By: Diane Benjamin Two new BCPA reports below – of course the Performance Fee aren’t included. Did they quit reporting attendance because it’s embarrassing? The performance fees are hard to decipher because they aren’t marked correctly on Bills and Payroll reports. There wasn’t an event on 4/23, did they mean 4/20? Then there are these […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you are not currently receiving Jeanne Ives – BreakThrough emails, sign up here: Break Through Ideas with Jeanne Ives Jeanne’s (former State rep) commentary on the new Illinois budget:
By: Diane Benjamin These Coliseum events made money: $33,264.09 Total. Co-promote means the risk is shared, but then so are the profits. The other 2 are rentals.
To the families of those who have given their holy blood for our land, we all bow to you in reverence and to the souls of your loved ones. Their sacrifice was not in vain. They are not dead, but alive, and their souls hovering around us every second of every minute. They will never […]
By: Diane Benjamin This email was received by FOIA. Although long, it has lots of good information you probably didn’t know – like the Town of Normal “settled” for Chick-fil-A. I wonder if this company that racks in tax dollars for Normal know? Remember, the Council pre-election voted 6-1 against High Haven. After the election […]
By: Diane Benjamin Does the local ACLU agree with mutilating children? Putting them on puberty blockers that can make them infertile for life? A VERY HIGH percentage of kids who are convinced by social media they are trans outgrow it. Kids should not be guinea pigs in a science experiment. This is evil. If the […]
By: Diane Benjamin That is a link to the packet for the meeting held 2 days ago. Yawn now, Connect lost another $1,215,864 in April. They reported for the 10th month in their fiscal year – only 2 more to go. Through 10 months they lost $12,405,171. The budget for all 12 months is to […]
By: Diane Benjamin The streets and sidewalks presentation from Monday night is now online: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/29386 PDF page 2 states Bloomington has 842 Lane Miles (streets). Below is the same graphic I posted earlier, except this one is readable – PDF page 12: From 1995 to 2022 Bloomington resurfaced a total of 359.6 lane miles. 27 […]
By: Diane Benjamin A couple more things from Bloomington’s Monday meeting: Jeff Jurgen, who was promoted to the 2nd Assistant City Manager has a base pay of $186,134. With benefits the total is $234,297: https://bloomingtonil_redesign.prod.govaccess.org/home/showpublisheddocument/29259/638174076712770000 An employee now with the State’s Attorney’s office has been hired to replace Jurgens as Corporate Attorney – Christopher Spanos. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Note: Any media in bed with government isn’t going to report things that would sever the relationship. That would be WGLT, even the Pantagraph noticed. This email is part of a huge FOIA request I’m taking my time reading. Readers: Refrain from commenting on my grammar after reading the below.
By: Diane Benjamin The report presented last night is supposed to be on-line, so far I don’t see it. Instead of posting reports before meetings, staff likes showing slides that are frequently barely readable on the screen. The presentation was very comprehensive! If you want to know about the roads and sidewalks, watch the whole […]
By: Diane Benjamin It’s always nice when the clueless show up and claim they elected the new members of the Bloomington City Council. Unfortunately they are right. The new members plus Mboka and Tom Crumpler knelt before them. I love this visual – the first communist who spoke surrounded by police: The police weren’t there […]
By: Diane Benjamin I would snip this graphic, but you would think I made it difficult to read on purpose. See the original source: https://app.peachjar.com/flyers/2484743/schools/211256?fbclid=IwAR0d5nuYGvS6KA9RJhiJOz3x_gLPIelytkYBawvD3sP-oHmwbwW9M24n9Eo How much did Unit 5 pay pearchjar.com to create flyers they could easily make themselves? (and be readable) I have a tons of thoughts on this, I’d rather hear yours. […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington has had other opportunities to unload the old Coachman Hotel property. They didn’t like what the buyer wanted to do with the property so they refused to sell it. Tonight the council will consider a different development project. This agreement included a small parcel the taxpayers paid $95,000 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal’s “professional staff” redactions – one completely redacted the other one not. Both on-line comments support approving High Haven. I redacted the email address on the first one, staff redacted the name and email address on the second. Why were they treated differently? Because staff is protecting the second person? Normal doesn’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Normal Public Library sent a news email to subscribers. If you didn’t get it, below is the first item in it. I’m sure this will go well for taxpayers! (Note the ALL)
By: Diane Benjamin Karyn Smith submitted a long list of questions to Pam Reece concerning the agenda for the May 1st meeting. Pam Reece responds to her questions are in yellow. Of course watching a meeting won’t reveal any of these answers, citizens might actually have the same ones. Questions are all completed before meetings […]
May 12, 2023: https://www.governing.com/policy/legalized-marijuana-products-still-go-largely-unregulated Excerpts: If you think cannabis is harmless, read the story. Of course you could continue to think it is, many will.
Brown water anyone? Isn’t the water plant new? Did hydrant flushing fix it?
By: Diane Benjamin I’m paging through a FOIA I received with communication concerning the two recently approved cannabis dispensaries. Most emails in support of approving the special use permits have the name of the supporter illegally redacted. Those opposed don’t. Emails are no different than appearing at Public Comment, therefore names can not be redacted. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Received by FOIA. Remember the Normal Town Council meeting where everyone who wanted to make a Public Comment wasn’t allowed? Since no one NOW on the Council wants to hear from citizens, 30 minutes was set and not challenged. Pam Reece doesn’t have a problem wasting a citizen’s time who wants to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since this Committee of the Whole wasn’t scheduled to set up future spending, the heavy hitters didn’t have to be there to cheerlead the agenda. The Police Department presented their annual report followed by the Fire Department. See the police presentation here: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showdocument?id=29357&t=638197614615245340 I did learn something new about guns. Criminals are […]
By: Diane Benjamin Dr. Shelvin must believe people of color can not succeed without you paying to “empower disenfranchised communities”. She’s black and successful, how did she do it? DEI pays well – $35 an hour. I enjoy the leftist names for teaching Marxist ideology: Freedom School. Unit 5 doesn’t currently have “quality instruction”? Freedom […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’m excited because I can now just write the same story after every meeting: Everything passed, nothing was questioned. Citizens of Normal should know they have no representation. Trustees are elected to represent you, the ones in office now represent the Town. Everything is great! Normal is a wonderful place to live! […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal doesn’t bid the cost of comprehensive insurance because they are a member of MICA who supposedly bids it for them. See this story from last year: https://blnnews.com/2022/07/22/more-on-normals-mica-problem/ Normal has never bid coverage themselves, so how do they know they can’t get it cheaper? Normal has been using MICA since 1985. Evidently […]
By: Diane Benjamin According to Illinois law when property owned by government is leased the lessee pays the property taxes: The Edgar County Watchdogs did a story with lots of other details: https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2020/11/ousted-shelby-county-board-member-levonne-chaney-wants-taxpayers-to-pay-private-real-estate-taxes-on-her-way-out-the-door/?highlight=leaseholder Tonight Normal is paying property taxes, actually they pay the bills before Council votes because Council is immaterial: PDF page 12 https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4650 […]
By: Diane Benjamin More to this story: https://blnnews.com/2023/05/13/desantis-derangement-syndrome/ Bloomington’s own Sonny Garcia proved he is evil – just hit play below. Does his girlfriend County Board member Krystle Able agree? You should know that taxpayers were forced to fund pay this clown, first through wages and now pension. From OpenTheBooks.com
Kev Phares (Cities 92.9) interviews protestors in Peoria, of course they claim he has to have a press badge. Free speech isn’t allowed by some of the protestors. These people must not know DEMOCRATS re-elected Ron DeSantis. The “Don’t Say Gay Bill” doesn’t exist, these people haven’t heard the truth and won’t because of #FakeMedia. […]
I don’t know why but these two weekend funnies posts from 2019 continue to be heavily read. Flashback: August 31, 2019: https://blnnews.com/2019/08/31/weekend-hoopla/ June 15, 2019: https://blnnews.com/2019/06/15/weekend-have-some-laughs/ Why do you think they continue to be shared and read? Too much truth?
By: Diane Benjamin Does Normal know what they consider part of Route 66 doesn’t connect to Route 66? Visitors can’t drive directly from Pontiac’s sites to Normal. That isn’t stopping them from trying to make One Normal Plaza a destination. First they need a sign people can take their picture with: Of course the size […]
By: Diane Benjamin Before you move to Tri-Valley in hopes of a better education for your children, you need to know the district bought 6.69 acres and paid $450,000. Excessive? I’ve heard the Board bought the property only in case they needed it. They will create the need. The property includes a house that will […]
By: Diane Benjamin Proving Democrats represent government and not citizens, HB 3337 passed both houses in Springfield. Once Pritzker signs this bill – written only for the Town of Normal which is illegal – Koos will have the right to pass an ordinance changing Trustees from elected to appointed. Read it yourself: https://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=3337&GAID=17&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=148499&SessionID=112&GA=103 Democrats pretend […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bonner is the Heyworth teacher who was forced to resign after making porn available to her students. A friend sent me an op-ed that featured Bonner – see page 2: https://www.boonecountyjournal.com/_files/ugd/66b509_f7f6cd1c0dc6466fb922fca60c45ba81.pdf The writer found it ironic that she was forced to resign because of the materials she made available to students while […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did Casey Misch ever get an apology? See the minutes, he asked for one! Casey? Two links for tonight’s meeting. I’m thrilled documents are now published so the public can read what the Board sees. Now make them SEARCHABLE! There is a ton of financial information and school policies included:
By: Diane Benjamin Bakana is the guy accused of murder who cut off his ankle monitor and fled. It was reported he spoke with a heavy accent, of course nobody will tell us if he’s here legally of illegally. Besides being arrested in January 2021 for murder and gun charges, he was also arrested for […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember this story? https://blnnews.com/2023/03/22/normal-needs-a-pscrb/ Normal Police man-handled an 18 year old ISU student in an attempt to grab her phone after she voluntarily came to the the station after a fire in her apartment building. An attempt to get a warrant to search her phone was denied by a judge because they […]
By: Diane Benjamin What did Bloomington do right? The audio and video of the council meeting actually synced last night! Even with 3 proclamations the entire meeting was less than an hour. I don’t remember council approval for moving any offices to the government center, they just appeared there. If the HUB was approved I […]
