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 1) Pantagraph article on the Normal Town Council meeting: https://pantagraph.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/watch-now-mural-controversy-raises-new-questions-about-disconnect-in-normal/article_9ea2ebcb-99b6-55e9-8798-76e5962bb873.html Excerpt: Did the reporter watch the meeting? A “number of people” were disrupting the meeting. Was the reporter told not to mention the only reason Public Comment was moved is because Stan Nord made a motion to let them speak? It wasn’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin There was a time when Bloomington grew rapidly and had money to burn. Instead of investing in replacing ancient infrastructure the Council built a fire station that has never been used, the Coliseum, a water tower built too short to use, created give-a-ways to developers, and rehabbed the BCPA. The City Manager […]
By: Diane Benjamin We know why Stan Nord is being attacked in Normal – anyone actually representing citizens always has been. January 24, 2008 Pantagraph Headline: Officials not allowing city workers to talk with council members https://www.pantagraph.com/news/officials-not-allowing-city-workers-to-talk-with-council-members/article_f4228b0d-8f16-5899-b640-0ef103ab4ba3.html The first line: Since I know you can read, click the link and see the rest for yourself. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Some readers still remember RIMCO, it is mentioned in comments from time to time. I remember it coming up at a Council meeting a few years ago, somebody stated there wasn’t a FBI investigation. Yes, there was! History: 1995 the City of Bloomington created a company called CIRPA to self insure property-casualty […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council LOVES their SECRET meetings – Executive Sessions. They love them so much they won’t release the minutes from when Tom Hamilton was City Manager! Hamilton retired more than 9 years ago. The only reason to not release evaluations etc. is to hide. Some people are STILL on the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve been reading a TON of media stories from before and after the Bloomington City Council voted to build the Coliseum. Judy Markowitz didn’t care what people thought. She was going to build it and nothing was going to stop her. She really believed she was saving downtown. Mike Matejka and former […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve always been a huge fan of history. People who don’t know history repeat the same mistakes over and over. The current crop of Council members are doing just that because they don’t know Bloomington’s history – especially of downtown. Judy Markowitz didn’t want to wait for the results of the non-binding […]
By: Diane Benjamin Coliseum history: The below was printed in the Pantagraph on September 3, 2003. It is available on microfiche at the Bloomington Public Library. Tom Hamilton, former City Manager now collecting $11,350 a month in retirement, is quoted in the same edition saying the city’s risk is very low because of the numbers […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington knew the law had changed on pension spiking in 2012. They changed the policy for NEW hires, but not for existing employees. Here’s the recap: The IMRF retirement fund was tired of paying for spiked pensions because of Sick Leave Buy Back payments that inflated ending salaries. Since […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday WGLT published a comprehensive story about the Coliseum. Ryan Denham proved journalism isn’t dead in Bloomington-Normal yet. Read the story here: http://wglt.org/post/how-coliseum-blind-spot-tripped-bloomington-city-leaders I do have some comments and things I would have written differently: To much emphasis was put on the “bad contract”. The contract had plenty of statements allowing […]
By: Diane Benjamin It looks like Bloomington has to be destroyed by government spending before people realize local elections matter. Or, maybe only the people who can’t move will be left paying the bills which are about to get much bigger. Monday night the Bloomington will see the results of doing “Wants” before Needs. MANY […]
By: Diane Benjamin I found this while looking for something else. The first time I remember writing about the Water Tower Bloomington built in Normal was August 2015: https://blnnews.com/2015/08/04/more-ineptness/ I have no idea how much money was spent on that project, but many MILLIONS is probably close. The only thing I knew for sure is […]
By: Diane Benjamin Citizens need to know why there is no money for government to do their job without constantly raising taxes. Retired employee PENSIONS, in addition to Social Security and Medicare, and spiked pensions are the problem. Below are just some of the Monthly pensions payments retired City employees are currently receiving. Note, it […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner and David Hales love to tout the greatness of the Illinois Municipal League. From the IML website: The Illinois Municipal League is the formal voice for Illinois municipalities. The League was founded in 1913 and has worked continuously for the benefit of municipalities, promoting competence and integrity in administration of […]
by: Diane Benjamin On September 21, 2013 the Pantagraph had a front page story about Brian Barnes, the former City of Bloomington Finance Director. The article was very out-of-place since it was from 2008. Maybe the Pantagraph can’t find anything current to investigate. If they need help, I can suggest a myriad of possibilities. Rachel […]
by Diane Benjamin A few years, the City of Bloomington was found to be over-paying for insurance – as much as $1.5 million per year! Then mayor, Steve Stockton, and City Manager Tom Hamilton were on the board of RimCo, the company getting all your tax dollars. Where was the multi-part Pantagraph investigation? Did the […]
by: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council voted last night to not release any information discussed in Executive Session concerning former City Manager Tom Hamilton. A private citizen wrote the following email to the Council: Dear Councilman, You have error-ed by not voting to release Tom Hamilton’s minutes for 2006,2007 and 2008, it is the interest of […]
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