By: Diane Benjamin Tari did show up at his Open House last night. He was surrounded by people who wanted their voices heard on the Connect Transit Board. The conversation turned to “diversity”. Diversity in Tari’s world is people of all skin colors who agree with everything he thinks. Diversity of thought isn’t allowed. Tari’s […]
By: Diane Benjamin The people wanting accountability from Connect Transit aren’t going away. They will be at Tari’s Open House on Friday: Details: Join riders, advocates, and concerned community members as we call on Mayor Renner to choose rider representation over favoritism on the Connect Transit Board! With two seats vacating on the Connect Transit […]
By: Diane Benjamin It should be more than obvious that Connect Transit is not meeting the needs of people who MUST have public transportation. Proof: Buses that are too big to run in places formerly served – mobile home parks, neighborhoods with narrow streets cutting routes and increasing fares political appointments to the Connect Transit […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari did an interview with WGLT two days ago: listen to the 2nd link starting around 10:30 https://www.wglt.org/post/aldermen-pass-budget-struggle-new-spending-designation-0?fbclid=IwAR2Jx7sTc9iwMkVidRvhpYMO1qW6fVsAusw2AvgTqosU6rvBSisBhLRyK84#stream/0 None of the below got covered in the WGLT story. If the current Council thought they were setting a path for spending next year, according to Tari, they are wrong. He claimed budgets are […]
By: Diane Benjamin Diana Hauman is going to represent Bloomington on the McLean County Regional Planning Commission when her term as alderman ends April 30th. The MCRPC site shows two vacancies for representing Bloomington. I do know one of them occurred when Michael Gorman announced he is moving to Chicago. Green Top Grocery will need […]
By: Diane Benjamin This is one of those stories I meant to write days ago but didn’t get to it. Since yesterday was Illinois Gun Lobby Day in Springfield, today I got to it. Thousands of people were in Springfield: https://www.ilnews.org/news/state_politics/thousands-of-gun-owners-turn-out-for-lobbying-day-in/article_ed1c396a-50d5-11e9-b951-dfdb2efccee9.html?fbclid=IwAR3AfotxEgqUQ8WjZ30146IZdbBimEozGIk5d77gUK16Lbzq3CpfwvUJZOs There is one thing Democrats don’t get: Criminals don’t care about laws Last […]
By: Diane Benjamin Almost $28 million is sitting in the Water Fund. This is the same Fund that lost out on MILLIONS of Dollars because the City neglected for a decade to charge the right Fire Protection fee. Doesn’t this prove that fee isn’t needed? The fund balances were presented at Monday’s Bloomington City Council […]
By: Diane Benjamin The State of Illinois is likely raising the gas tax .19 per gallon. The total tax will be .38 cents for every gallon you pump. This will chase even more people out of the state and cause travelers and citizens who can fill up outside of Illinois to do so. Democrats never […]
By: Diane Benjamin Back in 2015 I did a story with this screen shot from the City website: https://blnnews.com/2015/05/13/karch-what-used-to-be-on-the-website/ Who was Mayor in 2000 when ZERO was spent on roads? Judy Markowitz. Mike Matejka was on the Council, and Tom Hamilton was City Manager. Minutes are not available on the City website. Of course the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Ward 8 has 2 candidates to pick from: Crabill has extreme leftists ideas which will lead to you paying more taxes. He believes in the collective – as long as he gets to define what that means. Crabill thinks corporations should pay higher taxes. He doesn’t understand the taxes paid by corporations […]
By: Diane Benjamin Taxing Tari has mentioned more than once that Tim Gleason has some “creative financing” ideas. This morning I think I figured out their game – at least part of it. We know they want to double the gas tax. We also know the entire amount raised won’t be spent on roads – […]
By: Diane Benjamin A comment was left on BlnNews last night that deserves a longer response than just my reply. The citizens of Bloomington need to understand who is REALLY responsible for the roads and new designs in recent years. It isn’t Jim Karch. The comment: Why are few roads getting fixed and those that […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Council held a retreat on November 4, 2017. The minutes from the meeting show just how bad a City Manager David Hales was. See them here, rarely do the minutes reflect contentious discussions – you can see some of it here even if they don’t reflect how bad it was: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=16276 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Some local media have reported on the grand jury testimony which laid out the case against the 5 former Coliseum Managers. The City of Bloomington continues to claim they did not know about improprieties at the Coliseum until VenuWorks took over in July of 2016. The local media continues to let them […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you missed Tari’s State of the City address last Monday you can see my recap and listen to it here: https://blnnews.com/2019/01/15/taris-state-of-the-city/ Recycling his talking points, Tari once again proclaimed the Illinois Policy Institute “continues” to give the City an A+ transparency score. Disregarding IPI discontinued the program in 2014, their transparency […]
By: Diane Benjamin Clearly Emig is Tari’s pick for Ward 4, he’s holding an open house at his house for her. If you aren’t a left winger and want to attend, just show up. Responding on Facebook will get you blocked. Remember about a year ago when various Council people held “priority based budgeting” townhalls? […]
By: Diane Benjamin Ever since Tari was first elected, a never-ending supply of Master Plans covering everything in Bloomington has been produced at great expense. In order to get Council support they were sold as “advisory”. They never were meant to be advisory, they are considered law. The hard-core leftist on the current Council frequently […]
By: Diane Benjamin Municipal elections are by law nonpartisan. The theory is party doesn’t matter, everyone wants to do what’s best for the City. Ask those who voted against the wishes of voters if they did that when they voted for the Coliseum. Ask the recent council members if taking $40 million+ more a year […]
Guest Editorial Council races are finally shaping up so we see who the players are. Who is up for more games and grandstanding and who is finally fed up? . All we know for sure is that Haumann and Sage are out of there, and the reasons for that are obvious to any Council watchers […]
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 From Nikita’s website: https://richardsmcclerk.com/issues/ Read through the whole website, it’s obvious who was a contributing copy writer! Who claimed the Clerk shouldn’t be counting their own votes? (Like they do) Tari Renner! One of Nikita’s goals – in her own words – is to take elections away from the County Clerk and create […]
By: Diane Benjamin It was nice of most the progressives to pose for a pic together. Progressives think government is the answer to every problems. Personal responsibility isn’t required when government can create the future, they just need a ton more money to make it perfect. Nikita Richards announced on Cities 92.9 that she plans […]
By: Diane Benjamin Part 1 See Part 2 here: https://blnnews.com/2018/08/30/part-2-nikita-richards/ See Part 3 here: https://blnnews.com/2018/08/30/part-3-nikita-richards/ This was the job Nikita used to have, maybe still does: Nikita’s LinkedIn page shows NDR and Running for McLean County Clerk, but doesn’t mention she works for the City of Bloomington: There is a description of what NDR Communications does […]
By: Diane Benjamin Renner was on WGLT earlier this month talking about the Council changes that will happen next year since two alderman have announced they aren’t running for re-election. The story says nothing about his comments, you have to listen to the 4 minute interview: http://www.wglt.org/post/sage-wont-seek-re-election-bloomington-city-council#stream/0 Tari is actively recruiting, grooming and supporting candidates […]
By: Diane Benjamin Illinois has far more units of government than any other state. Your taxes are higher because of it! In 2014 the Bloomington Election commission violated the Open Meetings Act, the Attorney General didn’t tell them until 2016: AG 12/12/2016 letter This article contains rulings of two more Open Meetings Act violations in […]
By: Diane Benjamin John Butler wants his trial moved out of McLean County because of remarks made by David Hales and Tari Renner. I was also mentioned as a reason because my lawsuit made him look guilty! Yes it did! Since MANY readers are new, this story recaps the information I was able to obtain: […]
By: Diane Benjamin The first annual Pride event turned into a campaign stop. Featured speakers were: Tari Renner, Jenn Carrillo, Shayna Watchinski, Nikita Richards, and Julie Blair. This is the best the Democrat Party has to offer? Obviously Renner has Trump Derangement Syndrome. He sported his sash from the gay pride parade he and Chris Koos […]
A reporter who wishes to remain anonymous filed this report, see yesterday’s story: https://blnnews.com/2018/07/26/things-that-dont-fit-anywhere-else-2/ Mayoral Presentations Koos spent his time praising ISU and the excellent relationship with the Univ. Then a little about historic preservation. (Short and concise) Reporter Comments: Although the first 3 historic building east of the NE corner of the circle (In Normal […]
By: Diane Benjamin This item was added to the agenda last night: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=18408 Yes, Bloomington taxpayers paid for the official proclamation. Does the City of Bloomington have awards for every local business that celebrates a 25th anniversary, or is it just for campaign supporters? Jan Lancaster, owner of the Bistro, is a huge Tari supporter. […]
Update: City Attorney Jeff Jurgens just sent me a copy of the bill. Tari stayed for 5 nights: Marriott Receipt By: Diane Benjamin The hotel bill for Chris Koos at the US Conference of Mayors in Boston was : $1209.99 That bill included two charges from the hotel’s Champion Sports Bar and 3 nights stay. […]
By: Diane Benjamin From Bills and Payroll for 7/23/2018 http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=18360 PCard charge for Tari Renner – Hotel only, US Conference of Mayors in Boston: Since Tari doesn’t have a PCard, it must have been booked with this card. 3 nights for Chris Koos including two charges at the hotel’s Champion Sports Bar was only $1209.99. https://blnnews.com/2018/07/13/normal-we-must-entertain-and-more/ […]
By: Diane Benjamin Illinois People’s action was at the Sugar Creek Art Festival spreading socialism, note they target the young who don’t know that socialism kills: One item on the sign is 100% renewable energy. Evidently they don’t know the wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine. Creating batteries to store energy […]
By: Diane Benjamin This is an update to yesterday’s story: https://blnnews.com/2018/07/11/not-the-right-fit-tari/ This morning I spoke to the Marine veteran who was the subject of the Facebook post by Danny Leifel. He wants to remain anonymous because of the large number of phone calls he received yesterday. One phone call he never received was from […]
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 […]
The dog and pony show for tonight has been cancelled. The meeting would have been illegal because City hall isn’t big enough for everyone to attend that wants to. Tari knew that when he scheduled it. The Council now needs and ordinance not allowing Tari to call special meetings without agreement by a majority […]
By: Diane Benjamin The proposed “welcoming ordinance” is now posted. Illinois People’s Action, the YWCA, and all the other radicals demanding it will celebrate, but they are the big losers: The ordinance is a worthless exercise that changes nothing. It only recaps what is already happening. Some flowery Tari language is included only so the […]
By: Diane Benjamin According to the Pantagraph (I actually cite sources), Renner is calling a special meeting July 9th to discuss the welcoming ordinance. Of course, he will have to waste more money holding it at the BCPA. Since threats of violence have been made (yes, you Jenn Carrillo), police officers will have to attend. […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Liquor Commission before Tari had (if I remember right) 7 members. The King wanted to make all the decisions himself, so he now has two assistants, one of which is going to vote with Tari every time. Only 3 members means Tari thinks and acts like he alone is the moral […]
By: Diane Benjamin We might know by the end of the month if Tari Renner is going to be charged with illegal use of government funds pertaining to the Japan trip and possibly more. Just to recap: Jason Chambers passed possible legal action off to the Appellate Court Prosecutor. The State Police did the investigation, […]
By: Diane Benjamin According to this website: https://www.statista.com/statistics/241695/number-of-us-cities-towns-villages-by-population-size/ there were 19,505 communities in the United States in 2015. 16,470 have a population under 10,000. That leaves 3,035 larger cities. The US Conference of Mayors claims to represent 1,409 communities. Since tiny cities don’t attend, 1409 of 3035 is only 46.4%. http://mayorsagenda.com/about-us/ The next meeting is June […]
