By: Diane Benjamin Refresh yourself on this story: https://blnnews.com/2021/06/16/stan-is-ethically-challenged-not-even-close-to-the-rest-of-normal/ I apologize to readers, this slipped my mind until I listened to Steve Suess’ show tonight. What is the Normal Public Comment policy? https://normal.org/854/Addressing-the-Council Citizens can only talk before the meeting if their comments are germane to the agenda. What was the agenda for the “attack” […]
From Edgar County Watchdogs: https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2021/06/bloomington-school-district-87-violates-open-meetings-act/?fbclid=IwAR2P_UP6DP2sdvB6N_rnszJdn1zMDt00TU7kr5UfkCT3FABVn9fTFeryjFQ Excerpt: Bloomington School District 87 has been violating the Open Meetings Act by demanding people reveal their home addresses in order to participate in public comment. The Illinois Attorney General has already issued multiple opinions, at least as far back as 2014, stating that requiring addresses to speak, or even to […]
By: Diane Benjamin A reader sent some questions to District 87. The response was written by: Dr. Diane Wolf Assistant Superintendent Curriculum and Instruction District 87 Question: What is the district’s position on the 1619 project and its use in the school’s curriculum? Response: We do not and never have used the 1619 project as […]
By: Diane Benjamin As requested by Chris Koos: Of course the bobbleheads will approve the request. Being less than transparent however, this is in the actual ordinance: Unless you read the documentation above carefully, you wouldn’t know Pam’s Salary is now over $200,000 to manage what is in reality a small town. Normal is Ruled […]
By: Diane Benjamin Get vaccinated in Illinois and you will be eligible to win State money (tax dollars) or if 12-17 years old – scholarship money. The rules say residents of Illinois – except if you got the vaccine at a Federal facility: Note: Illegal aliens who are residents of Illinois can win your tax […]
By: Diane Benjamin Local media refused to cover this story and Rep Dan Caulkins has not responded to numerous emails from AmVets. This story was covered by CHICAGO media – CBS 2. They rarely do stories outside of Chicago, but they came to Clinton to do this one. The Clinton AmVets were awarded $100,000 in […]
By: Diane Benjamin Expecting public schools to not indoctrinate kids is never going to happen. Instead parents need to demand School Choice. Where your kids go to school should not be decided based on your zip code. It is discriminatory to low income kids who often get tossed into schools with substandard education. If the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I taped this clip from the Live Stream video. This speaker claims to be a 30 year old transgender graduate who fears for his life from the domestic terrorists who spoke at the District 87 Board meeting. He claims his dad told him to not get “shot”. There are no bridges to […]
By: Diane Benjamin This is video of what met people wanting to attend the Unit 5 School Board meeting last night. Local socialist organizer Sonny Garcia is speaking with the bullhorn. Sonny is employed by Illinois State University, from Open The Books.com The yellow vests are their own security team. There was a sign on […]
By: Diane Benjamin At the “attack” Stan meeting held Monday there was one public speaker who of course spoke glowingly about Pam Reece. Mayor Koos introduced him as Mr. Dullard. Video in this story: https://blnnews.com/2021/06/15/no-stan-you-arent-allowed-to-represent-voters/ So who is Mr. Dullard? From the Secretary of State’s website for searching Corporations: https://apps.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/CorporateLlcController Of course the head of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember this? Yesterday a citizen submitted a scathing letter to the entire Normal Council over their “attack” Stan Special meeting. If you haven’t watched any of it, “Must See” is an understatement. https://blnnews.com/2021/06/15/no-stan-you-arent-allowed-to-represent-voters/ Chris Koos responded to the comment, I redacted the name: The writer then sent this: Koos responded again: I […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve known about the 1619 Project for quite awhile. It is fake history written to make people think America was racist from the start and therefore must be abolished. It is Critical Race Theory meant only to divide people by race. The videos of the kids who spoke at the District 87 […]
Some of the comments are direct quotes from a School Board member who happens to be a pastor. As a result of the District 87 public comments, the Olympia Board president warned the attendees before they were allowed to speak. If mentioning God and the Bible triggers you, don’t watch. Comments about separation of church […]
By: Diane Benjamin This bill has passed both houses in Springfield by democrats only and is waiting for Pritzker’s signature. Call his office and demand he veto it: 217-782-6830. Why? Because this is what it does: Unfunded mandate that destroys local control over curriculum Sexually grooms young children by introducing sensitive and inappropriate topics […]
By: Diane Benjamin Every municipality is required by law to have an ethics ordinance, Normal doesn’t have one. Details in this story: https://blnnews.com/2017/01/31/ethics-law-everybody-ignores/ Of course, in Illinois laws are immaterial. Last night Normal held a Special Meeting to accuse Stan Nord of disrespecting Pam Reece because he stands up for citizens. Unfortunately Stan has no […]
By: Diane Benjamin The meeting was relatively boring. The only conversations and vote citizens need to see is the discussion of buying guns for the police department. Public Safety is the job of government, Molly Ward and Jenn Carrillo didn’t make any comments but voted no on purchasing new guns to replace ones where parts […]
By: Diane Benjamin Jamie Mathy pulled buying new guns for the police to ask questions people were asking him. Video tomorrow, but see the details in this story: https://blnnews.com/2021/06/14/whats-bloomington-up-to-tonight/ Besides Mathy, Jeff Crabill asked questions. Molly Ward never said a word until the vote. Of course Jenn Carrillo voted no, Crabill voted yes. Molly Ward […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader The response below is what District 87 thinks of parents and other citizens who showed up to the school board meeting last week, they couldn’t care less what you have to say about education: Anybody surprised? They don’t work for you, they just want your money. This came from […]
By: Diane Benjamin Clips of what Becky Swan said at the School Board meeting last week have gone viral across the country. In case you missed them or want to hear ALL of what she said, here it is. Is the District 87 School Board paying attention?
By: Diane Benjamin http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1117&Inline=True Citizens: The City is “WOKE”. They have enshrined forever slaves in Texas finally finding out they were free. What won’t be mentioned: slavery wasn’t in the entire country, largely it was in the south. owners were largely democrats who went on to form the KKK when they lost the civil war […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bills and Payroll: https://www.cityblm.org/home/showpublisheddocument/26488/637588526176300000 Wasn’t Sick Leave Buy Back abolished? Buy local? Not when Amazon can deliver office and cleaning supplies with a mouse click. This is what the City spent in one month: Even administration participated: Remember when the Coliseum was sold as it would pay for itself? https://blnnews.com/2017/01/28/coliseum-who-to-blame/ Hint: It […]
By: Diane Benjamin Wrong video was here previously, this is the right one. (Hazzard of having 32 videos) Equity means decreasing the value of some while increasing the unearned value of others so all are equal. It isn’t education. I have lots of videos of adults who spoke passionately about education. I believe hearing from […]
By: Diane Benjamin Fortunately this lady is retired, but there are other teachers spewing White Privilege in their classrooms. She tries to sugar coat the issue, but she wants to make sure minorities know they can not succeed because of the past. This happened at a District 87 School Board meeting in Bloomington Il. Teaching […]
By: Diane Benjamin From a 2014 Pantagraph story titled: Normal gets award for being bike friendly https://www.pantagraph.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/normal-gets-award-for-being-bike-friendly/article_992c233d-4b52-55bc-88a7-f14cafee5883.html NORMAL — The town of Normal on Tuesday received a Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Community award from the League of American Bicyclists, joining more than 325 communities from across the country honored by the group. The award recognizes […]
East Washington is getting water, sewer, and road. $4.3 million, its going to be closed for quite awhile. By: Diane Benjamin 1) A citizens of Normal wants to know how many hours of staff time has been invested in the Underpass project. The Town of Normal claims they don’t keep track. At the last council […]
By: Diane Benjamin I have a ton of videos from the District 87 Board meeting. I might post more or I might not. They take along time to load! If you want to see some awesome parents who spoke or more of the kids let me know. Below are two of kids who mentioned the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I will be posting videos of some of the students who spoke. The 1619 Project is mentioned at least 3 times by them. Unless you know what it is you can not understand the destruction studying it has caused. First it was edited and compiled by a New York Times reporter. If […]
By: Diane Benjamin According to what Jenn filed when she ran for office she lived here: According to the Coldwell Banker website, sale of this house is pending. All of the pictures show the house empty. It does say there are separate apartments on the first and second floor with both leases expiring on June […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you don’t know Ty Smith you should. He can be heard on Cities 92.9 at 3:00pm on Saturdays. We spoke twice at the District 87 School Board meeting. We has a fascinating story who most people would think should be just another Chicago poor black kid statistic. He refused to accept […]
By: Diane Benjamin I had a little time before going to the District 87 Board meeting, so I walked around downtown Bloomington. The pictures start on Center street, then Front Street to the a short walk past the CII East building, down East street to Washington, and back to Center. There is broken mirrored glass […]
By: Diane Benjamin I attended the District 87 School Board meeting last night and filmed every one of the 30 speakers. After several parents talked to the Board 2 weeks ago it was obvious kids were recruited to show up and speak. They might have thought it was a good idea, it wasn’t. The kids […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal has a park off Constitution Trail called Rosa Parks. https://normal.org/1421/Rosa-Parks Below is what the flowerbed around the sign looks like: (h/t a reader) Those are all weeds, no flowers. Evidently Normal has money to build things, no money to maintain them. Government, either: quit constructing things in a way that requires […]
By: Diane Benjamin If the weeds in the planter boxes of the CII East building aren’t bad enough: Just down the street is another weed fest: (h/t a reader) This is the corner of Washington and East Street – directly across from Bloomington’s new “Hub” in the Government Center. The CII East weeds are actually […]
The next regular Board of Education meeting will be at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, June 9, 2021. The meeting will be held at the Educational Services Center, 300 E. Monroe Street, Bloomington, IL. Phase IV limitations are that no more than 50 people are allowed in the Community Room. Masks are required; there is no […]
By: Diane Benjamin Just design for new Way Finding Signs in downtown Bloomington cost $90,285. The cost to construct and install was somewhere around $447,000, total is over half a million. Details in this story: https://blnnews.com/2018/07/09/what-does-no-bids-tell-you-and-more-council-tonight/ 2 weeks ago I drove through downtown and noticed many of the signs are not readable because the print […]
By: Diane Benjamin Chris Koos announced last night the next meeting could be back to in person. Zoom was way more fun except for public comments that couldn’t connect and the “Can you hear me?” chorus. Stan Nord pulled several items from the Omnibus agenda. One was the bills. Koos didn’t want to hear about […]
By: Diane Benjamin Underpass work session: So far Normal has authorized spending $1.5 million on Phase 1 of the underpass. Chris Koos stated it can not be stopped now because of all the staff time, grants received, and other agencies involved that wouldn’t like Normal backing out now. It almost sounded like Wayne Aldrich (Director […]
By: Diane Benjamin Nobody reads the lengthy statements before software is downloaded, so you probably don’t know the below. Search: Mobile Device Management (MDM) Here’s one link: https://www.fortinet.com/resources/cyberglossary/mobile-device-management Mobile device management (MDM) is a type of security software that enables organizations to secure, monitor, manage, and enforce policies on employees’ mobile devices. The core purpose […]
