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 […]
By: Diane Benjamin In April Connect Transit had 236,419 riders and LOST $1,817,763.25. In May Connect Transit had 164,712 riders and LOST $1,513,145.08. Riders decreased by 30.33%. Operating losses decreased by 16.76% with fewer riders. Moral of the story: Quit trying to increase ridership since all that means is losing more money. Since CT has […]
The Immigration Project was busy posting possible ICE sighting in Bloomington yesterday. Enforcing Federal law isn’t allowed in Illinois is it means detaining ILLEGAL ALIENS. Of course the local Democrat “leaders” reposted – Krystle Able, Corey Beirne and others. Not In Our Town allowed Able to post on their Facebook page too. Approve of lawlessness […]
By: Diane Benjamin Democrats have very few “moderates” left in the party. Democratic Socialists have taken over. Democratic only means they win an election, they still believe in socialism that has never worked anywhere in the world. It’s about power and only power. Study history if you don’t know that. Socialism touts equality which means […]
By: Diane Benjamin H/T a reader Sure looks to me like Normal thinks citizens dial 911 way too often:
By: Diane Benjamin All this week I likely won’t be posting anything early. We have a huge yard and garden and I will be outside very early to avoid the heat which just hit at 10:00 am today. This week we celebrate 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This is a […]
By: Diane Benjamin All of the campaign contributions below were made by the same person. Yes, I asked the person by email if all of these are legitimate. Of course I didn’t receive a response – no surprise. Eventually I will be revealing who it is. Meanwhile, if you have ever made a contribution via […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) A Facebook group exists called No Data Centers Bloomington-Normal. I was not allow to post a comment which means this group doesn’t bother with facts. My comment pertained to newer technology called Closed Loop which means a huge water supply isn’t needed. Water used to cool keeps circulating and doesn’t need […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/departments/administration/procurement-diversity-initiative This policy is also called: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion DEI policies discriminate against white male owned qualified businesses to promote others that may or may not be qualified to do the job. If “oppressed status” is claimed, the City of Bloomington prefers to award contracts to you. Contracting with companies with […]
By: Diane Benjamin See the Normal Township Agendas here: https://normaltownship.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/march-19th-26-meeting-of-normal-township-board-5.pdf Now see January and February agendas: . It used to be possible to watch board meetings from the comfort of your home. See the Zoom link? In March and every meeting since the Zoom Link is not longer an option! . In other words, Krystle […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Code of Ethics was just passed on May 26, 2026 by the Bloomington city Council. Less than 1 month ago. Monday night Abby Scott violated it. I suspect she will again at the July Committee of the Whole meeting where her lack of respect for fellow alderman Sheila Montney will likely […]
h/t a reader See previous story: https://blnnews.com/2026/06/23/20-minute-bloomington-meeting-without-abby-scott/ Obviously the facts presented at the meeting and in the above story are immaterial if you govern as child. McLean County voters in District 10 can rid themselves of this menace in November. Break up the “power couple” gang. See below. Both Beirne and Scott raised your property […]
By: Diane Benjamin Illinois only has 3 Republicans representing US House districts because the State is HEAVILY gerrymandered. 14 seats belong to Democrats. Statewide Trump received around 44% of the vote in 2024. Obviously only 3 seats doesn’t reflect that vote. If it was up to Indivisible, Illinois would have no Republicans in the House. […]
By: Diane Benjamin I wonder if Abby Scott uses the same tone at home with her husband Corey Beirne? Ward 9 needs to see who those who bothered to vote chose. Some members of the Council are still hurting over Sheila Montney being appointed to Behavioral Health Coordinating Council to represent the City of Bloomington […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4117/files/agenda/12843 What bills are getting approved are more interesting than the Agenda: Sister Cities spent $3000 at Biaggis: Administration spent $2,033 at Avantis: Is this what the Front and Center land cost? Or is this the cost to turn it into a parking lot? Only a FOIA would tell. Three police […]
By: Diane Benjamin In case you have never heard of or read them: https://1776history.com/2022/05/31/communisms-45-goals-for-america/ Have you seen Obama’s new library? . Does this explain it? . A few other choice picks of the 45 explain a lot about what has happened to America. The enemy was within:
By: Diane Benjamin After yesterday’s story, Dale Nelson spent from 12:59 to 3:33 on Facebook Messenger trying to convince me it was perfectly legal to give a $1000 bonus to an employee: https://blnnews.com/2026/06/18/do-laws-matter-in-logan-county/ He wanted to talk by phone. Many years ago I learned that is how public officials make sure there is no trace […]
By: Diane Benjamin The first story was published by WGLT on May 15, 2026. Quote: ISU student deposits are down 8% compared to last year. Of course they are jumping throw a lot of hoops, including paying students to attend (scholarships) to entice students. https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-05-15/isu-student-deposits-drop-as-enrollment-cliff-arrives Obviously the birth rate is down which means fewer high […]
By: Diane Benjamin Electing progressives for decades in Normal means spending is thrown at wants, like the vanity underpass, while spending on essential services isn’t sufficient. How many EMS calls does Bloomington have to cover because Normal expanded service without adding personnel? https://blnnews.com/2025/12/11/where-does-normals-ems-revenue-go/ Does someone in Normal have to die because the facts as laid […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve been talking to concerned citizens for months about shenanigans with the Logan County Board. Evidently people who can prosecute are refusing, so it’s time to go public. Below is what I’ve been told, Chair Dale Nelson or any other board member is free to dispute this charge. From a citizen: I […]
By: Diane Benjamin Is Ameren having trouble keeping the power on? Or, is it just the reader who told me there have been 4 outages in the last 6 days totalling around 9 hours? Is everyone local back on yet just in time for more storms? How’s Net Zero working for you? Meanwhile Corn Belt […]
By: Diane Benjamin I usually post excerpts from interesting stories. This time you get one: AI is coming for manufacturing jobs, and America isn’t ready This entire story needs to be read: https://www.inc.com/abigail-bassett/rivian-ceo-rj-scaringe-warns-that-the-u-s-isnt-prepared-for-ais-impact-on-this-1-type-of-job/91361126 READ to the bottom!
By: Diane Benjamin Notable items from last night’s Bloomington Committee of the Whole meeting: City Manager Jeff Jurgens stated Bloomington is a growing city. From US Census website: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/bloomingtoncityillinois/PST045224 . Jurgens also stated the City has 100 year old water mains and they leak. He knows they are behind replacing them. Lesson for voters (those […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington Committee of the Whole agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4130/files/agenda/12818 The only Regular Agenda item is WATER. Making sure residents have water in the future is going to be expensive. See the Technical Summary: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4130/files/attachment/9574 I suggest jumping to PDF page 15 so your eyes don’t glaze over before getting there. The really expensive fixes […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did you know 300,000 unaccompanied minors are still missing? The guy in charge of making sure they were safely placed was Xavier Becerra, Biden’s head of Health and Human Services and current finalist for California governor. He lost track of them. ICE has located about 145,000. Some of them were sex trafficked. […]
The below was posted on X by Mike Netter who is running for State Senator in California. This article was written by a 26 yr old college student by the name of Alyssa Ahlgren, who’s in grad school for her MBA. What a GREAT perspective. My Generation Is Blind to the Prosperity Around Us! I’m […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is a picture of the portable Stop Lights I mentioned in this story: https://blnnews.com/2026/06/06/this-is-why-bloomington-must-opt-people-out-of-aggregation/ . This is Ireland Grove Rd by The Grove. They say “rental” on them. I didn’t know stop lights could be rented! Note: No cars are coming from the opposite direction. It would be easy to drive […]
By: Diane Benjamin Now the far left wants everyone to celebrate what they do in theirs. Thank Normal Township Supervisor Krystle Able, this was on her Facebook page: . Where is Downtown Normal? Normal Township posted a different address than the above: . Maybe two 40-hour a week jobs isn’t working for Krystle. If you […]
By: Diane Benjamin When you have a loved one being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance minutes count. I was a passenger in an ambulance eight years when my husband shouldn’t have lived – but did. I was in Bloomington yesterday. I was at the stop light southbound on Hershey waiting for the light […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington’s latest budget is almost $318 million but the camera didn’t work last night. The meeting would have been 15 minutes but appointments and a proclamation used up time. 3 people spoke at public comment (see 17:55). Everything passed with no discussion. The only video is of slides presented. The first 10 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last Friday I attended this meeting. Lots of people attended. The meeting opened with a 14 year old singing our national anthem. Next an employee and veteran led the crowd in saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Another employee led the group in prayer after that. Nobody protested, I didn’t see anyone not […]
By: Diane Benjamin On the regular agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4104/files/report/5227 . The former Clay Dooley building is in the Downtown TIF. Premium Loaves plans to spend $4.2 million to turn it into the above. The corporate office will be on the second floor, the first floor will be available commercial space. The developer claimed the project required […]
