By: Diane Benjamin Downtown Southwest 19TIF06402530Downtown_outhwest_1 This TIF was started in 2016. It shows it’s first income of $1,552. Expenses to date charged to the TIF have produced a negative fund balance of 119,273. Since only $21,713 has been spent according to the report – sidewalks – the negative balance is likely caused by something […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Code doesn’t look anything like it used to: https://ecode360.com/BL4015 While looking for something else I ran across this: https://ecode360.com/34403302 Isn’t there 70 or 80 genders? I wonder how anybody can comply when the rules keep changing! (Another thing that happens when the majority doesn’t vote) I was actually […]
Thanks to a reader! The property is where Hardees used to be. There are no events listed under Planning Commission on the City website. There is nothing on the City calendar for January 8th. I don’t think a hearing would be required if another fast food place was moving in – at least it shouldn’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Coliseum didn’t come close to making the projected profit before it was built. Now it is being recreated as a community asset. At more than one City Council meeting it has been announced that around 1000 people attend the indoor Farmers Markets held at the Coliseum. Note: Nobody ever claims these […]
This is what not getting leaves picked up for 5 weeks looks like, yes some are on the street to keep from killing the grass – some blew there: This is what it looks like when the crews finally show up for leaves but the road was never plowed:
By: Diane Benjamin Public Comment started at 20:30. The citizens were mostly the same people who spoke before, some against cannabis – many for. Only one lady spoke on a different topic – see 24:00. She talked about the importance of street light. Many of the speakers wanted on-site consumption approved. They lost. When the […]
By: Diane Benjamin See PDF page 56: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1052&Inline=True This is on the Consent Agenda: I wonder if the “applicant” requested the Special Use Permit or the City found out about the track and instigated it. The track is already built. See PDF page 67, the race cars aren’t for people to ride in, they are […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Council held an Executive Session on December 9th to review minutes of previous Executive Sessions. Review is required by the Open Meetings Act. The cabal then votes on what minutes no longer need to be kept confidential. See PDF page 46: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1052&Inline=True The Council voted to keep minutes that are 24 […]
A READER put this together for me! He took the show recaps in this story and looked up the artist fees: https://blnnews.com/2019/12/11/bcpa-reports-finally-posted/ He saved me a lot of time, I really appreciate it. A previous reader said the Pirate Penelope show didn’t have artist fees. Since it appears the artist fees were not included in […]
By: Diane Benjamin See the reports here: https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23615 All of these are new event report postings: 10/22/19 The Phantom Carriage <$1,438.41> 106 attended, zero for artist fees 11/5/19 The Four Italian Tenors $7,581.21 308 attended, zero for artist fees 10/20/19 The Carol King Musical $44,535.44 1113 attended, zero for artist fees 10/25/19 Southern Fried Comedy […]
By: Diane Benjamin For decades Voter ID laws have been blocked because opponents claim the minority vote would be negatively impacted. Either this isn’t true or the State of Illinois is now discriminating against minorities. January 1st everyone wanting to purchase legal cannabis in Illinois is required to show a government issued ID. Who is […]
By: Diane Benjamin In Bloomington and Normal government believes they are required to spend your money to create economic development. Peoria evidently doesn’t. Maybe it’s because Peoria is too broke – they have made significant budget cuts. Maybe broke government is the key to allowing the private sector to flourish. See this story: https://www.pjstar.com/news/20191210/kim-blickenstaff-purchases-stake-in-peoria-armory-plans-renovation Excerpts: […]
By: Diane Benjamin Next Monday is when the Bloomington City Council will make their final decision on manufacturing, processing, distributing, selling, and use of marijuana. Merry Christmas Bloomington, dollar signs and social justice warriors will decide Gettin’ High is the Way To Fly! 12:15 Chris Collins of Housing Our People Everywhere wants some of the […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington financial statements have the same debt table as Normal in this story: https://blnnews.com/2019/12/09/more-on-normals-credit-rating-and-debt/ PDF page 91: https://www.cityblm.org/home/showdocument?id=23337 The chart has a typo: the 2035-2029 probably should have been 2025-2029. $52,090,000 for bond payments and $11,576,172 for interest. The interest adds 22% to the total repayment. Don’t get too […]
Tale of two cities, of course you know which one is which. How much did each cost? I hope both know! . . . . . . .
By: Diane Benjamin Go to Moodys.com to see this information. You will have to sign in with Facebook or create an account. Remember I’ve mentioned Normal has a high credit rating because they aren’t afraid to tax? Moody’s confirms that: It is still a really good credit rating, but it isn’t AAA. I wonder where […]
By: Diane Benjamin This story is only possible because of TWO tips. Keep them coming! Know what this is: Maybe a bigger pic will help: If you look at the stretch above the shadow’s head, you might be able to tell this strip (purposely embedded in the concrete) is supposed to be a drain. Instead […]
By: Diane Benjamin See the original on PDF page 7: https://www.connect-transit.com/documents/Meetings/Packets/Board%20Packet%2012-5-19Final.pdf Shucks! Connect almost made it to a million dollar loss in 1 month! Maybe they should have traveled more and had more meetings: (PDF page 5) See PDF page 8 – Ridership on both fixed routes and mobility was down from the same month […]
By: Diane Benjamin Unlike the BCPA who think event reports aren’t important, VenuWorks posts theirs. This proves the difference between a company that can be fired and City employees who know nobody cares if they do their job. The BCPA hasn’t posted any event reports since the last time I FOID’d them. Thanks for the […]
Remember when the Edgar County Watchdogs spoke to the Council concerning a police officer who suddenly “quit”? He is now working for the County. Since his departure facts were buried, I wonder what he told them? We know there is more to the story. Numerous emails were redacted – too many to comply with the […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Live Stream of the Council meeting had no sound last night. Today a video is posted with no sound until around 12:00. When there is sound it wasn’t recorded from the microphones, people whispering, shuffling papers, and footsteps can be heard in numerous places. At 8:10 a lady spoke during public […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23513 EAC is the employees – this time doing the chili cook off. I like how the expense is charged to Community Relations, the community wasn’t invited. Martin Luther King’s dream is now officially dead. Black Administrators need their own forum, the color of someone’s skin must somehow make them want things […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1049&Inline=True Details on PDF page 11: Great job by City employees, what took so long to recognize them? PDF page 63 – the City needs to budget for extensive restoration of the outside – BCPA. This is just repairs. PDF page 93 – Another cost taxpayers could have avoided if they had voted […]
By: Diane Benjamin The last event report posted by the BCPA was from October 2: https://www.cityblm.org/government/advanced-components/documents/-folder-1784 Are they: hiding losses? afraid to show what happening at this TAXPAYER owned building? on a long vacation? way too busy to do a simple report? coming to work late and leaving early? Taxpayers deserve to know what the […]
By: Diane Benjamin At Monday’s Council meeting at was announced they think the formerly $24,000,000 underpass can be built for $22,000,000. This Uptown vanity won’t allow a single car to avoid sitting at a crossing waiting for a train to pass. It won’t stop people from crossing the tracks on foot at other crossings. Compare […]
By: Diane Benjamin Here’s my take on today’s hockey announcement: Hockey can show a profit for VenuWorks if they are smarter than in the past. ISU is only charged $2000 to play at the Coliseum, the ticket sales are dismal so they might not break even. At least they aren’t bleeding for the privilege of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Two council members were absent: Joni Painter and Kimberly Bray Connect Transit’s Judy Buchanan didn’t show up. The presentation was cancelled “due to illness”. Side Note: WGLT reported only 6 members out of 13 attended the illegal Saturday meeting – they discussed items for almost 4 hours anyway: https://www.wglt.org/connect-transit-likely-delay-fare-increase-again-awaits-working-group-report How much of […]
By. Diane Benjamin A new Costco store will be opening in the former Bergners location in the Champaign mall. Was Bloomington even looked at? https://www.news-gazette.com/news/champaign-council-approves-tax-incentive-deal-for-costco/article_5016464f-879d-5eef-a0bd-73c4f09f9969. Where is the Economic Development Council? Where is Bloomington’s Economic Development department? Champaign had to promise tax breaks based on future sales, is an empty store better? Bloomington’s mall has […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night the Planning Commission approved onsite use of cannabis. That makes cannabis just like a bar! Where are the bars? Downtown! Users will flock downtown to smoke weed inside even though cigarettes have been banned for years. Maybe some snack shops will open to satisfy the munchies of the participants. Jenn […]
By: Diane Benjamin Obviously the mission of the BCPA is not to make money or even attempt to break even! No event reports have been posted since the last time I FOIA’d them. The Carole King show was close to a month ago – still no report. It gets better! This show is FREE, I’m […]
By: Diane Benjamin Read this story first: https://blnnews.com/2019/11/13/school-indoctrination-on-full-display-last-night/ The comment was made on Twitter, so you won’t see it here. If Bloomington wants to pander to the local socialists and provide warming and cooling centers: They have a NEVER used fire station complete with a kitchen and probably beds. Since it is on the southwest […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1:36:15 – Tim Gleason reports he held a retreat with around 40 department leaders. The theme was: Servant Leadership. Ever heard that from anyone with the City before? I believe Tim Gleason really believes this. Nice. Public Comment at the Bloomington City Council meeting started at 16:00 and received a 20 minute […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yes, I know I posted this yesterday. I wouldn’t be re-posting this picture if it wasn’t vital to understanding what is happening to Illinois. Government across Illinois exists for government employees. It does not exist to handle problems citizens can not handle themselves. This is the proof: An overwhelming percent of the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday’s packet: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1048&Inline=True If the assessed value of your home increased you will pay more, but the proposed rate will keep property taxes level if it didn’t. Don’t get too excited, Tari knows people notice property taxes. He knows other taxes are easier to hide, That’s how you got an amusement tax, […]
By: Diane Benjamin The financial statements for Bloomington’s year ended 4/30/19 are finally being presented at Council Monday night: https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23337 The chart below shows the long term debt. Why can’t the roads be fixed? Because retired employees need paid. OPEB is Other Post Employment Benefits. Look closely at these numbers! PDF page 31 This chart […]
By: Diane Benjamin EDC is the Bloomington Normal Economic Development Council. They get your tax money but are not subject to FOIA. Bloomington cut their subsidy because of accountability. The President/CEO, Patrick Hoban, spoke at the joint the meeting of Bloomington, Normal, and McLean County held September 30, 2019. On this video at 5:40 Patrick […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington firemen just can’t seem to stay out of trouble. See numbers 1-4 here: https://blnnews.com/2019/04/28/blm-fireman-4-veterans-dod-route-66-loss/ A bigger problem is how infractions are handled at the City. Last I heard #5 hasn’t been disciplined. David Hall from the 2&3 article hasn’t either. Number 5 is Michael Maines. He was stopped by the ISU […]
By: Diane Benjamin The numbers for the Cultural District were included BELOW Parks and Rec. Thanks to the person who pointed that one out. Update to this story: https://blnnews.com/2019/10/30/hiding-bcpa-numbers/ https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23337 PDF page 195 PDF page 196 Can somebody explain why this is a great idea? Why is attendance way down? It isn’t Quality of Life […]
By: Diane Benjamin A national magazine for Municipalities features Bloomington in their just released November publication. This is a link to the entire edition: http://www.themunicipal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Municipal-NOV-2019-WEB-linked.pdf The Bloomington merger of the water and public works departments is covered on PDF pages 32-34. Successful Merger According to the article, Bloomington is saving $250,000 per year by not […]
See update: https://blnnews.com/2019/10/31/update-to-hiding-bcpa-numbers/ By: Diane Benjamin Read this one slow! Lots of info to absorb. The ONLY mention of the BCPA in the just released financial statements is the number of employees – PDF page 194 https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23337 First, note the BCPA is part of Parks and Recreation. Second, celebrate the number of employees has decreased. […]
