Bloomington city council officially condemns remarks made by Renner

Posted on February 21, 2015

Joe Walden was the last of 14 public commenters during the special Bloomington city council meeting regarding the condemnation of comments Mayor Tari Renner made on a local woman's blog. (Joe Ragusa/WJBC)

By Joe Ragusa

BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington City Council has unanimously approved a resolution officially condemning Mayor Tari Renner's recent comments on a blog that mentioned his son.

"I accept the council's decision, and I hope that we can now move forward, together," Renner said after exiting the room during the discussion and vote on the resolution. "I want to again apologize to anyone who has been hurt or disappointed by my remarks."

Alderwoman Judy Stearns, one of the subjects of the original blog post by Diane Benjamin, disagreed with the way the condemnation was handled.

"What we have done, and what the citizens of Bloomington are now doing because this was not a proper procedure with evidence and facts, is we are blaming the victim," Stearns said. "And I find that astonishing."

Alderman Kevin Lower also raised objections to the procedure, saying it should've been held in executive session with no public comments, but city attorney Jeff Jurgens said it was fine to proceed. 14 people participated in the public comment period in a packed city hall. Benjamin was not one of them.

Joe Ragusa can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…