By: Diane Benjamin Chemberly Cummings is the perfect Trustee for the establishment in Normal. She believes her job is to rubberstamp staff recommendations. Listen to her Saturday interview – start at 38:30 – https://www.cities929.com/steve-suess-podcast/ She, and all the other Trustees except Stan Nord, think they hire “professional staff” who are experts in their fields, so […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you already knew “right fit” businesses are all that matters in Normal, last night cemented their place in history for being unfriendly to business. The Town levied fines on Joe’s Stationhouse Pizza for daring to defy Pritzker’s spewings when the Illinois Constitution clearly states emergency powers last 30 days. It was […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington packet: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1084&Inline=True O’Neil Pool demolished: If you have ever wondered why roads that look fine are being treated: Reclamite extends the useful life of roads. Maps of what roads will be treated are on PDF pages 127 – 128. PDF page 152 – Approval for a shopping center along E Empire […]
By: Diane Benjamin The conversation is continuing on the post Chris Koos made to Facebook. See the original story: https://blnnews.com/2020/07/19/koos-out-of-touch-or-out-of-his-mind/ Below are excerpts, Joel Studebaker got into lots of topics. The one that interested me was the empty first floor at 1 Uptown Circle. Note Cheryl Gaines claims renting it is up to the owner […]
By: Diane Benjamin WGLT did a story yesterday pertaining to the still empty space at 1 Uptown Circle. Take a minute and read it: https://www.wglt.org/emails-show-developers-struggle-find-first-floor-tenant-uptown-building Since the Town of Normal and WGLT are best buds, there has to be a reason for this story. I’ve noted many times Tartan Realty had the opportunity to rent […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council meets tonight at 6:00, Normal meets at 7:00. Bloomington tonight: https://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1055&Inline=True PDF page 19 Who decides what the “right” fit is and why does their opinion matter? I hope nobody still believes the Council does the budget. See PDF page 21: The Council gets 10 MINUTES to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Readers: I’m proud of you! Most of people who read yesterday’s story watched the short video: https://blnnews.com/2020/01/12/i-need-1-minute-and-17-seconds/ Next we need to talk about “Right Fit”. Without any qualifications or authority, both Bloomington and Normal use “Right Fit” because they want to control the means of production. Businesses need the ability to succeed […]
By: Diane Benjamin Public Comment started at 20:30. The citizens were mostly the same people who spoke before, some against cannabis – many for. Only one lady spoke on a different topic – see 24:00. She talked about the importance of street light. Many of the speakers wanted on-site consumption approved. They lost. When the […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Council held an Executive Session on December 9th to review minutes of previous Executive Sessions. Review is required by the Open Meetings Act. The cabal then votes on what minutes no longer need to be kept confidential. See PDF page 46: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1052&Inline=True The Council voted to keep minutes that are 24 […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Council holds Committee of the Whole meetings to discuss items in public. In Normal they meet during the day for many hours at a time so the public doesn’t attend. The meeting with Lyle Sumek wasn’t even held in the Council Chambers. All of the pics below are from the […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=20759 Tari is giving his State of the City address – it will be a can’t miss event! Listen for “Right Fit” and “Structural Deficit”. Of course everything is rosy. Amelia (let’s move the library) Buragas is being reappointed to the B-N Economic Development Board. Rob (gas taxes don’t raise the price […]
By: Diane Benjamin The first day petitions for the City Council could be circulated was August 28th. That’s almost 3 months ago. Amelia Buragas finally decided on the final day that she wasn’t running again. She probably notified Tari a few days ago which led to a frantic attempt to get signatures for a candidate […]
By: Diane Benjamin Government does not create prosperity. Government can only function on money it steals from citizens. The pic below is from PDF page 194 of the Bloomington financial statements: http://www.cityblm.org/home/showdocument?id=20281 10 years ago 4 of the top 10 employers were government, in 2018 it is 5 of 10. The only government agency […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bills and Payroll: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=20301 Ending Sick Leave Buy Back and the penalties that go with allowing employees to spike their pensions is not going to end anytime soon. What the Council passed recently was a dog and pony show designed to make you believe they heard your outrage. Monday night you will […]
By: Diane Benjamin We live in a capitalist country. It’s called individual freedom to succeed or fail. The individual is the most important factor in success, the “collective” has no part in capitalism. Individuals must be free to make their own decisions. Capitalism doesn’t see genders, race, sexual orientation or any other tags used to […]
By: Diane Benjamin The zoning changes Bloomington has been working on since 2016, and paid $125,000 to a consultant for, are being heard and voted on TONIGHT! No, tonight isn’t a regular meeting, it isn’t even a Committee of the Whole. It’s a Special meeting called only for the zoning changes. Two hours and twenty […]
By: Diane Benjamin A lot of America has a booming economy, but not Illinois and certainly not Bloomington. Removing government obstructions allows the private sector to grow, expand, and start new businesses. If you aren’t the “right fit” here, don’t bother. Ever since Tari Renner was first elected, Master Plans have been created for everything. […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this article posted on the WGLT website: New-Poverty-Report-Puts-Mclean-County-Watch-List The article doesn’t cover everything in the report by Heartland Alliance. See the complete report HERE Did you ever think McLean County would make a Well-Being Watch List? The reason is obvious – except to local government: Sales Tax was increased 1% in 2015. […]
One more update: Now David Hales is being blamed for not returning phone calls. Aldermen Mathy and Hauman have claimed on Facebook to have talked to City staff. Their reports conflict with the original post. Both claim nobody at the City has been called. Keep in mind civil servants are masters of double speak. The […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington City Council meeting tonight: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=18264 Beginning on PDF page 380 Remember the Wayfinding signs? In August 2016 the Council hired a firm to design the signs for $62,190. In December 2017 the Council approved spending another $28,095 for design after the original designs were nixed. They could have held a local contest […]
By: Diane Benjamin Everybody knows the streets aren’t being fixed. Bloomington can’t even find money in the budget (that has skyrocketed under Tari Renner) to invest in infrastructure. https://blnnews.com/2018/03/26/nice-pantagraph/ They will happily raise your taxes though to pay for a couple of roads. Yesterday we learned there was a “disconnect” ordering tickets for the One […]
By: Diane Benjamin Forbes magazine printed the latest addition of what states people are fleeing based on data from United Van Lines data. Illinois is #1 https://tinyurl.com/Forbes-United-Van-Lines While McLean County and Normal were smart enough to cut spending, Bloomington is looking for more revenue tonight. Tari Renner is quoted in the paper saying City budgets […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts were meant to redevelop blighted areas. They divert all increases in property taxes to the City and then to the developers. The taxes are diverted FROM all other taxing bodies like schools, library, county, township, etc. Downtown Bloomington had a long term TIF that expired a couple […]
By: Diane Benjamin Pre Tari Renner the City of Bloomington didn’t have any staff doing economic development. See the 2012 job titles HERE For the year ended 4/30/12, the Economic Development Council received $65,610.04 http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=6242 BN Advantage didn’t exist. Was Bloomington better or worse? Post Tari Renner – 2017 The City now has a full time […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=15356 PDF page 147 Bloomington sealed its own fate last April. When the people elected believe they can create economic growth by stealing your money, the future is bleak. Essential services aren’t funded because things like fixing roads aren’t sexy. Building a legacy is. Tari Renner lost his self-defined economic development role […]
By: Diane Benjamin Sometimes my stories just write themselves. This is one of them. See today’s article in the Pantagraph about Tari Renner’s trip to Cuba: http://www.pantagraph.com/business/renner-reconnecting-bloomington-to-cuban-sister-city/article_5b63446a-77b9-588c-861a-05765c99bde1.html The article ends with this quote from Tari: Free Enterprise? Here? Let’s look at what the Bloomington City Council will be considering Monday night: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=11529 See PDF page […]
