By: Diane Benjamin The local area has THREE agencies coordinating economic development: B-N Convention and Visitors Bureau, BN Advantage, and the Economic Development Council. There is MUCH more to this story – but not today. The Bloomington Normal Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has another committee nobody has ever heard of: Sports Commission Board The Board […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday night the Bloomington City Council approved this: In case you forgot, the Council approved this payment at the March 27th meeting – PDF Page 253 http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=12448 The documentation for this meeting states the YWCA needs to money to continue operations until the end of their fiscal year. They are transporting people […]
By: Diane Benjamin This morning I attended the GOP breakfast because it featured the candidates for the Normal Town Council and Normal Township. Chris Koos made a comment about Uptown 2.0 I find hard to believe. He claims there isn’t enough retail and office space in Uptown now, so Uptown 2.0 is to provide more. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal spent $100,000,000+ on Uptown and they aren’t done spending money. See this story: http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/illinois/small-town-downtowns-il/ 9 Small Towns In Illinois Where Downtown Is The Place To Be Normal isn’t on the list and it isn’t a downtown destination, unless you like the taxpayer-funded free events. These 9 cities used existing buildings. Quaint […]
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 I haven’t heard the commercial, but several people have told me they almost wrecked their cars when Tari Renner’s radio ad called on the community to “Buy Local”. Maybe the City of Bloomington should participate before Tari is sent out to lecture citizens. These totals are from last year, I could have […]
By: Diane Benjamin The local (don’t question) paper is reporting the Enterprise Zone for parts of Bloomington, Normal, McLean County, Ford County and Gibson City has been approved by the State of Illinois. This will allow for a variety of tax breaks for businesses in the zone and those wanting to locate there. Mitsubishi closing […]
It looks like the magazine made a mistake. They are talking about Springfield, Bloomington was a typo. By: Diane Benjamin The following page is from a publication called Decatur Magazine, that’s Decatur Il. I think it is printed every other month. An acquaintance in Decatur always gives it to me, this page is the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington budgeted $2,683,206.28 this year for Economic Development. https://blnnews.com/2016/05/24/pretending-to-create-success/ Today I finally had a chance to glance at the latest copy of Illinois County Living Magazine. I only get it because I’m a Corn Belt Energy customer. The cover is “Get Your Kicks on Route 66”. Here’s a link to the story: […]
By: Diane Benjamin Just so everyone is clear on which Aldermen wanted to continue talking about Sales tax sharing with Normal: Jim Fruin Diane Hauman Scott Black Amelia Buragas Five Alderman voted against continuing: Schmidt, Painter, Mwilambwe, Sage, and Lower. It’s a dead issue for now. Mayor Renner just doesn’t understand why it failed. BN […]
By: Diane Benjamin Government in this country has never created prosperity. Every dollar they spend they stole from people who worked for it. Capitalism requires government to get out of the way so individuals can create their own success – or fail on their own. Bloomington government believes they can create economic development by throwing […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did you know Bloomington didn’t have an Economic Development person until 2012? Are things better or worse now? From 2016 Total Compensation report: http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=21&parent=5443 GRAMMERAUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COORD Salary and benefits: $94,583.89 . Where do some of your tax dollars go? UN-accountable government agencies! The EDC (Economic Development Council) is getting $490,000 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Congrats Bloomington! Every one of your elected representatives managed to attend the unscheduled Council meeting last night! Normal wasn’t happy when Bloomington announced Kroger was moving down the road and across the street. The story I’ve heard from numerous sources is that David Hales kept it a secret. Normal had NO IDEA […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you don’t pay attention to how Normal and Bloomington operate, once they start talking publicly about anything it’s already a done deal. Both Councils are stacked, so Renner and Koos can easily talk them into the latest declared “best practice”. Independent thoughts are too rare matter. Have some lunch. Here’s what […]
By: Diane Benjamin Illinois Comptroller, Leslie Munger, posted this video on Facebook recently. I guess she assumes everybody is on Facebook, if you can’t see it and aren’t on Facebook, that’s why. It’s a devastating look at Illinois finances. Bloomington is right behind Illinois now. Buying votes with projects citizens don’t want, control development, and […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington’s illustrious Mayor Renner was interviewed on WJBC yesterday. Hear it here: https://audioboom.com/boos/4222686-tari-renner-bloomington-mayor-2-24-16 Credit goes to Scott Laughlin for calling Renner out on the budget task force sham since all we’ve seen are massive tax and spending proposals ever since. But, it’s only another $20,000,000. If the population is still anywhere near […]
Don’t miss the two followup stories: http://blnnews.com/2016/02/15/dave-selzer-tax-deadbeat/ http://blnnews.com/2016/02/15/selzer-now-running-scared/ By: Diane Benjamin The post below appeared on Republican County Board member Dave Selzer’s Facebook page yesterday. The comments are even more revealing. Dave agrees with Democrat Tari Renner 75% of the time! The McLean County transparency rating by the Illinois Policy Institute is F. I knew […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tonight the Bloomington City Council will approve an Enterprise Zone. The majority will vote yes because they believe government creates economic activity. From the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Activity website: The Illinois Enterprise Zone Program is designed to stimulate economic growth and neighborhood revitalization in economically depressed areas of the […]
By: Diane Benjamin From tonight’s Bloomington City Council Bills and Payroll: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=9366 Three employees took advantage of Sick Leave Buy Back-the HOURS is blank, see pages 11 & 13: SLBB 12,195.20 ___________ ________________ ________________ Total: 12,195.20 Total Employees: 1 SLBB 12,192.35 ___________ ________________ ________________ Total: 12,192.35 Total Employees: 2 (From 10/12/15: SLBB 12,192.37 2 – […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday night the City Council approved: Consideration of adopting a Resolution endorsing BN Advantage: A collaborative economic development strategy for the Bloomington-Normal-McLean County Region The Vote was 8-1, Alderman Lower was the NO vote. . BN Advantage is composed of: EDC – Economic Development Council McLean County Chamber of Commerce Bloomington-Normal Convention […]
By: Diane Benjamin If my Internet hadn’t been down AGAIN for most of the day, I’d look up the video. Maybe you remember Renner talking about downtown: “We wouldn’t want a Jiffy Lube on the corner”. Did you elect a Mayor or god? Who gave him a right to decide what goes where? Maybe Jiffy […]
By: Diane Benjamin Obviously there are a lot of empty big retail spaces. Tax receipts in both Bloomington and Normal are down. I’ve talked to apartment owners who can’t find renters. This morning I got a call from the personal assistant of an owner of a commercial building. She wanted to know if I was […]
By: Diane Benjamin Does government create economic activity? Tari Renner believes he needs to control what happens to downtown Bloomington. Obviously Chris Koos had the same thought when he created Uptown. Meantime, tax revenue is down in BOTH cities. Both mayors believe more government intervention is needed to force economic development and growth. Now they […]
By: Diane Benjamin Mayor Tari loves to call people he wants to vilify: “they are off their meds” Sorry, but you may need “meds” after seeing how your tax dollars are spent. Government loves to control what us little people eat, but they feed themselves pizza, doughnuts, and deserts and send the bill to you. […]
From Fruin’s bio on the City website: http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=59 Jim has been very involved in the community, serving in several leadership positions with Illinois State University, Holy Trinity Church and Schools, Central Catholic High School, the McLean County Economic Development Council, the Bloomington/Normal Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Community Health Care Clinic, and currently as a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Today the City of Bloomington Annual Account as of 4/30/14 was published in the Pantagraph. If it wasn’t required by law, I’m sure the City wouldn’t do it. How much did the Pantagraph earn from the City of Bloomington? $126,344.49 It’s easy to see why investigative reporting is banned. Maybe the Pantagraph […]
by: Diane Benjamin Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. I will do a history recap for you Tari, even though you will ignore it. You are brilliant, past failures won’t happen with you at the helm! There is no date on this document, but it is prior to the City […]
by: Diane Benjamin “Every Tax is a Pay Cut … A Tax Cut is a Pay Raise” (So good I copied it: http://www.cltg.org/) Tari Renner does not understand that or care. He WILL propose a PROPERTY TAX increase to fund next years budget. He mentioned numerous times during this year’s budget discussions that Bloomington City […]
by: Diane Benjamin A Rasmussen Poll from May 7th showed 27% of likely voters think the country is headed in the right direction. 65% now think we are headed in the wrong direction. Evidently the other 8% are uniformed. The United States is 12th in the world on the 2014 list of Economic Freedom. Economic […]
by: Diane Benjamin It’s completely ridiculous that people from all political persuasions can’t sit down and reach common ground. It doesn’t help that both sides are prone to LIE and EXAGGERATE the truth for their uniformed minions. I read leftist emails and sites because I need to know what they are saying. Sometimes it is […]
I can’t tell individuals who read this site, but many large businesses and government agencies reveal their name instead of just the internet provider. Below is a sample of strange visitors. Evidently the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in Spring Hill Florida liked the last edition. JP Morgan Chased liked yesterday’s story on the $100,000+ Illinois […]
by: Diane Benjamin Shouldn’t elected officials be in charge of City business? Why does a City Manager get to write the agenda for Council meetings and then hand a packet to the elected representatives a few days before the meeting – often with 400-500 pages? Then, items without any previous discussion, are supposed to be […]
by: Diane Benjamin The McLean County Regional Planning Commission is busy planning for Bloomington. Most of this commission consists of un-elected people who tell every level of government what to do by dangling money in front of them. In addition to Bloomington, their website has plans for Normal, the County, and the schools. That’s how […]
The Bloomington City Council hasn’t learned any lessons. This week the City Council rushed through a summer project for juvenile offenders with no measurements to judge success or failure. Next August or September, a kid or two will appear before the Council and rave about how the program changed his life, then a permanent program […]
by: Diane Benjamin Last month Steve Stockton, David Hales, Rob Fazzini, and Jennifer McDade traveled to Washington DC to attend One Voice. The FOIA request for information on the topics(s) covered has not been received, but the expense reports for this trip have. The first question is: Why did 4 people have to attend when the […]
by: Diane Benjamin Since the press didn’t cover this event, I will recap the high points. Evidently the citizens of Bloomington are waiting for the Pantagraph to tell them who to vote for because a large part of the crowd were supporters of various candidates. Citizens of Bloomington evidently don’t care about crumbling roads and […]
by Diane Benjamin Most people have never heard of the McLean County Regional Planning Commission, but this board is the conduit from state and federal sources to implement an agenda. This takes control away from local government. Check their website: www.mcplan.org. Plans are listed for every level of government. Tari Renner is a member of […]
This site will end without your support. Click here to contribute: http://blnnews.blogspot.com/ All votes can be accessed at the City of Bloomington website http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=242&parent=128 John Hanson’s last meeting was 4/25/11. Below is a summary of votes from January 2009 until Hanson left the Council. A majority of all votes taken are unanimous, below are the votes […]
by Diane Benjamin While the United Nations Flag stands in the Bloomington City Council chambers, the town of Normal is IN BED with the United Nations. Recent posts have tied the government activities in Normal Il directly to the United Nations through Agenda 21. The United Nations does not believe in the America as founded-they […]
The writer of this article is fighting the same battles that CityWatch and BLNNews have been reporting on – control of local government by the federal and state government. as directed by the United Nations. John F. McManus is from the Rockford area. The McLean County Regional Planning Commission recently tried to get Bloomington to […]
