By: Diane Benjamin h/t readers Sonja was at the candidates forum yesterday. She made clear who her favorite Normal candidates are on her Facebook page, keep in mind she is the Normal City Manager’s mother-in-law and lives in a $4000+ a month subsidized apartment at 1 Uptown Circle. If you had any doubt who Koos […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal’s candidates were much more interesting than Bloomington’s because all 6 showed up. Two of Bloomington’s in the only 2 contested Wards did not. More on them later. Since I have a lot of video I decided to start with the opening remarks from all 6 candidates. There is a stark difference […]
By: Diane Benjamin Police pensions are not well funded in Normal: https://illinoiscomptroller.gov/constituent-services/local-government/local-government-warehouse/processsearchresults/?DisplayMode=GETAFR&AFRDesiredData=Pension%20Funds%20/%20Retirement%20Benefits&Code=064/095/31&CFY=2022&Menu=Yes&PrintIt=No Fire Department pensions are a least over 50% funded, the rest have pensions funded at OVER 100%. Pam Reece will be fine, public safety personnel might not. Even with a dismal percent funded, Koos is going to reappoint a current member: Of course […]
I hear lots of highly paid people lost their jobs yesterday at State Farm. Worse, a foreign company is going to run the networks that links 17,000 agents across the United States. What can go wrong?
By: Diane Benjamin Is Normal embarrassed they have TWO unsolved murders of young woman attending ISU? They must be since they refuse to release unredacted documents and most interviews from the 1975 case. What they did release shows leads were not documented as being followed up on. The 5th episode of Carol’s Last Christmas was […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Steve Suess is no longer at Cities 92.9. He’s exploring other opportunities. BIG LOSS to Sunday afternoons, guest host spots, and election coverage. 😲 2) State Farm is selling employees: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230112005620/en/HCLTech-to-Modernize-IT-Operations-for-State-Farm%C2%AE Sources tell me these are 1st and 2nd level support and claims help desk staff. Most are already working remotely. […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Unit 5 is counting on low voter turnout to pass yet another attempt to raise your taxes – that’s after they already raised property taxes. These current School Board members want re-elected: Kelly Pyle Amy Roser Both were appointed in 2018, they are part of the problem. Unions will be running […]
https://cookcountyrecord.com/stories/638722548-il-dems-change-law-to-allow-vote-by-mail-ballots-to-be-counted-in-a-way-judge-had-said-would-be-obvious-way-to-commit-fraud#.Y77Ogln5dV8.mailto Excerpts: Illinois lawmakers have changed the state’s election laws to explicitly allow county clerks and other election authorities to verify mail-in ballots using a process a judge had ruled was illegal, as it “would be an obvious way to commit ballot fraud.” Previously, under the law, Illinois lawmakers had required vote counters to ensure […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal looks to have hired yet another law firm to defeat complying with law. Michael Kasper evidently filed something with the court but wasn’t able to attend today. Enter this guy from a different law firm: Mr. Guisinger is delaying the next hearing so he can file a motion […]
Today is a status hearing for the case of the three who filed petitions for offices the state requires Incorporated Towns to elect. The time is 10:30, other cases being heard prior may delay the start. This is the link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89709789509?pwd=dFdzNGRLVGFGdjlsWmQ4dC8rclBjUT09#success The public is allowed to watch the proceeding, I remember Judge Kording noticing how […]
By: Diane Benjamin The last time I FOIA’d how much Chris Koos was charged for using the Town’s Mitsubishi I received this: . I don’t know if $45 was listed as additional compensation on every check that year or just monthly. The point is he was paying something for having that vehicle permanently assigned to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember when Stan Nord wanted to reduce the Property Tax levy by a mere $200,000? Then $100,000? https://blnnews.com/2022/11/08/kathleen-lorenz-proves-again-why-she-shouldnt-be-on-the-town-council/ Only Scott Preston sided with Nord on the tiny reduction to your property taxes. Karyn Smith and Kathleen Lorenz (and others) were appalled at changing requests from the “professional staff” during a meeting. Not […]
By: Diane Benjamin That 23 minutes includes the Pledge of Allegiance, Public Comment, and comments by the Mayor, Billy Tyus, and Jeff Crabill at the end of the meeting. Tim Gleason was absent but Julie Emig was finally back to representing her Ward. Nothing was pulled from the Consent Agenda. No questions were asked about […]
. Answer: I’m ready to delete comments from those who don’t care about truth.
By: Diane Benjamin Will someone ask Bloomington why they had 904 employees in mid December? https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/28863/638084456490870000 Bloomington ended the year with 820 employees, still way over the previous numbers! COUNTY taxpayers are forced to fund the Bloomington Election Commission while having no oversight! This is taxation without representation because BEC doesn’t answer to anyone. Green […]
By: Diane Benjamin Obviously Charlie Schlenker and WGLT can’t hold hold impartial campaign forums: https://blnnews.com/2023/01/06/wglt-does-political-comedy-again/ Another opportunity to get to know the candidates is below. Bloomington is electing Ward 1 for 2 years to replace Jamie Mathy. Wards 2 and 8 have no choices. Bloomington: Ward 1: Jenna L Kearns Ward 2: Donna Boelen Ward […]
By: Diane Benjamin 15 Million Christians aren’t registered to vote (2019): https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/politics/2019/september/15m-christians-arent-registered-to-vote-churches-across-us-participating-in-voter-registration-sunday 40 Million Christians didn’t vote (2020): https://www.independentsentinel.com/if-the-40-million-christians-who-dont-vote-did-vote/ Romans 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. I was told a pastor’s wife contacted local churches before […]
By: Diane Benjamin Even with FAR better choices available the County Chairs who decided who would serve for 2 years went with the establishment: Tom Bennett Rumor is that Dan Brady pushed Bennett. Bennett doesn’t inspire anybody. He did have a guy in his district ready to take his House seat, so of course that […]
By: Diane Benjamin Judge Kording ruled in September that Normal is an Incorporated Town even though they don’t act like it. In his ruling he stated he knows his decision could: . The “parade of horribles” has only just begun. The Normal elites ignored the ruling while celebrating the defeat of the citizen led referendum […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2023-01-05/towns-legal-memo-stan-nord-email-placed-him-at-legal-risk Let’s start with the stock photo WGLT used of Stan Nord in the article. It isn’t a picture of Nord serving as an elected Trustee on the Council, it might have been taken at the Citizen Summit the Town of Normal didn’t want to hold because they don’t care what you […]
By: Diane Benjamin I despise Vote By Mail because it leads to fraud. It has been used locally to get out the vote from the uniformed. The evidence lies in people who NEVER vote in local elections suddenly voted by mail. Those ballots put certain people back in office that would have lost without those […]
By: Diane Benjamin Michael Kasper denied the Due Process Rights of the 3 people who filed petitions to run for office (that State law requires Incorporated Towns to Elect) when he sent them letters denying ballot access. Kasper also violated the Due Process Rights of the 2 objectors who filed against them (Dullard and Fritzen) […]
By: Diane Benjamin Thomas Devore filed 2 documents and a summons for each of the three candidates who submitted petitions: ROBERT SHORAGA – Supervisor CHARLES SILA – Collector AMY CONKLIN – Clerk Since the documents are identical except for the names and copies of the petitions filed, I’m only posting 2 of the ones filed […]
By: Diane Benjamin Chris Koos and company must think the three candidates that filed for offices required to be elected in Incorporated Towns will just disappear if they are ignored. Koos is WRONG Without a meeting or even a notice on their website, the Electoral Board decided they won’t hear any further testimony for the […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/01/03/nominations-sent-to-the-senate-91/ Carper’s term expired YEARS ago, so much for being vital.
By: Diane Benjamin Another bike path was on the agenda. Refer back to the previous story, bike paths have a higher priority than roads. Mayor Bike Shop? The Town supposedly received 100% funding for the new path on the west side of Normal. Engineering is 8.5% higher than expected so the Town needed a budget […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s meeting will take more than one story! The Town of Normal GIS system for identifying projects is a useful tool. Try this link: https://tongis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/4f41ead227e440dda1ca5ca85bdbdddb You need to click Transportation on the left side and then 2023 at the bottom. The first thing to notice is it says 27 projects but […]
If you didn’t read the decision, both objections were dismissed because the objectors didn’t include their addresses on the documents filed. The actual merits of their cases were never heard since not including their addresses violated state law. By: Diane Benjamin No one was kicked off the ballot. Details are in the File below. The […]
By: Diane Benjamin Most people remember the 1993 Jennifer Lockmiller case where Alan Beaman was declared innocent after spending years in prison. https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3018 The case is still unsolved. Is anyone investigating now? Lockmiller was not the only unsolved murder on the ISU campus however. In 1975 Carol Rofstad was murdered outside her sorority house. The […]
By: Diane Benjamin If the Illinois Republican Party ever wants to have a voice in Springfield they have to fix the party first. It needs to start at the top with Don Tracy resigning immediately. The Republican Party needs to rid itself of democrats. The current leadership hates the party base. The Party Chairs of […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this story for the source or the below: https://blnnews.com/2022/05/09/no-surprise-normal-needs-6-million-more-to-build-the-underpass/ The cost to build an underpass that only pedestrians and bikers can use continues to increase. Note the $6,000,000 increase due to inflation was estimated in April 2022. How much over $6 million is it now? Since inflation is still ridiculously high, […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4527 The Council isn’t meeting until Tuesday night since Monday is another day off. In case you forgot the show staged at the last Council meeting: (copied from the minutes, PDF page 5) Jodi Pomis, Town of Normal Deputy Clerk and Normal resident addressedCouncilmembers regarding an email that Councilmember Stan Nord sent […]
