fJksOpolUowyg7i2Qz9WmQlSCllxjwsP0BTE2Yb7G6tkVC6F_6k Excerpt: Note: The hockey team won’t be around long if they have to help the city recoup costs. Meanwhile, Mike Matejka who […]
By: Diane Benjamin All previous electric bus stories: https://blnnews.com/2024/01/30/3-more-shocking-emails-electric-buses/ https://blnnews.com/2024/01/30/foia-emails-from-rivian-to-connect-transit/ https://blnnews.com/2024/01/24/connect-transit-random-finds/ https://blnnews.com/2024/01/23/one-more-connect-transit-for-now/ https://blnnews.com/2024/01/23/proterra-is-solyndra/ From this story: How much of your money has been wasted on Proterra buses? Since ADHD is both a blessing and a curse, I could have missed some payments. Note, Proterra filed for bankruptcy in August of 2023. The oldest electric buses are two […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this story: https://www.illinoispolicy.org/5-illinois-metro-areas-await-pandemic-recovery-most-add-jobs-in-december/ Can anyone explain why Bloomington is losing jobs? Are business owners leaving this wonderful town because it can’t suck enough money out of your pockets? Are illegals working for cash and taking jobs away from citizens? Imagine how much worse it would be without Rivian!
By: Diane Benjamin The Council met yesterday afternoon after canceling Monday night’s meeting due to ice. It was short even with 3 Public Comments. Just hit play below to hear the first two. The new hockey owners made a brief presentation with slides that aren’t on video. The person who films at night usually switches the view so people […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader It’s going to be hard to see, but this is a City of Bloomington truck dumping salt at a private gas station – corner of Main and Oakland. Did they salt your business or is this just a “government friend”?
By: Diane Benjamin I have not finished reading everything I received. There is likely more to report. Make sure you read to the bottom. Connect’s General Manager doesn’t want you to know any of this. Refer back to the HUGE November loss: https://blnnews.com/2024/01/23/connect-loses-more-than-the-coliseum/ Salaries were almost twice normal. I thought Connect had a hiring spree of drivers and were no longer […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Connect Transit Board meets at 4:30 today. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFica7k-pGY Will any of the below be discussed? 🤣😂 Remember when Solyndra was supposed to create a ton of solar panels, got tons of federal money, and then declared bankruptcy. Of course no one was ever held accountable, so this “making friends of government […]
By: Diane Benjamin November is a new record loss. See wages and stay tuned. This is going to take more than one story. I have proof the Proterra Electric buses are junk. Connect has 12. One might still be operating, the count of working electric buses changed weekly. It never went up – only down. Many millions of your tax dollars were […]
By: Diane Benjamin I don’t comment on NextDoor but reading the comments is interesting. Somebody posted this story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-01-16/bloomington-mayor-says-migrant-arrivals-are-an-opportunity The comments below prove the immigration extremists showed up at the County Board meeting to protest Chuck Erickson’s ordinance. The opposite side stayed home and vented on their keyboard. Which side affects votes by elected officials? Obviously, not most of these […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-01-16/bloomington-mayor-says-migrant-arrivals-are-an-opportunity?fbclid=IwAR3sk1vSuXaYjJpAoVD7JzKIiefInecaDL3F2HE4CZuaX7RlA2UXXaVG24Q_aem_Ac-7erlnSRtzkVEj2ctv7mKVdaRhb_7AO3U0opqMbcMf0h77UtpKx_QX-t_C6tOdMA0 Elections for local offices – like Bloomington Mayor – will be early in 2025. Since few vote Mboka could easily be re-elected by the majority who vote socialist. He won’t run as a socialist because that’s a loser, he just needs to act socialist. Read the story, he welcomes people illegally in this […]
By: Diane Benjamin Why are water mains in newer subdivisions breaking? If 30 year old pipes break the City will never catch up replacing lead and older pipes before they break. Where is the press release or Social Media post? Lots of citizen chatter, I haven’t found anything official. Maybe everybody is off today. Say a prayer for the people […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did you know Normal canceled their first meeting of the year last week? Bloomington is trying hard to be them with everything being discussed in private meetings with the City Manager long before votes. This is the local government version of “democracy”. There was only one Public Comment – Surena Fish. The Safety Commission (Molly Ward’s […]
By: Diane Benjamin Is the City this desperate to get people downtown? I bet the City won’t be advertising any religious Christian activities – even if they are downtown. On Facebook: . Per Google search – they did the highlighting: See the irony in Krampus originating in Germany?
By: Diane Benjamin City Manager Tim Gleason really wanted your property taxes increased. The main reason Alderman Boelen was against it was the water rate increase the Council recently passed. If you forgot: 33% increase for 3 years because the City needs to spend around $300,000,000. Gleason stated again last night that water rates haven’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin A few people stood up for you at Public Comment. Just hit play to hear them below. You can hear the Mayor’s stupid Public Comment statement too – no Public Comment is for citizens. The council doesn’t care what speakers say, especially when only a few bother to address them. The City […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington is looking for Revenue Enhancements. Cute words that mean they need more of your money. It’s hilarious that government has their own language so you don’t notice what is being done to you. The same government that built a never used fire station and a never used water […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington wants $1.1 million more from you, the library wants $309.4 thousand more all while your government is sitting on RECORD high reserves. Of course they use the same graphic as every other year to show they aren’t why property taxes chase people out of Illinois: It appears every […]
By: Diane Benjamin Pic H/T a reader Since I try to never cross Veterans Parkway, I didn’t know State Farm was on the sign at the “arena”. I FOIA’d the City for the sponsorship agreement with State Farm, Grossinger quit paying years ago: https://blnnews.com/2023/03/14/grossinger-motors-arena-isnt-and-more/ The agreement with State Farm expired in May, the FOIA showed […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda for tonight: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/65c0e1b9-7cc2-11ee-852f-0050569183fa-d969cfc2-89f9-4a31-922c-c0ff80c0370c-1700256371.pdf Remember being told local government units don’t set the Tax Rate? They don’t, but the documentation proves they know what it is going to be. Start reading on PDF page 21. Your taxes are going up to fund police and fire pensions. The rate will go down because […]
By: Diane Benjamin City Manager Tim Gleason announced at last night’s meeting that next week’s Committee of the Whole is being turning into a special meeting to talk property taxes. He of course used the obligatory fallacy that the City portion of your tax bill is small, it’s the school districts that get the most […]
By: Diane Benjamin There isn’t much on the agenda for tonight’s meeting, just one gem. PDF page 21: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/25a8ec96-7d4f-11ed-9024-0050569183fa-d854eb82-3702-4140-9de6-ac3a8e3f379d-1699838465.pdf The Illinois Paid Leave for All Workers Act (820 ILCS 192/1 et seq.) was signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker on March 13, 2023. Bloomington is using Home Rule as the reason for opting out […]
By: Diane Benjamin More on these two stories: https://blnnews.com/2023/11/07/illinois-comptroller-must-have-decided-to-void-transparency/ https://blnnews.com/2023/11/09/comptrollers-office-responded-just-not-with-an-explanation/ As I stated in one of the stories above, government employees would rather talk to me over the phone instead of in writing. That eliminates the paper trail, the email below proves it: On November 9, 2023, at 3:41 PM, “Pallasch, Abdon” <abdon.m.pallasch@illinoiscomptroller.gov> wrote: Hmmm… […]
By: Diane Benjamin That is the sound of your tax dollars disappearing – $25,120. Figure out government isn’t capable of “business type” activities? Losses don’t matter because it isn’t their money. Loss: $5,423.36 Loss: $9,967.73 I hope that wasn’t paid twice – it is listed on page 145 and again on 151: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/29818 Loss: $14,131.85 […]
By: Diane Benjamin 2 pieces of information I received from the City of Bloomington about the Gun Buy Back event: The document showing what the Bloomington City Council approved is in this story: https://blnnews.com/2023/10/24/the-120000-waste/ It says $60,000. https://pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-courts/bloomington-police-gunbuyback/article_fe7fde22-7a61-11ee-b957-affb35824762.html Excerpt: According to BPD’s social media post, “There was a total of $50,000 allocated for the cash […]
By: Diane Benjamin 5 socialists sit on the Bloomington City Council. There aren’t have enough common sense votes to stop spending that increases the size and scope of local government. You better see the downtown vision: https://downtownforeveryone.com/renders/ Government never produces prosperity. Bloomington will try anyway since they know where to get money. I’m sure they […]
h/t a reader Of course if the Council is still at the BCPA in October the public won’t be able to see the speaker(s) or presentation. Rejoice! Did the Water Park ever get finished?
By: Diane Benjamin Thanks to no one else running in Ward 1 last April a socialists walked on to the Bloomington City Council without a fight. Nice folks. You should know Jenna Kearns does not say the Pledge of Allegiance which means her oath of office to the Constitution of both the US and State […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this WEEK story: https://www.25newsnow.com/2023/09/07/idot-report-black-latinx-drivers-stopped-by-bloomington-police-disproportionately-higher-rate/ Quote: “McLean County has unfortunately had a history of disproportionally stopping people of color, so this is ongoing. What’s alarming is that the 2022 traffic data showed an uptick,” explains Karla Bailey-Smith, the Central Illinois Chapter of ACLU Illinois which covers McLean, DeWitt and Livingston Counties. I’m […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect transit is tired of people noticing the empty or close to empty buses roaming Bloomington-Normal so they fixed the problem. Check out of the new electric buses. h/t a reader They’ve gone from darkened windows to covering them completely. We still know the bus is mostly empty. CT didn’t have a […]
By: Diane Benjamin I was shocked when Connect Transit picked Proterra as their electric bus supplier. It appears the Board members appointed by the mayors of Bloomington and Normal didn’t bother to do a simple Google search. Plenty of stories were easily available detailing the problems with these buses and cities that quit using them […]
By: Diane Benjamin Mboka Mwilambwe wasn’t there – he’s out of the country. John Danenberger was AWOL. So was Cody Hendricks. Tim Gleason was MIA, of course he has TWO assistants, so Billy Tyus did his job. The only Public comment was Scott Stimeling who once again raged about fireworks. He seems to think whatever […]
By: Diane Benjamin The PIN # of the property taxpayers are demolishing on W Jackson was corrected, otherwise the property wasn’t discussed. The contractor is required to pay prevailing wage since public money is being used. You evidently gave a present to the labor unions and the property owners. Congrats. For all the anti-religion people […]
By: Diane Benjamin Mollie Ward’s initiative is back: Anybody want to guess how many of these “experts” will be FOID card and gun owners? Definition of expert is: People who claim some hidden talent not available to normal people. The Council will approve it and it will develop zero solutions because morality can’t be forced […]
By: Diane Benjamin This meeting lasted almost 1 1/2 hours, 4 people spoke at Public Comment. Mayor Mboka always reads a prepared statement before public comment. That statement is incorrect. Public Comment isn’t for the Council, it is for citizens. The Council regardly ignores what citizens say, that happened again last night via Mollie Ward. […]
By: Diane Benjamin H/T a solid source If media cared they would FOIA recent emails. I bet they won’t. . I wonder how they gave away 312 when the documents for the April 24th meeting shows purchasing 308: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/1910041/4764_Quote_Premier_Gun_Safes_Redacted.pdf Documentation for the April 24, 2023 meeting: Problem: This is a link to the manual for […]
