By: Diane Benjamin Sick of high property taxes? The City Council raised your taxes last year after being told they had no choice. The 1% grocery tax was added for the same reason. It’s dire. In the video below, go to 1:37:48 and listen to Sheila Montney. The Finance Director had just finished his report. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4116/files/agenda/12728 This easily puts Jurgens in the top 5% of all wage earners in the country: The meaningless ethics ordinance is on the Consent agenda, self regulating means no consequences: In case someone claims Bloomington isn’t paying for the improvements to Sunnyside park, it’s still tax dollars paying for it. It […]
By: Diane Benjamin In the land of Progressia, the ruling faction had a problem. Their grand policies kept producing the opposite of what they promised: taxes that crushed working families, cities where shoplifting became a protected lifestyle, borders that functioned more like welcome mats, and schools more focused on gender ideology than reading. Energy prices […]
By: Diane Benjamin H/T a reader West Washington, across from the Government Center in downtown Bloomington: Does this sign apply? Or this sign? Can you park for 2 hours or not? The signs are within feet of each other: . I suggest parking by the green sign, taking a picture of your vehicle and sign, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Maybe 6 are available because ISU people moved on. Uptown needs more non-student housing? Keep in mind this building would not have been built without taxpayer subsidies. https://www.liveonthecircle.com/vacancies
By: Diane Benjamin The McLean County Regional Planning Commission is planning for 2045. This is the same group that wanted an eastside bypass a few years ago. If you don’t know who is runs these “planners”, see the Board members here: https://mcplan.org/about-us/about-mcrpc/the-commission What this unelected Commission reports is considered gold to Bloomington, Normal, and all […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember when Sonny Garcia called for a special meeting of the Bloomington Township to get this on the ballot: https://blnnews.com/2024/05/15/want-to-see-the-petition-signers/ That effort failed because citizens of Bloomington Township outnumbered his ilk. Time for Bloomington Township voters to do it again! This time the organizer is Zach Gittrich who appears frequently around town. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Progressives believe government creates prosperity. In Normal, that meant Uptown would magically fill with developers eager to do their bidding. Years after taxpayers were forced to fund the project, the first-floor restaurant space at 1 Uptown Circle sat empty. Two other large buildings meant to complete the circle still don’t exist after […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council was downright pompous about passing a shiny new ethics ordinance. How could anyone possibly oppose it? An ethics ordinance with zero penalties is completely worthless. They already ignore City Code with impunity — this will be no different. After all, they get to decide what’s ‘ethical,’ so violating […]
By: Diane Benjamin The below is always on the Agenda for the start of County Board meetings. Members take turns: According to Merriam-Webster.com. the definition of Invocation is: . Calling on a higher power didn’t happen at last Thursday’s meeting. Member Val Laymon demanded everyone participate in deep breathing. If you run into Val, ask […]
By: Diane Benjamin On the Agenda tonight: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4129/files/agenda/12698 The same woman who got Normal to pass a meaningless ethics ordinance is getting Bloomington to do the same: https://blnnews.com/2026/04/07/normal-now-has-a-meaningless-code-of-ethics/ City code is is ignored by elected officials, an ethics ordinance won’t change that. No penalties exist for being unethical. It will pass easily anyway with some […]
By: Diane Benjamin In Illinois you can’t have a nice home without being taxed into selling and leaving the state. This house in NOT in Hawthorne Hills, homes there are even worse: This is an increase of 42% in 10 years. The people most responsible are elected in local elections few bother to vote in. […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader This message was sent to soccer families: Hello FCCI Families, We wanted to share an exciting opportunity for our soccer community and ask for your support. The Town of Normal is currently gathering community feedback regarding the possibility of developing a large sports complex facility similar to the Rantoul […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember the church at 411 E Mulberry that caved in? The City of Bloomington tore it down because it was an extreme hazard. Previous story: https://blnnews.com/2025/07/15/last-night-bloomington-council-2/ How much did that cost? (Invoices below) $300,606.18 + $10,794.77 + $59,727.80 + $11,546.11 + $12,217.00 = $394,891.86. How much has the City been reimbursed by […]
By: Diane Benjamin According to the Pantagraph, the underpass will be back before the Normal Town Council with an even higher bill. Monday’s agenda hasn’t been posted yet. Chris Koos and (mayor in waiting) Kevin McCarthy will never say the cost is too high. I doubt Rory Roberge or Karyn Smith will either. Saving 50 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Illinois has WAY to many units of government with no one watching what they are doing. Just look at your property tax bill, it shows all the taxing bodies where no one from the public attends meetings. Nothing happens at these meetings by chance. Projects often take years. Thanks to a local […]
By: Diane Benjamin The League of Women Voters is conducting a survey aimed at creating a Commission like the Bloomington Election Commission is handle all elections in McLean County. They want to take the responsibility away from the elected County Clerk and hand it to unelected bureaucrats that CAN NOT be held accountable by voters. […]
By: Diane Benjamin 29:50 public comment – guy has a problem with the Bloomington police. Has he taken his proof to the PSCRB? 36:50 public comment about Flock Cameras. Of course they are an invasion of privacy while making policing much easier. Many cities have determined that tradeoff isn’t worth it. Nothing was pulled from […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4103/files/agenda/12675 I don’t have time today to analyze, read it yourself. The only regular agenda item is exchanging some property with IWU: . Just so you don’t forget, the City has $1,400,000 in that part marked 807. https://blnnews.com/2025/07/16/flashback-to-2016/ The City bought it in 2016 to control development. So far no one […]
By: Diane Benjamin Filing a Statement of Economic Interest is required by law to reveal conflicts of interest. Evidently the fines of $100 a day don’t start the day filing is past due. Fines should start immediately to cover the cost of Certified Mail and the staff time it takes to process mailings. Filing was […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Diana Hauman made a drive-by comment to me as she left the data center meeting. She thinks I need to know more about the League of Women Voters before writing about them. I spontaneously burst out laughing! I’ve been writing about the LWV since 2013. See every story at this link: […]
Held today: Let’s see if Democrats file an objection. Democrat Ben Matthews was present.
By: Diane Benjamin On December 8, 2025 the Bloomington City Council heard a presentation on Proactive Property Maintenance Enforcement Update: . Since I didn’t write much about this, I asked GROK AI when it happened. I remembered it, just not when. Grok gave me the answer in 10 seconds. PDF page 5: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1012/files/agenda/9377 As long […]
By: Diane Benjamin I attended enough of the first discussion yesterday at the BCPA on data centers to know that those present want nothing to do with building one in Bloomington. I heard from an attendee that lots of different people showed up for the evening event with the same views. The biggest reasons why […]
By: Diane Benjamin For awhile yesterday this video was not in the story: https://blnnews.com/2026/05/05/nchs-violence-reason-for-evacuation/ Evidently some people don’t understand that students acting like animals at school wouldn’t hesitate to call in a fake bomb threat to get out of going to school. . Today is Data Center Day: . Did you know the United States […]
By: Diane Benjamin The was sent to parents parents today – it’s also in Spanish: . There have been a number of fights in recent weeks. Did these have anything to do with the evacuation? If I had kids at NCHS they wouldn’t be there anymore. Your property taxes at work. YouTube thinks kids being […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you missed it, see yesterday’s story on the League of Women voters: https://blnnews.com/2026/05/04/uncovering-the-truth-about-mclean-county-elections/ 1) Diana Hauman spoke at a Bloomington Council meeting last August on behalf of the “nonpartisan” League of Women Voters that isn’t actually nonpartisan. Is Hauman still a League member? Is she pushing for Rank Choice Voting? The […]
By: Diane Benjamin The McLean County League of Women Voters claim they are nonpartisan. https://www.lwvmclean.org/ It’s easy to tell they aren’t. Using the terminology: Defending Democracy is a giveaway they aren’t. Democracy is mob rule, we are a Republic. It’s the same terminology Democrats have used in the last few elections to con voters while […]
Update: It is legal for townships to pass budgets late. Evidently lawmakers in Illinois think township officials aren’t capable of better. by: Diane Benjamin Remember this one? . Doesn’t this sound like Krystle needs a lot of time off? Why until August 15th? Who gets paid for doing the Supervisor job if the elected Supervisor […]
By: Diane Benjamin I didn’t attend to hear what Kathy had to say, her press release said most of what she wanted people to know: https://blnnews.com/2026/04/30/press-conference-1100-am-friday/ I attended to hear what questions the press was going to ask. The WGLT story was reasonably fair, which was surprising after listening to questions asked by the reporter. […]
By: Diane Benjamin This property was randomly picked and is the same one from previous stories: https://blnnews.com/2026/04/30/congrats-how-much-is-stolen-from-you-is-posted/ The Bloomington house increases are in this story: https://blnnews.com/2026/05/01/taxing-bodies-in-bloomington-increases/ Total taxes paid in 2025 vrs 2026: . Congrats go to the Normal voters who fell for the “property taxes will go down” if you vote for a 1% […]
By: Diane Benjamin Same property as previous stories – picked at random. https://blnnews.com/2026/04/30/congrats-how-much-is-stolen-from-you-is-posted/ For context on the airport tax: Bloomington and Normal properties are still being taxed by the airport — see Central Il Reg Airport Auth. In 2025, it appeared on bills as “BLM-Nrm Airport Auth.” This year’s 2026 in-town bills now show $0.00 […]
MCLEAN COUNTY CLERK PRESS CONFERENCE: FRIDAY, May 1, 11:00 am, Lobby of Government Center 115 E. Washington Street, Bloomington, IL The Democrats on our McLean County Board have gone too far. I can handle bullies, but not when they unjustly try to scare and bully members of our staff by sending the IL State Police […]
By: Diane Benjamin In other words, the new property tax bills have been posted. You will never own your property, you are renting it from government. If you live in the County you will be charged for the airport without a vote by you. Springfield elected officials passed it because Dave Koehler presented it. Taxation […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember the ISU table flipper? https://blnnews.com/2025/11/21/update-on-derek-lopez-hes-still-being-held-in-custody/ The court record shows he tried to get out on bond, the order on his motion isn’t available so I assume he is still being held. There was a pretrial conference held in April, I have no idea when his trial will be. Local Public Defender […]
By: Diane Benjamin It’s nice to see everything the Council considers is no longer hashed out during 2 on 1 meetings. Previously every agenda item was decided behind closed doors making Council meetings mostly useless. Of course that means meetings are longer as Council members ask questions and state their opinions. Last night was 2 […]
