By: Diane Benjamin BHS is now nationally famous for firing a conservative teacher AND handing out gun propaganda to students! It was by accident I found the document, what else is going on we don’t know about? Anybody think indoctrination was a one time event? Have the students ever heard the story behind the 2nd […]
By: Diane Benjamin McLean County, Bloomington, and Normal all passed a recycling ordinance that could lead to MANDATORY recycling, shortly after Normal decided they don’t have the money to pay for drop off sites: https://blnnews.com/2018/03/02/normal-crashing/ Midwest Fiber supposedly agreed to operate these drop off sites: It looks like there is NO profit in recycling because […]
Downs Fire Protection District – Christmas Party turns Sexual Harrassment – Less than one month after drafting a sexual harassment policy, according to recently released emails and other documents, the Downs Fire Protection District apparently held a Christmas Party on December 2, 2017, and sometime during said party, things turned sexual. The new policy was […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://wglt.org/post/charges-dismissed-former-coliseum-general-manager#stream/0 Charges were dismissed today against one of the main guys involved at the Coliseum, Bart Rogers. He was John Butler’s main sidekick. The judge said the statute of limitations is three years, which means any theft or crimes that may have occurred prior to three years can no longer be prosecuted. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday 4/16: http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2946 Nothing that will take time to discuss is on the agenda. They should discuss spending, but won’t. Below are items I found interesting. The last time Lyle Sumek “consulted” with Normal the Town offered buyouts to employees. What will be cut next? No expense was spared for a retirement dinner! […]
By: Diane Benjamin I am reading over a thousand emails I started receiving late yesterday. This is one of them pertaining to the meeting last Monday: I asked John McIntyre if he said this, he hasn’t responded to my email. From another source I was assured he didn’t because John knows has no authority to […]
By: Diane Benjamin I attended the District 87 School Board meeting last night. Evidently not many people speak at Public Comment because they have NO Public Comment rules. Public Comment is at the end of the meeting and anyone who wants to speak can with no time limits. (Refreshing!) Two students spoke in support of […]
More interviews for open positions in the Downs Fire Department are being conducted at 6:00 tonight. The public is welcome to attend and ask questions since they were allowed last Monday night. The interviews are held at the Fire Department building. Please share!
According to the agenda for the April 9th Mackinaw Board meeting, Robert Davies resigned. That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be prosecuted or forced to repay the salary he received as a police officer. I wonder if he will get a pension too. http://www.mackinawillinois.org/AGENDA%204-9-18.pdf ____________________________________________ By: Diane Benjamin The Village of Mackinaw has a huge problem. […]
By: Diane Benjamin I attended part of the Downs Fire Protection District meeting Monday night. I filmed one of the candidates for Fire Chief (John Day) and one for Assistant Fire Chief (Travis Misch). People in the room were allowed to ask questions after the Board questions.
By: Diane Benjamin This morning I was contacted by the guy who did not show up for an interview last night – Jeffrey Clarkson. He claims he was not told the meeting was back on. He also sent me a document detailing his opinion of what is going on. I agreed to print it. Below […]
By: Diane Benjamin It isn’t possible to have verbal or email permission from government to do anything and expect it to be honored. If boats on Lake Bloomington are so hazardous to the drinking water that supposed “illegal” docks must be removed, why are any boats allowed on the Lake? $250 fine per day? Send […]
See this story too: https://blnnews.com/2018/04/10/downs-fire-another-side-to-the-story/ By: Diane Benjamin Two of the three Trustees attended the meeting. The chairman decided not to show up – Mark Casada. Candidates for open positions were allowed to make their case and answer a few questions. At least one candidate didn’t attend, his application letter was read by one of the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I asked Jim Karch to explain how much will be in the budget for roads. This is his response: (click to enlarge) Roads are Not a priority! This is what it looks like when politicians lie to you to win elections. Your Motor Fuel Tax will be raised 4/23 to add a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below are the payments per year to the law firm in Springfield. In 2013 they got NO tax dollars because Bloomington has an attorney on staff. Normal still has their own attorney. Tari wanted an Administrative Court to squeeze the citizens into complying with his wishes. Remember when Tari used to tell […]
Update: Don Knapp was the person from the States Attorney’s office I referenced below. He used to be with that office, so he should know the law. According to Samatha Walley in that office: Don has not been a part of the State’s Attorney’s Office since late November/early December of last year. He was hired […]
By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up to yesterday’s story: https://blnnews.com/2018/04/07/grant-handout-monday/ Want to know what Mid Central community Actions tax return looks like? The latest one I have is 2016: https://tinyurl.com/MCCATax-Return It gets better: 33% salaries and benefits in 2016. At least it is better than PATH’s 75% salaries and benefits – see yesterday’s story. The tax return […]
By: Diane Benjamin On the agenda for Monday night – Bloomington City Council: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=16340 PDF page 56 So, Federal Tax money is funneled down to the City to distribute. Mid Central Community Action is getting a piece of it for Rental Assistance at Mayor’s Manor. MCCA manages Mayors Manor. Here’s where is gets fun: http://www.mccainc.org/clarion_rocket/programs/mayors-manor/ […]
By: Diane Benjamin The packet for Monday is 877 pages! I’m sure the Council will read every word: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=16340 PDF page 294: Remember how Tari claimed he wasn’t interested in the west-side sports complex? Evidently Normal didn’t like paying the full cost of the study. Since it won’t be downtown, maybe Tari wants the Council […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you haven’t figured out who did the report in yesterday’s marijuana story: https://blnnews.com/2018/04/05/legalize-marijuana-think-first/ White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in 1996 Colorado is a microcosm showing what happens when some drug laws don’t exist. Are our kids worth the risk? See the program website here: https://rmhidta.org/default.aspx?menuitemid=781&menugroup=RMHIDTA+Public+Overview ________________________________ More proof […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington can’t find money anywhere in their budget to fix the roads. They will raise your Motor Fuel Tax though! In the latest example of ridiculous priorities: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/Components/News/News/5867/ The City of Bloomington has completed a comprehensive inventory and assessment of 8,519 trees in parks, trails and public spaces as […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is the header for the ACLU of Central Illinois’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ACLUofCI/I I couldn’t help but wonder if the 2nd Amendment in the Bill of Rights is important to the ACLU. Their page has stories about the students “rights” to protest gun violence but nothing about the citizens rights to defend […]
By: Diane Benjamin I filed a FOIA request with the FAA pertaining to the soccer fields on January 31, 2018. I received it today by mail. It’s not that big, no word on why it had to be mailed. So, why does soccer need to leave the airport property? See this 1994 letter written by […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bills and Payroll Monday night: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=16320 The report shows paying 461 Bi-Weekly employees and 361 Weekly. That’s a total of 822 employees. January 2015: 458 Bi-Weekly and 335 Weekly Total 793 https://blnnews.com/2015/08/21/less-employees-at-the-city/ That’s an increase in employees of 29 in 2 years. SLBB: Sick Leave Buy Back (Pension Spiking) Ashley Furniture: We have NO idea where […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night I attended a meeting discussing the effects legalizing marijuana has had on Colorado. It isn’t a pretty picture. First, before anybody says it’s no different from alcohol: 1 beer doesn’t impair the user. One joint does. THC also stays in the blood stream for 2-3 days, alcohol doesn’t. WAY too […]
By: Diane Benjamin Everybody knows the streets aren’t being fixed. Bloomington can’t even find money in the budget (that has skyrocketed under Tari Renner) to invest in infrastructure. https://blnnews.com/2018/03/26/nice-pantagraph/ They will happily raise your taxes though to pay for a couple of roads. Yesterday we learned there was a “disconnect” ordering tickets for the One […]
By: Diane Benjamin Note: This information is now 1 year old. The Illinois comptrollers office finally got around to setting up the structure to enter this data. Uptown TIF: ftp://ftp.illinoiscomptroller.com/LocGovTIF/FY2017/06409531/17TIF06409531Downtown_volpment_1.pdf The TIF was organized in 2003. The 2016 report showed positive cash flow of $2,967. 2015 showed a positive $44. TIF theory states increased property tax receipts […]
By: Diane Benjamin Every once in a while I have to clean up some files. I found a FOIA request I received in December of 2015. It clearly shows that John Butler and CIAM pretended they had no responsibility to the City of Bloomington and the taxpayers forced to cover their losses. I remember filing […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City Manager has issued a report for February. The library stats posted for 2018 are not the same stats used in 2017, so I took the ones that can be compared and turned them into a chart. 2018 Library facts: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=16111 2017 Library facts: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=12434 The library wasn’t included in the […]
I found this on the City website under Staff Responses: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=16236 By: Diane Benjamin Update to this story: https://blnnews.com/2018/03/23/bloomington-more-one-voice/ I FOIA’d the receipts to see why the cost was different for Black, Renner, and Rasmussen. Black drove himself to Chicago and flew from there to DC. Rasmussen left on a flight at 6:26 in the morning […]
By: Diane Benjamin The local League of Women Voters in all for the “welcoming ordinance”. Evidently they think local government can make immigration law. Does the Constitution matter to the LWV? You might not think so when you see the State League of Women Voters Website: http://www.lwvil.org/gun-violence-prevention.html Automatic guns have been banned since 1934 unless […]
By: Diane Benjamin BHS managed to find the document, yes it’s the same one I posted previously: Take Action 4 Sensible Gun Reform Keep in mind – the story used to be: Will there be consequences for lying, or do laws not matter if you are government with an agenda? This looks like a […]
By: Diane Benjamin More on this story: https://blnnews.com/2018/03/31/bhs-scoundrels-liars/ The statement below is from the BHS Student Handbook, it pertains to prohibited materials: https://www.district87.org/Domain/1755 Even if somebody does believe the BHS talking points about a student bringing in the document, how does it not violate the policy in the student handbook? Mr. Moore? Since the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I need to correct this story: https://blnnews.com/2018/03/28/why-is-fazzini-signing-contracts/ Rob Fazzini signed a contract for the City of Bloomington dated 3/10/16. He was not an alderman when he signed it. He was also not authorized by the City Council to sign anything on behalf of the City of Bloomington. All other contracts were signed by […]
