I reported on December 28th State Farm was leaving downtown! Nice to see SF finally admitted it. https://blnnews.com/2017/12/28/state-farm-is-leaving-downtown/ By: Diane Benjamin Mayor Renner appeared on WJBC yesterday – hear him HERE Couple of notes: He called a special meeting for next Tuesday because he thinks the people who volunteered to be on his downtown task force […]
By: Diane Benjamin About this story: https://blnnews.com/2017/12/22/food-ban-at-miller-park/ A few people are trying to convince me that food won’t be banned at Miller Park, but I can’t get them to explain what Jay Tetzloff meant when he aid: “Once we have a concession stand you won’t be able to bring your food in” I’m told that when […]
By: Diane Benjamin When the new and re-elected members of the City Council were sworn it last May 1st, no agenda was posted: http://www.cityblm.org/government/advanced-components/documents/-folder-499/-npage-5 If you watch the video, Tari called the meeting to order anyway, see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfeOZOEU6xs This is the meeting where an illegal oath of office was given. Now that the City […]
WJBC has posted the audio and a story: http://www.wjbc.com/2017/10/25/renner-council-spat-shouldnt-impact-city-manager-search/ Tari: Maybe the Aldermen who won’t return your phone calls understand the public business is required to be done in public. See the Open Meeting Act you frequently violate. Of course it could be they don’t want to hear more lies any more than citizens do. Did […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari has thought he is god’s gift to Bloomington since the day he got elected the first time. He planned to RULE, not serve. Every action he has taken from his first day on the job proves that. He has no concept of what most people think a mayor should be. The […]
By: Diane Benjamin See the VIDEO in this story: https://blnnews.com/2017/10/10/should-renner-be-back/ What Tari claims has happened is a FELONY. Were police reports filed? NO! Why was it denied? I originally tried to file for a longer time frame, but they told me it was too long. Then the City lost my response to a request to narrow […]
By: Diane Benjamin I thought for a minute somebody had kidnapped David Hales and replaced him with a conservative. He actually said the Council must lean how to say NO. He said the City can’t maintain what we have now, but people keep talking about building new things. Library David? Aquatics center? Sports complex? Public […]
By: Diane Benjamin I know some of you have seen this story on Facebook, but I kept running into people this weekend that didn’t. That means I HAVE to print it. Here’s the back story according to Judy Stearns: Tari Renner was on WJBC this week. Scott Laughlin asked him about Judy’s appearance Monday night […]
WJBC posted the podcast: https://audioboom.com/posts/6384179-tari-renner-bloomington-mayor-10-11-17 I forgot to mention he thinks the local acrimony is a bigger story than CIAM! He also claims he did everything possible to get information from CIAM AND he decided not to renew the contract. Funny Tari – I remember you were shocked they pulled out of the negotiations. I was […]
By: Diane Benjamin Real journalism isn’t dead yet! The Joliet Herald News just proved it with this story: http://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2017/09/29/da82d31d3ccc4697970889c2a58349a5/index.xml?page=1 This paper isn’t done writing because my interview is not in this story! See this story for context if you missed it this morning: https://blnnews.com/2017/09/29/hales-if-a-perfect-fit-for-joliet/ Some tasty bits: “That’s the guy you want,” Regis said. “If somebody commits […]
By: Diane Benjamin I didn’t think it was possible to find people with even less desire to serve the people they are supposed to represent than the local propagandists. But, they do exist – in Joliet. Speaking with no facts is acceptable operating procedure. Believing every word uttered by people playing CYA is required. Then, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below are some of the stories I’ve written about the Coliseum. Some are opinions, some questions, and some proven facts. This isn’t everything, but it’s enough to prove the 5 Coliseum employees would NOT be under indictment of I hadn’t started investigating in 2013! Each link has a quote from the […]
Listen to the interview here: http://www.wjbc.com/2017/09/26/bloomington-officials-react-to-alleged-arena-fraud/ ________________________________________________ By: Diane Benjamin Of course the Council will do nothing to David Hales for extreme S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g of the truth this morning on WJBC. Of course Scott Laughlin didn’t know enough facts to confront him. When a podcast is created I will add it to this story. Hales wasted […]
By: Diane Benjamin The oldest story I wrote about the Coliseum is from December 2013: https://blnnews.com/2013/12/11/coliseum-bleeding-bloomington-taxpayers/ But, look at this story from February 2014: https://blnnews.com/2014/02/06/is-coliseum-management-giving-bloomington-their-share/ First lines of the story: Operations of the Coliseum are extremely complicated. Management hired by the City is operating some functions without any over-sight or accountability. The taxpayers deserve to […]
By: Diane Benjamin I knew the lies were going to be instant! The City of Bloomington did NOT uncover the fraud at the Coliseum. They were warned many times. David Hales did not do his job – I hope Joliet is thrilled with their choice for City Manager. The fraud could not have happened if […]
By: Diane Benjamin I did finally receive my FOIA for the General Ledger entries to the Sister Cities accounts. Travel expenses is sometimes in “Travel” and sometimes in “Community Relations”. The accounts are full of transfers and memo entries that make it difficult to determine what is happening. The Sister Cities program is supported by […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council is meeting tonight, but nothing is on the agenda about the Renner media blitz spreading misinformation. The only people discussing enforcement of the law will be citizens – should they choose to make public comment. The meeting begins tonight at 5:30. If the City Council wants to hold […]
By: Diane Benjamin Gas in Decatur today $2.11. Gas in Bloomington today $2.25. _____________________________ A complaint was filed against Tari Renner for violating the garbage can ordinance: https://blnnews.com/2017/08/06/do-laws-codes-regulations-matter/ It was filed by a Bloomington resident who has recently been hassled by the City. The resident filed a FOIA request for the letter sent to Renner’s address, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner has been making the media tour to justify the use of government funds on his girlfriend’s plane ticket to Japan. It’s amazing how WJBC and WGLT can let Renner spout anything and never challenge his statements. This morning Tari was on WJBC. He claimed his girlfriend’s ticket was bought as […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal came really close to ending their tyranny when Chris Koos was almost defeated in April. Renner didn’t get Modified Wards, but now that he’s reelected, nothing is going to stand in his way. The Council certainly won’t – gee they approved his girlfriend’s ticket to Japan! No, nobody is looking out […]
By: Diane Benjamin The following Press Release was sent today by the City of Bloomington. It has a couple of problems though! Who gave Tari the award? Did he award himself in his hotel room? I predict a GLOWING Pantagraph article! ___________________________________________________ From: Nora Dukowitz <[email protected]>Date: Wed, Aug 9, 2017 at 11:19 AMSubject: Press Release: MAYOR RECEIVES […]
By: Diane Benjamin The conversation below is from Mayor Tari Renner Facebook page. Krista Vogel Cardona was Renner’s campaign manager twice and the daughter of Steve Vogel. John Kraft is one of the Edgar County Watchdogs. The two names I redacted are private citizens and not the same person. If you have a Facebook account, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Police: Police Officers have a LOT of discretion in who gets a ticket, who gets their car searched, and who gets hauled off to jail. You respect their authority under the law and they will respect you. You act like a jerk and you will be treated like a jerk if you […]
By: Diane Benjamin In the interest of sustainability and providing you with time-saving instant news – this is a FOUR IN ONE story. 1) When your news comes from mornings with WJBC, don’t believe what you hear. Scott Laughlin has a problem with facts. Hey Scott: The Democrats lost their super majority in the Springfield […]
By: Diane Benjamin Scott Laughlin clarified this morning on WJBC why the local media is useless. The host hates people who think government should do nothing. Scottie doesn’t realize “those” people don’t want government doing nothing, they want them doing only the things the population can’t do themselves. Like fix the roads! How are the Bloomington […]
By: Diane Benjamin How many people urging the Council to approve a Citizens Advisory Board to police the police think: Hands Up Don’t Shoot really happened? How many people on the Council think it did? I saw this comment on Facebook today from a local lady – she made it to a story about Michael […]
By: Diane Benjamin Evidently the media isn’t the least bit curious about Hudson’s mayor quitting right after he got elected. Jason Collins said he was quitting for personal reasons. It wasn’t easy to get a copy of the letter Collins sent to the Board, but I did receive a redacted version. This is what Section […]
Evidently WJBC isn’t doing podcasts today – no Karch interview available. By: Diane Benjamin Kevin Lower ran for mayor on fixing the streets. Tari did too but, but unlike Lower – Tari wasn’t telling you the truth. This morning, Public Works director Jim Karch was on WJBC. The ONLY money Bloomington is spending on streets […]
By: Diane Benjamin Kimberly Bray was just elected to represent the 9th Ward. Rumor has it she has never voted in a local election before this one. (If she did – she could easily prove it!) Rumor also has it that Joni Painter and Tari Renner recruited her to run. She obviously doesn’t read BlnNews […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner on WJBC this morning: https://audioboom.com/posts/5905103-tari-renner-bloomington-mayor-5-10-17?t=0 Listen to his opening statement declaring how transparent the City is! Bull Tari. The results of Council meetings are pre-determined, FOIA requests are routinely denied, City Manager reports with usable information no longer exist, and suddenly the City MUST spend $60,000+ a month on legal […]
By: Diane Benjamin Sen Dick Durbin was on WJBC this morning. Listen to his interview HERE Stumbling through harsh questions from Scott Laughlin (just kidding!), Dickie attempted to justify why he is a NO vote to confirm Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. “Gorsuch is out of the mainstream”. Obama appointed Elena Kagan and Sonia […]
By: Diane Benjamin Chris Koos was on WJBC this morning. Hear the interview HERE Did you know that Uptown is NEVER going to be finished? Yep, Koos said that. He is running for a 4th term because he isn’t done with his vision. Bloomington-Normal will be paying for a new sports facility if Koos and […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tuesday night Uptown Galleries knew protestors were gathering outside. I didn’t count the group but at least 20 people lined both sides of the doors as people left. I saw NO police. Previous debates did have officers present. Why would the Town of Normal allow this group to gather outside the debate […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday Marc Tiritilli was interviewed on WJBC: https://audioboom.com/posts/5751341-marc-tiritilli-candidate-for-normal-mayor-3-27-17 Listen to the next mayor of Normal. Besides the massive debt, the Portillos debacle and Koos’s stand against allowing the public to speak freely is enough to throw him out of office. Tonight: The final debate between Tari Renner and Kevin Lower. ISU’s University […]
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 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 Yesterday WJBC read the Melanie Spellmeyer-ISU-Central Catholic update story on my website. They read the original story too, but never reported on it. The story only became important to them when Dan Brady got involved. It probably helped that his funeral home advertises on WJBC. See their story here: HERE Totally lost […]
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 […]
