Flying around I hear the Town of Normal is footing the bills for the new soccer complex. Of course with no Council vote! Are the funds coming from a slush fund? Pam’s secret stash? Is this why Koos won’t allow bills to be discussed? I hear Chris Koos, Kevin McCarthy, and Chemberly Cummings think this […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Freedom of Information Act was created to insure citizens can obtain information about the government THEY pay for. All documents belong to citizens, not government. There are a few exemptions to what can be withheld, but every FOIA request starts with the assumption documents are available to anybody who asks for […]
By: Diane Benjamin Received by FOIA. I seem to remember Pam Reece saying at meetings that staff can’t investigate any issues the Council doesn’t authorize. Since the sport complex suddenly reappeared, Stan Nord sent this email to Pam: Pam responded – note she responded to the entire Council instead of who Stan copied. Is Kathleen […]
By: Diane Benjamin The report provided to both Bloomington and Normal in July of 2018 should have ended the conversation on a sports complex: https://blnnews.com/2018/07/17/sports-complex-must-be-dead-on-arrival/ Why discussions have resurfaced now for an even more expensive facility – $50,000,000 -is slightly a mystery. I know a few people to blame, why anybody thinks this is a […]
By: Diane Benjamin The book handed out to the Councils Monday night (and me) needed some corrections. Maybe that’s the reason for the delay in posting the information. Normal has posted links to the presentation including video of the Monday meeting: https://www.normal.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1796 The local paper today called for a binding referendum. They called the complex […]
By: Diane Benjamin Old story, but the Coliseum was built against the wishes of the people, bigger venues already existed in Peoria and Champaign. The Coliseum isn’t big enough to draw big name acts, the sports teams have lousy attendance at games. The economic impact of the Coliseum is a made-up number with no actual […]
By: Diane Benjamin Anonymous Editorial writer today thinks a soccer/sports public-private partnership is worth pursuing. That means the “private” gets to use it while the “public” gets stuck with the bills! Take a journey back in time: Preview I went to […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Central Illinois Regional Airport has their new website: CIRA.com Meeting dates, agenda’s, minutes etc can be found under “About the Airport” and then “Airport Authority”. Since I haven’t had time to follow them lately, I clicked on the November minutes and found this under Public Comments: The address is Bloomington. It’s […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal raised the Sales Tax 1%. Now the City Manager seems to have dropped plans for a soccer field. Sunday the rag reported they won’t be doing any projects for at least a year. Was soccer a rouse? The whole 1% was a setup, only 1/4% was needed for so-called mental health! […]
By: Diane Benjamin Instead of raising PRIVATE money for a soccer complex – Illinois fusion expects single mothers, the elderly, people on fixed incomes, and students, to pay for their complex. They have known for years that the FAA was throwing them off the airport property. They have done nothing to raise money to build […]
By: Diane Benjamin Every dime that Normal spends comes from somebody’s pocket. Taxes and fees have been constantly raised on the citizens of Normal because your government needs more money. State and Federal grants have been used to fund parts of Uptown – all TAX money from other people. When they build in Uptown they […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last weekend a soccer tournament must have been held on the fields by the airport. Cars and kids were everywhere, so many that a Bloomington Police officer was on duty ALL day to control traffic. Did the soccer people pay his salary or the citizens of Bloomington? Both Normal and Bloomington are […]
Interesting things can be overheard while buzzing around. How do you feel about soccer and volleyball fields in downtown? They can hold tournaments thus providing people to stay in the new hotel! I hear the old warehouse area is being looked at. No word on who is going to pay for it, take a guess. […]
by: Diane Benjamin On Monday a presentation will be made to the Bloomington City Council pertaining to the proposed Community Center and Soccer Complex. The group behind the project wants 1/4% Sales Tax for 8 years which they say will completely pay for both projects. The group is called Citizens Advocating for Area Youth (CAAY). […]
Note: The Pony League (baseball) fields are at the comer of Towanda-Barnes Road and Ireland Grove. by: Diane Benjamin The local soccer people want you to pay for their new fields on the west side of town. A 1/4% Sales Tax increase would be required by a group of private citizens. The first question is […]
by: Diane Benjamin Apparently the citizens are the only ones who don’t know! The Ireland Grove soccer complex is being forced to relocate because it is too close to the airport. Now they want you to pay for a new complex-outdoor and indoor: https://pcslsoccer.org/support-the-soccer-complex/ City officials have received numerous emails from supporters. Of course, the […]
