By: Diane Benjamin Unit 5 incumbent candidates claim the district has a structural deficit. That is why they want more money. Unit 5 has known about this problem for YEARS and has done nothing to fix it except borrow money and try to raise property taxes twice. Just this fact proves why a new board […]
By: Diane Benjamin Dennis Grundler showed how a candidate forum should be run today! The audience submitted questions to him in writing and then he asked them. MANY more topics were covered this way with close to zero waste of time. This way is much more informative than most debates where one person creates questions […]
All episodes of Carol’s Last Christmas are posted. Each one is around 30 minutes. Episode 9 mentions the mishandling of Normal’s other unsolved murder that falsely put Alan Beaman in jail for 13 years. Jennifer Lockmiller’s family has no justice, just like Carol Rafstad’s. The Normal police refused to participate and redacted most information. Since […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2023-02-09/railroad-caused-traffic-jam-irritates-mayor-of-normal Some stories write themselves! Chris Koos is upset about freight trains blocking crossings in Normal. Fort Jesse, College, and Linden are frequently blocked. Koss thinks he can demand shorter freight trains. He is of course oblivious to business practices that make transportation cheaper with volume. (How does he stay in business?) […]
By: Diane Benjamin February 28, 2022: https://cityblm.granicus.com/DocumentViewer.php?file=cityblm_f2826ec9d9b5f6bf9ebdb349f14596b7.pdf&view=1 The actual name of the company is Flock Group Inc. https://www.bizapedia.com/ga/flock-group-inc.html The listed CEO, Garrett Langley, is the same guy who runs Flock Safety https://www.flocksafety.com/about/meet-flock-safety The “fixed cost” isn’t so fixed: The cameras haven’t even been installed a year yet and repairs aren’t covered? The fixed annual cost […]
https://dailycaller.com/2023/02/08/university-student-snitching-systems-bias-reporting-teams/ Excerpt: I’m embarrassed to be an ISU graduate. They aren’t preparing to students to function in the real world. What a waste of tax dollars. . .
By: Diane Benjamin Profit! $4,845.77 Loss: <$2,919.74> One way to loss less money is to have fewer shows. It appears the BCPA is doing that. This report is also on-line. I don’t have any information on payments to artists:
MCGOP-Sponsored Non-partisan Event The next state-wide election – the 2023 Consolidated Election – will take place on Tuesday, April 4. This election will present voters with candidates for city and town councils, school boards, and perhaps a ballot measure or two – such as the Unit 5 proposal for a tax increase (following its defeat […]
By: Diane Benjamin The map below is from November 18, 2019 when the Council approved regulations for cannabis sales. PDF page 58: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3467 The dispensary could try to locate in any RED area. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find a location that isn’t close to family friendly businesses! Who thought Mandarin Gardens was a […]
The Woodson Center’s K-12 black history and character curriculum is based on the Woodson Principles and tells the stories of black Americans whose tenacity and resilience enabled them to overcome adversity and make invaluable contributions to our country. It also teaches character and decision-making skills that equip students to take charge of their futures. These […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Normal Town Council lives in luxury, visit the Council chambers and observe the rest of Town Hall. They want to be a Smart City, they have software to spy on what people say on line about them, and they have license plate readers. If the Town loves high tech so much, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Andy Byars, Normal Town Council candidate, is a registered lobbyist for Recall Strategies Inc. That company is all in on Green Energy and lobbying local governments to build more. Below are the Recall Strategies lobbyists listed on the Secretary of State website: https://apps.ilsos.gov/lobbyistsearch/lobbyistsearch Now look at who is trying to BUY Andy […]
By: Diane Benjamin Have some fun, click here: https://evtown.org/ Know who owns that website? I hope you noticed the wind turbines, it isn’t just about EV’s. The Town of Normal owns it – the phone number goes to Planning. Take another trip here: https://apps.ilsos.gov/lobbyistsearch/lobbyistsearch That link should show a registered lobbyist named RECALL STRATEGIES, LLC […]
By: Diane Benjamin Rachael Lund spent a lot of time collecting signatures to run for Normal Town Council. Then she withdrew because she is leaving the area. She saved me the trouble of posting stories like this one again: https://blnnews.com/2020/10/30/who-is-the-real-rachel-lund/ Lund is obviously far left. Not many signatures are needed to run for Bloomington Council. […]
Update: PDF page 87 got fixed. Everything else still applies however: By: Diane Benjamin Review this story for details: https://blnnews.com/2022/09/09/village-of-normal-discriminates-against-stan-nord/ And this story: https://blnnews.com/2022/09/20/breaking-news-the-truth-about-stan-nord-and-the-executive-session/ Below is the original notice of this meeting – it was held on a Friday, not after a regular meeting like usual. https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4416 Jump to the documents for Monday’s meeting: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4557 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal assembled an Electoral Board, brought in Michael Kasper as their attorney, held a hearing, issued a continuance to allow time for Tom Devore to submit his response, and then NEVER meet again. That meeting was never adjourned. I FOIA’d communication between the Electoral Board and participants. You will never know the […]
By: Diane Benjamin PDF page 7 – November 2022 loss: $1,406,902 PDF page 13 – December 2022 loss: $1,389,038 PDF page 26: PDF page 38 – Better Bus Stop program paused because another route analysis is needed. PDF page 10:
By: Diane Benjamin I received a tip a few days ago about layoffs at State Farm. Employees were blindsighted in another department, not claims. It doesn’t matter how long they have been with the company, State Farm is picking who stays and who goes by skillsets. Retaining jobs in McLean County hasn’t been mentioned much […]
By: Diane Benjamin At last Tuesday’s meeting a representative from Stifel Public Finance made presentation. As reported yesterday this presentation was to inform the board about the status of bonds, when some would be paid off, and clear the way for new bonds for another building project. If I hadn’t been at the meeting to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s live stream: https://vimeo.com/event/2815172 The video will not play for me! See if it does for you. Since I was at the Tri-Valley meeting, people who attended this meeting let me know what happened. If you can get the video to play, go to around 1:39. A retired financial guy from […]
By: Diane Benjamin Of course nothing is on line about presentations last night. I did attend and told them again I wanted the board packets on-line, I was asked if I wanted all 120 some pages. Duh. One board member said she looked at Unit 5 and District 87 and Tri-Valley was giving the same […]
