By: Diane Benjamin This Labor Day celebrate local governments stealing your hard earned dollars. A home in Bloomington property tax history: . In 10 years, 2016 to 2025, property taxes increased 47.2%. The assessed value in 2016 was $75,995, in 2025 it was $119,493. That is an increase of 57.24%. The left side is taxes […]
By: Diane Benjamin The first class by Carl Hinshaw teaching homeowners how to protest assessed values was well attended. Carl is doing it again. Whoever set your property value doesn’t get the last word. You can object and win. Carl will show you how. Wednesday October 7th 6-8 pm GOP office – 202 S. Eldorado, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Thursday a reckless driver hit a Bloomington fireman directing traffic at an accident scene. Gratefully, he wasn’t seriously injured. The driver was identified because of Flock Cameras. https://www.25newsnow.com/2026/09/03/bloomington-man-arrested-after-allegedly-hitting-firefighter-with-vehicle/ No, we don’t want to live under constant surveillance. Yes, we want crimes like this solved. There has to be someway of regulating use […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader Unitarian Universalists Church website: https://uubn.org/wp They call themselves “progressive”. Keep reading, I think the below shows Progressive is the same thing as communist. I was sent this recently: . I wrote about this flyer in April: https://blnnews.com/2026/04/07/who-is-the-arbitrator-of-hate/ Note: The church abbreviation (UUBN) and their address is on the flyer. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Does ISP think FOIA laws don’t apply to them? You decide. If records can’t be found for a recent local investigation, does that mean the investigation was closed? You decide. If it is closed, shouldn’t they announce there is no investigation since it was VERY likely initiated for use as a campaign […]
By: Diane Benjamin This post was made by Unit 5 music teacher and County Board member Corey Beirne who is running for reelection: . A music teacher is teaching kids about sexual identity? Why Corey? Because behind closed doors you can? A US Court of Appeals issued their ruling on August 30th on a case […]
By: Diane Benjamin This WGLT article misses a huge point taxpayers should notice: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-09-01/path-to-resolution-of-shared-sales-tax-dispute-remains-unclear The County, Bloomington, and Normal can’t agree on funding local mental health initiatives. Keep in mind your SALES TAX was increased to fund it. It is your money they are fighting over. Quote: Bloomington City Manager Jeff Jurgens said even after […]
By: Diane Benjamin Rick Perez is a Democrat running for McLean County Board District 3 – the seat George Wendt held. From his Facebook page: . From his LinkedIn – notice it’s the same picture: Perez lives here: Just to verify, this is his statement of candidacy showing the same address: . . He bought […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit August Board meeting: https://connect-transit.com/file/4587/20260825_Meeting%20Packet.pdf Large expenditures: . Did Connect find a way to get rid of the non-functioning electric buses or are they still parked as a memorial to failed policies? June 30, 2026 report – the fiscal year end: . Operating loss for the fiscal year was $19.5 million. […]
By: Diane Benjamin A new website tracks the amount of JB’s own inherited money he has used to buy Illinois: https://pritzkermoney.org/ In 2022 Pritzker bought Illinois Supreme Court justices – $2,000,000 From 2024-2026 JB funneled $12,000,000 to PACs – $10,000,000 of that want to Juliana Stratton’s Senate primary In 2022 JB spent $350,000 on candidates […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader . Fake history got turned into a musical. Town of Normal Trustee Karyn Smith promoted this event on Facebook. It is being pushed by Unit 5, the Normal Human Rights Commission, Normal Parks and Recreation, and the Normal Public Library. Tax dollars anyone? I’m pretty sure it won’t mention: […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Normal Police Department posted this pic Wednesday on Facebook along with: Road Closed Vehicle vs. Pedestrian Accident Raab Road between Linden St. and School St. will be closed to thru traffic while the McLean County Accident Reconstruction Team conducts their investigation. Please find an alternate route of travel through this area. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Midterm elections are November 3rd. Closely following are local primary elections on February 23rd (if needed) and local supposed non-partisan elections on April 6th. Turnout for that election is aways ridiculously low since most people don’t even know an election is happening. It’s almost like the people who established election dates did […]
By: Diane Benjamin I did attend part of the data center meeting last night. I was told it was filmed and would be on the City website today, so far I don’t see it. The crowd was large, parking was ridiculous, and out-of-town agitators were present waiving red cards is they disagreed with anything a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Citizens of Bloomington-Normal not only pay BNWRD monthly through water bills but also through Property taxes. The Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District is charged with processing waste water. Evidently they are now in the business of creating a “Wildlife Sanctuary Outdoor Recreation Enhancements Project”. . The State of Illinois gave them authority. Since […]
By: Diane Benjamin How often is Michele Anderson in her office? Nobody knows because she is rarely seen at the Government Center. The McLean County Veterans Assistance Commission is established by law and not subject to the same policies and guidelines other County Departments are. The do have their own County website page: https://mcleancountyil.gov/98/Veterans-Assistance The […]
By: Diane Benjamin I sent a FOIA request to the District office yesterday. It was answered the SAME DAY! Now, if the District wants REAL transparency, start recording and posting School Board Meetings instead of holding meetings in a small room that barely allows citizens to attend. How much did the glossy magazine cost? The […]
By: Diane Benjamin Five things: 1) See 54:12 – Molly Ward is still upset that she lost the ability to offer amendments or changes at Council meetings. At least several months ago that chaos was cancelled. The new policy is changes have to be made by noon the day of meetings. A change was made […]
By: Diane Benjamin A comment was made on line from a local far leftist about Rivian a couple months ago. He claimed Rivian is an emerging technology and therefore deserves government subsidies. In other words, he believes government is entitled to use your tax dollars to pick winners and losers. What Constitution, laws, or commons […]
By: Diane Benjamin . Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4119/files/agenda/15011 Regular Agenda – 2 items: 1) Consideration and Action on a Resolution Approving a Contract with Teska Associates, Inc., for the West Bloomington Quality of Life Road Map (RFP #2027-03), in the Amount of $99,700, as requested by the Community Impact & Enhancement Department. This agreement with Teska looks […]
By: Diane Benjamin This clip if from the presentation representatives from the YWCA made to the Normal Township Board. If you missed the previous story: https://blnnews.com/2026/08/22/normal-township-8-19-26-board-meeting-part-2-ywca/ Unless you watched the whole presentation, you didn’t see this. Even if you did watch it you might have missed this SHORT clip. The speaker is telling a story […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington wants people to report storm damage. If the County does, a drone will be required to see it. Some corn fields show damage like this one: . The extent of this damage can’t be seen from the road. Many other fields have standing corn along the road but you can see […]
By: Diane Benjamin Staff from the YWCA are making presentations to local governments all over Bloomington-Normal about the “childcare crisis”. The Board got handouts, nobody in the crowd did. Lights were not turned off during the presentation so filming the screen was mostly a waste of time. One note from early in the presentation: DCFS […]
By: Diane Benjamin It appears assessed property values will be increasing between 5 and 6% again. Local governments are salivating at the amount of money that will available to them. They will be setting their Tax Levy soon. That is the amount of money they want to collect in property taxes. ANY amount over what […]
h/t a reader Paid by McLean County Democratic Central Committee: https://illinoissunshine.org/committees/159/ By: Diane Benjamin A couple of past stories: https://blnnews.com/2026/08/01/day-care-drama/ https://blnnews.com/2023/03/05/it-wasnt-corey-beirne/ . All of the spending on the 2026-2027 political campaigns isn’t available yet because the 2026 election is still months away and 2027 isn’t until early next year. https://illinoissunshine.org/ has some current and all […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader Callahan was the driver on Raab Road who crashed into a power pole and was arrested for DUI, speeding more than 35 mph over the speed limit, reckless driving, and improper lane usage. Of course the power was out in that area; maybe a reader can comment on how […]
By: Diane Benjamin This meeting was back to being broadcast over zoom. Instead of watching a zoom call that may or may not work, I attended in person and filmed it myself. Remember the official video isn’t saved or posted anywhere. This is one item approved Tuesday night: https://normaltownship.org/index.php/food-replacement-program/ Check out the requirements to get […]
By: Diane Benjamin A lawsuit has been filed against the City of Bloomington for the actions of the Assistant Police Chief. The City must consider this legitimate enough to put Paul Williams on Administrative leave. This was filed in Federal Court by a Chicago law firm. Pages 2-4 outline the allegations:
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader This was sent to me: . There is a local effort to fund daycare with taxpayer money because of the daycare closings. Government created the problem and now wants to solve it. More on that one soon. Meanwhile: Fact: Only a socialist expects you to pay other people’s bills. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did you know JB just put another $65 million in his campaign warchest? Illinois does have a KING who buys representation! . Did you know Pritzker skipped a stop in Bloomington-Normal to view storm damage on his way north to the burbs? https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/Pritzker-State Fair to the suburbs Is Pritzker’s warchest funding the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington wants residents to report storm damage at the top of their website: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/ Staff is trying to find out if the area qualifies for federal disaster relief or low interest loans. The emergency declaration was extended to 30 days. Many City departments were and are working together to help citizens. Calls […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington has a “special” meeting tonight after canceling last Monday because a quorum wasn’t going to attend: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4395/files/agenda/14997 Weather and Roads will be featured before this:
By: Diane Benjamin The video below is part of the 7/21/26 Normal Township Board meeting. The ARC report proceeded this. If you missed this story showing public commenters weren’t happy about the firing of long time employees at the ARC, see it now: https://blnnews.com/2026/07/29/whats-going-on-at-the-arc/ The Director, Elicssha Sanders, was promoted to that job in April. […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Indiana population is 85,000. The Bloomington Illinois population is 78,680. . 2000 Zillow apartment listings in Bloomington In: https://www.zillow.com/bloomington-in/rentals 266 Zillow apartment listings in Bloomington Il: https://www.zillow.com/bloomington-il/rentals Prices are higher in Illinois because of short supply. The answer to the housing shortage isn’t government. They created the problem, they can’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader The tax levy is the total amount each government board wants to collect the following year. This amount is usually set in late fall. Boards do not set the tax rate but they know about what it will be based on the amount of money they want to collect. […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader Below is a screenshot from Corey Beirne’s campaign website: https://corey4mcboard.com . Know why Corey said “tax rates” instead of “taxes”? Because he voted to raise your property taxes last year! Let’s look at part of a property tax bill in his district: Paid in 2026: . Paid in 2025: […]
