Bloomington employees need FOIA training

By: Diane Benjamin At the 8/25/2025 Council meeting a LONG list of email public commenters was read. I FOIA’d the City for those emails in September. I received a response with EVERY NAME redacted. Of course that isn’t legal. Nobody at Council meetings makes an anonymous public comment. No one who emails the Council can […]

FOIA Fail and Mike Madigan

By: Diane Benjamin The former Speaker of House in Illinois reports to a Federal prison today. Of course it’s 7.5 years in minimum security. Note no one in the State of Illinois prosecuted him. I filed a FOIA request with the City of Bloomington that would have been received by them on September 15th. Your […]

The email some Bloomington staff didn’t want you to see.

By: Diane Benjamin Before the Council voted to raise your property taxes, The City Clerk made a reference to an emailed Public Comment. Later in that meeting Alderman Sheila Montney referenced the same email. I FOIA’d that email. Staff tried to tell me it was exempt from disclosure. It isn’t. They obviously need training in […]