By: Diane BenjaminAlderman Donna Boelen resigned from the Bloomington City Council yesterday. People paying attention to meetings know she has been participating remotely for quite awhile. The reason given was illness. I hope now she can recover from whatever is ailing her. Her voice will be missed. See this story: https://www.25newsnow.com/2024/12/23/bloomington-city-councils-senior-member-resigns-with-2-years-left-her-term/ Excerpt: Ward 2 residents […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember this meeting? . Don’t look for video because the library has no way of broadcasting or taping meetings. Expect more meetings to be held there when transparency isn’t wanted. If you just want the basics about this meeting, read any media recap like this one: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-08-29/police-leaders-field-questions-from-the-public-on-hiring-accountability?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook If you want more keep […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’m not done covering Recycled Furniture for Families. I have one more FOIA outstanding. Past stories: https://blnnews.com/2024/08/22/recycling-furniture-for-families-path-funding-crisis/ https://blnnews.com/2024/08/15/outsourcing-fail-foia-report-part-3/ https://blnnews.com/2024/08/14/foia-report-part-2/ https://blnnews.com/2024/08/09/foia-report-part-1/ I can’t believe the City didn’t realize I had emails from alderman after the Director reached out to them for help. FOIA’s wouldn’t cost the City so much time and money if […]
By: Diane Benjamin There was a Township meeting before the Council meeting, Council doesn’t start until 59:00 on the video. This item on the Consent Agenda was pulled before the meeting: . The documentation says this Review Board hasn’t had a case since August of 2011 after being established in 2011, but that didn’t keep […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s Bloomington City Council meeting proved why failure of the majority of registered voters to actually vote is destructive to your wallet! The majority of people can’t wait to vote in meaningless national elections and then they ignore local elections allowing the far left to run your city. Citizens are the […]
By: Diane Benjamin 33:10 – Mayor Mwilambwe recognized the 4 aldermen that are leaving office April 30th. Mboka gave a short speech and presented each with a plaque. (Remember when Normal totally ignored Stan Nord’s 4 years?) Public comment starts at 44:00. Two speakers thanked their outgoing aldermen. Gary Lambert is a can’t miss at […]
By: Diane Benjamin Thank you Nick Becker for asking why the Bloomington Election Commission exists and why this redundancy needs to continue. See 1:57:45. Donna Boelen was acting mayor last night. She claimed she couldn’t vote, I remember other acting mayors voting in Bloomington. She is still an alderman so not voting meant her Ward […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember the Bloomington City Council voting down spending $270,000 over 3 years for a lobbyist? https://blnnews.com/2023/02/15/gleason-thinks-the-council-works-for-him/ Gleason wants grant money for the downtown streetscape. Does he know grant money is taxpayer money? Does he know the Feds spend more money every year than they take in? $31 Trillion in debt is meaningless […]
By: Diane Benjamin Ward 1 – Jenna Kearns Since she’s unopposed I don’t see a reason to post her video unless someone REALLY wants to see. Ward 2 – Donna Boelen, also running unopposed Ward 4 – Steve Nalefski. His opponent John Wyatt Danenberger didn’t show up. If he had he would have been asked […]
PRESS RELEASE: September 28, 2022 This is to announce my intention to run for re-election in the 2023 ConsolidatedElection as Alderman representing Ward 2, located in the Southwest region of theCity of Bloomington. My focus is and has been fiscal responsibly and sensible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. I acknowledge that the role of municipal government […]
By: Diane Benjamin Donna Boelen wanted this on the record, unless you see her Council comment at the end of the meeting it is only on the record for staff. Donna asked again about the updated Intergovernmental Agreement with Connect Transit. Supposedly Bloomington has done their work and it’s sitting in Normal stalled. She shouldn’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington managed a 44 minute meeting last night. Only 7 of the 9 Alderman were present: If you listened to the roll call you wouldn’t know who was missing because the Clerk only called the names of those present! (That’s not a roll call) If you can’t tell, Sheila Montney and Mollie […]
By: Diane Benjamin There is MUCH more to cover from last night’s meeting, stay tuned. How many people did this guy speak for last night? Just hit play: Donna Boelen had one of the many “comments of the night”. Tim Gleason stated again only Rowe Construction bids on road work. Donna thinks out of town […]
By: Diane Benjamin One of the policies instituted by Tari Renner was limiting discussion at Council meetings. Pre-Tari there were no limits, Agendas are now issued with the amount of time the Council will spend on each item. Why are your elected representatives not allowed to talk as long as they want? The Council represents […]
By: Diane Benjamin Good News for most residents of Arrowsmith, Bloomington, Dale, Dawson, and Old Town Townships who are served by Golden Prairie Public Library District: Your property taxes will not be going up if the Bloomington Library property tax increase is approved! These township residents have full access to the Bloomington Public Library without paying […]
By: Diane Benjamin Let’s start with the City finally releasing the financial statements: https://www.cityblm.org/home/showpublisheddocument/27129/637709284831130000 This note was written by the auditors: Proving yet again laws are immaterial, November 22, 2021 is past SIX MONTHS. The City has now used the same auditor for 6 years. Since the audits aren’t looking for fraud, using the same […]
By: Diane Benjamin The neighborhood I went to yesterday is East of Evergreen Cemetery. It is adorable with many of the homes rehabbed which proves these residents care about their community. Many American flags were flying and lots of dogs where being walked. This community also had basements wrecked with raw sewage. It wasn’t a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington has their own Adam Schiff(s). Remember when bug-eyes himself would run to the closest microphone all 4 years of the Trump administration and state “We’ve got him now”. He was lying to the media and they lapped it up. WGLT is the latest to fall (or volunteer) for the lies of […]
By: Diane Benjamin FOURTY TWO Minutes of the meeting were wasted last night by Jeff Crabill attempting to make changes to the Welcoming America commission that will be established. His comments start at 43:10, the final vote wasn’t over until 1:25:30. The alderman meet in small groups with the City Manager, they know what is […]
By: Diane Benjamin I wonder how many of the people with sewage in their basements bothered to vote in past local elections. I’m betting many didn’t because turnout is despicable. City Councils are the ones who destroy you the fastest, think Coliseum, BCPA, a never used fire station, and a water tower built to short […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since Jenn Carrillo would have been laughed at, Jeff Crabill was the BLM representative last night. He wanted to approve last years police budget instead of the increased number. State Farm – make sure he doesn’t get a raise this year since he thinks public safety personnel don’t deserve one. The video […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s Bloomington council meeting: Tari Renner and the Clerk had to be reminded Public Comment was skipped. I hope the next mayor can read and follow an agenda, Tari can’t (numerous examples from recent meetings). See around 49:00. There was only one Public Comment. Ward 3 candidate Willie Holton Halbert took […]
By: Diane Benjamin Before Covid restrictions put more businesses with video gaming out of business, the City is taking action. Not to help them stay in business, the Clerk will now allow other businesses to get on a wait list for new licenses. I found it hilarious that previously they thought this was too difficult. […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council is meeting Monday night. The ICE hater s will be out in force because Donna Boelen’s council initiative is on the agenda. The far left doesn’t think laws are material to any conversation. http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1098&Inline=True At last Monday’s meeting the City auditor stated Bloomington is paying more than necessary […]
By: Diane Benjamin The far left are the only voices being heard by the Council. Policy is therefore being run by them because few regular citizens bother to call in for public comment. There was another line of leftists that thought they would get a Welcoming Ordinance when that wasn’t what Donna Boelen’s initiative was. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Meaning it is already a done deal, the Council will hear a presentation on expanding the library: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1095&Inline=True I bet you didn’t know expanding the library will great a prosperous downtown – just like the Coliseum, the BCPA, resurfacing the roads, Wayfinding signs, the Visitor’s Center, and planters did. Long time readers […]
By: Diane Benjamin Have you heard Joe Biden calling for civility because we are all Americans? It’s cute but he forgot his base isn’t civil. Funny how all the protests and burning businesses have stopped. I suggest businesses don’t dispose of the boarding-up materials: Joe Biden isn’t president-elect. The media doesn’t get to declare a […]
By: Diane Benjamin With barely a peep the Bloomington City Council passed a huge budget tonight. Did you know that NO CITY in the world is laying people off because that would cause the unemployment rate to rise? Did you know just because an item is budgeted that doesn’t mean it will get done? Somebody […]
By: Diane Benjamin Short meeting last night, there was nothing worth writing about in advance. Off course the meeting was.more interesting than the agenda predicted. One public comment speaker couldn’t understand why time wasn’t extended for cannabis comments when it had been extended previously for other items. That’s too easy: Nobody had anything new to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington Alderman Donna Boelen posted this video on Facebook yesterday. She is a advocate the Strong Towns philosophy. Keep in mind I can see how many people read a story. I can also see how many people CLICK on something I post. PLEASE watch this really short video, it sums up everything […]
By: Diane Benjamin On September 16, 2019 VenuWorks presented THEIR report to the Council. We know now the report was fictitious. The audited loss is much higher, VenuWorks should only be allowed to present audited financial statements in the future. https://blnnews.com/2019/10/25/how-much-the-arena-really-lost/ 11:45 – Kimberly Bray thanked Lynn Cannon for everything contributed and the fantastic […]
By: Diane Benjamin Definitive proof the Connect Transit Connect to the Future working group is wasting their time comes from the words spoken by member and Connect Transit Board member Judy Buchanan. Agreeing at the last Board meeting to purchase 35 foot electric buses for the next 5 years confirms it. Go back to the August […]
By: Diane Benjamin Pantagraph story: https://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/connect-transit-to-buy-at-least-electric-buses-over-four/article_63972e20-636a-52ea-81d2-a56849c9cef2.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-2 So many things are wrong with what happened at the Connect Transit meeting, but start with the fake reporting: Stan Nord wasn’t there! Bloomington Alderman Donna Boelen did and she did ask the Board to wait until the Working Group was finished. Did a reporter even attend? Was stating […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Downtown Task Force was a joke, the vast majority of people did not want to build a new library and bus transfer station by tearing down a parking garage. Tari claimed the Budget Task force was a success, it proved that Council was incapable of making any cuts. Huge success Tari. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Just for fun, watch a Bloomington Council meeting without the sound. Observe what the people who aren’t talking are doing. Some of the facial expressions are priceless. The speakers do some entertaining things too – like this: (just two examples, there are more) Think Jenn and the Mayor are a little cozy? […]
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 […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council spent around 45 minutes discussing the language for the new Concrete and Asphalt Fund which obviously didn’t mean ONLY concrete and asphalt. See this story for more background: https://blnnews.com/2019/04/06/bloomington-moday-agenda/ Even though City Manager Tim Gleason claimed “concrete and asphalt” around 1:01:00 the ordinance still had infrastructure wording – […]
By: Diane Benjamin I wasn’t at all upset when the Democrats won back the US House last year. We now get to see their far left lunacy for two whole years. If the GOP had held all branches of government they would have lost big in 2020. With Democrats advocating killing babies born alive, reparations, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Elections for Wards 2, 4, 6, and 8 are on the ballot. Note: Ward 8 does have two candidates even though Travis Wilson was disqualified. Crabill can’t get any farther left, so you could vote for Wilson. Tari would then have to appoint his replacement. If he appoints the loser Crabill, it […]
