By: Diane Benjamin From Monday’s Bills and Payroll: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=12446 Employees are still allowed to SPIKE their pensions by getting paid for accumulated sick and vacation days. TWO courts have recently ruled that employers do not have to allow this, of course the rules haven’t been changed. It just cost you another $32,106.66. The City is […]
By: Diane Benjamin The local press needs to decide if they are media or propaganda machines for Tari Renner. The people behind the Facebook page attacking Kevin Lower are Renner supporters. This is a tweet from one of them proving the connection to Renner: Justin Boyd is Renner’s campaign chairman. The vile people behind the […]
I found this while looking for something else and just had to add it: By: Diane Benjamin Why a “legitimate” news agency would follow the loathsome people behind “Citizens Deserve better Than Kevin Lower” is beyond comprehension. These are the same people who accused the Bloomington police of harassing them at a local park […]
By: Diane Benjamin This time the writer didn’t get a response from the Pantagraph after submitting this letter, it was just never printed. The writer sent it BEFORE the primary, and since it still applies there was no reason it wasn’t printed, except it doesn’t reflect the views of the paper. The name has been […]
By: Diane Benjamin Evidently the media can’t read or they have a short attention span and can’t make it through the 7 page Attorney General letter declaring Normal’s Public Comment Policy illegal. It is MUCH more than the 45 day rule. That one was a no brainer! See the changes Normal is planning to make […]
By: Diane Benjamin For months Normal Mayor Chris Koos has been pretending with the help of media that changing the Town’s Public Comment Policy is his idea. It wasn’t! Today the Attorney General’s Office issued an opinion that slaps him around on numerous counts. (Did the AG suddenly start doing their job? Maybe!) Craig Stimpert […]
By: Diane Benjamin CLEAN audits mean nothing! Dixon Illinois got taken for $50,000,000 with CLEAN audits. Forensic Audits find fraud, regular yearly audits only mean the numbers are in the right columns. Thanks Pantagraph for printing what you were told. Why were the Bloomington financial statements released REALLY late? Tonight the Council will hear information […]
By: Diane Benjamin Thanks to Steve Vogel who today mentioned in his weekly column that Bloomington is in a recession. Moody’s Analytics reported that in January (and so did I), but the media has been ignoring it. Anyone who attended the Bloomington “Budget Workshop” today would have seen Bloomington is also ignoring that fact. If […]
By: Diane Benjamin Stories about millennials NOT wanting to live downtown have been circulating on the Internet since 2015. The PLANNERS were wrong. Tari can’t be happy. I wonder if his weekly meetings with the City reporter will be cancelled! Tari’s theory of downtown being Bloomington’s future just took a blow. He can build a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Cuts could be easy, but nobody at the City wants to cut! It is impossible to suggest specific budget cuts for Bloomington because the data isn’t available. The City issued hundreds of pages saying where the money is being spent without any details. Was there a line item last year for the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Is the Metro Zone fight between Bloomington and Normal REAL, or a campaign stunt? I’m leaning toward real. Side Note: Normal’s budget for 2016-2017 was more than $120 MILLION. The estimated $1.2 million Normal would lose from Metro Zone represents 1% of their total budget. The Normal Town Council had no problem […]
By: Diane Benjamin A fake Twitter account was created only to defeat Ian Bayne. Twitter is a sewer where people hide behind fake names they think nobody can trace back to them. Twitter allows almost anything, so these local leftists are allowed to spew as much hate and false information as they want. What should […]
By: Diane Benjamin Think back to when Bloomington’s Public Comment Policy was changed to 30 minutes. Tari Renner was out of the country, Karen Schmidt was acting mayor for that meeting. Since Renner has never been fond of Public Comment, and previously it had only been 15 minutes, he probably wasn’t happy when he got […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Pantagraph has a story today about last night’s vote to end the Metrozone agreement in Normal: http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/government-and-politics/article_bb09a977-1687-56db-81ae-176d6c2807fd.html I didn’t make it past this paragraph : Kevin Lower signed the document with 4 other aldermen to get this vote on the agenda. Details: HERE When exactly did he oppose the measure? NEVER! […]
Diane Benjamin Bills and Payroll for Monday night: For almost 4 years Tari Renner spouts “There are no free lunches”. Unless your name is Tari Renner: Page 107 http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=12212 I’m sure these were strictly business, especially the ones with nobody listed but Tari! Was the public invited and I missed it? My personal favorite: PCard […]
By: Diane Benjamin I thought pretty much everybody knew the story of Tari Renner’s comment he left on BlnNews that led to his censure. They don’t, so before Bloomington votes for the next mayor, everybody needs to know who Tari is. See the whole story here: https://blnnews.com/2015/02/11/tari-attacks-me-again-not-in-our-town/ Why didn’t Tari slink away? If he had […]
By: Diane Benjamin Facts matter, but the Pantagraph doesn’t have them. Today they decided to endorse Renner (no surprise) and Bob Fike for mayor. They want Tari, Fike will be the easiest to beat. Very predictable. Their decision was made on faulty facts however. They even PRINTED their faulty facts. This should PROVE why all […]
By: Diane Benjamin Anonymous Editorial writer today thinks a soccer/sports public-private partnership is worth pursuing. That means the “private” gets to use it while the “public” gets stuck with the bills! Take a journey back in time: Preview I went to […]
Buzzing around City Hall, I heard Tari Renner announce the Pantagraph is moving to Uptown Normal. I wonder if they will care that Tari announced the move before they did! That also means, if Renner is re-elected, plans will be announced for taxpayers to subsidize redeveloping the Pantagraph building. You are the monkey-wrench, but only […]
By: Diane Benjamin Robert Fike says some good things, but I’m not sure he is informed enough to be mayor. He mentioned offering early retirement to highly paid people so cheaper ones could be hired. The last time the City did that, it cost around $4 million in Sick Leave Buy Back. Just a view […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Pantagraph has a video on-line of their mayoral candidate interviews. See the video below. Yes, as Tari likes to say FACTS do matter. The video is less than an hour – watch it. Diane Hauman is already planning to increase fees for garbage service even though a January 17, 2017 presentation […]
By: Diane Benjamin Can $20 million be cut from Bloomington’s budget? David Hales thinks disaster would strike Bloomington if the tax increases were rolled back. (The media happily reports it!) Here’s a better question: The 2012 TOTAL budget was $165.3 million (Pre Tari) The 2013 TOTAL budget was $167 million (Pre Tari) That 2017 TOTAL […]
Quite by chance, the Pantagraph has an anonymous editorial today concerning their version of Fake News! By: Diane Benjamin If the Pantagraph gets their news from Tari Renner, they need a new source. See this story they did for an article on the mayoral candidates: http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/government-and-politics/bloomington-mayoral-candidates-taxes-streets-biggest-concerns/article_9cead315-4b3f-5c04-8516-6df801039cd1.html This statement is included: #FactsMatter The amusement tax was […]
I had to add this tweet – this person lives in Bloomington! NIOT! By: Diane Benjamin These pics are from the NIOT Bloomington-Normal Facebook page. Obviously not all the attendees agreed with what was being said, both pics show numerous people sitting and not clapping while other are standing and cheering. Note the sign in […]
By: Diane Benjamin Anonymous editorial writer praised NIOT today. Hope your subscription/advertising didn’t pay for this babble. Here’s a report from a person present last night – it tells a different story: This was the largest “liberal Democrat love fest” that I have seen, BCPA was filled to capacity…standing room only. There was applause and […]
By: Diane Benjamin I doubt any attendees of the event last night will take the time to watch this video. Actually having a discussion of facts is no longer possible. If you read the comments made to the Pantagraph reporter, it’s clear FAKE NEWS is rampant and now encouraged by both local mayors. Where was […]
By: Diane Benjamin From Page 10 – City Manager’s December report: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=11954 From page 44 of the December 2015 City Manager’s report: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=9706 Information for December 2015 isn’t available. Library information is missing from many of the new jumbled City Manager reports. David Hales is DONE winning awards for delivering information to citizens! The transparency […]
Note: The original version stated Doug Fansler is running for Normal Town Council, he isn’t. By: Diane Benjamin The new name for the local newspaper was coined by a resident of Normal with experience in the FAKE NEWS they report. Since other media outlets get their news from the paper, it’s easy in Bloomington-Normal to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday the Pantagraph wrote this story: Normal Seeks AG’s Opinion On Public Comment I wonder where they got the idea for the story! Did Chris Koos call them and say “I’ve got a story for you”? Mark Peterson? The only reason Normal is considering changing their Public Comment policy is because at […]
By: Diane Benjamin From Monday’s Bills and Payroll: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=11904 The US Conference of Mayors was January 17-19 in Washington DC. I wonder if Tari stayed for today’s inauguration? Funny, he isn’t listed as attending the conference: mayors attending . What is an EAC event and why are your taxes paying for prizes? . The Pepsi […]
Update: Comments are back on the first story – including the one that probably got them shut off. Yep – bad language on those sweet women’s signs. By: Diane Benjamin The Pantagraph has two stories about local people traveling to Washington DC. This one is about local women going to march in protest of President […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday the Pantagraph did a story about County union employee salary increases: http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/mclean-county-highway-workers-get-raises/article_e1a807b1-6dcc-535b-83dd-f39b4b00079f.html This paragraph is in the story: Two problems: The City of Bloomington has been hit by at least 24 penalties amounting to around $1.6 million. (it could be more by now) That’s not “several”. Second, the County negotiated with […]
By: Diane Benjamin Update to this story: https://blnnews.com/2017/01/17/fraud/ The Pantagraph and Cumulus (WJBC) have both read this story at least once. The questions are: Will they report? Ask questions? Continue to be bought and paid for media and ignore the facts? Last August something strange happened at a Council meeting. Finance Director Patti-Lynn Silva gave […]
By: Diane Benjamin All of the information below is from the Illinois Comptroller’s website. See it HERE Would you invest in a company that fails to issue Financial Reports? Why would anybody invest in Bloomington – they haven’t issued last year’s statements yet. Tonight there will be a presentation on how this year is going […]
By: Diane Benjamin The local purveyor of government propaganda has reported VenuWorks lost $674,000 in the 7 months since they took over. The only reason this story is out now is because Tuesday night the Coliseum Executive Director will make a presentation to the Council. _______________________________________________________________________ Side note: This is also Tuesday’s agenda: 2017 ends […]
By: Diane Benjamin This story is a follow-up to: https://blnnews.com/2017/01/04/does-media-violate-campaign-laws/ Prior to the Coliseum, the BCPA, and Uptown events the local media didn’t reap huge profits from government advertising. Should it be legal for the Pantagraph to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars from government and then print editorials supporting their benefactors? If the Pantagraph […]
The Pantagraph attempted actual investigative journalism by FOIAing travel expenses from numerous area governments. Their report was difficult to read since experience making numbers understandable was obviously lacking, but at least they tried. After all their hard work and hammering of Scott Preston, they failed to take him down – just as they failed to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is a brief recap of things I’ve written about previously: Comprehensive City Manger reports are no longer issued because Hauman thinks they are a waste of money. Now citizens have no idea how tax receipts are trending. See email HERE This email also sounds like she doesn’t care about speakers at […]
By: Diane Benjamin When the local media is bought and paid for with government advertising dollars, you will never hear the truth. (Local Media Is Fake News) Did they ever tell you Connect Transit budgets a $12,000,000 loss per year so empty buses can drive all over Bloomington-Normal? I missed the bus fire at the […]
We might find out. I filed this complaint today with the Illinois Election Commission: Steve Sandvoss Executive Director, Illinois State Board of Elections 2329 S. MacArthur Blvd., Springfield IL, 62704 I am writing pertaining to local elections in Bloomington and Normal and the local media. The Pantagraph is the local newspaper, WJBC is the […]
