By: Diane Benjamin If you could read between the lines, this story told you: https://blnnews.com/2026/02/24/where-is-the-underpass-normal/ Last October the Normal Council awarded the construction contract to a company in Missouri instead of a local bidder: https://www.millstoneweber.com/ Millstone Weber backed out of the contract early this year. I have a FOIA pending for the emails. Since their […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-to-be-a-taxpayer/2416 Illinois has the highest tax rates in the COUNTRY! Taxes are high but the ruling party always wants more money. People will continue to leave Illinois for lower tax states. Click the link above for a lot more details. Next, vote your interests instead of re-electing people who will never have […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Normal Town Council meeting last Monday had parents of students at Glenn Elementary show up for Public Comment. The parents know Unit 5 might vote to close Glenn, they want Town officials to intervene to keep their neighborhood school open. I wonder how many of them voted in the last consolidated […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader Is the current principal quitting at the end of the school year? Is Mariana Nicasio is there? What’s going on at Chiddix? I just heard Mariana has resigned as of the end of the school year. It’s not nice to keep secrets from parents Unit 5. See this link […]
By: Diane Benjamin This story and the last one about CIRA are because a reader contacted me. Part 1: https://blnnews.com/2026/03/03/cira-part-1-2/ That reader left a voicemail at CIRA on February 5, 2026: . The name is redacted because it isn’t important to the story. Based on what this reader was told, I FOIA’d CIRA for what […]
By: Diane Benjamin I found this while looking for who went on the One Voice trip to Washington DC: . The Lorenz donation was a pass-thru from someone who wanted to remain anonymous, it wasn’t from the Republican Party. Smart? Nope. Bloomington is beholding to the Democrat Party thanks to Cody Hendricks and Jenna Kearns. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Taxation without representation: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-02-13/cira-cruises-along-at-a-stable-altitude Springfield allowed CIRA to tax the County thanks to Sen Dave Koehler https://blnnews.com/2023/04/27/cira-doesnt-need-money-they-just-want-it/ Your property tax bills this year will reflect that. County property owners get yet another line item added to their bill. Bloomington-Normal gets a decrease. One of the dumbest parts of the WGLT article: “The Airport […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit – February meeting: https://connect-transit.com/file/4079/2026%2002%2024_BoT%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf The January loss: Yes, that’s the loss for ONE MONTH. Your tax dollars at work subsidizing every passenger:
By: Diane Benjamin I wonder if Chris Koos or Pam Reece has anything to announce at tonight’s meeting? It looks like a 10 minute meeting: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5523 Flashback to November 3, 2025 meeting: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5414 Underpass project cost: $40,300,920 PDF page 136: Clark Dietz was hired to oversee construction. PDF page 147: . It’s now March and […]
By: Diane Benjamin Previous consultants story: https://blnnews.com/2026/02/27/in-illinois-child-care-needs-a-translator/ Below is screenshot showing another part of where INCCRRA spent $17 million on consultants: . The total paid to 108 LLC during this time period is: $3,490,000. I believe the real name of this vendor is 108 Group LLC. The payment is listed as “marketing”, 108 Group LLC […]
By: Diane Benjamin Original story: https://blnnews.com/2026/01/09/bloomington-fireman-8-i-think/ I didn’t think anyone had worse handwriting than me, but I found a judge who is at least a close rival. All the charges were dismissed against Bloomington fireman Jon Caponi yesterday. It turns out the dashcam video didn’t match what the deputy testified to and wrote in his […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since the local INCCRRA office told me they can’t release information, even though the data request form is on their website, I sent a FOIA to IDHS (Illinois Department of Human Services) for the same information. That office extended my request an additional 5 days because they had to obtain the data […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you live in Bloomington and haven’t reviewed the proposed budget, now would be a good time: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/32355/639074561303430000 PDF page 21: . Every chart in the budget would be more informative with a ten year history instead of just a comparison with the previous budget. First note: The population isn’t changing. What […]
By: Diane Benjamin Before you see the analysis, see this link: https://ieanea.org/2026/02/23/illinoisans-strongly-support-public-education-are-against-ice-near-schools-and-federal-funding-cuts/ The questions were asked in a way to elicit the desired results. 69% believe funding for public schools should increase? Do the people in Carlock feel like that? Does anyone in the Unit 5 district think they need more money after passing the […]
By: Diane Benjamin The last hearing on the bill to turn Illinois into a Mail-In Ballot state was canceled because of overwhelming opposition: https://blnnews.com/2026/02/17/update-to-hb-3355/ Since State rep Carol Ammons didn’t get the message, another hearing is scheduled for today. All of the previous witness slips filed were deleted. Opposition is overwhelming again, think she will […]
By: Diane Benjamin A 97 year old lady asked the Council to pass an ethics ordinance. She didn’t mention any specific reason other than it will install TRUST in government. Novel idea! Of course City Code is meaningless, an ethics ordinance would be ignored too. Trust is lost when there are penalties for peons and […]
By: Diane Benjamin November 3, 2025 meeting: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5414 On the agenda: . From PDF page 106 The bid is only 4 months away from 1 year old. Construction still hasn’t started. On the same page: Is Millstone Weber still going to do the work Normal? How are you planning on completing this massive project by […]
By: Diane Benjamin I will refrain from writing what I really think about Unit 5’s inability to live within their means. That would include comments about citizens who don’t vote in local elections or run for office. No, I didn’t watch the last meeting. I suggest people in the Unit 5 district take their survey: […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4113/files/agenda/12437 From the Consent Agenda: . Bloomington will approve hiring this firm to make the Sign Code make sense. Meanwhile, the first item on the Regular Agenda makes a change to the Sign Code: . The only other item is a first look at the budget. . Historic Total! . Of […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) I can’t believe this myth is still on an elected official (who wants reelected) and Unit 5 teacher’s Facebook page. Does he lie as a County Board member? Does he lie to kids he teaches. Actual facts from Congressional testimony: “That child that you’re showing right there, the men and women […]
This one is from New Illinois. It is a narrative covering many topics Illinois residents care about. Worth reading!
By: Diane Benjamin The video below was played at Monday’s Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting. It shows what the priorities were in 2025: Downtown. That priority hasn’t changed in decades. The video is a little over 3 minutes long. Downtown got a about half of it. The slide at 3:00 say 28 lane miles […]
By: Diane Benjamin I don’t know the guy who wrote this, but I do know Jeanne Ives – former State representative: . Bloomington staff has complained about this one forever. The Illinois Municipal League has a good explanation of FGDF on their website: https://www.iml.org/file.cfm?key=15419 Bloomington used to receive 10% of all income taxes the State […]
By: Diane Benjamin If your media didn’t report this, get better media. I’m sure you’ve heard about accidents and deaths caused by illegals with licenses to drive semis. Illinois has now been listed as one of the states handing out CDLs to unqualified drivers. https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffys-audit-illinois-non-domiciled-cdls-finds WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today exposed […]
By: Diane Benjamin The EIN number for The Immigration Project is 43-1700482 With that number you can look up how much the State of Illinois has paid them: https://illinoiscomptroller.gov/vendor-services/vendor-payments-new This organization not only provides provides legal services to “immigrants”, they send out ICE warnings to their rapid response people. Taxpayers are funding the obstruction of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Matt Burgess, Home Sweet Home Ministries, gave a presentation on how the first month operating The Bridge is going. He gave an honest report that is worth listening to. 4 people have already been kicked out. 2 others left voluntarily. Others had difficulty adjusting to living indoors. Matt has also seen people […]
By: Diane Benjamin The pic below was sent to me by a reader. The Senate version has been referred to Assignments. The House version has been referred to the Rules Committee. That means neither versions is dead. Why only a $27 minimum wage by 2032. Why not $50 or more? Does everyone want to pay […]
By: Diane Benjamin WGLT is not allowed to sell advertising. What did The Town of Normal pay WGLT to do? (2025 data isn’t available yet) https://www.openthebooks.com/search-results/details/?n=Wglt-Normal&e=73583&t=c&burl=%2Fsearch-results%2F%3Ft%3Dc%26F_Name_S%3DWGLT%26F_State%3DIllinois%26F_Year%3D0 . Has WGLT applied for State of Illinois money? If you don’t know about the plan Springfield passed to subsidize media, read up on it: https://dceo.illinois.gov/expandrelocate/incentives/taxassistance/new-journalism-tax-incentive-program.html Yes, non-profit media […]
I wrote the story in 2018: https://blnnews.com/2018/07/07/bloomington-is-at-war-thanks-to-tari/ It got a LOT of reads in 2018, but it has been read to varying degrees every year since. A month and a half into 2026 and it already has more reads than it had in 2018. Nothing in that article should be a surprise if you were […]
With overwhelming opposition, Carol Ammons cancelled the hearing today. Meanwhile, he husband refuses to reprint the Republican ballot to fix his error. By: Diane Benjamin See this story: https://blnnews.com/2026/02/14/danger-whenever-springfield-is-in-session/ HB3355 is a bill in Springfield that can easily lead to mail-in ballots being sent to every voter without them requesting it. Below are the Witness […]
By: Diane Benjamin Not really. Smart people know facts about candidates never come out until a lot closer to election to day – March 17th. People who don’t vote in primaries will complain about their choices in November while forfeiting their right to decide who appears on the ballot. Early voting started February 5th. This […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City calls this meeting COW themselves. Since that amuses me, I use it whenever it fits. The Bloomington Committee of the Whole won’t meet until tomorrow night since today is a Federal Holiday. Even though Columbus Day is also a Federal Holiday but they met anyway, some are Federal Holidays are […]
By: Diane Benjamin PDF page 8: https://champaigncountyclerk.com/elections/who-represents-me Nobody proofreads in Champaign County? . There is no one running named Tad Dabrowski. His name is Ted. The current County Clerk and running for re-election is AARON AMMONS. He should be required to reprint all Republican ballots. It should be no surprise Champaign County has a “structural […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you believe mail-in voting is the least secure way to vote (like Jimmy Carter did), file a witness slip opposing this bill: https://www.ilga.gov/house/hearings/details/3110/22403/CreateWitnessSlip/?legislationId=161868&GaId=18&View=Create&fbclid=IwZnRzaAP9uYtjbGNrA_2r12V4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMmJ1TEZ0cUdCcnI0UXROMExzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeHvldQnGykVQ9QF2QhUtasHWRqVU-lW50PiWlTTicr5tNT5RC2mFh4NcFLnQ_aem_A-yI2QCswrei74xph3gobw HB 3355: Amends the Election Code. Provides that an election authority may elect to mail a vote by mail ballot to all qualified voters instead of sending notices […]
By: Diane Benjamin I write and research stories based on: This story was spurred by a reader. They wanted to know how much water Rivian used since we are in a drought. My first thought was Rivian uses Normal’s water since the plant is in Normal. I decided to ask Bloomington anyway since the reader […]
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/three-peat-illinois-pension-system-last-place-for-3rd-year-in-a-row/ Excerpts: Low funding ratios mean less certainty because it means the state does not have the money to pay out what it promised. If liabilities continue to grow faster than assets, this funding ratio shrinks. But even before insolvency hits, low funding ratios still hurt the state. Just like failing to pay off credit […]
If you LOVE a lot of numbers read this link: https://electrek.co/2026/02/12/rivian-rivn-q4-2025-earnings-report-yoy-growth/ If you just want a summary: https://sherwood.news/markets/rivian-climbs-after-posting-better-than-expected-q4-results-provides-2026/ Rivian climbs after posting better-than-expected Q4 results; sees R2 SUV hitting the market in Q2 EV maker RivianRIVN $16.79 (-4.95%) reported its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings results after markets closed on Thursday. Its shares climbed 13% in after-hours trading. In the […]
