By: Diane Benjamin Remember the Solar project proposed for eastern McLean County on prime farmland? https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-06-25/deriva-energy-proposes-300-megawatt-solar-farm-in-eastern-mclean-county It’s dead. Yes, I heard it from a reliable source.
By: Diane Benjamin Previous story, video works now: https://blnnews.com/2026/07/22/normal-township-stolen-land/ I wonder when the Normal Township Board will pass an ordinance returning the Stolen Land to the Indian Tribes mentioned in their monthly reading? It’s pointless to keep reading this every meeting on STOLEN LAND with no intention of giving it back. Sorry, I’m just now […]
By: Diane Benjamin This lady sent me a message: . Printing her message is probably really going to upset her! She didn’t like me posting the last picture in this story on Facebook: https://blnnews.com/2026/07/27/meet-state-farm-employee-megan-weidman/ She evidently doesn’t understand social media. Once posted it’s fair game which is the point of social media. Besides, it was […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s Bloomington city Council meeting was uneventful until the Finance Director’s Report. Remember last November when property taxes were increased? How about last September when the 1% grocery tax was passed? The City finances were in DIRE shape! Multi-million dollar deficits were expected. What’s the result of tax increases other than […]
By: Diane Benjamin The below was sent to me by a reader. Weidman’s Facebook page says she is: Research Director at State Farm Megan and her husband attended Pridefest last weekend. She posted the below: , Keep that last line in mind while you read more. . Megan is very inclusive unless your politics are […]
By Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4118/files/agenda/13925 Bills and Payroll: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/32747/639203237356830000 Below is a payment to the Bloomington Election Commission which is paid by County taxpayers, not City of Bloomington: Of course no one has oversight over this office, especially not the people paying the bills. Taxation without representation! The only item on the Regular Agenda is […]
By: Diane Benjamin See yesterday’s story: https://blnnews.com/2026/07/24/are-wglt-and-the-league-of-women-voters-holding-debates-again/ Since their previous lies were easily debunked, the LWV tried again with a new video. It still calls the Save America Act the Save Act. Is truth to difficult? This one features 4 people. First is a lady who has her birth certificate but somehow not her marriage […]
By: Diane Benjamin Who are vote for matters. https://ides.illinois.gov/newsroom/2026/june/five-illinois-metro-areas-add-jobs-over-the-year-in-june.html I’m pretty sure Bloomington means Bloomington-Normal. This report is as of 6/30/26. Unemployment is up .2%. This area lost 900 jobs since last June. The State of Illinois is even worse. Persecuting businesses means they leave (and have). Illinois lost 7,000 jobs in one year and […]
By: Diane Benjamin This is Beirne’s second violation of the County’s Ethics Ordinance. First violation: https://blnnews.com/2026/06/24/abby-scott-and-corey-beirne-failed-the-ethics-test/ The lady who talked Bloomington and Normal into passing the same Ethics Ordinance mentioned the County has previously passed it. Since the County “Search” doesn’t work well, I couldn’t find when they passed it. I think it was in […]
By: Diane Benjamin They have before: . The League of Women Voters claims to be nonpartisan. Want proof the League isn’t? . Read the document: https://www.lwv.org/newsroom/press-releases/league-women-voters-strongly-denounces-president-trumps-false-claims This was posted BEFORE the New Jersey governor admitted 6600 illegal aliens were registered to vote and around 400 did vote. Those votes canceled the votes of citizens. The […]
By: Diane Benjamin William Bessler was appointed to complete Krystle Able’s County Board term when she became Normal Township Supervisor. See the original post on her Facebook page. Coping is easier to read than several screenshots: See what Bessler wrote below, his faulty un-American logic starts where the RED is: Homelessness shouldn’t be a crime. […]
By: Diane Benjamin The below is printed in response to State Rep. Brad Halbrook’s reply to Carl Hinshaw of Heyworth. Carl is very knowledgeable about assessed values and is actively challenging the property tax system. FYI: Your assessed values will again be higher, and so will your property tax bill. This is because taxing unrealized […]
By: Diane Benjamin I attended the Normal Township Board Meeting on July 21. I didn’t notice this until I left: . The Pride flag must be permanent. Lowering the flag to honor Sen Lindsey Graham was from July 16-July 18. Maybe the Supervisor Krystle Able can explain why the Township’s still is. I’ve got a […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader Remember the local NGO: Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies? INCCRRA. Last year they received $196,245,221 – likely all tax dollars. Directly from their tax return: Briefly describe the organization’s mission or most significant activities: TO PROMOTE AND FACILITATE HIGH QUALITY EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/364096312/202620699349301427/full The […]
By: Diane Benjamin What ideas does Josh have? Keep reading. . Crockett is on the Finance Committee of the Heartland Community College Board. How much have property taxes increased since he was elected? h/t a reader: How do I know Joshua Crockett will raise your property taxes? Because he did as a Heartland Community College […]
By: Diane Benjamin I was contacted this morning by a reader who couldn’t find Lexington financial data and TIF reports on the Comptroller’s website. Local data is difficult to find, it’s even harder when this message appears: . No reports for THREE years? There is a phone number right on the Comptroller’s website: 800-877-8078. Turns […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you love acronyms. this meeting was for you! Start with BHCC – Behavioral Health Coordinating Council. This is the independent group that is not subject to FOIA or the Open Meetings Act. See their website here: https://www.mcleanbhcc.com/#members BHCC is the “experts” who determine the best use of the sales tax dollars […]
Home Sweet Home Mission wants Normal to pull this. I bet it happens. Approving Trail East and West construction could be interesting. Just not to me. By: Diane Benjamin Decisions, decisions. Watch Bloomington at 6:00 and Normal at 7:00? Normal thinks they can regulate the homeless out of Uptown Station: See PDF page 78: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5641 […]
By: Diane Benjamin WGLT is reporting the Town of Normal doesn’t appreciate homeless people in Uptown. Wait until the underpass is finished and they move in under it. One problem: How are they getting around this? Of course Normal has been known just get a law passed to exempt themselves. Chung and Koehler will help […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader Remember the Power Couples: . Every person in this photo voted to raise your property taxes last year. Two County, two City of Bloomington. Corey Beirne wants 4 more years: . Beirne and his power couple wife, Abby Scott, made McLean County less affordable by taking more of your […]
I bet this returns to normal next Saturday
By: Diane Benjamin Remember this? . The Democratic Socialists of America have a new platform: https://program.dsausa.org/ Everything below in BOLD are direct quotes from the website. Private property won’t exist. You will live in housing provided by government. You will never get bills for anything because government provides everything. You can take off work whenever […]
By: Diane Benjamin This County Board meeting took place 5/14/2026. 3 Board members didn’t attend – Ziebarth(R), Cline(D), Farley(D). All 3 will be on the on November ballot. The members present spent close to 36 minutes debating their salaries. The motion on the floor was to go from $4900 a year to $6400. Since the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Media is reporting Perez threatened a public official – as in eat him alive. Nice guy. I have reason to be believe he is here illegally. Of course law enforcement can’t hand him over to ICE since the Illinois ruling party want to keep every illegal, even violent ones. Evidently law enforcement […]
By: Diane Benjamin Sick of listening to politicians who want your vote this November? You still have 3 1/2 more months of trying to decipher lies from truth. If you blindly believe rhetoric the truth doesn’t matter. Remember the local elections few people bother to vote in? That election is April 6th of 2027 – […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council meeting last night was mostly uneventful. Other than Jenna Kearns attended by phone because of illness, John Danenberger was MIA, and Mollie Ward was wearing a Covid mask, the only news was a timeline for a data center ordinance: . The August 26th meeting panel will be the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I wrote this story EIGHT YEARS ago: https://blnnews.com/2018/07/07/bloomington-is-at-war-thanks-to-tari/ As of right now it has been read 11,472 times just in 2026. Imagine how many reads new stories get! I found this story while looking for something else: https://blnnews.com/2013/10/18/no-time-today/ In 2013 the National Debt was $17 Trillion. Today is is almost $40 Trillion. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4105/files/agenda/12887 A few of the items on the Consent Agenda and probably won’t be discussed: $5,216,280 of the increased water rates is being spent for Architectural and Engineering Services for the Systemwide Improvement Project. $2,182,950 will be spent on the South Main Booster System which will maintain and enhance the reliability, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Nobody cared when Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were deporting illegals. Everyone agreed legal immigration was good, border chaos was bad. Suddenly the progressive ruling class in Illinois pays illegals to come here and charging taxpayers for their care. ICE actually does the job outlined in the law passed by both parties […]
By: Diane Benjamin See that “non-partisan” right in the title? https://bloomingtonelectionsil.gov/about-us These are the 3 commissioners: . Does anyone think Diana Hauman is going to make a non-partisan ruling if there is a ballot dispute between Kevin Lower and Jennifer Brown when she is openly rooting for the Democrat? Can she be non-partisan in ANY […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Does Corey Beirne know it is illegal to ban people from seeing and commenting on his re-election page? Evidently he doesn’t want to hear comments contrary to what he believes. Start by reading the 1st Amendment Corey. 2) https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-politics/illinois-separation-movement-continues-with-7-more-counties-set-to-vote/3958136 Quote: Nearly one-third of Illinois’ counties have voted to potentially explore creating […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) You probably heard about the Ammons family FEDERAL indictments: https://www.wglt.org/illinois/2026-07-08/state-rep-carol-ammons-indicted-for-scheme-to-receive-kickbacks-misusing-campaign-funds I’ve written about Champaign County Clerk – Aaron Ammons: https://blnnews.com/2020/08/13/will-incompetence-run-vote-by-mail/ Aaron Ammons also listed Ted Dabrowski as Tad on the primary ballot and did not correct the error: https://blnnews.com/2026/02/16/champaign-county-ballot-error/ State Rep Carol Ammons was the only House sponsor for a bill that […]
By: Diane Benjamin Pop-Up Chicken owner Aaron Francis create a large social media stir over the weekend when he decided not to pay employees time and a half for working on July 4th. If you didn’t see it on social media, read this story: https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/top-stories/pop-up-chicken-shop-holiday-pay-dispute/ He fired 6 employees for refusing to work without holiday […]
By: Diane Benjamin Unit 5 video of the June 23 School Board meeting: https://vimeo.com/event/5178329 The sound is horrible as is the camera angle. I wanted to see if parents of Chiddix students would show up in light of the teacher arrests and investigations. Evidently they didn’t. I did hear Superintendent Weikle’s comments. At 1:03:30 she […]
. If you were born in this country, you have inherited the Golden Door — a powerful invitation to create the extraordinary life you dream of. This ‘Golden Door’ comes from the immortal poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, a beacon of hope that still calls to every soul yearning for freedom and opportunity. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Rep Eric Sorensen put this on his Facebook page after the Supreme Court decision. It sure looks like he agrees with the NAACP statement he also posted. Facebook comments weren’t kind to him, it even appears he backed off. Democrats want an Equality Act? Have they read the Declaration of Independence? We […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember the $3000 Sister Cities spent at Biaggis? https://blnnews.com/2026/06/22/bloomington-tonight-6-22-26/ The farewell banquet happened on 4/3/2026, nobody updated the Sister Cities website with pictures of this event: https://www.bnsistercities.org/sister-cities-blog Other events from the previous 2 days are there, just not this one. Below is what the FOIA I received shows. 80 people attended the […]
