By: Diane Benjamin A reader sent me this picture of Bloomington in 1971. It clearly shows where the private sector thinks money should be! Mayors for decades have been trying to make downtown Bloomington a destination – using YOUR tax money. You got a lot of debt and a Coliseum eating a hole in the […]
Corrected – David Hales budget increases By: Diane Benjamin In honor of the Supreme Court meeting today to decide if the plan passed by the legislature to fix pension is legal: 2014 Total Compensation Report – City of Bloomington http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=6713 Of course the report doesn’t include totals, so here they are: Salary: 37,123,891.83 Overtime: 3,308,160.59 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Previously I’ve reported CIAM (Central Illinois Arena Management) reports profits and losses that aren’t close to what the auditor reports: http://blnnews.com/2015/01/20/more-coliseum-fraud/. How are the CIAM numbers so far off? (Almost $600,000 last year?) Easy! CIAM creates the report, CIAM has no reason to tell the truth, so they report whatever they want. […]
By: Diane Benjamin 10 short years ago Bloomington did not charge for ANY garbage or bulky waste pickup. In 2005 the Council decided they could no longer cover the cost. Previously the cost was part of the services provided by the City through the taxes you paid. This is from the FY 2005 budget, page […]
By: Diane Benjamin From 4/28/14 City Council meeting: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=6699 Item 10 E. Discussion of FY 2016 Budget Priorities. Motion by Alderman Fazzini, seconded by Alderman Stearns to lay this item over until the Council’s May 12, 2014 meeting. The April 28th meeting was where the budget was finally approved with tax increases. Renner promptly started […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington owns many buildings that are deteriorating because maintenance is deferred. The can’t afford what they have now. Properties like the old Coachman Hotel could have been sold, but the City didn’t like the offer. The following is listed under accomplishments in the Capital Improvements Fund – Book 2, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Both David Hales and Tari Renner have proclaimed their “Bare Bones” budget is unsustainable. This is code for we can’t raise taxes in an election year. Karen Schmidt and Joni Painter voted for all the tax increases last year, you are supposed to forget. Asking them to vote for more now is […]
By: Diane Benjamin A citizen saw what was coming way back last October. He sent this video of his comments to me. TubeChop – October 20, 2014 – Committee of the Whole City Council Meeting (03:16) Bruce Meeks Not In Our Town . The Pledge: From the City of Bloomington website: http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=18&recordid=1519
By: Diane Benjamin Tari loves to say I savage Council members and City employees. He must mean David Hales, who I believe is doing a lousy job and wasting MILLIONS of taxpayer dollars. If you are new to Blnnews.com, it would be impossible to catch up on everything I’ve written since beginning almost 3 years […]
By: Diane Benjamin The FCC will rule to make the Internet a Public Utility on February 26th. The more than 330 page report is already written, even though the public can still tell them to keep their hands off, they don’t care. 3 Democrats will vote for Net Neutrality, 2 Republicans against it. 5 total […]
See update here: http://blnnews.com/2015/02/13/dear-tari-2/ By: Diane Benjamin The Pantagraph has posted their story on-line about Renner’s rant. Renner was on WGLT earlier today with the story that he was acting as a parent protecting his kid when he was attacked. Here’s the attack: I said “his son was Facebook friends with another IWU student – […]
By: Diane Benjamin A reporter from the Pantagraph called for a comment on Tari Renner’s post last night. According to her, Renner claimed his son called late last night (Renner was asleep) all upset that I was going after him. See previous post: http://blnnews.com/2015/02/11/tari-attacks-me-again-not-in-our-town/ Maybe Renner and his son can explain this Tweet from Brexton […]
Last night’s City Council performance by Public Comment Speaker and Taurus, Brexton Isaacs (with a supporting role from his close friend, Annie Kehler), was off the mark with most everything he stated, especially in the context of the area of Millennials. The Millennial concept has long been a proverbial ship this Administration has anchored its […]
Correction: http://blnnews.com/2015/02/09/sorry-i-know-what-it-is-now/ By: Diane Benjamin VERY Transparent Mayor. You must be afraid to have your potted plants vote in public right before an election! All the citizens surveys said NEEDS before WANTS. You want spending downtown regardless of how bad the streets and sewers are. What the citizens say is immaterial! All your […]
By: Diane Benjamin Contrary to what government believes, all documents belong to the citizens unless it can be proven under the law they should remain secret. VERY few exceptions are available – the writers of the FOIA law realized that government DOES NOT exist without taxpayer confiscation of money and therefore the people paying the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari can’t help himself. He hates people who disagree with him. They are targets that he must marginalize. Holding opposing opinions is not allowed in TariVille. The potted plants on the Council happily comply. David Hales happily complies-his fat pension is at stake. Renner signed the Not In Our Town Pledge: I […]
By: Diane Benjamin Decatur taxpayers are outraged at the money their City Council spent making downtown a walk-able, livable sustainable space. They built it and NOBODY came. Sound familiar? While reading, keep in mind: The lighting plan for downtown Bloomington is $8.5 Million. Taxpayers already paid $74, 670 for the study. Downtown Decatur died decades […]
by: Diane Benjamin Not so fast Tari. Maybe you didn’t know about this report. Or maybe you did and decided to pretend it didn’t exist. Maybe you will explain. The below is from CBS Chicago in a report dated December 16, 2014 Not including Chicago, here are the 10 Illinois cities with the most violent […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City held a Citizens Summit. Participants sent a strong message: Fund essential services first – not wants! The City surveyed citizens. Citizens sent the same message: Citizens’ Priority Survey Results Citizens reiterated the same to the Council during public comment last night. Watch starting at 4:55 Following, Tari gave his State […]
By: Diane Benjamin The US Congress gave up much of their power years ago. The EPA churns out rules and regulations to enforce what they think is important – not what Congress approved. The IRS attacks opponents of whatever administration is in power because they can. Congress won’t even withhold funding. The Department of Education […]
by: Diane Benjamin Mayor Renner has declared Strip Malls dead. Bloomington’s future is downtown. There is a waiting list of millennials wanting to live downtown. Koos is planning to spend another $60 Million on Uptown so millennials can live in micro apartments. Anybody surprised they are uninformed? This article is from 2013: The Geography Of […]
Check the receipts! Some show tax, some show exempt. By: Diane Benjamin Read the original post here: http://blnnews.com/2014/12/19/make-sure-you-are-calm-before-reading/ I had some help from an outraged reader, Kevin Gerrard, on a Freedom of Information Act request. All the meals came from PCard charges, similar to a debit card but the City just gets a statement […]
By: Diane Benjamin Comments to Pantagraph stories concerning Gabriella Calhoun, Sgt Shumaker, and Tari Renner’s remarks have been disabled. Jeers Pantagraph – Did Renner demand you suspend comments? I saw some yesterday obviously made by “people in the know”. I guess only “approved” talking points are allowed. Jeers Pantagraph – For Jeering the Chateau and […]
This is a link to the 2013 Pantagraph stories: http://m.pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/mayor-video-of-fight-supports-cops-claim/article_81e5d7da-ea49-11e2-aa65-001a4bcf887a.html?mobile_touch=true _________________________________ By: Diane Benjamin Reading Pantagraph reports of the Gabriella Calhoun incident from 2013, Mayor Renner claimed he watched the surveillance video and listened to the audio of Calhoun in a police car. Renner all but proclaimed her guilty because he saw and heard it […]
By: Diane Benjamin What kind of Police Officer makes a statement like “I hope he bleeds to death” when commenting on a stabbing victim? City Manager David Hales says it’s a personnel issue and disciplinary action was “serious”. Do you know ANYBODY who would say the same thing of an injured person? The Bloomington Police Facebook […]
By: Diane Benjamin Short recap on my lawsuit against the City of Bloomington: Last July Bloomington denied THREE Freedom of Information requests in a week I asked City Lawyer Jeff Jurgens to reconsider, I included Attorney General opinions that his position was invalid He emailed me that they would review the documents and get back […]
by: Diane Benjamin Face it – the people you elect on the State and National level barely listen to you. They are too busy pleasing leadership to get more money so they can be re-elected. Local elections are the only place you have a vote that counts. You can go to your alderman’s house, get […]
By: Diane Benjamin In a further attempt to make your elected Aldermen immaterial, the City of Bloomington is holding a budget meeting on January 20th. Each Alderman is to invite 10 citizens, then these 90 people will tell Bloomington where your money should be spent. Being a Representative Republic is now dead in Bloomington. Thanks […]
By: Diane Benjamin Cheer-leading for Bloomington isn’t a bad approach for an elected Mayor, but not facing facts is suicide for taxpayers. Yes, State Farm is transferring people out of Bloomington-Normal. Yes, people are leaving Illinois for better opportunities. Yes, Sales Tax Revenue is down in both Bloomington and Normal. Yesterday’s report that Bloomington-Normal lost 1000 […]
Mayor Renner claimed at the last Council meeting 1000 people move here every year. He’s uniformed. Employers added new jobs in half of the state’s metro areas Metro Area Nov-14* Nov-13 Over-the-Year Change Bloomington-Normal 89,300 (5.6%) 90,300 (7.2%) -1,000 Champaign-Urbana 110,600 (5.9%) 109,600 (8.0%) 1,000 Chicago-Joliet-Naperville 3,854,200 (5.7%) 3,830,500 (8.3%) 23,700 Danville 29,200 (8.1%) 29,000 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Is American History still taught? Evidently it’s been re-written to reflect mob rule instead of a Representative Republic. After all, the government is supposed to reflect the will of the people! Mob rule has come to Bloomington. Bike lanes are painted on the streets (the roads that aren’t crumbling) because the McLean […]
By: Diane Benjamin Mayor Tari loves to call people he wants to vilify: “they are off their meds” Sorry, but you may need “meds” after seeing how your tax dollars are spent. Government loves to control what us little people eat, but they feed themselves pizza, doughnuts, and deserts and send the bill to you. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is the other Freedom of Information Act request I filed in October that was completely ignored by the City of Bloomington (Tari Renner). I spoke about this one at Monday’s Council meeting, see the video posted yesterday. __________________________________________________________________ Diane Benjamin <teapartybloom@gmail.com> Oct 27 […]
The clerk contacted me. They can’t find this FOIA Request. Multiple copies and they lost them, imagine my surprise. By: Diane Benjamin On Monday I spoke during public comment at the Bloomington City Council meeting. I posted the video yesterday. Below are details on one Freedom of Information Act request the City of Bloomington has […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’m one of those people who thanks veterans and the police whenever I see them. I really appreciate the job they do for the people of this country. I have military and police in my family, their jobs aren’t easy. We all know veterans have made the ultimate sacrifice, but so have […]
By: Diane Benjamin When the David Hales and Tari Renner put an item on the Bloomington City Council agenda, they now state why it’s a good thing. Here’s why new Liquor Licenses should be approved: STRATEGIC PLAN LINK: Goal 4. Grow the local economy. Motion: That a TAS liquor license for Around the Corner, Inc., […]
by: Diane Benjamin The 3 stooges (previously used to describe City leadership) isn’t enough people. Therefore the non-numerical term “Clowns” will now be used. “Lighting the Evergreen Tree in Withers Park” : It’s a CHRISTMAS TREE City of Bloomington! Okay, it’s really the Downtown Bloomington Association doing this, but they get most of their money from […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you contributed to Renner’s campaign for Mayor you are doing well! The unions got massive increases in pension funding – the Council was set up and fell for plans needing tax increases to succeed. More increases coming. At least one campaign contributor has art for sale in the Mayor’s office Rob […]
by: Diane Benjamin K-Mart is just the latest to announce it is closing. Many smaller businesses have or are closing. Both Bloomington and Normal have reported Sales Tax Revenue is down. The Pantagraph reported B-N homes sales have improved – but read the article to the bottom. New construction lags behind last year. It’s 1/3 […]
by: Diane Benjamin The email below was sent to me by Tari in April of last year. I almost believed he wanted transparency. Typos left on purpose. Tari Renner <tarirenner88@yahoo.com> 4/12/13 to me Thanks so much for filing the complain against the City on transparency!! Way to go – we all owe you a debt of […]
