By: Diane Benjamin If you haven’t looked at the DRAFT Long-Range Transportation Plan yet, see it here: https://d2gfvfkk60hy7j.cloudfront.net/file/1076/09022022_DRAFT_MLRTP2050.pdf This plan is updated every 5 years and estimates needs for the next 25 years. PDF page 25 talks about Connect Transit. Some people continue to say Connect should be a Mass Transit District which means they […]
By: Diane Benjamin In case you forgot, PASER is the Pavement Rating and Assessment Project the Normal Town Council passed last October: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3770 See PDF page 35. The Council was told the total cost would be $100,000 with a grant arranged by the McLean County Regional Planning Commission for $80,000 of that. The Town would […]
By: Diane Benjamin The McLean County Regional Planning Commission launched a new survey you MUST take. Those who believe government solves every problem will be taking this survey. If you believe in limited government, your thoughts need to be included too. The intro says it will take 15-20 minutes, it will take that long only […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal paid the McLean County Regional Planning Commission $54,000 as their last meeting: https://blnnews.com/2020/06/13/normals-asininity/ I previously wrote about Julie Hile’s involvement with the MCRPC here: https://blnnews.com/2020/05/21/progressive-julie-hile/ I received a copy of the contract Hile signed with the MCRPC. See it here: Vision_Zero_Contract-HG-20190619_(Final_Executed)_redacted Excerpts: The contract was sign in July of 2019, so […]
By: Diane Benjamin Public comment: Most of the speakers were there to talk about video gambling. A big fear of the local business owners is the State of Illinois raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Even though democrats think business owners have stashes of cash in the back room, they don’t. Many of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Original story: https://blnnews.com/2019/05/09/driving-must-end/ The McLean County Regional Planning Commission held a contest with prizes for people choosing to use some transportation method other than cars. Keep in mind, MCRPC is funded by government. In the real world that would disqualify people associated with where funding comes from. The MCRPC’s job is to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Guess where this statement is: Even with insurance, gas, oil changes, and new tires every 2-3 years – anybody spend $8000 on maintenance a year? “AAA” looks like a link, it doesn’t work. This statement is on a website called GoodToGoMclean.org It should be obvious who sponsors it, the guys with priorities […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Planning Commission delayed sending the new zoning ordinance to the Council over concerns in historic districts. What you need to see are the minutes from their last meeting. They aren’t listed separately on the City website, but they are included in the packet for yesterday’s meeting. http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=20520 PDF page […]
By: Diane Benjamin Ever since Tari was first elected, a never-ending supply of Master Plans covering everything in Bloomington has been produced at great expense. In order to get Council support they were sold as “advisory”. They never were meant to be advisory, they are considered law. The hard-core leftist on the current Council frequently […]
By: Diane Benjamin The short answer is because of the McLean County Regional Planning Commission. The MCRPC is an organization most citizens know nothing about. In 2013 a new executive director was hired: Vasudha P. Gadhiraju. The formerly conservative Commission took a hard turn to the left immediately after. According to the MCRPC website, 2013 is […]
Across the country, transportation planning is the responsibility of metropolitan planning organizations (MPO) established by the Federal government. The McLean County Regional Planning Commission is the agency designated as MPO for the Bloomington-Normal region. The planning process includes the local governments of McLean County, City of Bloomington, and the Town of Normal, plus Connect Transit, […]
By: Diane Benjamin A Statement of Economic Interest is required to be filed by EVERYONE who is elected and appointed to any unit of government. Other employees may also be required to file. It is the law that SEI must be filed. Everyone on the Unit 5 School Board did file, unlike some other units […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner received thousands of dollars from unions for his April election – including this one: See PDF page 120 for details of the Public Safety and Civilian Review Board: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=14322 This Board will be approved because of the “feel good” Council, but it will be completely meaningless by design. The documentation […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington wouldn’t have a Bike Master Plan without Bike Blono. Bloomington wouldn’t have a Complete Streets plan without Bike Blono. Bike Blono had private meetings for months with Public Works to make lanes on Washington happen. (as stated by Michael Gorman of Bike Blono) Bikes have always been allowed on the roads, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington recently announced they won an award for excellence in comprehensive planning: http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=18&recordid=3855&returnURL=%2findex.aspx The award was for Bring It On Bloomington It doesn’t matter that Bring It On Bloomignton was a flop! https://blnnews.com/2014/09/19/bring-it-on-bloomington-flops/ The McLean County Regional Planning Commission wanted 7,660 people to complete the survey. They got 1,160. It was declared […]
By: Diane Benjamin If government wants to help a segment of people: It has to steal money from some to hand to others It has to remove any incentive for personal responsibility It has to weaken the economy by not allowing earners to keep their money It has to pay bureaucrats to administer programs It […]
By: Diane Benjamin Alderman Amelia Buragas normally recuses herself from votes when they involve sending money to Farnsworth Group. Her husband Michael is employed by them. Last night she didn’t recuse herself from this vote: These are the people promoting bike paths on major roads and subsidizing buses. They also promoted the East-Side Bypass and […]
By: Diane Benjamin Only two short month ago, the Council approved the appointment of Michael Gorman to the McLean county Regional Planning Commission. He was appointed to represent the City of Bloomington on the Commission. Dec 14 2015 – Page 2 Michael Gorman is associated with Bike Blono: Note his middle initial is C. Tonight […]
Update: Gorman is an IWU graduate and employee. Is IWU a prerequisite? Diversity? How many IWU people are now in government? Renner, Black, Schmidt, Robustelli, ? By: Diane Benjamin Monday night Tari plans to appoint Michael Gorman to the McLean County Regional Planning Commission. This is the Commission responsible for Bring It Bloomington and bike […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tonight the Bloomington City Council will approve paying the McLean County Regional Planning Commission $54,212 for the plan they created: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8974 The plan was out of date before it was issued because it pretends Bloomington is growing. Before Mitsubishi announced it’s closing, Bloomington was showing negative growth. Now 1,200 jobs are being […]
By: Diane Benjamin Alderman Amelia Buragus didn’t think she had a conflict of interest with votes to spend taxpayer money to redevelop downtown Bloomington, even though her dad owns property very close to the properties proposed. Michael Buragas, Amelia’s husband, works for Farnsworth Group, a frequent receiver of taxpayer funds: Is it a conflict of interest to […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Planning Commission is holding a meeting at 4:00 today in the Council Chambers. There will be a Public Hearing on the Comprehensive Bloomington Plan put together by the Regional Planning Commission. Nice of them to hold a meeting when most people are still at work! Claims will be made that […]
by: Diane Benjamin Government asking citizens what they think is a great thing. Obviously it didn’t work with the Coliseum, but government has since learned a better way to ask questions. Yes/No doesn’t achieve the correct results. Google Delphi Method. Delphi is technique City leaders and those with an agenda are TRAINED in so consensus […]
The below was sent to me by Scott Fowler of the McLean County Regional Planning Commission. I agreed to post the information. I asked Scott how many cyclists were in the area, this is his response: We currently don’t have a number for how many cyclists live in Bloomington-Normal. We are hoping that this effort will […]
by: Diane Benjamin The McLean County Regional Planning Commission is busy planning for Bloomington. Most of this commission consists of un-elected people who tell every level of government what to do by dangling money in front of them. In addition to Bloomington, their website has plans for Normal, the County, and the schools. That’s how […]
Sustainable Development is not implemented in the open, as the APA claims, but in back rooms filled with the proper NGO organizations, which surround your elected officials and pressures their actions. In that way it is changing our American society and form of government, making government more powerful and more invasive in our daily lives. […]
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