By: Diane Benjamin Downtown Champaign can’t get much cuter. It has lots of restaurants, bars, arts, and small businesses. It is also a dangerous place. Gangs are waging war against each other. Friday afternoon a 17 year old was killed and 4 wounded in a parking lot as mourners gathered after the funeral of another […]
Facebook posts claim he has been identified. We need to wait for confirmation from authorities. Posts on Facebook claim this is the guy who hit a female downtown. Contact the police if you know him.
Front Street – pics from a reader:
By: Diane Benjamin The new Bloomington City Manager seems to be launching a campaign to make citizens trust their government. No Tim, spending money on signs when a few roads get fixed isn’t going to cut it. The people paying more for gas will see that as just another waste of their dollars. Since Tim […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner’s last campaign manager posted a picture of downtown on his Facebook page, Jenn Carrillo decided to share it with added comments: Those are really nice trash containers. Just who are they for? They are on City sidewalks, so the likely intended users are people walking downtown. Do people walking BAG […]
The tables in Champaign stay out all night, the chairs are secured in stacks on top of them. ________________ By: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner was on the radio this morning again proclaiming no city is successful without a successful downtown. He of course learned that at the US Conference of Mayors, he’s going to another […]
By: Diane Benjamin Watch this REALLY short video: . HyVee is in a strip mall . Renner created a TIF for the old K-Mart Plaza strip mall . GreenTop Grocery is in a strip mall. . The old GE Plant may be turned into a strip mall . Eastland Mall is dying But, Renner learned […]
By: Diane Benjamin Mayors indoctrinated to believe a city’s future is downtown have popped up all over the country. Where do you think Tari was trained? See this article http://www.salina.com/news/downtown-improvements-take-major-step-forward/article_886e78b7-5518-52de-8655-92062c1f2fba.html It’s short, not reading it is not an option! Don’t miss the end.
By: Diane Benjamin Listen to the interview here: http://www.wjbc.com/2015/05/13/renner-tif-could-pay-for-downtown-development/ Tari seems possessed by Ronald Reagan. Lately he has been saying often that TIF’s were suggested by Reagan. Tari, Ronnie also cut taxes and created a boon in job creation and economic development. Reagan also wanted to stop funding for Regional Planning Commissions because they exert control from DC […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday I wrote about the exchange at Monday night’s Council meeting between Alderman Lower and Public Works Director Jim Karch. Numbers to fix the roads were revealed, much higher than the current budget. http://blnnews.com/2015/05/12/13-7m-9-5m-what-tari-didnt-want-to-hear/ Karch referenced a report on the City website, I looked for it. I couldn’t find it, so I emailed Jim. […]
See this post from earlier today: http://blnnews.com/2015/05/01/renners-email-campaign/ First email ——– Original message ——– From: Tari Renner <[email protected]> Date: 05/01/2015 4:03 AM (GMT-06:00) To: Subject: Election Day TODAY! Good morning all- You may have heard the exciting news about a developer who is interested in making a major investment into Downtown Bloomington! In fact, the City […]
By: Diane Benjamin Which is more important 1) Fixing Roads 2) Downtown Bloomington The current budget proposal spends more on Coliseum upgrades than it does on roads. Did you notice the budget discussion has been dropped until after the election? Why are roads not the priority? Do you prefer spending tax dollars on new lighting […]
by: Diane Benjamin Th article below recaps what Decatur “invested”. Most of these projects are completed. $350 Million later, is Decatur “Quality”? Is their economy better? Are businesses flocking there? Keep in mind: Everything Decatur “Invested” came from taxpayers. Decatur is dominated by unions and Democrats. Bloomington elected its first Democrat Mayor. Seeing a pattern? […]
by: Diane Benjamin Mayor Renner has declared Strip Malls dead. Bloomington’s future is downtown. There is a waiting list of millennials wanting to live downtown. Koos is planning to spend another $60 Million on Uptown so millennials can live in micro apartments. Anybody surprised they are uninformed? This article is from 2013: The Geography Of […]
by: Diane Benjamin Bloomington Mayors have been spending money trying to revitalize downtown since at least 1986 – that’s when the first TIF district was created. TIF districts provide money for the City to spend however they want – they keep the difference between the current taxes collected on properties and what is collected after […]
by: Diane Benjamin Did you ever wonder where Mayor Renner got the idea that Bloomington needed a Communications Manager? Try Normal: http://il-normal.civicplus.com/Directory.aspx?did=18 Staff Name Title Email Phone Fedden, Sandy Administrative Secretary [email protected] (309) 454-9503 Heffernan, Sally Assistant City Manager [email protected] (309) 454-9504 Peterson, Mark R. City Manager [email protected] (309) 454-9777 Reece, Pamela Deputy City Manager […]
by: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner is going to spend your money on downtown Bloomington! He isn’t open to any discussions or debate. Renner fervently believes Bloomington will cease to exist unless people move downtown. Hint Tari: Call some votes for spending more downtown – it will make it much easier to defeat your potted plants […]
