By: Diane Benjamin I’ve been updating and posting the chart below for months. One reader told me he doesn’t understand it, so I will explain it again. The Illinois Department of Public Health used to claim they don’t track hospitalizations and deaths in fully vaccinated people, but then they started posting it. The problem is […]
By: Diane Benjamin Posted yesterday by WGLT reporter Ryan Denham: During-a-Fraught-Time-for-Local-Media-Conservative-Radio-Station-Sees-an-Opening File this one under local comedy. The reporter is upset that Cities 92.9 veers into opinion reporting rather than straight news. Keep in mind the WGLT General Manager RC McBride used to have a seat on the Normal Town Council until he was defeated […]
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By: Diane Benjamin Stan Nord quit attending 2 on 1 meetings with Pam Reece and staff because they aren’t held to get his opinion. They are held to tell the Council what the plans are and get their official head nods. Funny how CITIZENS paying the bills aren’t privy to the same information. The 2 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit is holding a retreat Friday night and Saturday. They are required to have open meetings, the retreat is being held at the McLean County History Museum. Maybe they will be using the old courtroom so lots of people from the public can attend. The History Museum can not require an […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Democrat Party of Illinois isn’t going to reform pensions with a Constitutional Amendment. Next year they do have a Constitutional Amendment on the ballot to hand unions even more power. https://www.illinoispolicy.org/press-releases/what-is-amendment-1-an-illinois-constitutional-amendment-on-the-ballot-next-november/ If local elected officials across the State demanded a Constitutional Amendment to reform pensions, they would prove they care about […]
By: Diane Benjamin Local property values are rising which means your property taxes will be going up based on the new value of your home. Units of government claiming they are keeping the rate the same as last year want you to believe they aren’t raising your taxes. When you bill comes in the mail […]
By: Diane Benjamin You need to see this data for the story I am going to do next. We know property taxes are going up again, but property values are also going up. This will be a double whammy to your bill next year. I picked a random house on Towanda Avenue in Normal: Tax […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal wants you to believe leasing vehicles for 6-12 months saves them money. What they really get is a constant supply of new vehicles, something the taxpayers never get. Use logic folks, how can 6-12 month leases actually cost less than buying? Because depreciation doesn’t have to be listed […]
By: Diane Benjamin At the Bloomington City Council meeting last night Jeanne Hamilton announced the State had given them a grant of over $5.6 million for the expansion. Of course, they won’t be using all of it to decrease the property tax increase. See 4:15. I might have lost track, but I counted 13 comments […]
I have two Council meetings to report on plus Normal’s Work Session, but I have to take a detour for what I received from WordPress this morning. The meetings will be spread out over several days, there is a lot to cover. If I had been able to post on Saturday, the “days in a […]
By: Diane Benjamin At 5:30 last night Normal held a Work Session so the “professionals staff” could tell the Council how the American Rescue Funds should/could be spent – $10,879,113 over 2 years. Half has already been received. None of that money is in the current budget, at least some will be in next year’s […]
By: Diane Benjamin Original story about Department of Corrections employees brawling in Lexington: https://blnnews.com/2021/03/01/thugs-on-the-other-side-of-the-bars/ Below is what happened to those who were arrested: Adam Deal got 24 months probation and credit for 2 days served. He has until next October to pay $1314 in fees. Nicholas Page got 60 days in jail, 24 months probation, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda for tonight: https://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4163 From the current Budget: https://normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/18611/Town-of-Normal-Budget-2021-26 The Town of Normal collects taxes from you supposedly to amass money that allows them replace vehicles with cash. They are sitting on more than $12 million dollars. Remember the fire truck they took out a loan to buy instead of paying cash? […]
I’ve been with WordPress since 2012. WordPress prides itself on customer service and has always responded quickly every time I contacted them. They call their support staff Happiness Engineers. They have ALWAYS sent a 1 click survey to see if their customers were happy with the Happiness Engineers assistance. Note: When this site was restored […]
WordPress canceled this site’s suspension after I sent a 4th note. The suspension was lifted in response to the first note I sent Friday. The 4th note didn’t ask for an explanation, details tomorrow. I will be on Cities 92.9 after the 7:00 am news. This isn’t over! ( Sorry to all the haters out […]
By: Diane Benjamin District 87 doesn’t live stream school board meetings. They don’t post video on their website either. They should do both is they care about transparency. Barry Reilly already resigned (retiring), Board Members should follow if they are intimated by Shane McCurdy. Reilly has no grounds to ban McCurdy from school board meetings […]
By: Diane Benjamin This will be your last chance:
By: Diane Benjamin Follow the money. The link to the information below is available from the McLean County Health Department website. Clicking on the COVID-19 Vaccine tab takes you to the IDPH website – Illinois Department of Public Health. I have been tracking breakthrough hospitalizations and deaths in Illinois which proves the vaccinated can still […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve written before about a dangerous crosswalk on Raab Road: https://blnnews.com/2020/07/14/raab-road-is-a-death-waiting-to-happen/ The Town of Normal trains people on Constitution Trail to think vehicles will stop for them just because lines are painted on the road and there is a pole in the middle of the street. The Normal police had to do […]
By: Diane Benjamin This morning I attended a breakfast just to meet the GOP candidate for the new 17th Congressional District: Democrat pawn Sherri Bustos isn’t running again, so this is an open seat. If you want the border protected and sanity restored to Washington DC, I suggest you look at this candidate. She will […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is the updated chart based on the Illinois Department of Public Health numbers: https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19/vaccine/vaccine-breakthrough.html The last time I updated the chart was November 15th. Click the link – the breakthrough cases are largely in people 65 and over. 27% of hospitalizations and 13% of deaths are in the 18-64 age group. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Government is not capable of Master Planning because they are spending YOUR money not theirs. They use your taxes as a piggy bank to fulfill their wishes. Voters keep electing progressives who promise to make their lives better and of course not raise taxes to do it. Insert your own joke__________________. Proof […]
By: Diane Benjamin There is a Facebook Group called: Save the Uptown Mural and Historic Buildings On November 29th this story was posted to the group: Against Master Developers The best lines in the story are at the end: Master planner-based developments, with their large, centralized buildings, inhibit the growth of local businesses and reduce […]
