The best pictured I’ve seen on line was posted by Belle Pierpont. The caption says it was taken from her window. All of the crossings from Ft. Jesse to University were closed according to the Normal Police Department at 8:30 this morning. This underpass is also closed. Several cars parked at student housing were damaged […]
By: Diane Benjamin One of the first actions by the new Council installed May 1st should be reviewing actions taken by previous Council that staff is still implementing. The biggest one is building the underpass. Previous Councils have voted to investigate and possibly design, but not to build it. Since the Town has a $13 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Long before Rivian received major investments, the Town of Normal put deposits down on TWO Rivian vehicles. https://blnnews.com/2018/12/21/merry-christmas-rivian/ Buying one could be considered supporting a Normal business, but why two VERY expensive luxury vehicles? The Council has not approved purchasing any at this point. We have no idea who would drive them […]
By: Diane Benjamin New Front Page on the Town of Normal website: https://www.normal.org/ See the top right hand corner. Clicking there will take you to a short survey. Hint: Stop building vanity projects with taxpayer money and NONE OF THE ABOVE are not potential answers. Koos and company are rushing to find the money to […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3660 The Town of Normal is going together with the County, Bloomington, and BNWRD to fund hazardous waste collection days through the Ecology Action Center. PDF page 61: This is common sense since citizens expect nobody associated with the Town to profit off this contract. Too bad it didn’t apply to this: […]
By: Diane Benjamin On November 5, 2018 the Town of Normal bought property at the corner of Hershey and Sheppard for a fire station. Remember, the residents in the area didn’t want it located there – the Town ignored their petition. The purchase price was $450,000 for 1.69 acres (according to GIS): http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3107 Monday night […]
By: Diane Benjamin Need proof Normal’s spending is to provide union jobs? Keep reading. When the private sector isn’t providing jobs, government is the only alternative. Mike Matejka is the Governmental Affairs Director, Great Plains Laborers District Council representing LiUNA locals in central Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. Why is Mike Matejka arranging official […]
By: Diane Benjamin Sometimes I can put puzzle pieces together on my own, sometimes I can’t. It takes you readers filling in the missing pieces! Many have, it is much appreciated. The underpass has MANY puzzle pieces! Frequently I forget what I have written and what has happened at Council meetings – I am a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Surprise surprise! Normal had an agreement with IDOT to build an overhead passenger walkway at their expense: The source for the above is the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by former City Manager Mark Peterson and officials from the State of Illinois and Union Pacific Railroad: 12.6.16_MOU Your elected officials decided a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Glen Ellyn also got a federal grant. While Normal received $13 million, they got $14.4 million. The grant is for reconstructing their Metra station and a pedestrian tunnel: What’s the price tag? $20,000,000 Source: http://www.dailyherald.com/glen-ellyn-to-celebrate-144m-grant-for-metra-station-project What is the price tag for Normal’s underpass (only)? $22,000,000 Glenn Ellyn’s tunnel will have ramps to […]
By: Diane Benjamin At Monday’s Council meeting at was announced they think the formerly $24,000,000 underpass can be built for $22,000,000. This Uptown vanity won’t allow a single car to avoid sitting at a crossing waiting for a train to pass. It won’t stop people from crossing the tracks on foot at other crossings. Compare […]
By: Diane Benjamin There are two types of people in government: Those who think their position demands they “make progress” Those who think their job is to create an environment so people can create their own “progress”. One uses your money for their vision, the other allows you to create your own vision. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal held two meetings last night. The first one was a Work Session pertaining to the underpass. Public Comment was first: 7:30 Sonja Reece explained why the underpass is essential. One item she noted was buses from Chicago bringing field trip kids from Chicago need a way to get the kids across […]
By: Diane Benjamin You will probably remember Matejka as a former Bloomington Alderman. During his tenure he voted FOR the Coliseum and FOR the never used fire station. If he could get your money to fork over to union members with a government project he was all in. Now he is at it again. It […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Council holds Committee of the Whole meetings to discuss items in public. In Normal they meet during the day for many hours at a time so the public doesn’t attend. The meeting with Lyle Sumek wasn’t even held in the Council Chambers. All of the pics below are from the […]
By: Diane Benjamin The local politicians have forgotten: Likely most didn’t run to serve, they ran to rule. The people are sick of: excessive taxation handouts to government “friends” rotten roads sole focus on downtowns interference in free markets government pensions and lavish benefits laws being ignored citizens being ignored redistribution of the people’s wealth […]
By: Diane Benjamin See Part 1 here: https://blnnews.com/2019/08/26/lorenz-koos-and-nord/ Questions for Kathleen: Why do the opinions of only a few matter? Why were the opinions of those wanting to save the building in Uptown with the mural immaterial? Why were the opinions of the people not served by Connect Transit immaterial? The Working Group isn’t even […]
See Part 2: https://blnnews.com/2019/08/27/lorenz-koos-and-nord-part-2/ By: Diane Benjamin https://www.wglt.org/post/koos-says-nord-went-lone-wolf-fire-department-merger-uptown-recruitment#stream/0 In the above article Chris Koos said this to WGLT when he tried to denigrate Stan Nord: Has WGLT or the Pantagraph reported Stan Nord has proof Koos lied to them? https://blnnews.com/2019/08/23/the-normal-council-knew-the-truth/ Nope! According to Koos, Trustees aren’t allowed to gather information – the staff does […]
By: Diane Benjamin What we do know: The freshman class this year at ISU was down 9.3% https://blnnews.com/2017/09/07/numbers-lie/ State Farm has cut employees and is cutting more Normal has a budget deficit (local media reports) The Normal Library has decided not to build new – the library WAS the centerpiece of Uptown 2.0 (local […]
Note: A reader commented on the ISU student – Wes Ward (not Wood) By: Diane Benjamin I tried to watch the video of Monday’s Normal Town Council, but never made it past Public Comment. Marc Tiritilli is still the voice of reason and fiscal responsibility. I dare you to watch his comments without standing and […]
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 The video from last night’s Normal Council meeting is now available. People speaking during public comment are not required by law to give their address! Chris Koos told them they did, 3 speakers complied. Don’t comply in the future – it’s intimidation. No representatives from the Police and Fire unions showed up […]
