By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council meeting last night was mostly uneventful. Other than Jenna Kearns attended by phone because of illness, John Danenberger was MIA, and Mollie Ward was wearing a Covid mask, the only news was a timeline for a data center ordinance: . The August 26th meeting panel will be the […]
By: Diane Benjamin 29:50 public comment – guy has a problem with the Bloomington police. Has he taken his proof to the PSCRB? 36:50 public comment about Flock Cameras. Of course they are an invasion of privacy while making policing much easier. Many cities have determined that tradeoff isn’t worth it. Nothing was pulled from […]
By: Diane Benjamin It’s nice to see everything the Council considers is no longer hashed out during 2 on 1 meetings. Previously every agenda item was decided behind closed doors making Council meetings mostly useless. Of course that means meetings are longer as Council members ask questions and state their opinions. Last night was 2 […]
By: Diane Benjamin City Manager Jeff Jurgens STRONGLY urged residents to conserve even more water. Of course the below isn’t all that happened last night, just what I thought was notable. Last night’s Bloomington City Council meeting was tortuously long. Two items were pulled from the Consent Agenda. Both serve as a lesson in government […]
By: Diane Benjamin Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is the opposite of meritocracy. Most people believe success has to be earned, not handed out to fill self-imposed quotas. Judging people on the color of their skin is evil. Most people used to know that. The YWCA doesn’t know that. https://www.ywcamclean.org/education-advocacy/ FREE DEI Education The YWCA does […]
By: Diane Benjamin The below was sent to me by a reader. Note Able’s 2021 post was on Mike Matejka’s group: Not In Our Town. If you stop by the NIOT Facebook page, it claims they exist to: stop hate, address bullying and build a safe, inclusive community. That isn’t true since nothing is posted about […]
By: Diane Benjamin There was only 1 Public Comment. The speaker was greatly concerned about the Salvation Army and the Federal grant they received to rehab apartments on Tracy Drive for veterans. According to him, Bloomington needs to intervene more than they have. Police have responded to numerous incidents and progress isn’t happening: . Alderman […]
By: Diane Benjamin Details for my Public Comment at the 9/8/2025 City Council meeting: Criminal Damage to Property because of political ideology is a HATE CRIME. Where is Not In Our Town? I am not going to identify where this property is to prevent further harm to the homeowner. It is on a major Bloomington […]
By: Diane Benjamin This is Part 1, a short Part 2 is next. Last night’s festivities were full of misinformation by citizen speakers. Of course that’s why the 1st Amendment exists. It’s vitally important for all people to have free speech and the ability to address their government. Public Comment had to be extended over […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1021/files/agenda/6725 Justin Boyd is getting a Proclamation for serving 9 years on the Planning Commission. The documentation doesn’t say if he’s leaving or if he’s just being celebrated. My question: Is Bloomington better now because of his ‘Planning” than it was 9 years ago? Guess what’s back! . TEN YEARS ago […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s meeting will take at least one more story. I don’t know when I will get to another story, so stay tuned. Bloomington voted unanimously to suspend payment of the 0.25% sales tax to the county for at least one year, intended for mental health services—primarily because the county holds more […]
By: Diane Benjamin One more thing from Monday’s Council meeting: Mollie Ward made a comment at the end of the meeting. She was one of the 4 who voted for the Missing Middle Housing plan. Hit play: . She recently attended an event honoring people who died riding bicycles. She attempted to shame the council […]
By: Diane Benjamin In the two years John Danenberger has been on the Council he evidently didn’t notice procedures. He wanted to pull item K from the Consent Agenda, but instead of just stating that he preceded with an explanation and motion. That should have come after the vote on the other items, not before. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Between the Executive Session and the end of the open meeting the exchange below happened. Ken Lee shakes Dan Brady’s hand. Brady then approaches the new (forced in) Mayor Pro Tem, Mollie Ward. She appears to refrain from a handshake. Words were exchanged, the mic was off so we don’t know what […]
By: Diane Benjamin Public Comment was adorable last night. The far left showed up to demand the council and candidates support a Springfield bill to Lift the Rent Control ban. Just hit play to hear them on the video below. What none of them said was what they expect if the ban is lifted. Do […]
This isn’t a Star of David either (h/t a reader): By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up to this story: https://blnnews.com/2025/03/10/did-you-know-the-paint-app-is-antisemitic/ This is the Star of David: . This isn’t: I will be expecting apologies from you and Camille Taylor. Your baseless attack means I was right. The candidates I specified are far left radicals. Will Not In […]
By: Diane Benjamin You can’t see any of the Public Comments because the camera never changed to show them. You can only hear them. Even though City Code prohibits holding meetings on a Federal or State holiday they did. (Chap 2 Sect 15) Maybe staff had the day off except for a rookie called in […]
By: Diane Benjamin Aldermen Jenna Kearns and Kent Lee did not attend last night’s meeting. That is important to remember for what happened. First, Monsignor Jason Gray from the Peoria Diocese asked the council to not override the wishes of the property owner who does not want to be designated as an historic landmark because […]
By: Diane Benjamin The meeting was short, the video includes 15 minutes of commercials before the meeting started. Only one Public Comment at last night’s Bloomington Committee of the Whole – Surena Fish. She spoke on a couple issues but the big one is downtown becoming more dangerous because addicts and vagrants aren’t afraid of […]
By: Diane Benjamin The probable Project Labor Agreement coming to the City Council is a clear example of pay-to-play politics. Labor unions throw money at aldermen to get them elected, then those alderman pass ordinances that are good for labor unions while also being destructive to taxpayers. Bloomington’s City Manager stated union representatives helped write […]
By: Diane Benjamin I didn’t get a chance to watch Bloomington’s Committee of the Whole meeting until yesterday. The City has the same goal they’ve had for decades: Get people downtown. All the empty buildings will never be developed until you comply, so your tax dollars will be “invested” yet again. If at first (or second or third) you don’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s Bloomington City Council meeting proved why failure of the majority of registered voters to actually vote is destructive to your wallet! The majority of people can’t wait to vote in meaningless national elections and then they ignore local elections allowing the far left to run your city. Citizens are the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s Bloomington City Council meeting will take more than one story. Did Mollie read the packet? The discussion was about the library levy – from the packet: A 4.93% increase is a tax increase. Alderman Mollie Ward wants you to know it isn’t. The library only captured part of the increased […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council was back to meeting in the Government Center last night. The Committee of the Whole last week was also back. Initially the Council was to meet at the BCPA on July 24th and all 3 August meetings. Note the work wasn’t done until the 10/15 meeting. It appears […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) If you subscribe by email, I don’t think this story was emailed: https://blnnews.com/2023/08/01/this-starts-in-kindergarten/ 2) I’m still celebrating there were no council meetings last night. 😁 (5th Monday of July) 3) For Mollie Ward’s gun violence prevention committee: a) Gun buyback program isn’t a new thought – don’t claim you came up […]
By: Diane Benjamin PDF page 320: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/2593119f-7d4f-11ed-9024-0050569183fa-791fe512-602c-4d20-98c8-ecdbbed39134-1687541345.pdf The documentation starts off with a stretch of the truth: Additional discussion on the Initiative took place at the Committee of the Whole meeting onJune 19, 2023, at which time there was a consensus to bring a formal proposal forward at afuture meeting. Consensus isn’t a 5-4 vote […]
By: Diane Benjamin The PIN # of the property taxpayers are demolishing on W Jackson was corrected, otherwise the property wasn’t discussed. The contractor is required to pay prevailing wage since public money is being used. You evidently gave a present to the labor unions and the property owners. Congrats. For all the anti-religion people […]
By: Diane Benjamin Mollie Ward’s initiative is back: Anybody want to guess how many of these “experts” will be FOID card and gun owners? Definition of expert is: People who claim some hidden talent not available to normal people. The Council will approve it and it will develop zero solutions because morality can’t be forced […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since Bloomington has a “woke” police chief and this is Illinois where criminals are coddled (Safe-T Act), stopping gun violence won’t be easy. Asking nicely isn’t going to work. “Woke”: https://blnnews.com/2023/06/21/problem-identified/ Was anyone FIRED over the failed gun safe giveaway when the documentation clearly says FIRE SAFE? https://blnnews.com/2023/06/14/dont-store-guns-in-the-free-gun-safe-you-got-from-the-bloomington-il-police/ DEI means incompetence is […]
By: Diane Benjamin Celebrate now Bloomington – your water bills will increase. The City did a study and you just aren’t paying enough as compared to other area municipalities. See 43:30 on the video below. Water rates haven’t increased since 2012, everything else the City charges on your bill goes up 3% automatically every year. […]
By: Diane Benjamin This was the vote on Tom Crumpler’s motion to add requirements to the agreement with the East Washington developers to pay prevailing wage: . This was the final vote on the project: . Danenberger and Hendricks flipped their votes. The Hendricks flip doesn’t make sense since he was bought by the communists […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington managed a 44 minute meeting last night. Only 7 of the 9 Alderman were present: If you listened to the roll call you wouldn’t know who was missing because the Clerk only called the names of those present! (That’s not a roll call) If you can’t tell, Sheila Montney and Mollie […]
By: Diane Benjamin I don’t plan to watch this meeting live tonight. I will be here instead: https://blnnews.com/2022/05/06/monday-night-a-must-for-parents/ See the packet, it’s going to be a long meeting: https://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1167&Inline=True A few highlights: Ward 1 gets a replacement alderman – Grant Walch. I know zero about him. Bloomington is finally getting around to replacing the building […]
By: Diane Benjamin Mboka should be ashamed of himself for re-appointments made last night. Instead interviewing candidates that I know applied to fill expiring terms, he re-appointed Tari Renner’s picks. It’s a sad day for Bloomington when people who haven’t been involved aren’t allowed to even meet with the mayor. How about some people that […]
By: Diane Benjamin Alderman Sheila Montney asked about the condition of Holiday Pool during discussions last night. That pool has the reached the end of it’s life too, Parks & Rec keeps holding it together. That won’t work forever. Both pools could have easily been replaced for what Bloomington is spending on a water park. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Mollie was in the Council chambers, not on zoom. It took the camera awhile to shift over to her: No commission needed Mollie. Obviously life has no value to some people. When abortion can wipe out babies at will, shooting each other is just the next step. The only way to defeat […]
By: Diane Benjamin Let’s start with the City finally releasing the financial statements: https://www.cityblm.org/home/showpublisheddocument/27129/637709284831130000 This note was written by the auditors: Proving yet again laws are immaterial, November 22, 2021 is past SIX MONTHS. The City has now used the same auditor for 6 years. Since the audits aren’t looking for fraud, using the same […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://pantagraph.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/watch-now-womens-march-at-isu-demands-equal-rights-freedom-of-choice/article_192dd8ff-3efb-5bc7-9694-e8faae98a26a.html Mollie Ward was originally appointed to the Council by Tari Renner to fill the seat vacated by Scott Black. WGLT did a story on her at the time: https://www.wglt.org/news/2020-10-27/renner-tabs-fierce-advocate-of-west-bloomington-for-council-vacancy That story included this pic of Mollie: Yes, she is wearing a collar because she claims to be an Episcopal chaplain. Proving […]
By: Diane Benjamin Jamie Mathy was not at last night’s Council meeting, Ward 6 is still vacant. Therefore, only 7 alderman took part in discussions. The Council had 3 options for how to assist residents that suffered flood damage: (copied from the documentation) Option A: A Resolution in Support of Utilizing the Illinois Housing Development […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1133&Inline=True Committee of the Whole is meeting tonight. Expanding the Library is the main focus. Like true Progressives, all facts don’t matter. The population is immaterial because the Internet didn’t exist in 1976. People do not need to go a library to do research anymore. People don’t need to go a library […]
