By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s Bloomington Committee of the Whole: Also on the agenda was a discussion of video gaming. Start with the Public Comment at 33:35 from a downtown bar owner that isn’t allowed to have video gaming because of the arbitrary limit on the number of establishments the City set. Now see 2:11:20. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Read yesterday’s story if you missed it: https://blnnews.com/2025/01/14/video-gaming-discrimination/ Jill Whitacre, owner of Shake It Up Cocktail Lounge, made a plea for a video gaming license. The number of licenses are limited because the Council under Tari Renner thought there would be less gambling if machines weren’t everywhere. If Bloomington wanted to limit […]
By: Diane Benjamin The meeting, including Township before Council, was over 3 hours. Your representatives look ridiculous behind masks. Normal doesn’t wear them at Council meetings, citizens deserve to see your faces! Of course the camera operator makes seeing faces difficult since it always isn’t in the right location. It was much more fun seeing […]
I emailed Mboka last night about this vote. He answered a few minutes ago. This is the explanation he provided on why a re-vote will be taken: The Illinois Municipal code requires 5 votes one way or another for an ordinance and that’s why it will come back. Had 5 voted against it last night […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Live Stream of the Council meeting had no sound last night. Today a video is posted with no sound until around 12:00. When there is sound it wasn’t recorded from the microphones, people whispering, shuffling papers, and footsteps can be heard in numerous places. At 8:10 a lady spoke during public […]
By: Diane Benjamin May 11, 2016, Tari on WJBC: https://audioboom.com/posts/4551685-tari-renner-bloomington-mayor-5-11-16?t=0 At the very end: Tari states that having NO Video Gaming in Bloomington should be on the table. He groused about it making more need for police, especially when combined with alcohol. The rest is entertaining if you want to relive history. Downtown, downtown, downtown. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bills and Payroll: https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=22497 Indoctrination camps, the Illinois Municipal League represents cities, not taxpayers: The Coliseum continues to bleed taxpayers: This is year THREE for the Small Business Development Center. Is anybody asking what has been developed? https://blnnews.com/2018/01/03/knuckleheads/ Option 1 (50/50 split): That the Resolution approving the Small Business Development Center funding […]
By: Diane Benjamin Public comment: Most of the speakers were there to talk about video gambling. A big fear of the local business owners is the State of Illinois raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Even though democrats think business owners have stashes of cash in the back room, they don’t. Many of […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=22465 Tonight a representative from the McLean County Regional Planning Commission will talk about local transit. She will be followed by the Connect Transit’s General Manager. Prediction: Neither speaker will mention the buses are too big to serve the people with no other means of transportation. Neither speaker will recognize the huge […]
By: Dine Benjamin Start with this chart that recaps actual and projected tax receipts in the current budget: PDF page 120 https://www.cityblm.org/home/showdocument?id=22149 The Local Motor Fuel Tax didn’t exist before Tari. Since doubling the tax, the City expects to collect $4,630,000 this year. The Amusement Tax didn’t exist before Tari. The City expects to collect […]
By: Diane Benjamin WJBC has reported Tari Renner wants to end the moratorium on new video gaming machines: http://www.wjbc.com/2019/07/29/renner-sides-with-businesses-seeking-to-end-bloomingtons-video-gaming-freeze/ I remember when the moratorium was put in place, Tari was outraged that $50 million a year went into the machines. It sounds like he changed his mind. Back in 2016 Tari was on WJBC talking […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington City Council last night: See 12:17. A 30 year employee of the Illinois State Police spoke at Public Comment, He applied for the Police Chief position. His application was submitted on time and he received a confirmation email saying his application was received. He followed up with Nicole Albertson, head of […]
By: Diane Benjamin At last night’s Bloomington Committee of the Whole meeting Tari lost his ability to appoint anyone he wants to Boards and Commissions without review by the Council before a name is put on the agenda. The Council didn’t vote, but the consensus was the Council needs to know names before notice is […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda and Documentation for Council 3/25/19 http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=21396 PDF page 33 authorizes $69,467.22 for repairs to the City’s only working Water Tower. Notice how nobody ever mentions the other one in Normal that was built too short? It was only used briefly. Add that to the never used fire station, pensions spiking, Quality […]
By: Diane Benjamin On the agenda for Monday night is a public hearing on next years budget. PDF page 163 has a brief summary that says next to nothing: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=21243 If you want to see details, go here: http://www.cityblm.org/government/departments/finance/annual-budget Also on the Agenda: PDF page 166: Allowing exceptions to the moratorium on video gaming! The […]
By: Diane Benjamin Spending priorities at the City of Bloomington have ZERO to do with what citizens expect them to fund: Police, Fire, Water, Sewer, Storm Water, Roads. If they could get by with taxing you for calling 911 they would. The City of Bloomington created Enterprise Funds to make it easier to take more […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you have never watched a City Council meeting, last night is the one you need to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDOCilmu80A I can’t possibly cover everything that happened. Toward the end of the meeting Joni Painter read something that demanded no more video gaming machines. It was pretty incoherent. 2 people demanded the same […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City wants you to believe they can control only 5% of the budget. State mandates were heavily blamed. The budget discussion starts around 1:28. Not blamed was the cost of employees, the cost of their lavish benefits, and pension spiking. This Council made it worse when they hired two more employees […]
By: Diane Benjamin Your government runs over you when you don’t bother to stand up to them. 5 people did stand up last night, more need to join them. Public Comment: The first guy owns Joe’s Pub and is concerned about raising video gaming fees. He asked when the tax increases are going to end […]
Tari denied the Liquor license to Hucks. From notes to Liquor Commission minutes, that makes them ineligible for video gaming which is also controlled by the Liquor Commission. The two people Tari named as his assistants didn’t show for the third meeting in a row. That make them ineligible to serve. Since Tari is […]
By: Diane Benjamin Capitalism has lifted millions of people around the globe out of poverty. It’s the perfect formula for success: I have a widget that you want. You give me something of value for the widget. Both of us are happy. With the Internet, exchanging things of value is possible across the globe. If […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Normal Town Council made some people very happy last night – the current video game owners! The Council voted to delay approving any new video gaming licenses until at least the end of the year. Essentially government said the existing guys don’t need any competition. Therefore, the profits of current owners […]
By: Diane Benjamin This story expands the previous post: https://blnnews.com/2016/06/27/tari-sees-objects-ripe-for-fleece/ I have emails from Aldermen Diana Hauman and Jim Fruin, Mayor Renner, and JAMES. I believe that JAMES is James Jordan, member of the Liquor Commission. I have MANY emails written by Jim Fruin over the past few years – none of them say JAMES. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Only the audio of the meeting is available – no video. I think some of the Aldermen were absent, the roll call was hard to hear, so I’m not sure. Some might have arrived late. The paper reported a straw poll was unanimous in not taxing the video gaming machines. If all […]
By: Diane Benjamin Governor Rauner ran on a platform of making Illinois business friendly. He has failed because the Democrat super-majority in Springfield doesn’t care if companies move across the border to save millions of dollars. They don’t care if Caterpillar leaves the state along with other companies who can’t compete in this high-tax high-regulation […]
By: Diane Benjamin When I reported on Tax Receipts missing from David Hales’ April City Manager report, (https://blnnews.com/2016/06/08/april-city-managers-report/) my first thought was Renner/Hales plan to raise taxes. It’s difficult to do if receipts show above budgeted amounts – they did in his March report. Monday night the Council is going after anybody with video gaming […]
By: Diane Benjamin Renner was on WJBC this morning: https://audioboom.com/boos/4550788-tari-renner-bloomington-mayor-5-11-16?t=0 Update: I think the interview has been moved – try this link: https://audioboom.com/boos/4551685-tari-renner-bloomington-mayor-5-11-16?t=0 He REALLY hates video gaming because the machine owners are making way too much money. He actually mentioned a guy who told him he invested $1 million in his business, Renner calculated […]
By: Diane Benjamin History isn’t taught anymore, so let me briefly recap. Before America declared that “Rights” come from God, not government, and the people can govern themselves – the entire world was a dark place. Capitalism didn’t exist. The people were government slaves without any possibility of creating a better life for themselves. America […]
By: Diane Benjamin Lately the City of Bloomington has been raising every fee possible under the theory of “users” should pay for the service. It doesn’t matter that decades of previous spending paid for the service with taxes already collected. Obviously the goal is to Tax more so they can Spend more. Tonight the Council […]
