Month: January 2020

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Hypocrisy in Springfield

By:  Diane Benjamin Yesterday there was an Executive Committee meeting scheduled concerning the problems raised with Automatic Voter Registrations (AVR).  It was cancelled and rescheduled for February 5th. Well, sort of rescheduled.  This is the meeting February 5th: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=0682&GAID=15&DocTypeID=HR&LegID=123394&SessionID=108&SpecSess=&Session=&GA=101 Instead of discussing “glitches” that registered people to vote who aren’t entitled to that privilege, those […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

What happens when non-citizens are called for Jury Duty?

By:  Diane Benjamin The first question is why are non-citizens contacted?  The law says only citizens can serve on a jury.  The lists of potential jurors should only contain only citizens.  It doesn’t because I know McLean County does get forms returned to them marked non-citizen.  I spoke to a person in the Jury Commission […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Sewage Talk

By:  Diane Benjamin Everybody likes to talk sewage!  Sure, let’s call it BNWRD instead:  Bloomington Normal Water Reclamation District. The first plant opened in 1920, prior to that sewage was dumped in Sugar Creek.  That came from a discussion I had yesterday with Randy Stein the Executive Director and Tim Ervin the Asst Executive Director/Admin […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Jim Karch was demoted

By:  Diane Benjamin The Total Compensation report for 2019 isn’t posted yet, so the only salary available is from 2018:  https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=21565 2019 was more than likely higher. Karch now has a new job as Special Projects Manager.  How much is he getting paid now? https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23785 The rumor is this job is merely a placeholder position […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Carlock: So who is going to watchdog?

By:  Diane Benjamin I could post many stories of government officials arrested for misuse of a credit card.  Once it’s in their pocket they “accidently” use to to fill their car with gas.  Charges for food appear because they are discussing city business with a friend.  Trips that suddenly wouldn’t have been taken without being […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Another Arena Event Profit

By:  Diane Benjamin https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23761 Since the Executive Director’s comments are tiny:

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

More on Christmas Presents with Public Funds

By:  Diane Benjamin Just because MANY units of government think they have to right to fork over your money to employees for Christmas that doesn’t mean it’s legal. This time I will steal some quotes from a story the Edgar County Watchdogs just posted: https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com-10000-Christmas-Bonus-Lists-Paid-With-Public-Funds Excerpt: As we have previously noted, Christmas Bonuses for public […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Why Normal thinks their debt is fine

By:  Diane Benjamin Previous story based on the Budget Session documents:  https://blnnews.com/2020/01/28/normal-expect-property-tax-increases-to-continue/ It has always annoyed me when Koos and company claim Normal’s debt isn’t a problem.  They think it isn’t because they are NOT looking at the big picture, they only look at what payments will be required every year. They don’t care about […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal: Expect Property Tax Increases to continue

By:  Diane Benjamin The chart below is from the documents the Normal Town Council used for the Budget Session held on January 16, 2020.  Normal 1-16-2020 budget session PDF page 70: Town staff already decided you have to pay more! Note:  I haven’t heard anything about the Social Security rate going up, the only way […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

More BNWRD

By:  Diane Benjamin This won’t be the last story, stay tuned. BNWRD is the Bloomington Normal Water Reclamation District.  Whatever you flush they process.  Homes connected to the sanitary sewer system should be charged on the water bill AND on the property tax bill.  This is the same principle as Bloomington billing you for water […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Bloomington council last night

By:  Diane Benjamin Public comment only had two people, one was a member of the Connect Transit Working Group.  See her comments at 13:30.  She was excited about the upcoming report.  It will be interesting to see how many members agree with her.  Those who don’t agree need to issue their own report.  She mentioned […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Update: How many non-citizens got driver’s licenses?

See below, I received additional information at 3:30pm By:  Diane Benjamin Received by FOIA: How many of these 298,025 people were not fluent in English?  Remember, the DMV is not allowed to ask about citizenship.    https://blnnews.com/2020/01/19/dmv-isnt-allowed-to-ask-about-citizenship/ Automatic Voter Registration means everybody is asked if they want to register to vote.  How many said yes […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Connect Transit – tomorrow

By:  Diane Benjamin https://www.connect-transit.com/documents/Board%20Packet%201-28-20.pdf Connect Transit didn’t meet for a regular meeting in December, so November and December are reported together for the 1/28/2020 meeting. November 2019 loss – PDF page 8 December 2019 loss – PDF page 14 Every person that rides costs around 4 times more than the person riding is paying:  (PDF […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Bloomington payments 1/27/2020

By:  Diane Benjamin https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23757 Since the City now has Jeff Jurgens as an employee, we will see if this disappears in the future:  (he was their employee) Community Relations?  did you get an invite to the feast: A future artist fee? This really needs a new name: Pantagraph scores again: This is just a members […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

BCPA posts another event report!

By:  Diane Benjamin Source:  https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23753 Looks impressive, RIGHT? Not so fast, see below. The artist fees are blank again! (see previous stories) https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23691 Obviously this show lost money just like most of the others.   See the event as promoted here:  https://www.artsblooming.org/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/10963/710?curdate=12-13-2019&curm=12&cury=2019  

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Weekend Laughables

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Fake News

By:  Diane Benjamin This story could go 1000 different ways.  Most readers here know Fake News when they see it. The local media doesn’t. This morning two women on a local radio station were discussing how distressing it is to be called Fake News since they are in the media. A month or so ago […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Guess what I got – and it didn’t take 5 days!

By:  Diane Benjamin Three emails with my FOIA request showed up last night:  Public Building Commission! Almost every other government agency waits 5 days to respond to FOIA requests, even if they have the information easily available.  Thanks to Robert Porter, Commission Council. If you missed the previous stories: https://blnnews.com/2020/01/20/ever-heard-of-the-public-building-commission/ https://blnnews.com/2020/01/21/more-on-the-public-building-commission/ https://blnnews.com/2020/01/22/more-public-build-commission-3/ Evidently the records […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

ILGOP thinks non-citizen voting deserves a donation from you

By:  Diane Benjamin Tim Schneider, head of the ILGOP really has gaul. Today he sent a fundraising letter .  It includes this: At the Illinois Republican Party, we’re working every day to make sure that our rights as Illinoisans and Americans are upheld and protected. We’re determined to stop corrupt politicians and corrupt institutions from enabling […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Picture: Stan’s property

By:  Diane Benjamin Pam Reece claims Stan Nord’s W. College property is near housing, therefore the Town has a right to tell him what he can do with it. Actually Pam, it’s across a FOUR lane interstate: The property around it isn’t developed. Does the Town want at $1.75 billion corporation coming to town or […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Corruption in Normal?

By:  Diane Benjamin Would anybody be surprised if there was?  We do live in Illinois after all! WGLT did a story yesterday about Stan Nord’s property on W. College.  First you need to know this: Below are payments to WGLT from Normal taxpayers while one of WGLT’s employees was a trustee:  (RC McBride) Why did […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Update: More Public Building Commission – #3

Robert Porter received both my first and second emails – I received an automated response to my FOIA: By:  Diane Benjamin This is story number 3.  I don’t mind ruffling feathers when requests for information aren’t answered.  The people I emailed in this story still have not responded:  https://blnnews.com/2020/01/20/ever-heard-of-the-public-building-commission/ All I want is the minutes […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal last night

By:  Diane Benjamin Chris Koos and Chemberly Cummings were no-shows at Normal’s Council meeting last night,  That makes two in row for Koos, The majority of the meetings was climate activists wanting government to make a plan to protect citizens during events like last year’s polar vortex.  There was a long line at public comment […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Bloomington proves why Fair Tax is the wrong amendment

By:  Diane Benjamin On the November ballot will be an amendment to the Illinois Constitution to change income tax from a flat rate to a progressive tax.  The State will quickly run out of high income people to tax – the middle class makes up the majority of taxpayers so that tax will hit them […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

CT Working Group meeting tomorrow

By:  Diane Benjamin The dates and locations seem to keep changing.  Is Connect trying to keep the public from showing up? I hear the consultant won’t be there, did they get fired?  I’m told Julie Hile will be leading, leading to where the Town of Normal and Connect Transit want the discussion to end up? […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Bloomington meets tonight

In case you didn’t know: Get a preview here:  https://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1054&Inline=True

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

More on the Public Building Commission

By:  Diane Benjamin See yesterday’s story:  https://blnnews.com/2020/01/20/ever-heard-of-the-public-building-commission/ Frist, there is State Law governing Public Building Commissions – it was enacted in 1955: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=683&ChapterID=11 Excerpts: They are separate from other government agencies They have to keep minutes, receipts and disbursement records They are subject to an annual audit They can sign contracts and borrow money I have […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Update: Ever heard of the Public Building Commission?

Jim Soeldner sent this link to a 2017 Pantagraph story describing the Public Building Commission.  https://www.pantagraph.com/building-blocks-pbc-marks-years-of-construction-projects Evidently they have been violating the Open Meetings Act for years. By:  Diane Benjamin I bet you thought the County was building the addition to the Law and Justice Center.  Remember when your sales tax was raised to fund […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Coliseum and Hockey

By:  Diane Benjamin VenuWorks finally posted 2 hockey reports for the new league playing at the Coliseum.  (Grossinger Motors Arena is too long folks) The memo states these are the top two teams in the League, a new one from here will be playing next year.  I do not know why these two games were […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

This owner got a BNWRD bill after 20 years!

By:  Diane Benjamin See the previous story:  https://blnnews.com/2020/01/16/what-stan-warned-about-happened/ Stan Nord warned about local property rights because he got a bill that should have been paid by owners of his property years before.  The Town of Normal didn’t care that failure to collect was THEIR fault.  He paid the bill in protest. In the previous story […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

DMV isn’t allowed to ask about citizenship!

By:  Diane Benjamin We know the Secretary of States office registered non-citizens to vote because of a “glitch” at the DMV:  https://blnnews.com/2020/01/15/sos-glitch-registered-illegals-to-vote-in-illinois/ That is not the entire story.  The DMV is not allowed to ask anyone applying for a drivers license if they are a citizen!  That means it is up to your local clerk […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal – Tuesday night

By: Diane Benjamin The Council meeting will be Tuesday since Monday is Martin Luther King Day.   Source:  https://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3531 A few choice payments: Normal needs a new company doing video.  The recent problems should be strike THREE. The Mayor still has pay to attend conferences.  He needs to explain how the membership benefits taxpayers.  If […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Weekend too many good ones!

 

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Update: Two things you might have missed

Change it to three things – see below. By:  Diane Benjamin Sometimes I see local news on Facebook and just assume the local press will report it.  I don’t think they reported this one: State Farm on pace to lose car-insurance crown If recent trends persist, Geico will overtake State Farm as the country’s largest […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Ever heard government programs never die? Thank Koos

By:  Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal held a 9 1/2 hour budget meeting yesterday.  What it amounted to was a conga line of department heads who already had their budgets done. If you thought citizen comments would shape the budget, you are wrong. The budget was obviously already done, the citizen summit comments might […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Because Bloomington and Normal can’t work together . . .

By:  Diane Benjamin Normal wants to build a far east fire station.  Remember when the citizens just wanted it moved across the street?  Of course Normal didn’t listen.  https://blnnews.com/2019/01/23/normal-citizens-dont-fit-the-plan/ Bloomington wants a far north-east side fire station.  Most people don’t know where Bloomington stops and Normal begins, but the two cities aren’t capable of working […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

What Stan warned about happened!

By:  Diane Benjamin Think you own your property? Keep reading! Think back almost a year ago.  The Town of Normal tried to collect sewer tap-on fees from Stan for his property on West College. The property was connected when Stan bought it, and when the previous owner bought it, and the one before that one!  […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

SOS “glitch” registered illegals to vote in Illinois

By:  Diane Benjamin Evidently this is breaking news since I haven’t seen anyone else report it! The Secretary of State sent a letter to the State Board of Elections on December 18, 2019 stating 574 non-citizens had been registered to vote by the DMV when getting a driver’s license.   Illinois allows illegals to get a […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal and WGLT

By:  Diane Benjamin What relationship should exist between government and media? We know WGLT employee RC McBride was on the Normal Town Council until he was defeated last April. We know WGLT employee Mike McCurdy is the chair of the Connect Transit Board and appointed by the Town of Normal. Does WGLT ever do any […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Downtown Bloomington Website

By:  Diane Benjamin On the front page of the City of Bloomington website is a link to the Downtown Bloomington website:  cityblm.org The first time I clicked on it I got an error message, the second time the website came up:  http://downtownbloomington.org/ Next I clicked on Explore Downtown – then Shop.  The site has directory […]