By: Diane Benjamin In 2016 Bloomington bought a property at 807 North Main street: . Bloomington bought this property to control what was built there. Bloomington still owns it. Coldwell Banker couldn’t sell at after Bloomington hired them. https://blnnews.com/2020/07/02/bloomington-5-years-and-no-news/ A link in that story explains why nobody bought it. The City wanted to control what […]
By: Diane Benjamin A reader commented yesterday about Cody Hendricks, claiming he had never voted for anything that hurt people. I think I deleted that comment because it was lengthy and full of propaganda. Evidently, tripling the water rates doesn’t hurt people — unless you live paycheck to paycheck, where every dollar matters. What if […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader This clown shouldn’t be anywhere near young people. It should embarrassing to IWU that their political science teacher doesn’t bother with facts before spouting far left talking points. I bet he didn’t watch the almost hour long press conference that was cordial until Zelensky decided to renegotiate the deal […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Council meeting was more about awards than City business: At least the Council Chambers were full of people temporarily. There was one Public Comment by Jill Whitacre worth seeing. Jill and her husband own Shake It Up cocktail lounge in downtown Bloomington. The City usurped capitalism by limiting the number […]
By: Diane Benjamin Just info: Tari Renner got the City to buy this property on North Main so the City could control what was built there. 3 Kirk Holdings was involuntarily dissolved in 2018 according to the Secretary of State website. Search corporations here: https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/business_services/business_searches.html After years of realtors unsuccessful trying to unload it, the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Hendricks is running in Ward 6 against Jordan Baker. Ask Hendricks if he’s a closet socialist: Socialist former mayoral candidate Jackie Gunderson supports Hendricks: It appears Vicki Tilton and Tari Renner do too: (talking about campaign group) Willing to cheat to win? Just Funny – Green Top didn’t solve the food desert. […]
By: Diane Benjamin While waiting for Bloomington to comply with yet another FOIA on water bills I stumbled across this story: https://blnnews.com/2021/06/29/free-free-free-bloomington/ The Finance Director is on video detailing in June of 2021 how many water bills were more than 60 days past due. He also detailed how many were past due pre-COVID. Magically when […]
By: Diane Benjamin Note to Jamie Mathy: Future Councils are not bound by actions of past Councils. The Tari Renner “ramp” pension funding plan means zero if it can’t be afforded. Tari knew he wouldn’t be around to find at least $10 million more a year in the future. Renner already locked the Council into […]
The podcast will be available here by 5:15 pm. You need to hear what Tari said about Mboka. https://www.cities929.com/2022/06/05/the-steve-suess-show/ By: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner was just on the Steve Suess show. He hasn’t changed. Nothing that spews from his mouth can be believed. The tragic news is he hasn’t ruled out running for mayor again. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Note: Petitions are still being collected. See the website to help: https://betternormal-il.com/why-district-normal%3F-1 Before you read the extensive story WGLT wrote about the petitions being circulated to ask Normal voters if they want to switch to Wards, some points WGLT didn’t make: Most of the current Trustees think they are a Board of […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1170&Inline=True Tari Renner stacked all the Board and Commission. Mboka continues to just reappoint the same people. No Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Mboka? This item shouldn’t be on the Consent Agenda, it should be pulled for further discussion. Does the City want to risk an abandoned property if the owners can’t use […]
By: Diane Benjamin At the Bloomington City Council meeting last night Jeanne Hamilton announced the State had given them a grant of over $5.6 million for the expansion. Of course, they won’t be using all of it to decrease the property tax increase. See 4:15. I might have lost track, but I counted 13 comments […]
By: Diane Benjamin Government is not capable of Master Planning because they are spending YOUR money not theirs. They use your taxes as a piggy bank to fulfill their wishes. Voters keep electing progressives who promise to make their lives better and of course not raise taxes to do it. Insert your own joke__________________. Proof […]
By: Diane Benjamin Former Mayor Tari Renner often said Bloomington is down 100 employees. The City isn’t down 100 employees as the below shows. Starting in 2013 they changed how they count employees – see the note at the bottom of the page. Ignore the 2012 number because employees weren’t counted the same. Since 2013 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday I caught somebody from the Bloomington library on a Peoria news station. The woman, I didn’t catch her name, claimed the plans were created by talking to the public. Obviously not the public I talk to. I dare the Library Board to put a non-binding referendum on the next ballot, Yes […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last week I was at the Tri-Valley High School. They recently finished a renovation that included a new library. I was shocked to see what was missing: BOOKS. The library had some books but not shelf-covered walls normally associated with a library. My tour guide told me the kids don’t read books […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember when the Attorney General’s Public Access office found Bloomington guilty of violating the Open Meetings Act concerning the Metro-Zone agreement with Normal? https://blnnews.com/2017/06/07/laws-are-immaterial/ That was in 2017. The City of Bloomington appealed the decision, the Circuit Court ruled in their favor, but the Appellate Court just reversed that decision: See the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Alderman Mollie Ward wants the City of Bloomington to stop Climate Change! She made this statement Monday night right after Tim Gleason claimed most insurance claims with the City because of the June storm will be denied. Mollie must have missed the Public Comments from Eastgate residents stating they have been dealing […]
By: Diane Benjamin The IT Department is planning major upgrades, the presentation starts at 50:45. The projected budget for the year that ended 4/30/21 was $3,429,242. The budget for this year increase 15.5% to $4,182,365, an increase of $753,123. Source: Budget PDF page 167 https://www.cityblm.org/home/showpublisheddocument/26434/637575549746730000 This graphic at 59:19 shows where the IT Department wants […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yes, I’m defending Tari. One very frequent guy showed up at Public Comment last night – Scott Stimeling. (Spelling may be wrong) I have to correct one thing he said, Tari did not pay back the City for his girlfriends ticket to Japan because he got caught. He paid it back somewhere […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1112&Inline=True Monday will be the final meeting for: All three will be recognized at the start of the meeting. Kim’s common sense will be missed. I wonder if Joni ever figure out she was lied to? https://blnnews.com/2015/10/26/problem-joni/ I have my own parting gifts for Tari! 1) Remember last February when Tari Renner […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you shop at Green Top Grocery you might want to find a new place for groceries. I’ve been watching this play out on Facebook for awhile, now 25% of the staff claims they aren’t going to show up for work. Evidently one management person is making their lives miserable. There is […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since Jenn Carrillo would have been laughed at, Jeff Crabill was the BLM representative last night. He wanted to approve last years police budget instead of the increased number. State Farm – make sure he doesn’t get a raise this year since he thinks public safety personnel don’t deserve one. The video […]
By: Diane Benjamin Jenn Carrillo showed at the Bloomington Council meeting last night what a Council with her buddies on it would look like. Readers: The media isn’t going to tell citizens the truth or make much effort to get people to vote. You have to! The majority of the City does not even know […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari’s greatest lies part I lost count: https://www.cities929.com/steve-suess-podcast/ Tari Renner’s interview with Steve Suess starts around 45:00. Lie #1 Nobody has ever stated your entire police force is corrupt. I stated a bad cop can make ALL of them look bad. Lie #2 Diane makes stuff up. Since Tari claimed he doesn’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin I was sent the below by a reader: The City of Bloomington’s insurance company paid the legal fees for the Watchdogs FOIA lawsuit to get documents the City claimed didn’t exist. Note the legal fees to Loevy & Loevy were reported as an “accident”. Maybe it was an accident that an officer […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari claimed in his rant that I would never live in Bloomington and I hate Bloomington. He’s right about never living in Bloomington (or Normal) because out in the country I am free. My taxes are much lower and I don’t have authoritarian bullies telling me how to live my life. However […]
The Edgar County Watchdogs did a video in response to Tari’s tirade. You can see it hear: https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2021/02/video-ecwd-response-to-bloomington-mayor-renners-explosive-comments/ Watch the whole video, it just keeps getting better.
Excerpt: BY KIRK ALLEN & JOHN KRAFT FEBRUARY 24, 2021 Bloomington, IL (ECWd) – After publishing this article, numerous outlets focused on the Mayor’s response to a public comment made during the last city council meeting. We will provide a video update to those comments in an upcoming article. The following day the city manager was […]
Tari Renner on WJBC this morning: https://post.futurimedia.com/wjbcam/playlist/26/listen-1273.html?cb=1614188824.212135&fbclid=IwAR2bkJ0Mt5rUvXFk1H0qILFjNK_Uzw9XZvqqh4fxq08IVJnyR54s8YyUZfs By: Diane Benjamin Numerous media outlet have covered Tari Renner’s rant at Monday’s City Council meeting. Not ONE has bothered to look at the evidence presented by the Edgar County Watchdogs. Not ONE has asked how the story got started. If any of you had bothered to investigate […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night Kirk Allen (Edgar County Watchdogs) couldn’t speak at Public Comment so I spoke instead. I wanted to make sure people and the City knew about the story they published yesterday. https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2021/02/city-of-bloomington-police-coverup-exposed-zero-reporting-from-media-even-after-being-provided-all-the-facts/ The story includes proof of a Bloomington cover-up by allowing an officer to resign instead of prosecuting him. The […]
Since the Bloomington City Council refuses to meet in person, the Edgar County Watchdogs did a story today. I can NOT get the link to post. Go to edgarcountywatchdogs.com to see the story. Right now it is at the top of their site. It would have been nice if they could have confronted Tari in […]
By: Diane Benjamin While the new president is calling for unity, Tari Renner missed the message. Remember what he called me clear back in 2015? https://blnnews.com/2015/02/10/does-tari-know-that-judy-isnt-running/ “Human cancer” must still be his go-to term for people who have the audacity to have a different opinion, the below were sent to me by a reader. Tari […]
By: Diane Benjamin The State of Illinois passed police reforms to make us less safe and coddle criminals. Monday night Jenn wants the Bloomington Council to do the same – make sure you read the fine print: PDF page 24: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1100&Inline=True Estimated cost is ZERO? Who is paying staff for the more than 10 hours […]
By: Diane Benjamin When Republicans are caught doing stupid things they mostly resign and slink away never to be heard from again. When Democrats are caught they blame the messenger. https://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/public_safety/renner-wont-comment-on-video-showing-city-inspector-talking-about-tracy-drive-fire/article_60c4ed78-120b-5bdd-b4f1-9bb851cbde5c.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1 Case in point is Democrat Mayor Tari Renner. He blames me for reporting but refuses to comment on what was said: Tari: I wasn’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is the STATEWIDE outbreak locations for the last 30 days. What’s missing? Restaurants and Bars. No, they aren’t all closed, some municipalities aren’t complying with meaningless Executive Orders and some businesses chose to stay open. They are being targeted because they are easy and without the resources to fight back. If […]
By: Diane Benjamin Before Covid restrictions put more businesses with video gaming out of business, the City is taking action. Not to help them stay in business, the Clerk will now allow other businesses to get on a wait list for new licenses. I found it hilarious that previously they thought this was too difficult. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last Monday Tari Renner was obviously sick on the Zoom Council meeting. Tuesday he announced he tested positive for Covid. He really didn’t like comments about what he said himself – he had symptoms for 13 days during which time he was spotted out and about. TODAY Tari was exercising at the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner tested positive for COVID. He stated himself Monday night he had symptoms for 13 days. So far reports to me have him going to a local restaurant and a grocery story WITH symptoms. Don’t forget his dancing antics without a mask too. What are citizens going to tolerate? Is the […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.wglt.org/post/renner-calls-city-rejoin-metcom-system#stream/0 Tari Renner has been mayor for 7 1/2 years. On his way out he finally gets around to calling for Bloomington’s dispatch to return to METCOM! Leaving METCOMN was a boneheaded idea and should NEVER have happened. Think government works for you? Tari, you could have done something much earlier to […]
