By: Diane Benjamin Last December Bloomington staff claimed Armageddon is eminent if property taxes aren’t raised. 7 of the 9 Council members fell for it: https://blnnews.com/2025/12/16/rent-to-increase-again-in-bloomington/ The 1% grocery tax was added in September of 2025 to replace the 1% the state wasn’t collecting for them anymore. After claiming for months they weren’t going to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did you know professional journalists have a Code of Ethics? They do: https://www.spj.org/spj-code-of-ethics/ Top of the list is Seek Truth and Report It: Ethical journalism should be accurate, fair and in context. Ethical journalists are honest, diligent and courageous as they thoughtfully gather, evaluate and report information. Is WGLT a member of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Illinois government wants to control EVERY detail of your life. Starting in 2027 they are coming for your kids by mandating mental health screening in public schools. Children belong to parents, not bureaucrats! School Boards can make these screening Opt-In instead of requiring parents to Opt-Out. The information gathered on your child […]
By: Diane Benjamin I STRONGLY suggest getting the McLean County Sheriff’s app. You can do an inmate search that shows who was recently arrested and who is being held long term. Cases can then be tracked on the County Website: https://mcleancountyil.gov/137/Court-Records-Search . There are lots of meth arrests. I didn’t realize how bad the problem […]
By: Diane Benjamin Biss ran for Illinois governor 8 years ago. His running mate was a member of the Democrat Socialists of America: https://blnnews.com/2017/09/05/tari-still-supporting-biss/ See that story, he had a lot of local support including Tari Renner and Sharon Chung. Does anyone run for office with a socialist if they aren’t one too? Biss is […]
By: Diane Benjamin We are frequently told the City of Bloomington is a great place to work. Keep reading, would you work there? Maybe the lavish pensions, benefits and Sick Leave Buy Back keeps executive staff in recycled/created jobs. The salary per year below is one City of Bloomington employee as reported by openthebooks.com. . […]
On this Veterans Day, we pause to honor the quiet courage of those who stood watch in the dark, who carried the weight of freedom on their shoulders, and who returned home forever changed. Your sacrifice wove the fabric of our nation’s story, thread by thread, battle by battle, heartbeat by heartbeat. To every veteran: […]
By: Diane Benjamin Part 1: https://blnnews.com/2026/11/07/what-happens-when-the-mob-meets-the-elected/ Zach Gittrich responded to Part 1 on one of his Facebook pages. I know of three: . Both Zach and Brad must have been educated by the activist public school system. Things that have always been true aren’t taught. Meanings are twisted to fit a narrative. I wonder if […]
By: Diane Benjamin A guy spoke at 27:00 about data centers and sounded a lot like Zach Gittrich. Stay tuned for an update on him next. The ballot questions were non-binding, both must have missed that part. If either doesn’t get their way, both might throw a tantrum. Progressives! How can anyone forget the unhinged […]
By: Diane Benjamin Part 1: https://blnnews.com/2026/11/07/follow-the-money-2/ One People’s Action is in that story. While Republican candidates were out in the community knocking doors, these people were paid to knock doors for Democrats. If you think democrats, who had paid walkers, care about your opinions you likely believe they will lower property taxes and create affordable […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bills and Payroll: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/33785 More retirees getting paid Sick Leave Buy Back, another government benefit that is probably unavailable in the private sector: . Tonight’s agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4109/files/agenda/15227 Nothing is on the Regular Agenda but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a super short meeting. 3 new police officers will receive Commission […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did you notice the name on the banner Tari Renner is behind? https://blnnews.com/2018/07/07/bloomington-is-at-war-thanks-to-tari/ It says Illinois People’s Action. This event today is by ONE People’s Campaign.: . Those two organization are tied together. Guess who former alderman Jenn Carrillo works for? . Where do they get money? Cue the rabbit holes: . […]
By: Diane Benjamin This 8 year old story now has over 17,500 views THIS YEAR: https://blnnews.com/2018/07/07/bloomington-is-at-war-thanks-to-tari/ One guy featured in that story is in this one too. Make sure you read all the way to the bottom. h/t a reader Meet one of the guys responsible for the non-binding referendum questions on the 11/3 ballot. […]
By: Diane Benjamin I got a message last night from a guy who fled Illinois for Florida. His home’s assessed value went up $7000, his property tax bill went up $5.83. Florida has School Choice which means education costs are lower because schools have to complete for students. Unit 5 spends $16,000 per student, District […]
By: Diane Benjamin Update to this story: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/17/affordable-housing-isnt-possible-when-the-elected-constantly-raise-property-taxes/ Carl Hinshaw helped this family protest the 11% assessment increase. He told me yesterday it was cut in half. Still higher than requested, but more affordable than the original. Congrats family and Carl. Taxing on unrealized gains is still evil. McLean County voted for that to continue.
By: Diane Benjamin Large company plant closings and layoffs are posted on this website: https://www.illinoisworknet.com/LayoffRecovery/Pages/IllinoisWARNData.aspx Before election day the Tyson Foods closing affecting 2495 people was the last one posted. That was mid October. Nothing else was posted until the day AFTER the election. These are all new: . The first listing is a closure, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Ben Matthews! McLean County Democratic Central Comm lists this payment: https://illinoissunshine.org/committees/159/ Who is BAMDESIGN? . His website has been undergoing scheduled maintenance for over a week: https://bamdesign.net/ That $162,988.91 is only from one source. Matthews got paid by lots of other democrats too. More: https://benmatthews.net/ Quote: My “real job” is as a […]
By: Diane Benjamin My thoughts on the election: Bailey never had a chance to win. I tried to tell people that before the primary, they didn’t listen. Pritzker now owns McLean County. He bought it. Democrats don’t really hate billionaires, just the ones that fund opposition. McLean County Clerk employees need to start looking for […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader who fled to Indiana The below is a press release from the Indiana State Police. Note: States on both sides of Illinois participated in the crackdown on illegal activity. The state south of Illinois participated. Why did Illinois not participate? Because Illinois wants to keep their criminals? .
By: Diane Benjamin JB was in town yesterday to survey his bought kingdom. King Pritzker has invested millions in buying votes, what do you think he wants in return? . How the vote going? 2022 General Election results Bloomington: County: . Total voters 4 years ago: 64,646 Early vote this year: Bloomington: County: . Total […]
By: Diane Benjamin A reader sent me a screenshot of the front page of today’s paper. Headline: County Plans $150 Million Budget In smaller print below this: Property tax rate may hit 20-year low Read down and you will find out the proposed budget is $6 million higher than this year. Budget up, rates down. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since everyone’s finally sick of the nonstop election commercials and lies—congratulations, you survived! Now get ready for Round Two. Next April there’s another election… the local one that almost nobody bothers showing up for. Apparently tossing out the same clowns who keep jacking up your taxes just isn’t worth the five minutes […]
By: Diane Benjamin In 2025, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) lowered the test-score thresholds required for students to be classified as proficient in English and Mathematics. Duh, lower proficiency standards magically raises scores. This guy is taking credit: . Here’s what is really happening, Illinois Public Schools have been failing to educate for […]
By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/24/little-birdie-update-why-she-was-fired/ Krystle Able posted again this morning the Township is hiring a Development Director. The last one WAS fired for probable theft and that was likely never reported to the Normal Police. Stealing from taxpayers is a non-prosecutable offense? Krystle doesn’t want you to know how she and her HR director […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.wglt.org/business-and-economy/2026-10-29/rivian-posts-strong-production-numbers-for-third-quarter-moves-toward-autonomous-vehicles If you read this WGLT story you aren’t getting the whole story. First, it didn’t mention the Rivian stock price has been sliding for 3 months: The story also doesn’t say this: https://www.kare11.com/article/syndication/associatedpress/rivian-automotive-q3-earnings-snapshot/616-443259e8-22d2-4633-884c-08b7f386ca27 On a per-share basis, the Irvine, California-based company said it had a loss of 63 cents. Losses, adjusted […]
By: Diane Benjamin You are expected to forget this story: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/24/little-birdie-update-why-she-was-fired/ Have you? Start with this pic of the crowd and Board Pledging allegiance to the almost invisible flag. The screen has never been in front of it before. . The video below is of the Township Assessor. His office currently has 416 assessment protests. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up to this story: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/28/connect-transit-yesterday-2/ Sometime during the day yesterday video of the Connect Transit Board meeting held on 10/27/26 appeared. I was interested in the disposal of the electric buses. A staff member provided a brief recap that didn’t include any information about revenue, other than they expect some. No one […]
By: Diane Benjamin Update to this story: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/07/know-what-this-is-2/ That story shows the beginnings of high voltage transmission lines running to a new battery storage facility near Ellsworth. This is what is looks like now. These HUGE poles runs east and west of Leroy-Lexington blacktop for what looks like miles: . Note how much taller they […]
By: Diane Benjamin The latest Connect Transit Board meeting was yesterday. No video of that meeting is posted on YouTube where all the others are. I would have loved to hear this discussion: . How much do they think 12 electric buses that don’t run will sell for? Remember when they tried to give them […]
By: Diane Benjamin Previous: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/27/3-things-you-need-to-know-17/ Are all the Democrat incumbents break the law by wearing their taxpayer funded name tag out campaigning? Here’s another one: Eric Hansen, spouse of alderman Cody Hendricks, with Corey Beirne. Remember this? Voters can dissolve this cabal in 1 week. Beirne has a ton of other pics on his Facebook […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) The Normal Township meeting was canceled yesterday: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/25/oma-violation-krystle/ Nothing was ever put on the website about this meeting, including canceling it. Township Board member Tanner Starr, who just filed paperwork to run for Normal Trustee, is now claiming Beth wasn’t fired. She quit. A new little birdie told me she is […]
By: Diane Benjamin The three agenda items supporting the redevelopment of Eastland Mall all passed easily at last night’s City Council Meeting. That will be the end of easy because Molly Ward and the other pretend nonpartisan aldermen made demands. Molly will not support any further plans unless they include a Project Labor Agreement (PLA). […]
By: Diane Benjamin More retirees are getting paid for accumulated un-used sick days. Does your employer allow this? Was this used to increase the pensions? I know who to FOIA and it isn’t the City of Bloomington! https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/33721/639280818851730000 . With all the excitement concerning Eastland Mall, this regular agenda item was overlooked: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4121/files/attachment/13426 . Negotiations […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Open Meetings Act requires meetings be posted 48 hours in advance. This was posted in a window – the reflection of the person who took the photo might be identifiable, hence the gray boxes: . That’s tomorrow! It isn’t posted on the website though: https://normaltownship.org/index.php/clerks-office/board-agenda/ . Why hide this meeting? Obviously […]
By: Diane Benjamin McLean County Board District 10 has a clear choice: A fireman who saves lives – Matt Steinkoenig or an elementary school music who throws sex ed into the curriculum – Corey Beirne This link will take you to a ton of Beirne stories: https://blnnews.com/?s=Corey+Beirne This one is the biggest lie he’s told […]
By: Diane Benjamin I don’t know anyone who still reads the Pantagraph. I don’t use them in stories anymore because I’m not buying a subscription and a lot of people here don’t either. That means nobody would be able to read any articles I link to. I was contacted this week by two people who […]
By: Diane Benjamin Update to this story: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/23/krystle-new-hire-fired/ Below is what I was told by a little birdie who has never been wrong before: It was for theft. She was stealing money and gift cards. Great idea to fire the people who worked there before to hire this fabulous person. Yes, two people lost their […]
