I received the email below from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum. They are awarding their annual Leadership prize to Bill Clinton – you remember – the last president to be impeached in office for lying under oath. Also the guy who was accused of sexual assault and oral sex in the oval office. In […]
The stealing of Kevin Lower’s signs slowed after this post, but recently another 100 signs disappeared. The police will now get involved. Campaign sign theft is a CRIME. When caught, the thief can be charged with criminal damage to property. Kevin Lower, Bloomington Alderman candidate in Ward 1, has reported dozens of signs have disappeared. Is this […]
The #1 global warming pooh-bah at the United Nations Organization has zero training in climatology. He is a professor of railroad engineering. He also taught economics. He travels the world telling us about climate change. But he has a problem. There has been no increase in temperatures in over a decade. Here is the Wikipedia […]
This site will end without your support. Click here to contribute: http://blnnews.blogspot.com/ by: Diane Benjamin Durbin was interviewed this morning on local radio. The discussion was sequestration. He eluded to the local airport being affected by cuts. According to Durbin, air traffic controllers at smaller airports may be lost. He even managed to throw in a jab […]
This site will end without your support. Click here to contribute: http://blnnews.blogspot.com/ Below is what was paid for water by a Normal resident. Prior years were with kids at home, 2012 had NONE: 1992 1997 2002 2007 […]
This site will end without your support. Click here to contribute: http://blnnews.blogspot.com/ Below is a recap of votes taken in the HOUSE yesterday. Note how many times Dan Brady voted Present! Keith Sommer even had a few. See the entire report: http://tinyurl.com/a7njqw6 Legislation remains on second reading – will need another vote in House before […]
This site will end without your support. Click here to contribute: http://blnnews.blogspot.com/ All votes can be accessed at the City of Bloomington website http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=242&parent=128 John Hanson’s last meeting was 4/25/11. Below is a summary of votes from January 2009 until Hanson left the Council. A majority of all votes taken are unanimous, below are the votes […]
This site will end without your support. Click here to contribute: http://blnnews.blogspot.com/ by Diane Benjamin Update to: http://blnnews.com/2013/02/20/uptown-and-crony-capitalism/ According to the TIF documents, the Town of Normal has an agreement with Heartland Bank to pay 30% of the interest on their new building. The TIF documents on-line were not up to date. Under the Freedom of […]
This site will end without your support. Click here to contribute: http://blnnews.blogspot.com/ by Diane Benjamin You’ve probably seen the picture below. Barack Obama taught the principles of Saul Alinsky in Chicago. Notice the flow chart indicating the flow of money and power out of productive businesses (“CORP”) and into the political class (“MAYOR”). The heading at the top […]
This site will end without your support. Click here to contribute: http://blnnews.blogspot.com/ by: Diane Benjamin In an interview this morning on Cities 92.9, Bill Brady claimed thousands of people want him to run again for governor. Dear Bill, In 2010, the GOP took over large parts of the country and the US House because of […]
Mr. President, As a student who was shot and wounded during the Columbine massacre, I have a few thoughts on the current gun debate. In regards to your gun control initiatives: Universal Background Checks First, a universal background check will have many devastating effects. It will arguably have the opposite impact of what you propose. […]
Tax hike advocates often argue that Illinois is a low-tax state. Unfortunately for taxpayers, facts are not on their side. If you add up state and local taxes, Illinois residents have the 9th-highest overall tax burden per capita in the nation as of 2010. AND that’s even before factoring in the 67% income tax hike from 2011 (tax data for […]
This site will end without your support. Click here to contribute: http://blnnews.blogspot.com/ State Farm, the nationally-known insurance chain headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, has apparently had its fill of “The Land of Lincoln’s” confiscatory taxes. The 800 million dollar company is reported to have purchased “substantial workspace” in the Dallas, Texas area. The giant insurance firm’s […]
by: Diane Benjamin Polls show Lisa Madigan could easily defeat Governor Quinn if a primary election for 2014 was held today. Under the Freedom of Information Act, the following information was received: Lisa Madigan was originally sworn into office as Illinois Attorney General in January 2003. At that time, this office had 718 employees on payroll, as […]
Is anybody surprised citizens are denied the right to defend themselves? http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=262 Section 1 : Concealed Weapons – Prohibition of – Penalty. It shall be unlawful for any person within the limits of the City to carry or wear under his clothes, or concealed about his person, any pistol, revolver, sling shot, cross knuckles or […]
Where’s the media? Probably can’t afford to drive to a camera.
Not a single one of the state’s five public pension systems earned more than 1% returns on their investments last year. In fact, two of the five funds actually lost money. Although pension trustees predicted Illinois’ five pension funds would earn more than $5.1 billion in fiscal year 2012, the funds actually earned less than […]
by: Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal is required to report annually to the State on their TIF districts. The “Uptown” 2012 TIF report can be found here: Uptown tif Basically, creating a TIF district allows the Town to keep the increase in property taxes collected because of redevelopment. This document is 191 pages long, […]
Front page of the Pantagraph! Wow. Ask yourself: What caused the Dust Bowl? What happened to the glacier that used to cover 1/2 of Illinois? Who pays the salaries of climate scientists? Would they still get paid if they disagreed with current theories? How do they explain the 500 year cycles of warming and cooling […]
Main Street Association of Bloomington-Normal In regards to the audio/video noted below, it can be found by clicking here; The Role of Sustainable Urbanism in the Conservative Agenda Julie Hile starts speaking at the 33:40 mark. Following is the letter that was sent. Dear City Councils and Mayors of Bloomington and Normal: The Main Street […]
Page Views: 1 Entry Page Time: 19 Feb 2013 12:23:12 Browser: IE 8.0 OS: WinXP Resolution: Unknown Total Visits: 1 Location: Washington, District of Columbia, United States IP Address: Comptroller Of The Currency (199.83.40.34) [Label IP Address] Referring URL: (No referring link) Visit Page: blnnews.com/2013/02/19/sequester-being-lied-to-again/ Is somebody in DC worried the truth might be told? _______________________________________________ This year the sequester […]
ELECTRICITY COMPETITION SAVED ILLINOISANS $218M IN 2012, BUT LONG-TERM UNCERTAIN Electricity competition saved Illinoisans up to $218 million in 2012, but power suppliers get an overall grade of “incomplete” for reports of misleading pitches, a lack of innovation, and the looming question of whether they can offer savings after a major market shift this summer, […]
Here’s the short version: The Town of Normal bought a whole bunch of properties. They paid way more than the assessed value or appraised value, if they bothered with an appraisal. Because these now “Town held” properties, which generate NO property taxes, were so expensive, the Assessor assumed all properties were worth a lot more. The new […]
By Richard Maybury The Mississippi offers an important lesson for investors. I’ll never forget the first time I drove along the river’s banks. I had to look up at the passing ships because in some places, the bed of the river is so high, it’s above the surrounding land. It can be kept confined to […]
Update: From an insider at State Farm: The memo employees got from SF said they are consolidating claims and underwriting in those regions. I predict some local media will publish a quote calling all this untrue. Meanwhile, 10 years from now, State Farm will have quietly moved some departments out of Illinois as they demand […]
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageServer?pagename=forwardonclimate_partners The President is making a priority of passing climate change laws. A number of groups are organizing a march on DC, the full list is on their website. You have probably never heard of most of them, but a big one jumps out: The League of Women Voters. The Sierra Club is a leftist group […]
Senator Barickman was the ONLY Republican to vote YES on gay marriage. He even gave an impassioned speech on the floor to urge it’s passage. Can we all together say RINO? (since some people still don’t know: Republican In Name Only) Pat Brady probably loves him now. Wonder if Jason still has 2 homestead exemptions? Did the […]
The State of Illinois wants to buy 400 large flags, no reason given. Their supplier evidently cut them off because this week they called a guy in Rockford that doesn’t specialize in flags, but can order them. Figuring the cost would be between $5000 and $6000, the supplier told them he would not extend credit. The […]
by: Diane Benjamin Imagine you receive your Property Assessment Notice in the mail and overnight your property doubled or tripled in value. This is what happened to many property owners in “Uptown” Normal. The figures listed must be multiplied by 3 to reflect the value the Normal Assessor assigned to the property. For instance – […]
2011 Consolidated Registered voters 26,586 Votes Cast 2,754 Percent 10% This is an election Without a mayor running for election http://mclean.il.electionconsole.com/election.php?e=2011%20Consolidated&t=display 2009 Consolidated Registered […]
by: Diane Benjamin Yesterday a man was arrested in Normal because he might have access to a gun. On Pantagraph website: “After interviewing the student and suspect, we determined the student’s original statement was based on the fear he might have access to a weapon, but she later admitted having never seen a weapon,” said […]
2011 Consolidated Election Registered Voters: 44,511 Ballots Cast: 4,453 Voter Turnout: 10.00 % See the full map: http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/IL/Bloomington/28601/43977/en/vt.html This was a city election without a mayor’s race. ________________________________________________________________ 2009 Consolidated Election Registered Voters: 43,265 Ballots Cast: 8,613 Voter Turnout: 19.91 % See the full map: http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/IL/Bloomington/10444/15505/en/vt.html This was a city election with a mayor’s race. […]
Think voter fraud doesn’t exist? Think it doesn’t matter in states like, oh I don’t know…Ohio? Think again. More from John Fund: The Hamilton County Board of Elections is investigating 19 possible cases of alleged voter fraud that occurred when Ohio was a focal point of the 2012 presidential election. A total of 19 voters and […]
“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America ‘s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. […]
Hundreds of Bloomington – Normal Government Retirees Become Pension Millionaires at Taxpayer Expense FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 12, 2013 Contact: Jim Tobin (773) 354-2076 or (312) 427-5128 View Release as PDF Bloomington—Taxpayers United of America (TUA) today released the results of a new pension study of the employees of the Cities of Bloomington and Normal, McLean County, McLean […]
The actual budget is a little less this year, but it’s still $169,000,000! The population was estimated at 76,610 in 2011. That’s $2,206 spent by the City for every Man, Woman, and Child. For a family of 4, that’s $8,824. Roads are crumbling, pensions aren’t funded, and massive bond payments start in 2018.(http://blnnews.com/2013/02/01/bloomington-finances-2/) Think you should get off […]
by: Diane Benjamin The employees of the City of Bloomington have no idea if their jobs are secure because of Steve Stockton, the City Council, and David Hales. Managed Competition is nothing more than outsourcing. It makes good sense if the private sector can do the job cheaper than City employees, but the way the […]
