By: Diane Benjamin Previous stories: https://blnnews.com/2020/03/30/illegal-parade-yesterday/ https://blnnews.com/2020/03/31/gleason-response-to-parade/ The 4 year old kid that got his own City parade isn’t even sick. Colleen Winterland, Street Supervisor (base salary $75,499.58) is buddies with the kids mom. Yes folks, government is all about WHO you know. This proves it is Us vrs. Them. The mom, Melisa Menssen, tried […]
By: Diane Benjamin For many years the Town of Normal has raised property taxes by telling you the increases were necessary to fund pensions. They left out one fact. All of the increased taxes for properties located in TIF Districts don’t go to pensions – they go to the TIF. Follow along: This isn’t complicated. […]
You need to see this one: https://blnnews.com/2020/03/31/i-expect-apologies-the-kid-isnt-even-sick/ By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up to yesterday’s story: https://blnnews.com/2020/03/30/illegal-parade-yesterday/ I asked Bloomington City Manager Tim Gleason about Sunday’s parade of City vehicles. The original rumor was the parade was for a grandchild of the City employee who organized it. Tim responded yesterday afternoon, I continue to redact the employee’s […]
See this UPDATE: https://blnnews.com/2020/03/31/i-expect-apologies-the-kid-isnt-even-sick/ By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader Yesterday there was a mini parade of City vehicles, including an emergency fire department vehicle. The parade was organized by a Public Works employee, I know who. I am waiting for a response from City Manager Tim Gleason before using her name. Supposedly the parade […]
A link appeared in a comment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxRwWA4bZxE http://prntscr.com/rpizp1 By: Diane Benjamin If you didn’t watch the Bloomington City Council meeting held on March 23, 2020 LIVE, it appears you will never see it. The meeting video has not been upload. Click the Archived City Council Video link to verify: https://www.cityblm.org/government/city-council/meetings-agendas The published minutes of meetings […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t some readers Must read story from yesterday: https://blnnews.com/2020/03/29/why-dave-shields-defends-koos/ This story won’t make any sense without reading the first story. There is more to know. Start with the Matter Family Foundation: Stephen S. and Anne E. K. Matter Foundation Family foundation Since this is a non-profit, tax returns are on line. See […]
By: Diane Benjamin Chris Koos obviously wanted Dave Shields on the Council – Shields was on the ballot for the 2019 elections. Luckily he lost. Keep reading to see why that was a good thing. Go all the way back to 2005. 701 Broadway was a fraternity house and it “was a habitual source of […]
How is quarantine going? For many, probably not well. Many lives have been upended because of a virus. No one can accurately predict the future or say how long this will last. No one knows how bad this can get or how quickly it will pass. We do know close to 99% of people who […]
With extra time on their hands, people have overloaded me with comics. Therefore you get TWO editions!
By: Diane Benjamin Somehow retiring Normal Trustee Jeff Fritizen ended up with a big party and a bike the Town purchased from Mayor Chris Koos’s bike shop. Since inquiring minds want to know, I FOIA’d the Town of Normal for all communication about the bike. In this story I printed the Town answer: https://blnnews.com/2020/03/09/one-more-on-jeff-fritzens-bike/ They […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council met Thursday night since technology prevented them from holding a meeting on Monday. The only Alderman in the room was Donna Boelen. also present was Tari Renner, Tim Gleason, City Clerk Leslie Yochum, and Jeff Jurgens. There was a painfully long pause when aldermen wanted to speak, most […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night – Note who was the featured guest: If you want to see the demands: https://docs.google.com/document/ Radicals always want to grow government using your money. Maybe Tari can fill citizens in at tonight’s rescheduled meeting. I wonder if he made it clear some of their demands are illegal. The radicals aren’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin The ordinance Normal passed last Monday did this: PDF page 5 http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3586 Now jump to the Town Code – PDF page 10: http://normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/7775/Chapter-25—Miscellaneous?bidId= Put the two together. Normal declared a local emergency as required by City Code. That proclamation gave the Mayor the authority to enact 1 through 4 if he chooses. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Ever heard “Best Practices”? Who decides what a “Best Practice” is? Somebody in New York or California? Isn’t a “Best Practice” what works best for you, your family, your friends, or even your community? What works in Los Angeles probably isn’t going to work in small town fly over country. That is […]
By: Diane Benjamin This story raises lots of questions: https://blnnews.com/2020/03/16/corona-was-already-here-you-just-didnt-know-it/ We know ISU has students from foreign countries. Since Illinois kids can go to college out of state for less than in Illinois, ISU actively recruits foreign students. https://illinoisstate.edu/admissions/international/ 74 countries? This is from the 2019 enrollment recap: Fall 2019 Enrollment Report Some of those […]
https://www.connect-transit.com/about/trustees/packet.asp Evidently nobody has to approve this: From the Connect Transit website: https://www.connect-transit.com/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=392&TargetID=1,2,3,7,8,6,11,12,13,14,5,15,16,4,17,18,19 Starting Monday, March 23, 2020, Connect Transit will reduce weekday bus frequency to weekend levels. Connect will reduce service to be more in line with current ridership and it will provide flexibility in staffing and increased levels of bus and facility cleaning. […]
By: Diane Benjamin WGLT did a story yesterday pertaining to the still empty space at 1 Uptown Circle. Take a minute and read it: https://www.wglt.org/emails-show-developers-struggle-find-first-floor-tenant-uptown-building Since the Town of Normal and WGLT are best buds, there has to be a reason for this story. I’ve noted many times Tartan Realty had the opportunity to rent […]
By: Diane Benjamin Both Bloomington and Normal held meetings last night. Both attempted to use “conferencing”. Some elected officials were in the council chambers, others were on the phone or computer. Both attempts proved government incompetence. Government should be the very best possible performing essential services. When government expands their role “for the people” it […]
By: Diane Benjamin I have no idea who is in the Council Chambers because the Town is not using regular video. I do know some of the Trustees are on the phone, it appears they are trying to use video conferencing. The sound eventually got better and then worse again.. Kevin McCarthy read many public […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tonight the Town of Normal will attempt to seize power there is no need for: https://blnnews.com/2020/03/22/normal-emergency-meeting-monday/ Mayor Koos and Pam Reece want broad powers to respond however they see fit when no emergency exists locally. See this story from earlier today: https://blnnews.com/2020/03/23/just-the-facts-china-corona-virus/ Worse, the Town of Normal doesn’t want citizens present. Public […]
Many of you have asked why crimes by government officials aren’t prosecuted. Reason: Government refuses to prosecute them. Kirk Allen provides plenty of examples. Reprinted from Kirk Allen – Edgar County Watchdogs https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2020/03/the-crumbling-backbone-of-our-government-public-trust/?fbclid=IwAR1LjBV8qT1pbcn2kwa_JyRHUqBjFYqgXAA9klii5hJqGoRL_2zORPyRNKE Public Trust – (ECWd) – Part of our Constitutional Rights is due process. That due process is the foundation of protecting our rights […]
By: Diane Benjamin Skip the media hysteria and get Illinois information directly from the the Department of Public Health: https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/diseases-and-conditions/diseases-a-z-list/coronavirus The page is updated daily, this is from yesterday. Note the death rate is less than 1%. The site has an interactive map showing cases by County, most of Illinois has few or no […]
By: Diane Benjamin True socialists. They were never taught everybody isn’t guaranteed equal outcomes. People who develop talents worth more earn more. Systemic injustice exists only in the brain of those expecting compensation inconsistent with their abilities. This is why the Bloomington City Council should disregard Jenn’s demands. Her goal is forcing socialism, not personal responsibility. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Documentation for the 5:00 pm meeting: http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3586 This meeting is not to address this: Illinois State University is closed and Normal’s pension funding percentages have crashed, that is a real emergency. Stopping non-essential spending to get ahead of the more than likely severe revenue decrease isn’t an emergency being considered. Protecting City […]
By: Diane Benjamin Maybe the below will tell you why the public is encouraged to watch this meeting on-line instead of showing up. In an “emergency”, keep citizens from speaking. WEEK is the only media I’ve seen saying the virus has likely been here for some time: https://week.com/2020/03/20/mclean-county-reports-3-new-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR0txyysl-6hw6DFVEnpzQ_g8xkdJh7ESaf0Re0UoDVIsLaSu2wYe3l0ukg Packet for Bloomington Monday night: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1067&Inline=True Hey […]
By: Diane Benjamin Correction: “firearms” is mentioned on pdf page 343 7.3a.7 No surprise, it wasn’t posted until around 5:00 pm. PDF page 335 http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1067&Inline=True This is mostly a re-write of the City Code and has Jeff Jurgens’ legalise all over it. The words ammunition and gun are NOT in it, unlike Champaign. This statement […]
Renner’s open house will be by phone today: I can’t imagine what you could ask Tari, – oh maybe why the BCPA is not transparent? Wasn’t Renner Mayor Transparency? https://blnnews.com/2020/03/20/bcpa-resorts-to-deception/ How about telling Tari to scrap the $738,000 STUDY for O’Neil Park! They can no longer afford it!
By: Diane Benjamin Since the BCPA is shut down, staff had time to do event reports. Well, they sort of did reports. To disguise how much money they are losing, most of the reports below don’t show any REVENUE. Of course the Artist Fees aren’t on the reports either. You are looking at the reason […]
By: Diane Benjamin Budget – PDF page 56 https://www.cityblm.org/home/showdocument?id=24029 We have no idea when life will return to normal, but government needs to scale back now. The only receipts that may increase is the Utilities Tax since a lot of people are at home. All the X tax receipts will be effected, how many businesses will […]
By: Diane Benjamin Some think they can bully government into submission, IPA is one of them. Jenn Carrillo is of course involved. You can see IPA’s demands here: Summary: Give their people your money They also want prisoners released. This morning the Sheriff’s Office issued this statement in response: The McLean County Sheriff’s Office has […]
By: Diane Benjamin Just to dispel rumors of a permanent close, I contacted the Corporate Office in Massachusetts. They sent the statement below to me, note they plan to pay their employees while off work.
By: Diane Benjamin Since no documentation is available for today’s “special” City Council meeting, citizens need to show up. Rights are lost when government acts without witnesses present. TODAY: Since the meeting is being held at the VFW Post, hopefully attacking the 2nd Amendment isn’t part of their plans.
By: Diane Benjamin Followup to this story: https://blnnews.com/2020/03/17/public-service-announcement-district-87/ We’ve known for a long time Martin Luther King’s vision of America is dead: Would King want people to vote for blacks only? Kiasha Henry proved King’s legacy is dead in her Facebook rant. Replace her comment about Trump with Obama and imagine a WHITE School Board […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington: 8885 of the 13,867 were Democrats https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/IL/Bloomington/102788/web.241347/#/summary Everywhere but Bloomington: https://webapp.mcleancountyil.gov/webapps/CountyClerk/eresults/results-1.htm 9924 of the 18003 were Democrats Total voters: 13,867 + 18,003 = 31,870 8885 + 9924 = 18,809 democrats 18,809 divided by 31,870 = 59% of the people who bothered to vote pulled a democrat ballot. This is without the […]
By: Diane Benjamin District 87 has a statement on their website expecting kids to E-Learn: https://www.district87.org/Covid 19 Update Unit 5 has this statement: https://www.unit5.org/cms/lib/IL01905100/Centricity/Domain/4/parent_letter.pdf Act of God? Evidently God isn’t banned in schools when he can be used as an excuse! District 87 uses the same terminology but they are still E-Learning anyway. I […]
By: Diane Benjamin If the voters of Bloomington had been intelligent enough to abolish the Bloomington Election Commission when they had a chance, results would be easier to understand. Now, for many races, the results from Bloomington need to be added to the rest of the County to see who won. It is a waste […]
The writer of this Facebook post if a Board Member of District 87 – you know the ones in charge of making decisions about your kids education. She should immediately resign. Parents: Do you want this person making policy decisions for your kids?
