By: Diane Benjamin Unlike Chris Koos in the Town of Normal, Mboka Mwilambwe asked the Council if they wanted to extend time for Public Comment. They all said yes so they could hear from two final citizens. Recently Koos used his tyrannical powers to end Public Comment, nobody on that Council objected: https://blnnews.com/2023/05/03/one-guy-stood-up-to-koos/ The actual […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t Kelby Cumpston for posting this on Facebook . Taxpayers are subsidizing this building by waiving the 6% Short Term Rental tax and providing 20 parking spaces in the garage across the street for 15 years (or 20 since the docs say both). https://blnnews.com/2022/04/24/69-million-for-water-projects-so-you-wont-notice-the-cii-east-giveaways/ It gets better! The same two guys behind […]
By: Diane Benjamin Two new BCPA reports below – of course the Performance Fee aren’t included. Did they quit reporting attendance because it’s embarrassing? The performance fees are hard to decipher because they aren’t marked correctly on Bills and Payroll reports. There wasn’t an event on 4/23, did they mean 4/20? Then there are these […]
By: Diane Benjamin It’s always nice when the clueless show up and claim they elected the new members of the Bloomington City Council. Unfortunately they are right. The new members plus Mboka and Tom Crumpler knelt before them. I love this visual – the first communist who spoke surrounded by police: The police weren’t there […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since this Committee of the Whole wasn’t scheduled to set up future spending, the heavy hitters didn’t have to be there to cheerlead the agenda. The Police Department presented their annual report followed by the Fire Department. See the police presentation here: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showdocument?id=29357&t=638197614615245340 I did learn something new about guns. Criminals are […]
By: Diane Benjamin I had to file a FOIA request to get this reports posted. Some dates of performance fees don’t match any performance dates. Loss: $206.84 Loss: $7,932.72 Loss: $6,854.53 Here’s where report dates don’t match event reports: There wasn’t an event on 2/23/2023. https://www.artsblooming.org/events/calendar?cury=2023&curm=2&curd=28&curview=month Three performance fees are listed as 3/23/2023, there were […]
By: Diane Benjamin I keep forgetting to mention the City has a new website. It is much more functional, content remains to be seen. The last one was impossible to search quickly for the information wanted. See 2:19:56. Bloomington already has it’s second Deputy City Manager. Corporate Council Jeff Jurgens is taking the job. Tim […]
Roads resurfacing scheduled: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/Home/Components/News/News/9524/1394?backlist=%2fdepartments%2fpublic-works%2fbloomington-streets Oakland isn’t one of them. by: Diane Benjamin Oakland and Macarthur are major roads, they both become one way streets in West Bloomington. Oakland is a disgusting mess of holes and patches long before it becomes one way. I drove the whole thing today and heading back East on Macarthur. It […]
By: Diane Benjamin The only reason to have TIME LIMITS for Council discussion is to limit discussion. It started under Tari Renner, Mboka is continuing it. Common Sense should tell your elected officials discussions should take as long as somebody has something to say. Instead they stop and have a vote to extend the time. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Besides Public Comment approving minutes: SUBJECT: Presentation and Discussion of the Public Safety and Community Relations BoardAnnual Report, as requested by the Administration Department.
By: Diane Benjamin Remember the Bloomington City Council voting down spending $270,000 over 3 years for a lobbyist? https://blnnews.com/2023/02/15/gleason-thinks-the-council-works-for-him/ Gleason wants grant money for the downtown streetscape. Does he know grant money is taxpayer money? Does he know the Feds spend more money every year than they take in? $31 Trillion in debt is meaningless […]
By: Diane Benjamin Both Bloomington and Normal are meeting on a Federal Holiday Monday: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/#url=2023 Bloomington Committee of the Whole: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/30b941a9-75a9-11ed-9024-0050569183fa-791fe512-602c-4d20-98c8-ecdbbed39134-1676574142.pdf Normal starts at 6:00 instead of 7:00: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4575 Bloomington municipal code: https://ecode360.com/34402891 Normal municipal code: https://www.normalil.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7697/Chapter-03—Council-Meetings-and-Ordinances?bidId= Next time either tries to hold you accountable for violations of Municipal Code, ask them why violations are […]
By: Diane Benjamin More on this story: https://blnnews.com/2023/02/14/i-could-have-predicted-this-one/ Tim Gleason wasn’t at the meeting where hiring a federal lobbyist firm for $270,000 over 3 years was voted down. It wouldn’t have gone that direction if he had been there, he’s a master at changing the minds of council members. Tim Gleason is the employee of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington failed at Live Streaming the meeting last night. There was no audio! The incompetence shown by City staff should make you wonder what else they are incompetent at doing. Below is this year’s budget for Information Technology. Almost $6 million and they can’t get a Live Stream to work in a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Unit 5 didn’t like the results of the November referendum – so they demand you vote again. Vote No Again Ask Unit 5 Board members how it is possible to be this irresponsible with other people’s money. Anybody see a problem? Anybody? Tim Gleason is pulling the same stunt on Monday. His […]
By: Diane Benjamin February 28, 2022: https://cityblm.granicus.com/DocumentViewer.php?file=cityblm_f2826ec9d9b5f6bf9ebdb349f14596b7.pdf&view=1 The actual name of the company is Flock Group Inc. https://www.bizapedia.com/ga/flock-group-inc.html The listed CEO, Garrett Langley, is the same guy who runs Flock Safety https://www.flocksafety.com/about/meet-flock-safety The “fixed cost” isn’t so fixed: The cameras haven’t even been installed a year yet and repairs aren’t covered? The fixed annual cost […]
By: Diane Benjamin Sheila Montney pulled hiring the lobbying firm from the Consent Agenda. I don’t remember the last time something was voted down after being placed on the agenda. Administration knows where everyone stands before it’s placed for a vote – 3 on 1 meetings usually clear the path. Tim Gleason didn’t attend the […]
By: Diane Benjamin That 23 minutes includes the Pledge of Allegiance, Public Comment, and comments by the Mayor, Billy Tyus, and Jeff Crabill at the end of the meeting. Tim Gleason was absent but Julie Emig was finally back to representing her Ward. Nothing was pulled from the Consent Agenda. No questions were asked about […]
By: Diane Benjamin I have looked at numbers for many weeks and I’m not close to answers. I’m going to print what I know anyway. From Open The Books: Why did salaries increase substantially in 2020 and go down in 2021? I FOIA’d these salaries from IMRF: Three of the 6 show less income in […]
by: Diane Benjamin Ward 4 Alderman Julie Emig was on sick leave until the end of November. She still wasn’t back Monday night. She hasn’t attended a meeting since September, her Ward has been un-represented for over 2 months. It’s funny to watch the Council continue to conduct business with 8 alderman instead of 9. […]
By: Diane Benjamin There is a short version of the below going around social media, this is an 11 minute version. Democracy always ends in tyranny, that’s why America was created as a Republic instead. The video is from 1966 and nails what is happening today. Democracy wasn’t on the November ballot, authoritarianism was. TAKE […]
By: Diane Benjamin I looked at the City website last night and no agenda was posted for the “special meeting”. It did announce the Committee of the Whole meeting was cancelled. No wonder nobody showed up for Public Comment! The “Special Meeting” agenda is posted now. Meetings that just happened are erased only to reappear […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yes, I received this list by FOIA. Below is a list of properties where water appears to be shut off because there aren’t any current bills, at least that’s the policy. They all show past due amounts over 120 days. If even the first 10 pages (49 per page) have water shut […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington spends a fortune on Information Technology: PDF page 165 https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/27976/637892645121170000 . Spending MILLIONS of dollars every year should mean first class access to data. It doesn’t! Bloomington doesn’t know how many landlords were forced to pay bills for tenants a previous City Council said they didn’t have to pay. Bloomington doesn’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin Jelani Day’s mom spoke at Public Comment last night via phone. Carmen Bolden-Day still has no answers more than a year after her son disappeared and was later found in the Illinois River. Carmen claimed she hasn’t been able to talk to investigators since February. She also talked about the handling of […]
By: Diane Benjamin For a change I didn’t have to FOIA the reports. https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/government/advanced-components/documents/-folder-2027 New reports have been posted to the City website, these represent the beginning of a new season. They aren’t off to a good start if you believe entertainment shouldn’t be subsidized by people who can’t afford to attend: Loss: $13,792.88 Performance […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday’s Bloomington City Council meeting was SHORT. The video is only 33 minutes and 21 seconds. The stated purpose of the Committee of the Whole meeting was reviewing the Council Retreat. Mboka showed some slides, evidently the video is the only place to see them. The City website has a Documents tab: […]
By: Diane Benjamin This lady was back at public comment last night. She is a landlord who is stuck with the water bill(s) of tenant(s) who didn’t pay before they left because Bloomington said they didn’t have to: . She stated she is on the hook for $27,000. She was never contacted by the City […]
By: Diane Benjamin Alderman Julie Emig was absent, Dee Urban was sick but attended remotely. The only item pulled from the Consent Agenda was a Liquor License so Grant Walsh could ask if a video gaming license was included. It isn’t because Bloomington limits the number of licenses. FYI: Limiting licenses only enriches those who […]
By: Diane Benjamin Packet: The State of Illinois and local governments violated the Illinois Constitution by closing businesses and depriving landlords of income. Bloomington made it worse by sending unpaid water bills to landlords after telling renters they don’t have to pay. Illinois Constitution-Bill of Rights https://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con1.htm Government told renters they don’t have to pay […]
By: Diane Benjamin I bet Tim is in Columbus Ohio attending the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Annual Conference. “With four days of learning, inspiration, and connection, attendees leave equipped with the tools and support they need to make their communities a better place to live, work, and play.” https://conference.icma.org/about/ In other words, learn new ways […]
By: Diane Benjamin Of course Bloomington could have held this retreat in a place that could be live streamed, they chose not to. The only way to know what happens is to attend. Some items in #4 should be public discussions, that’s why they aren’t.
By: Diane Benjamin FYI: Committee of the Whole meeting information from 8/15/2022 is missing from the City website. Tonight: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/5a24c4d2-a62d-11ec-8a90-0050569183fa-36dc0a47-f3e1-4a7f-ab53-55227cac04fe-1660859356.pdf The mayor continues to reappoint the same people to Boards and Commissions, tonight the Transportation Commission. As a comment here stated – Renner is still running the City. Spending more of the free money that […]
By: Diane Benjamin The actual meeting was only around an hour. The Council was in Executive Session for the rest of the video. Gary Lambert lambasted the City for the cash reserve levels during Public Comment, this is a must listen: Hit play below to hear the City is only spending around $9 million on […]
By: Diane Benjamin No recent reports have been posted to the website, I had to FOIA them again. Why is the City of Bloomington hiding this information? https://www.cityblm.org/government/advanced-components/documents/-folder-1993 Better sit down. Two events made money, overall loss however: $17,431.46 No events happened in June, July, and August. The City switches to billing taxpayers for downtown […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Council proved they are capable of sane discussions last night, maybe because one person was absent. Can Bloomington get the names right? Donna Boelen was acting mayor last night since Mboka is out of the country because of his father’s passing. Nice job Donna for the first time being thrust into […]
By: Diane Benjamin See 1:12:00 Tim Gleason tells the Council they can’t discuss the 2nd dispensary location because the city might get sued. You will never know the details of who is behind this location or hear if any ways have been found to detect drivers under the influence. Discussion was shut down by a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Taxpayers OWN Bloomington government, they work for you! Why is it so difficult to get information? Instead of fixing the functionality of the City website, they just redesign it. They have many useless tabs that aren’t used, nobody is cleaning them up or making SEARCHING for information easier. It’s almost like hiding […]
By: Diane Benjamin FYI: While your retirement savings are being hit hard, so are the Defined Benefit Plans for Public Sector employees. You will get the bill since no one is willing to amend the Illinois Constitution. Redesigning the City website means Bills and Payroll have to be searched for now, somebody forgot to add […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) BN Advantage is back after mostly disappearing for years and a lot of tax dollars. https://www.bnadvantage.com/ The website is much better than years ago, contact information takes you to the EDC. Just Bloomington threw BN Advantage $423,867. https://blnnews.com/2019/04/29/bn-advantage-magazine/ Search BlnNews for more stories on BN Advantage. You might want to explore […]
