By: Diane Benjamin The saga continues tomorrow at 2:00 – Courtroom 5C. The attorneys for CIAM filed some last minute documents, probably hoping for another delay. I really appreciate the support from citizens who took time out to attend hearings. Come tomorrow if you can – it could get interesting. I’d love to see a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Neither defendant responded to my latest court filing! Did they finally give up? Court might get as hot as it’s going to be outside. Start time is 1:15, Courtroom 5C. The media won’t be there, so I hope YOU are. I’ve been writing about the Coliseum for YEARS. For new readers, this […]
By: Diane Benjamin The media has never reported on my lawsuit against the City of Bloomington and Central Illinois Arena Management (CIAM) – the old Coliseum manager. John Butler was the principal agent for CIAM. Possible fraud or abuse of taxpayers isn’t news. The lawsuit is based on a denied FOIA for the 2014 concession […]
By: Diane Benjamin The next court date is Monday, April 25 – 9:30 am. Same courtroom as last time if you want to attend – 5D Judge Lawrence will decide whether the amended motion I filed is enough to proceed to a hearing. If he rules against me the citizens of Bloomington will never know […]
By: Diane Benjamin The LAST Coliseum report posted on the City website is for the year ended: 4/30/2015 Usually quarterly reports are filed and posted. I filed Freedom of Information Requests for the first three quarters of Fiscal Year 2016. I got the first and second: https://blnnews.com/2015/12/13/coliseum-continues-their-losing-ways/ Through October of 2015 the Coliseum lost: $367,691 […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve heard from reliable sources that John Butler and crew are gone from the Coliseum as of today. I also hear he was busy shredding documents. Police were present, but I have no idea why. City officials were present yesterday. What was Butler paid for the 10-year-old fully depreciated concession equipment? The […]
By: Diane Benjamin Can anybody remember Tari Renner campaigning 4 years ago for transparency at the Coliseum? Got one of those short campaign video clips talking about the Coliseum Tari? Tari claimed that on WJBC this afternoon with Dan Swaney discussing the exit of the current Coliseum management. Both men know about my lawsuit – […]
By: Diane Benjamin I have a Status Hearing tomorrow on my court case against the City of Bloomington. This story recaps why I filed: http://blnnews.com/2015/11/02/court-update/ The Freedom of Information Act is very clear. The City of Bloomington wrongfully believes they are exempt, tomorrow I will find out if they plan to call witnesses. I already […]
By: Diane Benjamin The financial statement issued by Central Illinois Arena Management (CIAM) for 5/1/2015 – 7/31/2015 has never made it to the City website. Your can view it here: 1st Quarter 2016 Coliseum Fund P & L I had to request it by FOIA. There are MANY problems with the report, but I will […]
Update: Bloomington finally released the Coliseum 1st Qtr report. They lost $252,000, but we don’t know how much of this is wages to themselves. We do know CIAM took commissions of $24,378 and Management fees of $35,510. Concessions income is a secret. The Coliseum works great for John Butler, not so much for you. By: […]
Update: The City just sent their daily propaganda. The title of the Coliseum loss story: Coliseum 1st Quarter Economic Impact Are the citizens sick of being lied to yet? By: Diane Benjamin Both the Pantagraph and WJBC have stories today about another BIG loss at the Coliseum. Obviously the City sent them a press […]
By: Diane Benjamin The management agreement for the Coliseum specifies concessions will be handled directly by CIAM or an “independent contractor”. BMI Concessions is NOT independent, since John Butler owns both CIAM and BMI, I can’t find where BMI ever received approval from the City Council to operate as a separate company. From CIAM’s management […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last week the Bloomington City Council voted to buy new scoreboards for the Coliseum. They were deceived into thinking the purchase was put up for competitive bidding. http://blnnews.com/2015/07/16/can-we-call-this-fraud/ Nobody on the Council brought it up last Monday night when John Butler and Bart Rogers made a presentation to the Council. Does anyone […]
By: Diane Benjamin Evidently David Hales, Tari Renner, and John Butler think I can’t prove concessions need to be audited at the Coliseum. Maybe this will help them out. Click on the picture, it’s easier to read if it’s bigger: The above was internally prepared at the Coliseum. John Butler is supposed to pay the City […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Coliseum was NEVER going to cost citizens a dime, at least that’s what citizens were told. Consultants predicted Revenues of more than $7,000,000 and large attendance at events. Income was projected to be $2,319,000 a year. See predictions here: Consultant: Hyman Review NOTHING predicted has come close to being true. Last […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday night the City Council approved buying new video board equipment for the Coliseum – $1,389,605 before interest accrues from borrowing the money. The documentation and discussion claimed the purchase was competitively bid because a group called The Cooperative Purchase Network was used for the purchase. The documentation given to the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tonight the Bloomington City Council is asked to vote on changes to the Public Comment policy. Mayor AttackMyOpposition will demand the right to declare a speaker out-of-order, thus terminating their time, if he deems them threatening or disorderly. This is the same Mayor who wrote this on my site: NO! Diane! It […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’d love to know what this is, but last Monday I hear some Council members wanted the legislators to change the Freedom of Information Act Law so staff doesn’t have to answer them. I hear Bill Brady told them to be more transparent if they didn’t want FOIA requests, that probably died […]
By: Diane Benjamin Of course the Coliseum statements for the 3rd Qtr (Nov 14 – Jan 15) showed up today. The Pantagraph printed the fiction fed to them by Coliseum Management, so now they can release their statements. First, look at the attendance report below. Cirque Du Soleil was a 4 day event – it […]
By: Diane Benjamin I am going to keep using the City of Bloomington’s own documents to support what I write. Remember this quote from the proposed budget: Staff continued to build strong working relationships with reporters from The Pantagraph, WJBC, WGLT, and other area media. http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8224 Page 116 Today the bird-cage liner regurgitates false talking […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Coliseum Management has refused to turn over documents I requested under the Freedom of Information Act. I asked for the payroll for calendar year 2014 and various Micros reports for events held in the building. (the City owns the Micros equipment) I even included rulings from the Attorney General’s office saying […]
By: Diane Benjamin The truth about the Coliseum has been hidden from the taxpayers for years. It was intentional, even the City Council is in the dark. John Butler’s BMI Concessions is an even bigger secret. Butler set up a business inside a City owned asset, complete with a contract requiring set percentages of sales […]
by: Diane Benjamin Bart Rogers was listed on the Coliseum website as the General Manager. Now there is no General Manager, Rogers is a Vice-President There are a couple of Assistant Managers though and an Associate General Manager. Could the changes have something to do with the contract terms CIAM has with the City of […]
by: Diane Benjamin 9/21/2005 http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3225416 “A tremendous amount of time and energy has been put into making this day a reality,” stated Mike Nelson, General Manager & Chief Marketing Officer of the U.S. Cellular Coliseum. “We feel that we have chosen the right league for the great city of Bloomington. The UHL is a league […]
by: Diane Benjamin I’ve written before about Bart Rogers, but now it’s getting funny! Somebody is in full CYA mode. The contract the City of Bloomington has with Central Illinois Arena Management says the General Manager of the Coliseum must have ONLY the job of General Manager: According to the 2004 contract Bloomington has with […]
by: Diane Benjamin Operations of the Coliseum are extremely complicated. Management hired by the City is operating some functions without any over-sight or accountability. The taxpayers deserve to know the truth. The City has a contract with Central Illinois Arena Management (CIAM) to run the daily operations. The Coliseum Fund is audited by an independent […]
By John Butler The initiative to abolish the office of County Recorder and have the County Clerk assume the duties of the office, is promoted as a way to save money and increase efficiency. I am dubious that it will do either, and concerned that voters are being manipulated by facts and figures, that don’t […]
