Bloomington City Council Meeting

BLOOMINGTON – On Oct. 14 the Bloomington town council opened their meeting declaring the month of October of 2019 as community month.

Mayor Tari Renner recognized Oct. 24 as national polio day and proclaimed indigenous people day on the second Monday in October. Renner encouraged other townships to not only recognize indigenous people’s day on Oct. 14 but to remember the struggles they face.

A special presentation followed, as probationary officers Justin Sullivan and Nicholas Shaver were sworn in as firefighters. The fire department was honored by the council for their work and City Clerk Lesile Yomcum swore the two officers into oath.

“These gentlemen have completed their probationary period, and once they are done, they become a full-time officer, and at that point they serve the city of Bloomington,” said Yocum.”I do an oath for them, it is the same oath the elected take. It is a formal process to recognize them, this is like a big deal! They can bring their families forward to because it is a lot of effort on their part too.”

Afterward, City Manager Tim Gleason called up police Chief Dan Donath to accept a tier one accreditation. The chief discussed how the police department was able to obtain such a prestigious award.

“There are only 67 agencies in the state of Illinois that currently have this tier one accreditation. You can be proud of the police department,” Donath said. “There is a lot of work, dedication and commitment to the program to meet all of the criteria.”

The council also discussed various community events including “Queer Formative.”

“This past Saturday, I attended the Queer Formative which was a pride party centered around educating residents about the cultural history of the LGBTQIA community, and so it was a wonderful even to show the inclusiveness of Bloomington,” Council member Jeff Crabill said.

The council prepared for the many upcoming events with the community and at Illinois State University.

Catrina Petersen contributed to this story.