By: Diane Benjamin One big difference between Mayor Mwilambwe and Mayor Brady: Meetings start at 6:00. I don’t remember time mattering to Mboka. Arbor Day got a proclamation. Trees are wonderful, I’ve got a bunch of them still dropping dead branches from the last ice storm years ago. I hope since Bloomington has two arborists […]
By: Diane Benjamin Link to tonight’s agenda Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4102/files/agenda/12569 I bet some local business is kicking themselves for not jumping on the naming rights for the Coliseum. You could have gotten free advertising forever—nobody else seems to want their name on the building. Just pay for a few years, cancel the contract afterward, and your […]
By: Diane Benjamin Are the electric buses alive now? Are these 12 buses really running? This page lists the bus fleet: https://connect-transit.com/about/our-fleet 6 hybrid. 32 other buses are listed as diesel. This was mentioned at the March 2026 Connect Transit meeting: The Gillig buses that Connect Transit already has are diesel. The documentation for this […]
By: Diane Benjamin Meeting is at 4:30 today. February statistics I care about, others are in the packet: See PDF page 11. New Fare Structure! And Evidently how it is collected: PDF page 4: PDF page 15: BUDGETED 2027 loss: Income: $1,752,000 Expenses: $27,632,170 27,632,170 – 1,752,000 = 25,880,170 25,880,170 / 12 = Connect Transit […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tomorrow Connect is holding 2 meetings. The first one is the annual meeting where officers are elected: https://connect-transit.com/file/4099/Agenda_Annual%20Meeting_03%2031%202026.pdf The second meeting is the usual monthly meeting, but this time they didn’t include any documentation: https://connect-transit.com/file/4100/Agenda_Regular%20Session_03%2031%202026.pdf . Was ridership and the monthly loss for February too ridiculous to provide? Are the Audit Results […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit – February meeting: https://connect-transit.com/file/4079/2026%2002%2024_BoT%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf The January loss: Yes, that’s the loss for ONE MONTH. Your tax dollars at work subsidizing every passenger:
By: Diane Benjamin Have you noticed the media never reports on how much Connect Transit is costing taxpayers? Have you noticed you haven’t been told these bus subsidies exist across the country? The Champaign-Urbana bus system loses far more than Connect Transit. Did you know the Danville Mass Transit District attempted to dissolve itself: https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2026/01/cris-mass-transit-violated-law-on-vote-to-dissolve/ […]
By: Diane Benjamin Today’s agenda: https://connect-transit.com/file/4024/2026%2001%2027_BoT%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf The packet is for November and December. There isn’t near as much information in the packet as usual. Missing are reports from their consultants in Springfield and DC. $42,059 for what? . Ridership is up, so are the losses: . Flex is still up almost 9% fiscal year to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last year Connect Transit paid Managing Director David Braun: In November he abruptly announced a leave of absence and then resigned. Wasn’t he the guy who wasted around $16 million on electric buses? Media reported his leave of absence and that he may not return: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-11-13/connect-transits-managing-director-takes-leave-of-absence In December media dutifully reported the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last Monday City Manager Jeff Jurgen announced there was plenty of parking downtown – Just hit Play: . Mayor Brady is quoted in this WGLT story stating the opposite: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-12-16/bloomington-considers-downtown-trolley-service-during-parking-crunch Brady wants a trolley service when big events are going on because parking near the places holding events is limited. Which is […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Board packet included reports for both September and October. I put them side by side so it’s easy to compare: https://connect-transit.com/file/3951/2025%2011%2025_Board%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf The loss PER MONTH is racing toward $2,000,000. It’s only money. Yours. October is the highest one month loss to date. September is second. If you look at PDF page […]
By: Diane Benjamin To get the whole picture, readers have to combine the video and the meeting documentation about the downtown transfer station: PDF page 29 https://connect-transit.com/file/3878/2025%2010%2028_Meeting%20Packet.pdf Once Connect Transit found out the old Pantagraph building wouldn’t work for the downtown transit center, this happened: . Bloomington has wanted to get rid of the Market […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit employees, who are members of the Amalgamated Transit Union, have been working without a contract since June 30. Public comment at the Connect Transit Board meeting featured the union’s president and financial secretary/treasurer. Union members also attended respectfully and held signs. According to the speakers, the Connect Transit attorney has […]
https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-09-25/visionary-leader-ryan-whitehouse-remembered-for-his-advocacy-and-service This is a tragedy for his family, the Illinois Farm Bureau, and Connect Transit. Condolences to all.
By: Diane Benjamin . Even though the meeting was cancelled, the packet is available they would have used: https://connect-transit.com/file/3833/2025%2009%2023_Board%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf Financial information is finally available for the year that ended on June 30th. I think they expect celebrations because they lost less than what was budgeted: Budget: <$20,054,326> Actual: <$19,357,702> How many taxis or Ubers would […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit frequently has expenses for Travel and Meetings. The June meeting listed $5,861.95: https://connect-transit.com/file/3674/2025%2006%2024_Board%20Packet.pdf I don’t remember FOIAing expenses since 2016 when I learned 5 employees feasted in San Francisco: https://blnnews.com/2016/11/14/connect-transit-spending-theft/ I figured it was time. I filed a FOIA for receipts. Expenses for trips to Texas, Atlanta, DC, and Forsyth […]
By: Diane Benjamin FYI: I won’t always be writing early in the morning because of garden work that I want to do early – before it gets hot. I wrote about this gravel lot here: https://blnnews.com/2025/07/02/connect-transit-gravel lot Connect needed a place to park all the buses that don’t run. Most, if not all, are electric. […]
By: Diane Benjamin I don’t know how this group, including both City Managers, sits in a room and thinks any of this is an efficient use of tax dollars. Connect Transit held a Board Meeting on June 24th. See 2:30 on the video below. CT built a gravel lot to park all the buses that […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Pritzker must have figured out he will never be president. Instead he is running for a third term. Illinois should hold more No Kings events – against him. He thinks he is one. He and his party haven’t done enough damage yet. 2) WGLT joined a lawsuit to stop the defunding […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit owns a property they don’t need in downtown Bloomington – PIN #21-04-389-006. Connect held a special meeting on June 13th. This information is from the packet for that meeting: https://connect-transit.com/file/3675/06%2013%202025_BoT_Special%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf Connect Transit’s Oakland Avenue property is the former site of Connect Transit’s operations and maintenance facility prior to our current […]
By: Diane Benjamin When free money is handed to you there is no incentive to care about how it’s spent. Are any of the huge electric buses Connect spent at least $16 million on running? Now that Connect wants to expand Flex service, they need more vehicles. PDF page 22 https://connect-transit.com/file/3569/05%2027%202025_BoT%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf Yes taxpayers, they are […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Bloomington (and Normal) placed 20th on a list of worst places to live in Illinois for retirees: https://consumergravity.com/worst-towns-retirees-illinois/ Two reasons are listed. Healthcare costs are higher than the national average and you have to travel to get specialized care. The second reason given is Public Transportation that doesn’t fully meet the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Board packet: Connect Transit 4/22/25 Items of note: The Salary increase isn’t in the packet. Staff recommends not releasing any Executive Session Minutes – PDF page 52 . The meeting video is very hard to hear even with the sound all the way up. When the Board returned from Executive Session they […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is a map of some local crimes. https://communitycrimemap.com/map If you go to that link you can customize what crimes appear. The crimes shown below are since January 1st, 2025. You can also zoom in to specific area. Purple is residential burglary. Brown is theft, doesn’t include shoplifting. Green is motor vehicle […]
By: Diane Benjamin February 2025 and Year-to-Date ridership: PDF page 9 The first circle highlights the COST per ride in February, the second is Year To Date costs per ride. . Click PLAY to hear the Board Chair, re-elected Ryan Whitehouse, ask David Braun if Flex Ridership is going up because Mobility Riders are switching […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) The Connect Transit website shows a vacancy for Bloomington Trustee. https://connect-transit.com/board-of-trustees/meet-the-trustees The current mayor may try to stack that board like past mayors, but if you are interested in serving apply here: https://cityblm.seamlessdocs.com/f/MayoralAppointmentApplication There were two public comments at the April Connect Transit Board meeting. Just hit play below. The lady […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) I was notified by a reader the BNWRD owns the tent city property in Normal. That’s the Bloomington Normal Water Reclamation District. Illinois law prevents them from removing the campers. It doesn’t prevent them from demanding they CLEAN up their mess. 2) I was also notified that ISU is planning for […]
By: Diane Benjamin I rarely FOIA anything I don’t know exists. A FOIA to Connect Transit didn’t reveal any bus purchases from Champaign. The January payments did: PDF page 17 https://connect-transit.com/file/3390/02%2025%202025_BoT%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf I do know the failure of the electric buses forced Connect to pull old buses out of mothballs. The bus list doesn’t show any […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you want to buy something and then find out the cost is more than twice what you expected, what do you do? If you’re the Town of Normal and want to save 50 feet with an underpass that vehicles can’t even use, you plow ahead and look for more money from […]
By: Diane Benjamin Read this story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-02-25/home-sweet-home-proposes-50-cabin-village-to-serve-homeless-near-downtown-bloomington Home Sweet Home wants to build tiny houses south of downtown on land Connect Transit owns and abandoned 15 years ago and now leased to the City of Bloomington. Why wasn’t the Transfer station built there? Here Is a faster idea for downtown housing: Tow all of Connect […]
By: Diane Benjamin Board packet: https://connect-transit.com/file/3390/02%2025%202025_BoT%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf The Board hasn’t met since November, this meeting has 3 months of stats. This is what sustainability looks like! Illinois brilliance: New Payment System: 11 of the 12 electric buses were not running as of last December: https://blnnews.com/2024/12/12/status-of-electric-buses-foia-insights/ Connect Transit is buying 12 more buses they call “heavy duty”. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit canceled their January meeting due to lack of a quorum. The same thing happened in October 2024. Normal filled a Trustee seat in November bringing the total to 7: https://connect-transit.com/board-of-trustees/meet-the-trustees Four of the seven needed to show up. Not meeting should mean bills can’t be paid. If Trustees can’t attend […]
By: Diane Benjamin I FOIA’d Connect Transit for the status of the electric buses. I received the below. Keep in mind each one of these was around $1 million tax dollars. I also have emails that I can’t read because of my eye problems, stay tuned. See costs in this story: https://blnnews.com/2022/03/23/celebrate-electric-buses/
By: Diane Benjamin This item should have every taxpayer concerned: Champaign-Urbana taxes directly instead of getting contributions from both cities like Connect transit does. I’ve heard for years that Connect wants to be a mass transit district with the ability to tax you directly. I guarantee if that ever happens Bloomington and Normal will not […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit didn’t hold a Board Meeting in October. I asked the FOIA officer why. This is the response I received: A packet isn’t posted for October. It would have showed the September loss and ridership numbers, a meeting wasn’t needed to just post facts. https://connect-transit.com/board/board-meeting-agendas–minutes–packets There is also no video showing […]
By: Diane Benjamin How do I know that? From their website: https://connect-transit.com/about/our-fleet . Now see this story: https://readlion.com/biden-harris-admin-recalls-hundreds-of-electric-buses-amid-fire-concerns/ Excerpt: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a warning Wednesday about 483 electric transit buses being recalled over safety defects, according to a safety advisory. Phoenix Motorcars is voluntarily recalling Proterra 800V catalyst vehicles from 2020 to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Meeting documentation: https://connect-transit.com/file/2937/09%2024%202024_BoT%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf Every other year statistics for the year end were only delayed a month. That was June 30th, nothing is included. Transparency? This report says it is for Period 1 which if July: The losses just keep getting higher! The loss for August isn’t included but the ridership numbers are: […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader This pic is from February 2024 at a body shop in Carlock: , The same electric bus is still sitting in Carlock deteriorating: . Why is it parked so close to other vehicles? Safe? .
By: Diane Benjamin Tonight Bloomington finally gets to destroy the Market Street garage. The documentation doesn’t say where people parking there now will park during construction of Connect Transit’s transfer center and new parking garage. Excerpts: https://d2kbkoa27fdvtw.cloudfront.net/cityblm/0e86386b97bf1b532c53aec744be92750.pdf The documentation claims the City has spent $870,000 in the last 5 years fixing the garage. Is the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Ryan Whitehouse and Julie Hile didn’t attend the meeting. Barb Singer participated remotely. Evidently Normal is missing one representative – see this page: https://connect-transit.com/board/meet-the-board The video of the meeting doesn’t not show the beginning, so I have no idea why they declared a quorum didn’t exist. 3 members were present with 1 […]
