By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington has MANY short roads badly in need of resurfacing. See this story: https://blnnews.com/2024/05/10/road-ratings-part-4/ The major roads that have been resurfaced, like GE Road, were contracted. It would be close to impossible to contract fixing all those short roads. Bloomington solved that problem and I don’t think they have made a big […]
By: Diane Benjamin In case you missed this story in the media: https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_bc96b2e2-5338-11ee-a876-73caeb277433.html Clever Real Estate teamed up with moving company Allied Van Lines and found that Illinois has had more outbound moves than any other state in the past six months. Why would people continue to flee Illinois? The Bloomington City Council is encouraging out-migration. 5 of […]
By: Diane Benjamin The streets and sidewalks presentation from Monday night is now online: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/29386 PDF page 2 states Bloomington has 842 Lane Miles (streets). Below is the same graphic I posted earlier, except this one is readable – PDF page 12: From 1995 to 2022 Bloomington resurfaced a total of 359.6 lane miles. 27 […]
By: Diane Benjamin The report presented last night is supposed to be on-line, so far I don’t see it. Instead of posting reports before meetings, staff likes showing slides that are frequently barely readable on the screen. The presentation was very comprehensive! If you want to know about the roads and sidewalks, watch the whole […]
By: Diane Benjamin I asked Public Works Director Kevin Kothe if the work currently being done on East Washington would alleviate the sewer flooding in Eastgate. I’m not sure I got an answer to that question. Below is his response. Moving up the completion date from 2030 has numerous problems, the first being funding. Another […]
By: Diane Benjamin Warriner St – Home of Public Works Building Reports are these have been parked on Town of Normal property for months. Let’s guess who approved this: The mayor who owns a bike shop? The mayor who constantly bills citizens for more bike trails? City Manager? Public Works Director? More questions: Are they […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday I got an email from a citizen after they saw leaves being collected in their neighborhood on Sunday. They wanted to know if staff was being paid overtime to do it. I’ve also had inquiries about staff emptying garbage cans on Sundays in parks. I asked Public Works about both. The […]
There is more to this story: The homeowner has informed me their brush was the only stop on the street today. The truck drove past many other piles to get to their house. This likely happened because they demanded a refund for service they never received. Instead of a refund, they sent a truck out […]
By: Diane Benjamin In June of 2018 the City Council approved buying two Knuckleboom trucks: PDF page 300 http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=18156 I was told they were delivered late last fall. The total cost was $308,819.96 This note is included on PDF page 317: These two vehicles were not used for the May bulk pickup and they haven’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up to this story: https://wordpress.com/post/blnnews.com/67411 That story has pic from last Friday of brush that was scheduled to be picked up last Tuesday. This pic is from yesterday, the brush is still there – 8 days after it was supposed to be picked up. It has to be in the street to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tomorrow the entire crew will be out filling potholes! The bad news is they will be paid overtime for 8 hours. Worse news: Today they all got off paid two hours early after a pizza party. No word on who paid for the pizza. This is the second year – it’s to […]
By: Diane Benjamin City of Bloomington AFSCME Local 699 ratified a new contract yesterday that eliminates Sick Leave Buy Back. The City Council will approve it Monday. Congrats to both sides! For once the City did not hire a Chicago lawyer to negotiate for them. That made a contract easier to achieve and saved both […]
By: Diane Benjamin On Monday sources tell me Bloomington will announce the Water Department will be merged with Public Works. The current head of Public Works, Jim Karch, will be in charge of everything. The Water Department is holding many millions of dollars. $2.8 million has already been “borrowed” from this fund, $2.4 million went […]
By: Diane Benjamin Earlier this month the City of Bloomington claimed the Public Works party was financed with employee money from vending machine profits: https://blnnews.com/2018/06/04/party-at-public-works/ I FOIA’d the City vending machine contracts, of course my FOIA was extended. Yesterday I received two contracts dated in 2004. This one is for vending machine products other than […]
By: Diane Benjamin Public Works employees aren’t happy, especially with Jim Karch. The feeling I get from discussions with some of them is that they don’t trust him and how the department is run. Start with the new garbage trucks and cans purchased some years ago. It was supposed to save money and the backs of […]
I just received another response from the City they neglected to include in the previous FOIA response: Nice of them to totally change the story two days later! Why aren’t vending machine profits City money? More FOIA’s —————————————————————————————————- By: Diane Benjamin I heard a rumor that morale at Bloomington’s Public Works was so low, Jim […]
By: Diane Benjamin I was in town this morning dodging potholes because errands made me cross Veterans Parkway. I try to never do that! Before any of my critics comment, I wasn’t driving when I shot this video – I was PARKED. This is a City of Bloomington crew working on East Oakland Avenue. The guy […]
By: Diane Benjamin See previous stories: https://blnnews.com/2017/12/13/how-do-they-get-any-work-done/ When I was reading the volumes of emails the City of Bloomington employees sent to each other, I noticed some referred to pictures posted on the City’s intranet. I FOIA’d the pics. I received 31, here’s a few of them. Keep in mind, this is a party they threw […]
By: Diane Benjamin You are focusing on Christmas, so not only is Tari holding Town Hall meetings now, the City is holding a Public Meeting FOUR days before Christmas! All are hoping you don’t show up! http://www.cityblm.org/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/7657/17 The City wants to redesign the intersection of Fairway Drive and Empire to include BIKE LANES and a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Anybody find it amusing that both Bloomington and Normal suddenly need new libraries? Book stores are closing, some libraries have gone digital, but TWO small cities side by side need new libraries. Maybe it has nothing to do with books. Source: https://blnnews.com/2015/12/18/why-bloomington-is-expanding-the-library/ This pic is from Normal – but it’s the reason […]
By: Diane Benjamin This pic is from LAST week, I just haven’t gotten around to posting it. They probably think they are in a City owed parking lot, the public sure does, but it’s a private lot. Note 3 City vehicles, one guy is mowing in the background. The three trucks were in the lot […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember this story: http://blnnews.com/2015/04/29/austere-budget-short-staffed-really/ ? The opening and closing of a lane at Ireland Grove and Towanda Barnes continues, but I want you to remember the other part of the story. Two City employees were sent out to mow, one guy did while the other guy sat in the truck for almost 2 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Today I had some work to do in town at one of my landscaping jobs. Yes, I do that too. Need help – email me! Two things caught my attention. First the corner of Ireland Grove Road and Towanda Barnes. A few months ago the City of Bloomington created 2 turn lanes […]
