By: Diane Benjamin I had a little time before going to the District 87 Board meeting, so I walked around downtown Bloomington. The pictures start on Center street, then Front Street to the a short walk past the CII East building, down East street to Washington, and back to Center. There is broken mirrored glass […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal has a park off Constitution Trail called Rosa Parks. https://normal.org/1421/Rosa-Parks Below is what the flowerbed around the sign looks like: (h/t a reader) Those are all weeds, no flowers. Evidently Normal has money to build things, no money to maintain them. Government, either: quit constructing things in a way that requires […]
By: Diane Benjamin If the weeds in the planter boxes of the CII East building aren’t bad enough: Just down the street is another weed fest: (h/t a reader) This is the corner of Washington and East Street – directly across from Bloomington’s new “Hub” in the Government Center. The CII East weeds are actually […]
By: Diane Benjamin Just design for new Way Finding Signs in downtown Bloomington cost $90,285. The cost to construct and install was somewhere around $447,000, total is over half a million. Details in this story: https://blnnews.com/2018/07/09/what-does-no-bids-tell-you-and-more-council-tonight/ 2 weeks ago I drove through downtown and noticed many of the signs are not readable because the print […]
By: Diane Benjamin Jamie Mathy reported Jenn Carrillo did not participate because she was experiencing internet problems. The City extended the Post Office lease in the Market Street parking garage for 18 months. Usually the lease is for 5 years, the City reduced it because they are planning to replace the garage. A contract was […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington has two water towers. One is located in Normal. According to this 2015 story, that one was not being used: https://blnnews.com/2015/08/04/more-ineptness/ Staff admitted in 2015 it wasn’t being used. The buzz back in 2015 is detailed in the story. At the last meeting in April the Council the services agreement with […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington has been struggling with balancing the solid waste enterprise fund for many years. Don’t forget, until 2005 the taxes you already paid covered the service. The enterprise fund was established only to tax you more until the fund balances. Yearly 3% increases haven’t kept the fund in balance, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Citizens will see the three new Council members for the first time tonight: Sheila Montney, Nick Becker, and Tom Crumpler. Bills and Payroll: Bloomington has been trying to avoid hiring consultants to find candidates, evidently whatever they are looking for hasn’t been found because they are back to paying to find employees: […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader Stay tuned, Normal is next. Wirepoints.org analyzed the pensions funding for 175 Illinois communities. Lots of other information is also included. Bloomington received a “D” rating. The results prove how much government has grown in 19 years and how the increased revenue wasn’t used for essential items like funding […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader South Mitsubishi Parkway, now Rivian Motorway, was never completed. The anticipated development never happened which also made Bloomington’s #5 Fire Station a relic before it was ever used. Sometime in the last week it did become a dumping ground however. Maybe Bloomington is going to finish it in brick! […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you thought brick streets were ever going to get a little money you’d be wrong. Mollie Ward objected to diverting the unused grants balance of $82,784 to repairs. She wants curbs made ADA compliant first. See 1:04:15. I didn’t hear an explanation from Mollie, but she amended the motion to spending […]
By: Diane Benjamin Two landlords appeared at Public Comment a few meetings ago complaining about being billed for City water because their tenants didn’t pay the bills. These landlords have also not been paid rent for at least a year. This information is for landlords. Proving yet again Stan Nord is capable of working with […]
By: Diane Benjamin In the latest example of FAKE NEWS, local media is still acting like Jenn Carrillo was censured at the special meeting last Monday. Evidently they didn’t watch the meeting or can’t read the agenda. “Possible action” was on the agenda, not actually doing anything. The vote was 6-3 to do something in […]
By: Diane Benjamin So, Bloomington was billing Normal’s customers for using the sewer system and not paying Normal. This story has links to all previous stories: https://blnnews.com/2021/04/23/nice-of-the-pantagraph-but/ Throw another twist into this story: Did the effected customer get charged more because Bloomington billed them or not enough because Normal’s rates are higher? I didn’t look […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember this story? https://blnnews.com/2021/04/08/normals-professional-staff-comedy/ Normal City Manager Pam Reece wrote a letter to Bloomington’s City Manager claiming sewer fees had been collected by Bloomington for systems owned by Normal. It only took her 9 years to notice a problem existed. The letter was complete with a 2 page 11 point questionnaire she […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you can’t wait to hear Public Comment from the pre-meeting concerning Jenn Carrillo’s Facebook post, just hit play below. It starts right after roll call. Another Public Comment session (much shorter) took place before the 6:00 meeting. It starts around 50:50. Jenn Carrillo was not censured last night. The 6-3 vote […]
By: Diane Benjamin Special meeting at 5:15 http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1113&Inline=True I wonder if Jenn Carrillo will bother to show up? A Code of Conduct is a loser folks. The Council has no ability to do anything but censure and that did nothing to straighten out Tari Renner when he got one. The Council should instead be telling […]
By: Diane Benjamin Think Normal isn’t waging a war with Bloomington? Pam Reece sent a letter to Bloomington demanding remittance and answers for non-payment of sewer fees Bloomington has collected on Normal properties: If this doesn’t prove government isn’t efficient or capable, nothing will convince you. Since “at least” 2012 Normal thinks Bloomington has been […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1107&Inline=True It will be fun to see if Jenn Carrillo’s head explodes: She has questioned all spending for the police in the past. A Public Hearing will be held on the budget. Likely few or nobody will make public comment. What you should know: The budget history: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1063&Inline=True https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=21525 Pre Tari: https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=5010 […]
By: Diane Benjamin After years of discussing what to do with O’Neil pool City Manager Gleason wants to have a vote next Monday to proceed with the plan presented last night. Even though the two west side aldermen didn’t bother to show up to hear about the project, full steam ahead! The current skate park […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council heard a presentation on O’Neil pool and park last night. Price tag is now $11.5-11.7 million. It is much more than replacing a pool. The two aldermen representing the west side were absent: Mollie Ward and Jenn Carrillo. Start with these few words we’ve heard before, much more […]
By: Diane Benjamin There has been a moratorium on evictions for around a year now. There are local landlords who haven’t received rent for that long. Even though assistance is available, some renters have decided to live for free instead instead of doing the paperwork. Worse, the City of Bloomington is attempting to collect past […]
By: Diane Benjamin Jenn Carrillo showed at the Bloomington Council meeting last night what a Council with her buddies on it would look like. Readers: The media isn’t going to tell citizens the truth or make much effort to get people to vote. You have to! The majority of the City does not even know […]
By: Diane Benjamin At the WGLT mayoral debate the good leftist host had to bring up systemic racism, that discussion kept him from asking about real issues. You are expected to believe minorities can not succeed because whites won’t let them. Obviously it’s a myth because their are countless successful minorities. Obviously it is a […]
By: Diane Benjamin I was sent the below by a reader: The City of Bloomington’s insurance company paid the legal fees for the Watchdogs FOIA lawsuit to get documents the City claimed didn’t exist. Note the legal fees to Loevy & Loevy were reported as an “accident”. Maybe it was an accident that an officer […]
Excerpt: BY KIRK ALLEN & JOHN KRAFT FEBRUARY 24, 2021 Bloomington, IL (ECWd) – After publishing this article, numerous outlets focused on the Mayor’s response to a public comment made during the last city council meeting. We will provide a video update to those comments in an upcoming article. The following day the city manager was […]
Tari Renner on WJBC this morning: https://post.futurimedia.com/wjbcam/playlist/26/listen-1273.html?cb=1614188824.212135&fbclid=IwAR2bkJ0Mt5rUvXFk1H0qILFjNK_Uzw9XZvqqh4fxq08IVJnyR54s8YyUZfs By: Diane Benjamin Numerous media outlet have covered Tari Renner’s rant at Monday’s City Council meeting. Not ONE has bothered to look at the evidence presented by the Edgar County Watchdogs. Not ONE has asked how the story got started. If any of you had bothered to investigate […]
By: Diane Benjamin I could write MANY stories about last night’s Bloomington Council meeting. I might write more, I might not. I didn’t want you to miss this graphic: Every citizen of Normal is in twice as much debt as those who live in Bloomington. That is why the end of the Uptown TIF is […]
By: Diane Benjamin It’s easy these days to figure out where people stand politically. The Constitution states we are created “Equal”, those who want to create victims demand “Equity”. Socialism and communism create “equity” by redistributing wealth, except for those in charge of course. Some will never have enough, those who worked hard for theirs […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night Kirk Allen (Edgar County Watchdogs) couldn’t speak at Public Comment so I spoke instead. I wanted to make sure people and the City knew about the story they published yesterday. https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2021/02/city-of-bloomington-police-coverup-exposed-zero-reporting-from-media-even-after-being-provided-all-the-facts/ The story includes proof of a Bloomington cover-up by allowing an officer to resign instead of prosecuting him. The […]
Since the Bloomington City Council refuses to meet in person, the Edgar County Watchdogs did a story today. I can NOT get the link to post. Go to edgarcountywatchdogs.com to see the story. Right now it is at the top of their site. It would have been nice if they could have confronted Tari in […]
By: Diane Benjamin I wonder if Jenn thinks this is a winning strategy for her socialist buddies April 6th: Excerpt: These people are her hopes for being on the “new” council: I appreciate Jenn’s honesty for what the agenda will be. On-site consumption means a lot of revenue can be generated by parking surveillance 1/2 […]
Flying around I saw lots of angry citizens who couldn’t get out of their driveway for days, maybe still can’t. I see the trails in both cities got cleared before streets. Are both Normal and Bloomington using snow to fill the potholes? How much MOTOR FUEL TAX was used to clear the trail for bikes […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember when Bloomington bought all new garbage trucks so they only needed one person instead of two? Remember when they bought “carts” so those trucks could pick them up automatically? Remember when that didn’t save enough money so a previous Council passed automatic fee increases to avoid ever having to vote on […]
By: Diane Benjamin 45:10 Jamie Mathy reported Tari Renner was absent because of emergency dental work. Mboka conducted the meeting as mayor pro-tem. Maybe Tari will recover enough to prosecute more local businesses today that dared to ignore Pritzker. They must not be the “right fit”, kneeling and losing your business is required for that. […]
By: Diane Benjamin On Monday’s agenda: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1102&Inline=True Renner won’t be Mayor in just over 3 months. Why is he trying to enshrine Gleason until 2025? If the socialists take over the Council April 6th Tim won’t be nearly radical enough for them. I’m sure Gleason has a huge buyout in his contract to leave, David […]
By: Diane Benjamin The law was changed in 2012 to require additional contributions to IMRF retirement fund if employees received large payouts that increased their pension at retirement. (accelerated payments) That law was badly needed because cities and employees never contributed to the higher payouts. Since the spiking practice should now be over in Bloomington […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.wglt.org/post/final-coliseum-defendant-pleads-guilty-misdemeanor-agrees-restitution#stream/0 The last Coliseum theft case was settled last week. The two main culprits got off with misdemeanor convictions while 2 low level employees who couldn’t afford to pay lawyers for years now have felony convictions. All 4 received plea deals, another defendant had all charges dropped. The City of Bloomington received […]
By: Diane Benjamin Only one Public Comment is worth listening to. Go to 39:40. A guy is upset the Bloomington police post pictures of people of interest on social media hoping the public can help locate or identify the person. Worth listening to for another perspective. This re-zoning got sent back to the Planning Commission. […]
This is Kiplinger, not some conservative outlet trying to play politics: https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/state-tax/601614/least-tax-friendly-states-for-middle-class-families?rid=EML-today&rmrecid=2482908579&utm_campaign=20210126-today&utm_medium=email&utm_source=today Before both Bloomington and Normal decide to raise property taxes, and Unit 5 does again – these were the rates: District 87: 5.144810 City of Bloomington: 1.090100 Unit 5: 5.355410 Town of Normal: 1.032630
