This is what intelligence looks like these days

By: Diane Benjamin The recycle bins behind Walmart In Normal are clearly marked. It’s even marked in 2 languages: . This is what was in this bin today: . It must be too hard to walk 7-8 feet to the east and put cardboard in the bin marked CARDBOARD! There was also cardboard in the […]

How Much Intelligence Does It Take to Recycle?

By: Diane Benjamin Evidently too much for too many people. Maybe the signs need to say Pretty Please. Location: Recycling bins on the north side of the Normal Walmart:

Proof of the Koos debt

By: Diane Benjamin I could write MANY stories about last night’s Bloomington Council meeting. I might write more, I might not. I didn’t want you to miss this graphic: Every citizen of Normal is in twice as much debt as those who live in Bloomington. That is why the end of the Uptown TIF is […]

Normal: Make a decision

By: Diane Benjamin Tonight’s meeting: https://www.normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/12612/Council-Packet–PDF This meeting would have been 10 minutes a few years ago. It won’t be tonight because bloviating is vital when running for re-election, and the ever popular: attack Stan Nord. The bills still can’t be discussed. The agenda is short, the biggest discussion will be around recycling and paying […]

Karyn Smith was a mistake, but . . .

By: Diane Benjamin The Good News is by electing Karyn – RC McBride is no longer on the council! The bad news is she must be a one term trustee if she continues to believe everything she is told instead of searching for truth herself. She was elected to represent the PEOPLE, not the Town. […]

Normal: Squashing Transparency

By: Diane Benjamin New software is being used for FOIA requests at the Town of Normal. Formerly requestors were allowed to log in and instantly see old FOIA requests or the status of new ones. Those days are over. See the new screen here: https://normalil.justfoia.com/publicportal/home/search I played around with “Search Archives”. Even simple items like […]

Normal last night – Part 2

By:  Diane Benjamin The reason I love these remote meetings is it’s easy to catch your elected officials proving they don’t care: This is Kathleen Lorenz – 55:42.  The others have similar moments we would never see at a regular Council meeting.  Stan had pulled a water project that was going to be over $400,000 […]

Bloomington Agenda for Monday

By:  Diane Benjamin http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1049&Inline=True Details on PDF page 11: Great job by City employees, what took so long to recognize them? PDF page 63 – the City needs to budget for extensive restoration of the outside – BCPA.  This is just repairs. PDF page 93 – Another cost taxpayers could have avoided if they had voted […]

Why recycle?

By:  Diane Benjamin Saturday mornings are a big drop off time for recycling behind the Normal Walmart.  There are two large bins for cardboard – both were 95% full this morning. The one for containers was totally full, the No Bags sign is immaterial evidently. The one for mixed paper had a little room so people […]

Miscellaneous

By:  Diane Benjamin Homeland Security has not issued a valid retainer for Jose Rodriguez.  They knew when they sent one signed by an immigration officer instead of a judge it wasn’t valid in Illinois because former REPUBLICAN Governor Rauner signed the Trust Act. I looked up who voted to make Illinois a sanctuary State, none […]

Recycling? How much ends up in the landfill?

By:  Diane Benjamin It would be nice if everything that could be recycled was.  Normal passed an ordinance mandating recycling for multi family housing.  The joke just might be on the kids who begged the Trustees to pass it.  Their rent will go up and all “recyclables” may end up in the landfill anyway.  Of […]

No money in it: Recycling

By:  Diane Benjamin If money could be made from recycling, Normal wouldn’t have stopping funding drop off locations.. Midwest Fiber wouldn’t let the drop off boxes get stuffed to capacity creating a mess when people just leave the junk outside the bins. I have been dropping of recycling for years behind Walmart in Normal.  These […]

Ecology Action Center is livid

By:  Diane Benjamin The local environmental activists thought they had their plan to force EVERYONE to recycle in the bag.  They spent two years meeting with people they call “stakeholders”.  Even if you did hear about one of their public meetings or hearings, I bet you didn’t go. Details here:  https://blnnews.com/2018/01/06/robustelli-wrong-scritchlow-right/ Their plans to use force […]

Recycling backfires

By:  Diane Benjamin Many people recycle.  Curbside pickup makes it pretty easy.  Evidently, curbside also makes recycling cost prohibitive.  Gee, somebody has to separate all the cans, bottles, etc. Also included in the June City Manager’s report is this: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8951 Blue bins are the reason why American recycling is stalling  (Page 23) Once a profitable […]