By: Diane Benjamin For a change the fools were outside City Hall instead of inside. A LEGAL immigrant friend of mine who fled socialism/communism to come here tried to talk to some of the participants. The surest way to find a fool is to find people with closed minds. She found a bunch of them. […]
By: Diane Benjamin How many former Decatur people are going to recruited? Tim Gleason, Billy Tyus, and now the new director of the Economic Development Council: https://www.bnbiz.org/news/patrick-hoban-chosen-as-new-president-ceo/?fbclid=IwAR1bT5mkeg0vyoW2wiZo07OX0jOUAa65_sTAZcVCPo7UxpPIXiTv1aTt4YM Patrick Hoban gets the job. At least he didn’t come directly from Decatur: Hoban has served as the economic development manager for the Village of Tinley Park since […]
The family and friends of Corey Cottrell held a celebration of life before the biker’s started lining up around 3:00. They planned to ride down Wood and north on Main to MacArthur where the accident happened. The family has good news this morning. https://blnnews.com/2019/07/12/jose-rodriguez-is-back-in-jail/ I’m sure the family appreciated all those who showed up this […]
I had a representative in the courtroom. This is what she reported: Rodriguez was present. ICE agents were present. Judge Yoder declared he is in ICE custody since he is a fugutive from ICE. That confirms this story from July 8th: https://blnnews.com/2019/07/08/rodriguez-had-a-deportation-order/ He is being held in the McLean County jail, no further details are […]
By: Diane Benjamin That would be – sucking up your tax dollars! June event reports: http://www.cityblm.org/government/advanced-components/documents/-folder-1702 Read the Executive Director’s Comments. Some shows were Free Free Free! How did the “free” Gothic at Midnight show have revenues of exactly $10,000? Bloomington is now pretending to be Normal where people have to be lured downtown […]
By: Diane Benjamin A reader attended the Open House at Bloomington City Hall last night concerning bike lanes on Rt 9. A representative from IDOT claimed he found out about the meeting at the last minute. He also said the City Council can pass a resolution saying yes or no to bike lanes. Since the […]
By: Diane Benjamin A lawyer friend/reader sent me a copy of the Illinois State Bar Association email newsletter. This story was in it: https://www.illinoislawyernow.com/2019/07/new-illinois-transportation-budget-to-benefit-illinois-bicyclists/ July 1, 2019 is a notable day in the history of transportation in Illinois. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law a bill that puts $45 billion towards state construction projects. Within […]
By: Diane Benjamin This pic is everything I received from Unit 5 – except the MarK Daniel charges I posted earlier today. The short stack in front are statements I found nothing interesting on. (Not many of them!) The large stack on the back left is 5 months of charges not included below. I have […]
My kids have been out of school for too long for me to know – they were pre-Common Core . . . . Are the local high schools educating kids for life when they graduate? Are they ready for college? Do they have other jobs skills for life without college? Are they prepared for any […]
By: Diane Benjamin I made the agenda for the July 10th Unit 5 Board meeting, if Unit 5 lists FOIA requests for every meeting they must not get many: https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicAgenda.aspx?ak=1000890&mk=50335525 The person with the most receipts charging Sales Tax was Mark Daniel, Superintendent. Many of the receipts are at LOCAL restaurants. Most are not […]
By: Diane Benjamin There is a war between the old guard and the newly elected members of the Council in Normal. Koos and company are not happy! Chris: Stan and Karyn were elected because the taxpayers are sick of your $35,000+ a month rent in Uptown Circle, the $2.75 million you handed the developer to […]
By: Diane Benjamin See a pic of the massive stack of papers I received in response to a FOIA request here: https://blnnews.com/2019/07/05/guess-what-this-is/ My original FOIA was for 18 months of all credit card/ PC card statements and receipts. I narrowed the request to 12 months and only administrators to reduce the volume. It’s still a […]
By: Diane Benjamin How many bikes have you seen using the existing bike lanes? One? Two? None? (I see far more bikers heading to Dawson Lake in the country) The State is planning to finally fix Route 9 through town. Thursday Bloomington wants your input at a public hearing from 4:30 to 6:30 at City […]
On June 22, 2019 Corey died after been hit by a van while riding his motorcycle. An illegal alien is under arrest for running a red light, not having a driver’s license, and failure to report an accident. https://blnnews.com/2019/06/24/is-rodriguez-illegal/
By: Diane Benjamin I did FOIA what Jenn was typing at the 6/17 Council meeting. The City claimed no computer history – even though she is on video using it. I received these three text messages – decide yourself whether FOIA was complied with. I have to post them as PDF files – they used […]
By: Diane Benjamin Absent last night: Jenn Carrillo and Jeff Crabill. Tari Renner claimed he is homeless because pipes broke in his house. I wonder if he will be paying the likely high water bill? I hope he didn’t opt out of the insurance that will cover part of the cost. He was back from […]
By: Diane Benjamin Sonny Garcia, Illinois People Action and Democratic Socialist, posted this on Facebook: Sonny Garcia is teaching people to get shot with this comment. Those who do not comply with orders by police are the ones risking getting shot. Every officer deserves to go home to their family. Yes, there are a few […]
By: Diane Benjamin It is official – Jose Rodriguez in an illegal alien. Catch and release policies allowed him to be free in this country since 2013. Of course he didn’t show up for his court date. STATEMENT: (on the record from Nicole Alberico as an ICE spokesperson) On June 23, 2019, deportation officers with […]
By: Diane Benjamin It looks like this lease will not be coming back to the Council. The taxpayers of Normal deserve to know how this “friends and family” rate got on the agenda in the first place. Taxpayers dodged a huge bullet on this one. Details in this story from the last time this item […]
By: Diane Benjamin Homeland Security has not issued a valid retainer for Jose Rodriguez. They knew when they sent one signed by an immigration officer instead of a judge it wasn’t valid in Illinois because former REPUBLICAN Governor Rauner signed the Trust Act. I looked up who voted to make Illinois a sanctuary State, none […]
By: Diane Benjamin News Flash: The working group is a joke. Connect Transit has no intention of serving the people who MUST ride the bus because the board is appointed by 2 mayors who think Bloomington-Normal is Chicago. Don’t forget Connect hired a firm for more than $50,000 to facilitate – they expect you to […]
I can tell you it’s a FOIA request. You will find out soon who, what, and how much was spent..
By: Diane Benjamin I think Tari mentioned Mboka would be conducting Monday’s meeting, maybe he extended his taxpayer funded trip to Hawaii. Unless something gets pulled from the consent agenda, the meeting will be really short. As of now nothing is mentioned under “Regular Agenda”. There is an interesting item on the Consent Agenda: Using […]
By: Diane Benjamin Make sure you read to the bottom! 1) Remember the deal Terri Ryburn got for the property at 305 Pine Street? Rent for her to live there is $120 a year Normal paid off her mortgage – $228,550.50 + another $5000 Normal bought the lot next door for $24,000 Terri gets to […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=22163 Does the message of MLK matter anymore? Is anybody judged on the content of the their character? Empire TIF payouts: Coliseum continues to bleed taxpayers, is the 3rd one to cover operation losses? Legal fees sent to Springfield is at least down a little: Nothing is on the calendar for 6/20, […]
This week, we celebrate 243 years of independence. In 1776, the Continental Congress was deliberating over the most momentous political event of all time — 13 colonies were to become the United States of America and undertake a radical experiment in individual liberty and self-government. Even though the resolution for the Declaration of Independence had […]
Bills and Payroll – City of Bloomington for 7-6 http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=22163 All bills marked Bulk Disp are for hauling trash dropped off at the “convenience center”. Henson frequently hauls standard sized dumpsters numerous times a day. Every bill will show an $80 charge for trucking. 97 loads x $80 = $7760. The City could have hauled […]
WGLT is reporting the sale fell through so State Farm is going to demolish the building. https://www.wglt.org/post/state-farm-demolish-downtown-building-after-sale-falls-through?fbclid=IwAR2BOK_3V4EJPy45fon0FcQ0xNezwaPwmPlKJHOKwlCiDAm38ozCOBYExEY#stream/0 By: Diane Benjamin According to this story from May, the 7th, 8th, and 9th floors were pre-leased: https://blnnews.com/2019/05/22/state-farm-bldg-3-floors-leased/ Guth and Associates of Champaign no longer shows this listing on their website. In early March, when the pending sale […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this story from May 18, 2017: https://blnnews.com/2017/05/18/carol-stream-government-employee/ This is the opening paragraph: The first person to be banned from commenting on this site is a lady named Regina Boe. She is employed by the Carol Stream Library, she’s far from local. Regina was banned because she has no interest in having […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Democrats in Springfield went on a taxing spree this spring. That’s what Democrats do, evidently the people of Illinois like being taxed to death. Here’s a tax that hasn’t been talked about much: Bloomington just spent a bunch of money on automatic fee machines, Normal already had them. If they really […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s Normal Town Council meeting was an hour long. The longest debate was over changing the name of a major road again. It used to be Diamond Star Parkway, now Mitsubishi Motorway, it will be getting it’s third name. Stan Nord questioned the impact to not only the businesses in the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Here it is: I hope a reader can figure out who she is! I’ve got some great researchers! The name of the guy she married is on her Facebook page – it isn’t Jose Rodriguez. Compare the mug shot below to this pic. Both are from Honduras.
By: Diane Benjamin Normal has hired a guy name Lyle Sumek many times to tell them how to do their jobs. Since his office is in Florida, they are probably paying his travel expenses too: http://lylesumek.com/ I wonder why his office is in Florida? Lower taxes? Are the people you elected incapable of governing? Is […]
By: Diane Benjamin When Jose Rodriguez was arrested last week for the fatal accident his fingerprints were run through the FBI database. That tipped off Homeland Security who issued an immigration detainer for him. Because Illinois’ former governor signed the Trust Act, McLean County could not hold him for ICE. The retainer was signed by […]
