By: Diane Benjamin Take a trip down memory lane: Chris Koos had been driving a 2012 Mitsubishi owned by the Town of Normal. Of course that means taxpayers owned it: https://blnnews.com/2021/03/10/koos-car/ Instead of putting government plates on it that only require one payment, the Town paid for plates every year just like you do. Read […]
By: Diane Benjamin By command of Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe: Mboka provided a long list of good things happening locally, the BCPA reopening shouldn’t have been on the list since EVERY show has lost money. A water park instead of simply replacing a pool and the library renovation won’t rate well with everyone either mayor. Just […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1152&Inline=True PDF page 10 is a proclamation declaring the first week of February: National Gun Violence Survivors’ Week. Has Mboka figured out Chicago has moved downstate? This is part of the declaration: That is probably true in Chicago where crimes aren’t prosecuted and kids are frequently shot and die because criminals with […]
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 According to what Jenn filed when she ran for office she lived here: According to the Coldwell Banker website, sale of this house is pending. All of the pictures show the house empty. It does say there are separate apartments on the first and second floor with both leases expiring on June […]
By: Diane Benjamin WGLT reported yesterday Bloomington was found guilty of violating the Open Meetings Act in 2017 for discussing ending the Metro Zone agreement with Normal in secret. The Attorney General had previously ruled it illegal, according to the article the current ruling reversed a lower court ruling. https://www.wglt.org/post/appeals-court-bloomington-violated-open-meetings-act Besides the fact Justice Delayed […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yes, I’m defending Tari. One very frequent guy showed up at Public Comment last night – Scott Stimeling. (Spelling may be wrong) I have to correct one thing he said, Tari did not pay back the City for his girlfriends ticket to Japan because he got caught. He paid it back somewhere […]
By: Diane Benjamin Even though Jenn’s Democratic Socialists and Illinois People’s Action buddies appeared at public comment, the majority of the Council didn’t buy Jenn’s comments pertaining to Nick Becker and Sheila Montney had anything to do with freedom of speech. Video will be posted tomorrow, citizens did also speak appalled at her comments. You […]
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 There are kots of other things to cover from the Bloomington City Council meeting last night, but start with comments at the end of the meeting. Mayor elect Mboka Mwilambwe proved he won’t tolerate Jenn Carrillo’s activism against other Council members. No mention was made prior to Mboka’s comments at the end […]
By: Diane Benjamin If the Normal Town Council can marginalize Stan Nord, the Bloomington City Council can marginalize Jenn Carrillo. Every one of her candidates lost Bloomington said loud and clear to socialists: Not In Our Town Carrillo only won her seat by 42 votes. The City saw her antics for 2 years. It has […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you raced to the polls for national elections and proudly wore your I Voted sticker, your vote barely mattered. Your vote does matter in local elections! Many races today will be won by less than 100 votes. Turnout will be the only deciding factor. The elites and socialists are hoping you […]
By: Diane Benjamin You can listen to the debate last night at this link. Watch who reads their answers and who answers from convictions. The questions asked were what can be expected from a public radio station. https://www.wglt.org/post/bloomington-mayoral-candidates-tackle-covid-police-reform-welcoming-cities One thing was clear: Jackie Gunderson is a social justice warrior and big government fan. If you […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Steve Suess show has become the best place to get information on candidates for the April 6th election. Candidates who refuse to appear on his show prove they have no intention of discussing issues with people who don’t align with them 100%. Jackie Gunderson (Bloomington mayor) has refused to be interviewed. […]
By: Diane Benajmin Something I found while looking for something else, this is dated in December of 2017: https://www.wjbc.com/2017/12/13/renner-bloomington-wont-be-sanctuary-city-mayor-sees-need-to-cut-personnel-costs-to-reduce-spending/ Excerpt: Monday night Jenn Carrillo’s Welcoming City Ordinance is on the agenda: Are you going to tell the Council not to approve this Tari? Change your mind? You now want Bloomington to be a sanctuary City […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night during Trustee comments at the end of the meeting Chris Koos claimed Council agreed to limit each to 5 minutes. Evidently that was done in secret. I doubt Stan Nord got 5 minutes because he was constantly interrupted. Nord showed a map of where Normal plans to run water lines […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington has 3 candidates running for Mayor. If you are considering voting for Gunderson you must be a socialist or you are one of those that will fall for anything. Go to Mike Straza’s website for his campaign details: https://www.strazaformayor.com/platform/ Celebrate – he wants more diversity and inclusion. (Divide but include?) Compare […]
By: Diane Benjamin Public comment was only people demanding illegal aliens get the full rights of citizens. At least one comment threatened the Council if they don’t pass a Welcoming Ordinance. Congrats residents! You are labeled racist, a xenophobe, and a white supremist if you don’t agree. One speaker claimed Illinois enacted Home Rule so […]
By: Diane Benjamin WGLT did this story about Mboka Mwilambwe’s bid for mayor: https://www.wglt.org/post/mwilambwe-touts-council-experience-bloomington-mayoral-bid?fbclid=IwAR2V0jLhdCCUinq7tHKN80kTa2tyam6ZGOhV7lzeF6N8iu8QfKFonJN2N3M#stream/0 One paragraph hacked off former illegal immigrant Jenn Carrillo: Although Mboka has never said that I remember, he was likely a LEGAL immigrant. He wasn’t the sneak across the border type or overstay a visa. Jenn Posted this: Here’s the deal […]
Seen collecting signatures: Mboka Mwilambwe
By: Diane Benjamin Committee of the Whole meeting tonight: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1092&Inline=True Only two items are on the agenda: Creation of a Public Arts Commission Making Juneteenth a City holiday Obviously Bloomington doesn’t believe government is a necessary evil and therefore should only do what is necessary. Every other essential government service like roads, sewers, and water […]
By: Diane Benjamin John Butler and his lawyers have been telling media John didn’t know his employees were stealing concession money. Evidently he’s such a great guy he agreed to a misdemeanor and paid $450,000 in restitution just because. That of course was after spending who knows how many thousands (hundreds of thousands?) on attorneys […]
By: Diane Benjamin The third Monday of the month is hell because both Councils meet. Last night was over 4 hours I will never get back! Highlights from Bloomington: Yes folks, this is the spending plan for the next 20 years – for just water. I don’t think the never used water tower was included […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington Committee of the Whole tonight: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1080&Inline=True It looks like Mboka Mwilambwe doesn’t know the city is spending money taxpayers had to work for so the City can steal way too much of it. He wants to give employees another paid vacation day! I looked at 2 of the latest union contracts […]
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 I’ve written about the Illinois Municipal league numerous times. If you don’t know much about them, start with this story from 2016: https://blnnews.com/2016/03/29/the-iml-scam/ IML is holding their annual conference in Chicago in September. Many local people will be attending at a cost of at least $310 each. From Bloomington, Tari Renner, Julie […]
By: Diane Benjamin The good news is: Connect Transit might be out of money by 2023! The bad news is: Some people in town need transportation. 12 people spoke during Public Comment. Many of them were there because Connect Transit isn’t listening to them. Routes are being eliminated and fares may be going up. Side […]
By: Diane Benjamin The meeting was scripted with pre-determined results, there was very little discussion on anything. The Public Hearing started with a presentation of how the Federal Grant money (CDBG) will be spent. No one commented, it wouldn’t have changed the vote anyway. People were urged to take the survey to determine how next […]
By: Diane Benjamin THREE of your representatives, a full one third, failed to attend this meeting. Mathy, Mwilambwe, and Bray were absent. Of course the ones that did attend acted like it was perfectly normal. Only a few items of note: A guy from Millennium Soccer spoke during Public Comment. (22:50) I was not aware […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://wglt.org/post/charges-dismissed-former-coliseum-general-manager#stream/0 Charges were dismissed today against one of the main guys involved at the Coliseum, Bart Rogers. He was John Butler’s main sidekick. The judge said the statute of limitations is three years, which means any theft or crimes that may have occurred prior to three years can no longer be prosecuted. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Part 1 with corrections: https://blnnews.com/2017/12/29/enough-games/ This statement is right above where the person filing signs their Statement of Economic Interest: It is a crime to file a false statement. See a blank form HERE Note: The form includes lines to file for all required offices at the same time. Don’t get excited about prosecutions […]
I’m changing my statements as it pertains to Jamie Mathy and Kim Bray. The statements they filed this year apply to last year, so alderman would not be on it. The real problem is the County does not post the Statements of Economic Interest filed with petitions. That means voters have no way of knowing […]
By: Diane Benjamin SOURCE Seems pretty clear that every elected official MUST file. Diana Hauman has not filed as a Bloomington Alderman. She did file as a Township Trustee, a position she wasn’t elected to. This is what she filed in May of 2017: http://seionline.mcleancountyil.gov/public/PublicSEI.aspx Kimberly Bray does not have a statement on file Mboka […]
By: Diane Benjamin On May 1st when the newly elected Council members were sworn into office the City threw a party. It didn’t matter the oath they took was illegal. I received this email this morning from the City Attorney: Yes, I told him I want copies of the new oaths WITHOUT the signatures redacted! […]
By: Diane Benjamin Deficits are just fine with the Bloomington City Council because they can tax you. It doesn’t matter if you can’t afford it, they have needs – you have the money. Only David Sage realized that last night – years late, but better late than never. He voted against hiring the Downtown Bloomington […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’m not celebrating the State Police investigating Tari Renner’s use of a City PCard for a personal purchase. Being investigated is not the same as being prosecuted. We will find out if laws still matter, sometimes it’s hard to tell. Illinois Constitution: Government officials and employees aren’t allowed to read the law […]
By: Diane Benjamin Only a tiny group of citizens want bike lanes. Tari Renner ran for office twice pledging to fix the roads. He obviously isn’t as serious as the people with damaged vehicles are. This is from 2015: http://www.cityblm.org/government/departments/public-works/streets-sidewalks/street-resurfacing The table shows how much money per year is required just to have TERRIBLE STREETS. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Alderman Mboka Mwilambwe doesn’t like that these pictures of the damage done by teenagers at McGraw Park are on social media: I hope he doesn’t like them here either! The teenagers have been caught after police were called at 2:00am. According to the Pantagraph, a neighbor of the park followed them until […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal people would think a GOP breakfast would be for members of the GOP. This morning it wasn’t. Evidently the local GOP is pretending local elections are non-partisan even though Renner has proved Democrats have no spending limits when they have taxpayers wallets to rob. Most of the candidates for the Bloomington […]
By: Diane Benjamin Alderman Mboka Mwilambwe is running for re-election with 3 people challenging him. The voters in Ward 3 need to know his voting record before deciding if he should be back on the Council May 1st. From: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=6667 Mwilambwe voted for the 4% Amusement Tax: Mwilambwe voted for the .04 per gallon Gas […]
