By: Diane Benjamin Remember this story? https://blnnews.com/2022/06/21/show-me-the-money/ The Illinois Supreme Court remanded a decision by a lower court back to them regarding Cook County’s use of transportation taxes. The Court stated the Safe Roads Amendment creating a lock box for transportation related taxes applies to Home Rule municipalities too. Source: https://www.normalil.gov/129/Taxes-Fees Normal is in violation […]
By: Diane Benjamin Besides the State of Illinois cancelling the 1% grocery tax and delaying the inflation adjusted gas tax increase until after the November election, you can save on Sales Tax for 10 days. This savings only applies to items they considered school supplies. See the Qualifying and Non-Qualifying items on page 3: https://www2.illinois.gov/rev/research/publications/bulletins/Documents/2022/FY%202022-24_N0522.pdf#search=Sales%20Tax%20holiday […]
By: Diane Benjamin I received this email from a reader and Unit 5 employee, it hasn’t been modified: . In case it is too tiny to read, a Human Resources employee wrote this email to all employees after the Supreme Court overturned Dobbs and Roe. He wanted them to know “immediate and confidential” counseling is […]
By: Diane Benjamin See 1:12:00 Tim Gleason tells the Council they can’t discuss the 2nd dispensary location because the city might get sued. You will never know the details of who is behind this location or hear if any ways have been found to detect drivers under the influence. Discussion was shut down by a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Thank goodness the primary is over! Congrats to the winners. Before the next onslaught of campaign ads hit, cut the cable cord. Life is awesome without constant lies. The biggest loser is the ILGOP who failed to get Richard Irvin, Kyle Ham, and Rodney Davis elected, probably others elsewhere. Ken Griffin found […]
by: Diane Benjamin Evidently the City Council was told they can’t discuss approving the second pot dispensary or they might get sued. The State legalized it, the State handed a license to guys who mostly (if not all) live in California , the Zoning Board of Appeals approved the location, so the Council was expected […]
By: Diane Benjamin Taxpayers OWN Bloomington government, they work for you! Why is it so difficult to get information? Instead of fixing the functionality of the City website, they just redesign it. They have many useless tabs that aren’t used, nobody is cleaning them up or making SEARCHING for information easier. It’s almost like hiding […]
By: Diane Benjamin Jeanne Ives: Americans who think they can go through life without being impacted by politics are mistaken, which is why it behooves voters to pay attention to every election. Not voting in a primary today means somebody else gets to pick who is on the ballot in November. Lots of people only […]
By: Diane Benjamin FYI: While your retirement savings are being hit hard, so are the Defined Benefit Plans for Public Sector employees. You will get the bill since no one is willing to amend the Illinois Constitution. Redesigning the City website means Bills and Payroll have to be searched for now, somebody forgot to add […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) BN Advantage is back after mostly disappearing for years and a lot of tax dollars. https://www.bnadvantage.com/ The website is much better than years ago, contact information takes you to the EDC. Just Bloomington threw BN Advantage $423,867. Â https://blnnews.com/2019/04/29/bn-advantage-magazine/ Search BlnNews for more stories on BN Advantage. You might want to explore […]
By: Diane Benjamin Follow up to this story, h/t a reader: https://blnnews.com/2022/06/09/you-can-report-to-google/ Many of you did report the fictitious name Google Maps assigned to Veteran Parkway. (I can tell how many people CLICKED the link!) I’m betting Google called somebody at the City of Bloomington and asked for a clarification. Since the City thinks Route […]
By: Diane Benjamin The race for Circuit Court Judge has only ONE issue. Next Tuesday is the REPUBLICAN primary. One person running is a Republican – Don Knapp, one is a Democrat pretending to be a Republican – Amy McFarland. I don’t care who has more experience or more qualifications, those issues should have been […]
By: Diane Benjamin Everybody occasionally gets sucked in by things they see on the internet. Everybody should do more research before they post anything. (including me!) Two days ago the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council posted this on Facebook: . Ever heard of Pheabs? It didn’t take much research to find out who they are, the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I heard the Illinois Republican Party sent FIVE mailers for Scott Preston, they hung up on Jim Fisher when he called the House Republican Organization. Fisher was told they picked Preston. The ILGOP is alienating THOUSANDS of voters by interfering with letting people pick their candidates! The 91st Legislative District isn’t the […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Illinois Republican Party sent another mailer for Scott Preston, are they worried about Jim Fisher? This one is hilarious. Front side: Is the picture supposed to portray Preston as a good family man? That isn’t Scott Preston and his wife and kids in the picture. They found a family to use […]
See another book the library had on display on May below. H/t a reader. By: Diane Benjamin Maybe this is why Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe refused to consider appointing new people to the Library Board who applied, he reappointed Renner’s people instead. See this 2019 story about a conference some library personnel attended: https://blnnews.com/2019/07/20/drag-queens-at-the-library/ This national […]
By: Diane Benjamin It is vital to know who is funding candidates before you vote for them. The Illinois Republican Party is currently a super minority because of their leadership. They have been quite busy funding weak Republicans so they stay in the super minority. They can blame Democrats for everything while bringing home fat […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday was a Federal Holiday. Town of Normal code says meetings can not be held on any legal holiday: The Open Meetings Act law says a regular meeting can be held on a holiday if it is regularly scheduled, Normal threw in a Special Meeting that is not allowed under the law: […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) The special meeting Normal called at 5:45 last night was a waste of time. The promised PASER report is still not done, supposedly it will be by the end of June. Chris Koos wasn’t there, neither was Scott Preston or Karyn Smith. The license plate reading camera presentation will have to […]
By Diane Benjamin I bet you missed this one! Cook County was sued for diverting $250,000,000 annually, of monies collected from a variety of transportation-related taxes and fees. The Safe Roads Amendment (lock box) was approved by voters in 2016, it prohibits transportation relates revenues from being spent elsewhere. The Illinois Supreme Court ruled against […]
By: Diane Benjamin A 5:45pm Work Session instead of including business in an actual meeting people might watch: There is almost ZERO on the Agenda for 7:00. Evidently these two items are a secret. There is NOTHING included, like supporting materials usually in the packet.
he’s resigning https://www.hoiabc.com/2022/06/20/local-man-give-up-two-government-posts-seat-illinois-prisoner-review-board/?fbclid=IwAR0GUqW3BxtjgQ9puNZCIYm6Kqtq5IsgyFRh4MvjW_5VbQyzH6c3-Xaidj8&fs=e&s=cl Edgar County Watchdogs has the story: https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2022/06/prisoner-review-board-appointee-must-resign-from-county-board-bloomington-schools/ Excerpt: We would have thought the Governor’s Office and legal counsel would have determined if he worked elsewhere in a capacity that would hinder such an appointment. If he is to keep this appointment he needs to immediately resign from the school and from his […]
https://betternormal-il.com/why-district-normal%3F-1 The people of Normal have no one who specifically represents them. Try emailing a Trustee or all of them and see how many responses you get. It is expensive to run “At-Large” which is why you get hand picked Trustees instead of representative government. Bloomington has Wards which means each alderman represents a part […]
By: Diane Benjamin It’s always easy to tell who the true conservatives are by what happens to their campaign signs. H/T a reader: All of Jim Fisher’s signs this reader saw were spray painted. Below are just two of them. These criminal acts prove the offender doesn’t believe in free and fair elections. Conservatism is […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4329 Not much on the agenda, this meeting will only last over 10 minutes is trustee comments get good! I wonder why they vote to release Executive Session Minutes and then never put them on line? Doesn’t that mean they weren’t really released? Since the news is light, how about going back […]
By: Diane Benjamin Why is a Democrat running in the Republican Primary? 1) Why is Adam Kinzinger trying to buy a local judge? 2) What is just as disturbing as Adam Kinzinger, who hasn’t lived in the 11th Circuit for a long time, trying to buy a local judge, is all the democratic influence being […]
By: Diane Benjamin Quote from this story: https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/america-first-attorneys-demand-rural-iowa-school-stops-indoctrinating “School should prepare students for citizenship in our constitutional republic and colorblind society, not turn impressionable children into social justice warriors who view all that is good and just through the distorted lens of race, sex, gender, power, and politics.” This is a screen shot of what […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you are in the 16th Congressional District, 2 of the 4 candidates want your daughters drafted. One didn’t respond to the Illinois Family Institute survey. Only one candidate opposes drafting females. If you run into Darrin Lahood, ask him about his recent trip to Lebanon. His staff told me it was […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did you know some Bloomington officials SEARCH on this website because it is impossible to find what you are looking for on the City of Bloomington website? Instead of concentrating on function, the City is changing the look of the Bloomington website and providing LESS vital information. Example: https://www.cityblm.org/government/city-council/meetings-and-agendas Details from this […]
By: Diane Benjamin At Monday’s Bloomington Council meeting approving money for the Ecology Action Center was on the Consent Agent. Everything on it was passed with one unanimously vote including this to the Ecology Action Center: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/5a1a631e-a62d-11ec-8a90-0050569183fa-36dc0a47-f3e1-4a7f-ab53-55227cac04fe-1654897109.pdf One problem – h/t a reader: Julie Emig is listed on the Ecology Action Center website as a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember when CIRBN employees were considered Town of Normal employees with all the same benefits? https://blnnews.com/2021/01/15/can-you-tell-elections-are-coming/ When “professional staff” is your best buddy, all kinds of perks are available! Another “arrangement” you are supposed to ignore: This one involves the Town purchasing insurance from MICA – no bid contract. Review this story […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington managed a 44 minute meeting last night. Only 7 of the 9 Alderman were present: If you listened to the roll call you wouldn’t know who was missing because the Clerk only called the names of those present! (That’s not a roll call) If you can’t tell, Sheila Montney and Mollie […]
By: Diane Benjamin Unit 5 has a superintendent that uses PRONOUNS! Proof: https://blnnews.com/2021/08/27/the-winning-email/ If that doesn’t tell you your kids are going to a leftist indoctrination camp, maybe this will help. Unit 5 is all in on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Stop and read this article: https://thefederalist.com/2022/01/10/500-school-districts-publicly-declare-only-woke-teachers-need-apply/ Is “woke” Weikle only hiring woke teachers? Would […]
By: Diane Benjamin Mboka continues reappointing Renner’s picks to Board and Commissions, 7 more and 2 new. If you haven’t seen the new Ward maps yet, you have until the end of June to comment: https://www.cityblm.org/government/city-council/ward-redistricting#!/ The web page says the new Wards will go into effect May 1st next year. That is after the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Clemens and Associates is hosting a meeting for Irvin in the basement of their building on Empire. I know they previously hosted a meeting for Jesse Sullivan. Richard Irvin has some competition however. A large number of Darren Bailey supporters are outside with signs. The Irvin sign can’t be seen from passing […]
By: Diane Benjamin Proof the ILGOP interferes in primaries, publicly they claim they don’t. They obviously want to stay in the minority by not allowing conservative fighters to be elected.
By: Diane Benjamin According to this website, EAC has a fiscal year that ends on 6/30. The return as of 6/30/2021 is available: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/371157100/download990pdf_03_2022_prefixes_36-43%2F371157100_202106_990_2022030919708158 Revenue was way down last year. The only reason I thought to look at this is because the Bloomington Normal Water Reclamation District paid them labeled Customer relations: That payment is […]
