By: Diane Benjamin This is a Connect Transit bus. Note it stops at the tracks. Flashing lights then mean hurry up. Maybe the bus was empty. Sent by a reader with a dash cam. This happened today on College Avenue.
By: Diane Benjamin If you didn’t opt your children out of the new sex ed curriculum, below is what they may be learning in 8th grade. See the new national sexualizing your kids standards here: https://advocatesforyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/NSES-2020-web.pdf Jeanne Ives included the below in her Breakthrough Ideas newsletter. This is courtesy of SB 818 passed by the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did you get this email? Greetings Wildcats! You are being contacted in hopes you might allow your student to participate in a research study being conducted by Tyra Jackson at ISU. If your adolescent chooses to participate, they will be asked to complete a 5-minute online survey and a few activities during […]
by: Diane Benjamin Hudson Il on Sunday: 20 miles north of the Illinois border – Clinton Wisconsin Friday: Belvidere Il – Sunday. Unleaded $3.95 (south of the above) Costco was by far the winner: Other area stations were at $3.389. We didn’t see any gas over $3.60 anywhere in Wisconsin. Both the Wisconsin Sales Tax […]
I think I will pretend there is no news this weekend. But then again, maybe not. Try to have a good weekend!
By: Diane Benjamin Yes, I received this list by FOIA. Below is a list of properties where water appears to be shut off because there aren’t any current bills, at least that’s the policy. They all show past due amounts over 120 days. If even the first 10 pages (49 per page) have water shut […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Washington Post, or as Mark Levin calls them – the Washington Compost, printed a story about Cities 92.9: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/10/26/right-wing-radio-station/ Everything you need to know about the Washington Post can be summed up by looking at the top stories on their website this morning: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ The Washington Post if obviously a mouthpiece […]
This one reveals who designed the three billboards. School Board elections are next April. Angels4Freedom will be promoting candidates for both Unit 5 and District 87. . . . . .
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington spends a fortune on Information Technology: PDF page 165 https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/27976/637892645121170000 . Spending MILLIONS of dollars every year should mean first class access to data. It doesn’t! Bloomington doesn’t know how many landlords were forced to pay bills for tenants a previous City Council said they didn’t have to pay. Bloomington doesn’t […]
Look for it on South Veterans Parkway: #3 of 3 tomorrow . . . . .
Look for it on South Veterans Parkway: . . . . .
By: Diane Benjamin Jelani Day’s mom spoke at Public Comment last night via phone. Carmen Bolden-Day still has no answers more than a year after her son disappeared and was later found in the Illinois River. Carmen claimed she hasn’t been able to talk to investigators since February. She also talked about the handling of […]
Since MANY people sent this to me, I’m printing it. This has been circulating via email. VOTE NO. It was originally on Wirepoints.org Chicago It’s taken 50 years, but Illinois politicians are on the cusp of delivering the ultimate gift to their most important voting bloc: They’re scheming to enshrine public union power directly into […]
By: Diane Benjamin The meeting length will be determined by what is pulled from the Consent Agenda – it’s long. It’s difficult to understand why some Enterprise Funds have to balance or you get tax increases to make up the difference, but Capital Funds can be used to buy 3 new movers for the golf […]
By: Diane Benjamin 3 judges are on the ballot for retention. Probably all 3 will be retained because voters really don’t believe in term limits even though they say they do: Mark Fellheimer is the Chief judge. Close to a month ago I asked the Circuit Clerk Don Everhart to approve press credentials for me, […]
By: Diane Benjamin This graph shows the percent of Unit 5 students who participated in Standardized Testing in 2021: https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/District.aspx?source=trends&source2=participationrate&Districtid=17064005026 If you click the link you can view the rate for various years. In 2019 it was 99% for English Language Arts and Math, 96% for Science. 2020 has no data. Next look at 9th […]
By: Diane Benjamin Where did the Vote Yes committee get your cell phone number? From Unit 5? I know people receiving texts who believe they couldn’t have come from anyone else. That’s illegal Unit 5, luckily Illinois doesn’t have prosecutors who care. This was texted Thursday night, h/t a reader: At best this graph is […]
By: Diane Benjamin A reader sent this mailer to me, evidently Chung and Koehler want to win by conning voters: Since reforming pensions isn’t the Constitutional Amendment on the ballot, democrats will not be cutting property taxes. They won’t be giving more money to schools so they can cut property taxes because close to 25% […]
By: Diane Benjamin Senator Mike Lee is an icon in the Senate for his knowledge of the Constitution. He has written many books on both legal issues and the founding of this country. Mike Lee is the epitome of what Republicans want their elected public servants to be. His fidelity to the Constitution makes him […]
By: Diane Benjamin For a change I didn’t have to FOIA the reports. https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/government/advanced-components/documents/-folder-2027 New reports have been posted to the City website, these represent the beginning of a new season. They aren’t off to a good start if you believe entertainment shouldn’t be subsidized by people who can’t afford to attend: Loss: $13,792.88 Performance […]
By: Diane Benjamin While waiting for Bloomington to comply with yet another FOIA on water bills I stumbled across this story: https://blnnews.com/2021/06/29/free-free-free-bloomington/ The Finance Director is on video detailing in June of 2021 how many water bills were more than 60 days past due. He also detailed how many were past due pre-COVID. Magically when […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday’s Bloomington City Council meeting was SHORT. The video is only 33 minutes and 21 seconds. The stated purpose of the Committee of the Whole meeting was reviewing the Council Retreat. Mboka showed some slides, evidently the video is the only place to see them. The City website has a Documents tab: […]
By: Diane Benjamin This lady was back at public comment last night. She is a landlord who is stuck with the water bill(s) of tenant(s) who didn’t pay before they left because Bloomington said they didn’t have to: . She stated she is on the hook for $27,000. She was never contacted by the City […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal’s year-end was 6 1/2 months ago. https://www.normalil.gov/128/Annual-Comprehensive-Financial-Report See the required Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022? https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=468 What are they hiding? Can you imagine a private company do this? . . . .
By: Diane Benjamin The entire meeting of the Normal Town Council video is 1:12:08. The discussion about buying two Rivian vehicles started at 14:40 and didn’t end until 1:02:58 with a vote of 4-3. Kevin McCarthy pulled the purchase from the Omnibus Agenda so he could bloviate. He claimed Rivian has paid the town $2 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Committee of the Whole tonight 6:00: Of course the FINAL REPORT isn’t in the documentation. Council will be reviewing the retreat that wasn’t on video.
By: Diane Benjamin This is in the documentation for tonight: 2009 was 13 years ago, what happened between “several” and the past 2-3 years? How much was SolarBee in 2009? https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/383 $14,044.00 was paid with a grant. Solar needs SUN, who knew? Staff wants to waive formal bidding yet again and buy from PAX. Total […]
Why Duckworth should not be reelected!
By: Diane Benjamin PDF page 69: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4451 Remember when Pam Reece claimed buying these vehicles was not in the 5 year budget? Ha Ha. Remember the Vehicle and Equipment Replacement Fund where they stockpile your money so they can pay cash? Remember when they decided to LEASE 30 vehicles instead of paying cash? https://blnnews.com/2021/12/06/normal-truth-in-taxation-is-mia/ Remember […]
By: Diane Benjamin City Manager Pam Reece had total compensation of $264,309.63 last year, the Council voted in April to give her an $8000 raise. That’s not enough abuse? How about making you pay for Fire Hydrants feet from Bloomington’s? . That’s not enough abuse? How about an underpass to save 50 feet where the […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader I updated this story from yesterday, a CO2 pipeline in Mississippi did break, a small town had to be evacuated. Capturing CO2 with no place to store it is STUPID. https://blnnews.com/2022/10/13/ever-heard-of-co2-pipelines/ Below is what happens when Climate Change clowns close coal fired power plants with no way to replace […]
It’s E. Jefferson Sent by a reader, I was told this is E Washington – close to the David Davis Mansion. There are no barricades or warning signs. If you have the Bloomington App please report it. (otherwise they will see it here) I don’t remember brick on this road, but then I prefer to […]
A CO2 pipeline in Mississippi did break: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2022/09/11/here-minute-details-2020-mississippi-co-2-pipeline-leak-rupture-denbury-gulf-coast/8015510001/ A reader emailed me that landowners in McLean County have been contacted about allowing CO2 to be stored in rock beneath their property. NONE have agreed to this scheme. Another reader told me a leak could affect the Mahomet Aquifer. By: Diane Benjamin If you haven’t you […]
By: Diane Benjamin Reforming pensions should be the Constitutional amendment on the November 8th ballot. It isn’t, that is more than enough reason to vote NO on the amendment that is on the ballot. Pension debt keeps rising as it eats at least 25% of the State budget. Fixing pensions isn’t ever a priority! The […]
By: Diane Benjamin Enrollment last year: Unit 5 just posted the new enrollment: 197 fewer students, but they need more money. Did you know Income Inequality is higher in Blue States than Red? https://www.dailywire.com/news/blue-states-have-worse-inequality-than-red-ones-new-census-data-shows Before voting on Unit 5’s demand for more money, see what they did with the money they already have: https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:272dce9b-d9ad-3886-8b64-4b28ffafcc1b That […]
By: Diane Benjamin Board Report from the September meeting: If you want to see data (it’s worse!) going back to 2013, see this story: https://blnnews.com/2019/04/12/bloomington-library-continues-traffic-decline/ The Library renovation was sold as needing more space because the library was built in 1976 when the population was only 42,000. Obviously the trends above do not show traffic […]
