Bills and Payroll – City of Bloomington for 7-6 http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=22163 All bills marked Bulk Disp are for hauling trash dropped off at the “convenience center”. Henson frequently hauls standard sized dumpsters numerous times a day. Every bill will show an $80 charge for trucking. 97 loads x $80 = $7760. The City could have hauled […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Democrats in Springfield went on a taxing spree this spring. That’s what Democrats do, evidently the people of Illinois like being taxed to death. Here’s a tax that hasn’t been talked about much: Bloomington just spent a bunch of money on automatic fee machines, Normal already had them. If they really […]
By: Diane Benjamin Nashville Tn. is a lot bigger than Bloomington-Normal and growing rapidly. Their transit system serves around 1.9 million people, including areas outside of the City. Their system is publicly owned but managed by a private company. I have a friend who escaped Illinois to Nashville. He sent this pic: Nashville’s bus system […]
By: Diane Benjamin According to the paper, Alderman Julie Emig has been named Executive Director of the Multicultural Leadership Program. https://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/mclp-names-emig-as-executive-director/article_f62cf167-1366-568a-8882-b239c781b9cf.html She sits one person away from the racists mayor and says nothing. Don’t forget, Not In Our Town hasn’t said a word either. According to the article: “A program designed to develop leaders […]
There is more to this story: The homeowner has informed me their brush was the only stop on the street today. The truck drove past many other piles to get to their house. This likely happened because they demanded a refund for service they never received. Instead of a refund, they sent a truck out […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday Alderman Jenn Carrillo posted a video on her Alderman Facebook page instructing illegals on what to do if ICE comes to their house or business. She claims she has been advocating for illegals for 10 years. She must think illegals all speak Spanish, she used both Spanish and English. Jenn is […]
By: Diane Benjamin In June of 2018 the City Council approved buying two Knuckleboom trucks: PDF page 300 http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=18156 I was told they were delivered late last fall. The total cost was $308,819.96 This note is included on PDF page 317: These two vehicles were not used for the May bulk pickup and they haven’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin I hear public comment will be worth watching at this meeting. Bring your own camera if you attend. Film the Council instead of the speaker. http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=22075 Note this is ONLY for the hotel: What is BEDC? BASIC Economic Development courses. Was there a course on government getting out of the way to create […]
By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up to this story: https://wordpress.com/post/blnnews.com/67411 That story has pic from last Friday of brush that was scheduled to be picked up last Tuesday. This pic is from yesterday, the brush is still there – 8 days after it was supposed to be picked up. It has to be in the street to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Jenn Carrillo still had her illegal gay pride flag in front of her. Being divisive is why she ran for Council. Keep the popcorn ready. it’s only a matter of time before she makes a fool of herself again.. The can’t miss speech at Public Comment last night came from Gary Lambert. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Original story: https://blnnews.com/2019/05/23/the-lake-bloomington-fire/ I filed this FOIA request for additional information on the Lake Bloomington fire: Below are answers to two of the three questions: Four months after the fire the City has received zero from insurance. I believe they have bought everything they plan to replace except the building. I have […]
By: Diane Benjamin For May 2019 the BCPA has only posted one report: http://www.cityblm.org/government/advanced-components/documents/-folder-1702 More proof government isn’t capable of “entertainment”. The poor are forced to subsidize losers at both the BCPA and the Coliseum. When is the Council going to figure it out?
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve never understood why so many locals think their garbage would never be picked up if it was privatized. Most of those who don’t agree are transplants who came from towns where garbage was privatized. Most are appalled they have to pay the government monopoly to get garbage picked up. Competition always […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=21989 Issac Thorne will be at the Bloomington Committee of the Whole meeting Monday too. He won’t stick around long since he has to be in Normal at 7:00. Again, there is nothing on the agenda to allow a vote to reject the Connect Transit budget. Tari’s “Armageddon” claims were just fear […]
By: Diane Benjamin Start over folks! The City didn’t just buy the Jumer’s Conference Center. The original lease for the Conference Center was dated in 1987. Documents from that long ago are not on-line, but I imagine they did what Normal did with the Marriott: The hotel is owned by the operators and Normal owns […]
See the follow-up story: https://blnnews.com/2019/06/13/chateau-hotel-and-conference-center/ By: Diane Benjamin Remember at the end of May when I reported the City owns the Jumer’s Conference Center? https://blnnews.com/2019/05/28/value-of-city-properties-2019/ It looks like $3 million was sunk into it. So what is its status? The City is leasing it and getting NOTHING for it. From my FOIA cover document: […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.connect-transit.com/documents/BUDGET%20DOCUMENT%20-%20Final_Revised.pdf I read it so you don’t have to. It reads like a socialist dream, Connect wants to be “a sought after expert in transportation solutions”. (PDF page 11) That won’t happen with huge empty buses! Excerpts: PDF page 7: (You need to see that last one!) PDF page 11: PDF page 13: […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=21959 Tari Renner’s list of proclamations will take longer than the business portion of the meeting. Public Comment will be interesting because Citizens to Ensure Fair Transit will be back. The Connect Transit budget is scheduled to take effect on July 1st with both towns having oversight. It has yet to be […]
I received a response from Parks Director Jay Tetzloff, it has been added at the bottom. By: Diane Benjamin I’ve been hearing for weeks about mowing not being done in many of the Bloomington Parks. I’ve been cutting the City some slack because of all the rain. Not anymore! You are paying more in taxes […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t: a Reader From the Connect Transit website: https://www.connect-transit.com/about/our_fleet.asp Connect Transit has 5 small buses people can schedule to use at a higher cost. How often are these 5 buses used? PDF page 11: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CbmR9DiMsXr6XQ1U_8AaLtGKH9yGbh_x/view The 5 buses average 3 boarding per hour. That means a large percentage of the time the […]
By: Diane Benjamin There are no shows posted on the event calendar for Grossinger Motors Arena until September. Luke Combs is scheduled for the 27th. The only other events are two shows of Trolls Live in November. https://www.grossingermotorsarena.com/events-and-tickets/calendar Tonight’s event was moved to the Castle Theatre. This event was held in May – another […]
By: Diane Benjamin Stan Nord was on WJBC this morning with Scott Miller. The article below only recaps the conversation they had about Connect Transit. Nord also explained why he paid the tap-on fees instead of filing a lawsuit. The conversation ended with Stan asking both Bloomington and Normal to eliminate their Local Motor Fuel […]
By: Diane Benjamin I still haven’t seen any media coverage of the fire at Lake Bloomington. That would make sense if the loss was inconsequential, but it wasn’t: Source: Fire Inventory by Category Note: The above document contains $6,300 for personal items. The worksheet does not include replacing the building. The City paid $11,500 to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yes, during a City Council meeting in both cities: Segments of government have been trying to remove religion from society for many decades. Remember what the wall says at the History Museum? Your religious beliefs are to be kept in church, not in public. Freedom of Religion is disappearing rapidly, it no […]
By: Diane Benjamin Definition of capitalism: Making your life better by providing goods or services other people want at a price they will pay. It is a simple concept that has improved the lives of millions around the globe. It is color blind and doesn’t care who you sleep with. It is what made America […]
By: Diane Benjamin For a long time we have known that much of what happens at Council meetings is pre-determined. This email proves it – the council members have 3 on 1 meetings with the City Manager: Hold on before you think this is a problem! They meet three on one to keep from violating the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner declared May Building safety month at last night’s Council meeting. First, I guess he didn’t notice May is almost over. Second, a City building recently burned to the ground. The only “safe” part was nobody was in the building when it burned. The media still hasn’t reported that fire. When […]
By: Diane Benjamin I had the unfortunate experience of needing to drive around Bloomington today. I decided to actually look for the Connect Transit flags signifying a stop. Head west on Lincoln from Veterans Parkway. There are so many flags a bus could probably idle between them! The only one I saw that might be […]
By: Diane Benjamin All of this information was obtained by FOIA. This spreadsheet was included in the information I received about the Lake Bloomington Fire. It won’t be easy to read unless you print it: Copy of Property Values for updating 2019 – FILE G_Complete Here are some excerpts, imagine how much money would be […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=21875 The BCPA has a show tomorrow night, they NEVER pay this much for an artist: https://itkt.choicecrm.net/templates/BLOM/?cts_legacy_app All the colored dots are tickets still available, the cheapest seats are $49, they go up to $64: Jamie Mathy went to a conference in Denver. Room rates are normally $160-$180. Billy Tyus has a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Two members of the media were at Tari’s open house last Friday, Maria Nagle from the Pantagraph and Howard Packowitz from WJBC. If the media fails to report news, everyone can pretend nothing happened. Are they protecting Tari? I know every alderman is aware of Tari’s comments. If the public doesn’t demand […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember the property Bloomington bought on N Main in 2016 for $1.4 million? Tari’s buddies, Kirk Holdings, leveled the old Mennonite Hospital buildings. Then the City bought it so nobody else could. It has been sitting vacant and generating no tax revenue ever since. Tuesday night the City is teaming up with […]
By: Diane Benjamin It doesn’t do any good to impose spending limits on employees when it’s so easy to get around the rules. The employee below sounds like he is re-ordering signs that were recently made. It worked the first time, so do it again. Last night a reader added links to pictures of the […]
By: Diane Benjamin The fire at a City owed building at Lake Bloomington was on March 10th. Below is one of the emails I received by FOIA: Another email identified Mr. Penn as John Penn. I wonder if he is still waiting for the Pantagraph to report the fire? Just so you have a small […]
By: Diane Benjamin The people wanting accountability from Connect Transit aren’t going away. They will be at Tari’s Open House on Friday: Details: Join riders, advocates, and concerned community members as we call on Mayor Renner to choose rider representation over favoritism on the Connect Transit Board! With two seats vacating on the Connect Transit […]
By: Diane Benjamin On March 10, 2019 a fire DESTROYED a building at Lake Building that housed a lot of equipment and records. The media never reported it. Evidently a massive loss to government isn’t news. I only found out about the fire when replacing two pieces of equipment appeared on the April 22nd Agenda: […]
By: Diane Benjamin According to Renner’s interview this morning on WJBC he has been plotting since December to appoint Amelia Buragas and Justin Boyd to the Connect Transit Board. He wants two people who know economic development and have experience spending millions of dollars. (his words) Keep in mind, Amelia wanted to tear down a […]
By: Diane Benjamin The latest case for limited government: Bloomington talked residents into electric aggregation in 2013. It was meant to save people money by contracting for lower electricity rates by buying in bulk. According to the City website the contract negotiated for you expired almost a year ago: Source: http://www.cityblm.org/government/city-council/municipal-electric-aggregation If you click on the […]
By: Diane Benjamin This is what Connect claims their mission is: https://www.connect-transit.com/about/mission.asp Here’s what citizens think the mission is: Provide transportation to people that need the service. From yesterday’s Press Release: https://blnnews.com/2019/05/17/idot-conspires-with-connect-transit/ Connect doesn’t agree: Connect thinks “talent” will be attracted to buses. How do empty buses make the communities walkable, bikable, and welcoming? Another […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tomorrow the entire crew will be out filling potholes! The bad news is they will be paid overtime for 8 hours. Worse news: Today they all got off paid two hours early after a pizza party. No word on who paid for the pizza. This is the second year – it’s to […]
