By: Diane Benjamin Maybe the citizens of Normal have finally decided enough is enough. 11 citizens (one from Bloomington) spoke against the property tax increase during the public hearing before the Normal Town Council. They came armed with facts which the council later tried to refute. That story will be next. Meanwhile, just hit play […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tonight: Town of Normal 7:00 p.m. Public Hearing on a proposed Property Tax Levy . I expect few citizens will show up to express outrage that their government is not capable of living within their means. The Council and the Mayor are counting on it. This hearing is required because the Town […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal doesn’t want citizens showing up at meetings like they do in Bloomington. That is the reason their Public Comment policy requires citizens to sign up 2 hours before a meeting, not just walk in a fill out a card. Remember the November 6, 2017 meeting where your property […]
By: Diane Benjamin When the citizens aren’t paying attention to what their government is doing, you get the below. If you thought $100,000,000 was ridiculous for Uptown, be prepared for more folly. PDF page 59: http://www.normal.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/7440 This statement is in the Town of Normal’s Annual Report: There is a good reason people want to work […]
By: Diane Benjamin Laws most likely broken by the Town of Normal Council don’t matter because prosecutions need a prosecutor. The citizens of Normal don’t have one! In case you forgot the facts, see this story: https://blnnews.com/2017/11/16/normal-your-government-is-fixed/ Basics: The Town held a Secret meeting (Executive Session) on August 11th at 9:30 in the morning. The meeting […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2784 Town of Normal payments for tonight: (Click on any pics to enlarge) Would you take your kids Trick-Or-Treating in Uptown if you knew you paid for the candy? The ICMA conference was in Texas, looks like a FOIA for all credit card charges is needed. Sit down if you aren’t already: […]
By: Diane Benjamin The citizens of Normal probably already knew “outsiders” aren’t allowed to participate in their government, how many Trustees have quit during their term so the Mayor could appoint a replacement? The last Mayor did the same thing so incumbents have an edge in the next election. I expect Chris Koos to do […]
By: Diane Benjamin Chris Koos recently spoke at a “State of McLean County” event. See the newspaper story HERE Koos thinks his job is reducing economic inequity, delivering opportunity, social equity and sustainability. If his claims were true, the Council wouldn’t be set to raise property taxes to fill holes in their budget. Stealing more […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night Trustees RC McBride and Kevin McCarthy went out of their way to thanks the 5 citizens who spoke at Public Comment. They needed to because 3 out of the 5 were plants. Normal illegally requires citizens who want to speak to sign up hours in advance. That gives Koos and […]
By: Diane Benjamin Part 1: https://blnnews.com/2017/11/06/normal-let-them-eat-cake/ Source: http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2772 Were all those beautiful mums for a couple of weeks worth this? Keep in mind the labor to plant them is not included! Misc Payments: Listed under City Manager General expenses: More Misc Expenses: FOIA filed: . . . .
By: Diane Benjamin Part 1: In September Normal held their annual staff retreat. It wasn’t held locally, they once again went to Starved Rock Lodge. I haven’t found the transportation expenses yet, the below is just for the Lodge: $4,263.98 Keep that number in mind when your property taxes are raised tonight because the Town […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’m always suspicious when an article appears in the paper praising something when the data to back up the claims is unavailable. It happened again October 26th with this story in the Pantagraph: Normal TIF Districts Paying Dividends One has to wonder where the story came from. Did somebody at the Town call […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington population: 78,005 Normal Population: 54,264 Bloomington Total Budget: $214,126,710 PDF Page 2: http://www.cityblm.org/home/showdocument?id=13155 Normal Total Budget: $107,133,177 PDF Page 15 http://www.normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/11571 Normal has 30% fewer citizens. Normal budgets 50% of what Bloomington does. Bloomington spends $2,745 for every citizens Normal spends $1,974 for every citizen Bloomington total debt 4/30/16: 270,629,828 http://warehouse.illinoiscomptroller.com/ProcessSearchResults.cfm?DisplayMode=GETAFR&AFRDesiredData=Indebtedness&Code=064/025/30&CFY=2016&Menu=Yes&PrintIt=No 4/30/17 information […]
By: Diane Benjamin Most people think the job of local government is Police, Fire, Water, Sewers, and Roads. Look at what Normal’s priorities are based on where they spending money: PDF page 133 http://www.normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/12750 Try to use and elitist accent here. Repeat after me: Normal spent more on “Culture and Recreation” than they did on roads! […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal’s Bills and Payroll for tonight: http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2730 You work hard for a paycheck. The CornBelters are failing, as evidenced by a league change, because people aren’t attending games. They attempt to make money from concerts, Normal helped them out with your money: More entertainment: Grounds maintenance at Rivian: Consultants must get a cut: […]
By: Diane Benjamin Actually the City Council meeting lasted 13:26 minutes, that included 2 public comments – Ron Ulmer and Marc Tiritilli. Guess what got about SEVEN SECONDS before a vote was taken? Normal has such severe financial issues they are offering early retirements to cut expenses and there is no discussion? Start watching the […]
By: Diane Benjamin The financial statements and Financial Trend Report aren’t posted on-line yet. They were discussed during the Council meeting last night, for now that’s the only information available. Below is one of the slides presented. NO council members asked how Revenue is a Significant Concern, but Expenditures are No Concern. Yes, your taxes […]
I attended this event – Nick Adams has an amazing love for America AND Americans. He has a non-profit call FLAG. From their website: http://www.flagusa.org/ Its principal purpose is to educationally proclaim the greatness of America, and ensure that the next generation of American leaders understands what it means to be an American. Several members […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday night the Normal Town Council met for over the usual 10-20 minutes. Most of the time was the discussion of community policing. Judging people on the content of their character and not the color of the skin is officially dead. RIP Martin Luther King. Police must now enforce social equity, not […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tonight – Normal Town Council: http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2695 Click on any of the pics to enlarge. No idea who is appreciated – file a FOIA request if you want to know: More Japan Spending How does buying flowers for a funeral qualify as “using public money for public purposes”? Does every resident of Normal […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal used to have their tax history on their website, they no longer do. Luckily I copied it back in 2012: https://blnnews.com/2012/05/30/normal-il-what-is-up-with-the-debt/ Rates were raised last Monday: http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2689 To translate their Greek: April 1, 2017 – $1.27 per 1,000 gal, plus $2.50 per month August 7, 2017 – […]
By: Diane Benjamin Of course, Normal is calling it “fee increases” or “user fee increases”. Regardless of the terminology, Normal needs money and you have it until they take more of it. Standard procedure for sailing these past the Council is: Comparing rates with surrounding cities (PDF page 167) Burying the Council docs with technical […]
By: Diane Benjamin I knew there was more to the pool story than Mark Peterson reported. My source tells me Peterson might not even know since he is probably relying on Angela Malone, head of aquatics. See Peterson’s version in this story: https://blnnews.com/2017/08/01/4-things-one-story/ I received an email from someone with intimate knowledge of the situation, […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Normal Town Council had a long meeting last night by their standards. They discussed employee health benefits and wellness programs at length. I didn’t write about it before the meeting because I was waiting to see their comments. Normal has worked with Advocate for over a decade developing a wellness program […]
By: Diane Benjamin Whenever Bloomington and Normal “think” a spending item is beyond question they put it on the Consent Agenda. In Normal they call it the Omnibus Vote. The council is supposed to vote YES on lots of things at once. An item can be pulled, but it usually gets passed anyway. I enjoy […]
By: Diane Benjamin The next Normal Town Council meeting will be Wednesday because of the holiday. See the packet HERE From the agenda: Amtrak can’t afford to buy a “tram” to move handicapped people from the south platform, across Broadway, and up the north platform – so the Town taxpayers are buying it for them. Don’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal spend $1.4 million to STUDY the proposed Uptown Crossing: Source What did they get for $1.4 million? Evident what they want to pass Monday night: The plan doesn’t know if ADA compliance can be achieved? Bike Blono has to dismount? The at-grade crossing is adjacent? Why is the underpass […]
By: Diane Benjamin On the Consent Agenda for tonight’s Normal Town council meeting: No other information on 404 W Locust is included. Being on the Consent Agenda means there is no discussion unless one of the council members asks. I’d be asking! $892,327.48 with no questions? What Illinois statute allows the Town of Normal […]
By: Diane Benjamin You already know R.C McBride is the General Manager of WGLT radio and he is a Trustee on the Normal Town Council: http://wglt.org/people/category/6 http://www.normal.org/1135/Meet-the-Council , , , , , . If that isn’t enough to question the integrity of WGLT reporting, here’s more: http://www.mcleancountydemocrats.org/?zone=/unionactive/view_page.cfm&page=Other20counties McBride is also a precinct committeeman for the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal agenda and documentation for Monday night: http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2628 Below are some items I found interesting – many others could be questioned. This meeting will be short – nothing serious isn’t on the consent Agenda. 1) Town will reimburse emergency repairs. The documentation says a contractor caused the sewer back-up, there is nothing […]
By: Diane Benjamin You decide if “grift” fits: Bills for approval at the Monday’s Normal Town Council meeting: Source: http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2610 Click on any picture to enlarge. .. . Paying someone to apply for grant: . Misc: . More Baseball and More Water Main break Expense . Annual Dues – Where ridiculous ideas come from . […]
By: Diane Benjamin The last thing the Normal Council wants to see tonight is a large number of citizens telling them to knock off the spending. Fritzen and McCarthy have made it clear that debt isn’t a problem. They consider themselves much smarter than the people who voted for Marc Tiritilli. Do they handle their […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday night the Bloomington City Council approved this: In case you forgot, the Council approved this payment at the March 27th meeting – PDF Page 253 http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=12448 The documentation for this meeting states the YWCA needs to money to continue operations until the end of their fiscal year. They are transporting people […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember when Normal’s Town Council was giddy over handing money to a developer for a Portillos? Normal was going to be a destination – people would drive to Normal from all over Central Illinois! People traveling the interstates would go out of their way for a Portillos hot dog! Champaign is going […]
By: Diane Benjamin Spending for the Town of Normal Monday night: http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2589 There is nothing wrong with honoring MLK, but why are tax dollars used? I wonder how much Bloomington paid considering the Council and employees are invited to come and eat for free, and bring a friend. The Rivian agreement with Normal says you […]
By: Diane Benjamin The McLean County Chamber of Commerce is proving again they do not represent voters and taxpayers – they represent government. Chris Koos announced on Facebook that he was endorsed by them for reelection. The Chamber website doesn’t say anything about the current election endorsements. Just in the last few months Koos threw […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bill’s and Payroll for Monday night: http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2581 I don’t know what arrangement Normal made to get Home Depot to build here, but this is the perfect example of why Sales Tax receipts are declining: Menards isn’t getting rebates, so they are at an unfair advantage. It’s called crony capitalism, picking winners and […]
By: Diane Benjamin This time the writer didn’t get a response from the Pantagraph after submitting this letter, it was just never printed. The writer sent it BEFORE the primary, and since it still applies there was no reason it wasn’t printed, except it doesn’t reflect the views of the paper. The name has been […]
By: Diane Benjamin Evidently the media can’t read or they have a short attention span and can’t make it through the 7 page Attorney General letter declaring Normal’s Public Comment Policy illegal. It is MUCH more than the 45 day rule. That one was a no brainer! See the changes Normal is planning to make […]
By: Diane Benjamin For months Normal Mayor Chris Koos has been pretending with the help of media that changing the Town’s Public Comment Policy is his idea. It wasn’t! Today the Attorney General’s Office issued an opinion that slaps him around on numerous counts. (Did the AG suddenly start doing their job? Maybe!) Craig Stimpert […]
