Month: October 2024

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

400 Bloomington jobs lost in September

By: Diane Benjamin The Illinois Policy Institute puts employment figures out every month. Their numbers come from US Bureau of Labor Statistics. See their latest recap here: https://www.illinoispolicy.org/unemployment-high-in-13-of-15-illinois-metro-job-markets/ This chart is included: In August Bloomington gained 100 jobs: https://blnnews.com/2024/10/04/us-average-unemployment-4-4-mclean-county-4-8/ The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses “Bloomington” in their official documents. I don’t know if that […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Is this safe and secure?

By: Diane Benjamin Question: Are businesses planning on boarding up windows in anticipation of election violence? They did in 2020. Of course plywood might be too expensive now to do it. In light of this story: https://apnews.com/article/vote-ballot-drop-box-democracy-fire-f66c52f774955106fb9e7c8172825cff They caught the guy suspected for fires in Oregon and Washington. From the Bloomington Election Commission website: https://bloomingtonelectionsil.gov/vote-by-mail-2/ballot-drop-box/

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Coliseum: Some Transparency

By: Diane Benjamin Two event reports were posted without me having to FOIA. Looks like a loss of $10,924.83. This is the show Deputy City Manager Billy Tyus stated didn’t sell well but proves diversity: Looks at the ticket sales and tickets given away verses actual attendance. Make sense? $195,666.34 + $75,000.00 = $270,666.34 It […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Connect Transit: We just skipped October

By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit didn’t hold a Board Meeting in October. I asked the FOIA officer why. This is the response I received: A packet isn’t posted for October. It would have showed the September loss and ridership numbers, a meeting wasn’t needed to just post facts. https://connect-transit.com/board/board-meeting-agendas–minutes–packets There is also no video showing […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Krystle’s unintended consequences

By: Diane Benjamin Just admit it Krystle, you hate capitalism. If people can’t make a profit providing goods or services they won’t provide them. Able is a typical democrat who hates business. She believes they have pallets of cash in a backroom and therefore need regulation. The time proven “if you want less of something […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

April 1st election: Normal screwed, Bloomington crazy

By: Diane Benjamin Normal has three trustee seats up for election and only 3 filed. Three filed for president: The three that filed for Trustee don’t even have to campaign because they automatically win unless someone files for write-in. Know who Rory is? He’s on the McLean County Regional Planning Commission now. Since he represents […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Boring Bloomington

By: Diane Benjamin The meeting last night wasn’t long. The video has a Township Meeting at the beginning. Nothing was pulled from the Consent Agenda and almost no discussion took place on the one Regular Agenda Item. There were 3 Public comments. Surena Fish spoke again about the alternative school locating in the old Pantagraph […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Bloomington Tonight 10-28-2024

By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/f7304a01-5bbe-11ee-ae13-0050569183fa-791fe512-602c-4d20-98c8-ecdbbed39134-1729802445.pdf These items will take a lot of time before Public Comment: A few fun items that won’t be discussed unless an alderman pulls them from the Consent Agenda: It looks like a grant will cover this cost. Solar and LED are fine if they stay on all night. It will […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

City of Bloomington’s Workforce Growth: A 39.81% Rise in Employees in 5 years

By: Diane Benjamin From Bills and Payroll for tonight: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/30800/638653008719573395 PDF page 3: Total employees 1194 From October 28, 2019: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/23355/637074433368370000 PDF page 3: Total employees 854 That is an increase in the number of employees of 39.81% in 5 years. Current unemployment in Illinois: https://ides.illinois.gov/resources/labor-market-information/laus/current-monthly-unemployment-rates.html Download Illinois, U.S. & Metro Areas Is Bloomington’s unemployment […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

3 Way Mayors race in Bloomington

By: Diane Benjamin No one new filed in Normal. The deadline is close of business on Monday. Current mayor Mboka Mwilambwe filed for reelection: https://bloomingtonelectionsil.gov/2025-consolidated-elections/ Who circulated petitions is always interesting. Former Alderman Joni Painter circulated for Mboka. Did you know current Ward 1 Alderman Jenna Kearns is an attorney? She was one of the […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

6 Things You Need To Know

By: Diane Benjamin 1) Another reason to abolish the Bloomington Election Commission: You can not vote with a paper ballot in Bloomington until election day. The entire rest of the County can at either the County Clerk’s office or at the mall. It will take a little longer because they have to look up what […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

See where the money comes from

By: Diane Benjamin If you can’t decide who to vote for, see where their biggest contributions came from. That is who will be telling them how to vote and expecting a payback. Illinois Sunshine is the easier place to find out: https://illinoissunshine.org/ It also shows connections to other committees established by candidates. There is tons […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

April 1, 2025 Update

By: Diane Benjamin Normal is has three Council seats up for election next year, so far only Kevin McCarthy has filed. The other two up for election are Scott Preston and Chemberly Harris. Harris claimed she’s running for mayor but hasn’t filed yet. Watch filings here: https://www.normalil.gov/114/Municipal-Elections The only new filing in Bloomington is Ward […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Does Unit 5 do background checks before hiring?

By: Diane Benjamin Did they check this person? https://normalcommunity.unit5.org/faculty/faculty/staff-master-list#R . Ruskin was fired as Assistant Warden at Pontiac prison. This WEEK 25 story has many details and proof she was terminated: https://www.25newsnow.com/2022/12/05/inspector-generals-office-alleges-gross-misconduct-by-pontiac-prison-staff/ Click on the 50 page document linked in that story for intense details. Ruskin was making a good living in Pontiac – from […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Dark Money in Local Elections

By: Diane Benjamin From Illinois Sunshine – the easiest place to find campaign contributions: https://tinyurl.com/mrytamr6 Who is Local Jobs & Economic Development Fund? It isn’t local. The office is in Dover Delaware. Why does anyone in Dover care about McLean County elections and why did they give $10,000 to Democrat County Board candidate Jim Rogal? […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

99 jobs lost in Normal

By: Diane Benjamin According to this website: https://www.illinoisworknet.com/LayoffRecovery/Pages/IllinoisWARNData.aspx this plant is closing in Normal effecting 99 employees: Logan’s Roadhouse also closed as did Kentucky Fried Chicken. Others? Everything is fine though. 🤦‍♀️

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Yeah! Another election most voters will sit out

By: Diane Benjamin Filing for local councils started yesterday. The election is April 1st and most voters won’t even know about it. Bloomington filings: https://bloomingtonelectionsil.gov/2025-consolidated-elections/ Dan Brady and Cody Hendricks filed for mayor. If Jenna Kearns decides to run again, she will have a challenger in Ward 1: Benjamin Zimmerman Sheila Montney is running for […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

City’s Continuous Improvement on Road Infrastructure

By: Diane Benjamin If you skip all the commercials before the Committee of the Whole meeting started, the festivities were slightly over an hour. If you like commercials there was a long list of shows coming to the BCPA and Arena. The “experiment” Public Works has been doing to replace sidewalks and resurfacing presentation was […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Riveting Committee of the Whole tonight

By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/4a8ac870-5bc1-11ee-ae13-0050569183fa-791fe512-602c-4d20-98c8-ecdbbed39134-1729193567.pdf From the documentation on the first item: Iverson Consulting is being paid up to $40,000 to advise the City through December. Playing catchup is expensive. The infrastructure wouldn’t be in poor condition if streets and sidewalks hadn’t been underfunded for decades. Why was the agenda: Prepared by: Josh Hansen, Compensation […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Shocking Benefits for Illegals: Florida Press Conference Insights

By: Diane Benjamin This video is of a press conference by a Florida Sheriff who recaps a mass arrest of trafficked persons and the people paying for them. You can listen from the beginning to here more details, but the important part is cued to start when you hit play. One of the woman arrested […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

None of Connect Transit’s Electric Buses are running

By: Diane Benjamin How do I know that? From their website: https://connect-transit.com/about/our-fleet . Now see this story: https://readlion.com/biden-harris-admin-recalls-hundreds-of-electric-buses-amid-fire-concerns/ Excerpt: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a warning Wednesday about 483 electric transit buses being recalled over safety defects, according to a safety advisory. Phoenix Motorcars is voluntarily recalling Proterra 800V catalyst vehicles from 2020 to […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Surprised our State Capital is censoring citizens?

By: Diane Benjamin I’m not sure what the original source of this is, but it is verified in a story linked below by the State Journal Register: Amendment I Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

No Arena reports since June

By: Diane Benjamin The BCPA reports are harder to match now with the artist fee because the description on payments is no longer clear. Someday I will get around to filing a FOIA for them instead of wasting my time trying to match them. The BCPA does at least post reports – minus the artist […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Toxic Empathy

By: Diane Benjamin Below is the opening paragraphs on the Safe Harbor (Salvation Army) website: https://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/shelter/il_salvation-army-safe-harbor-shelter In order for the  Safe Harbor staff to assist clients in need of services, it is expected that all individuals receiving Safe Harbor services will work, to the best of their abilities, to better their situation and seek more permanent housing […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Taxes collected by Bloomington and Normal up!

By: Diane Benjamin Normal hasn’t submitted data to the Comptroller’s office from the year ended 3/31/24 yet, it’s only been 6 1/2 months since year end. Bloomington hasn’t submitted data from 4/30/24 yet, they are only 5 1/2 months after year end. The below lists local tax receipts for the last 3 years. A summary […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Update: 2025 Election clarification

I give up trying to figure out when candidates need to file. If you are running in Bloomington ask BEC, otherwise ask the County Clerk! Some filing dates seem to have been changed. It almost like outsiders need to stay off the ballot. By: Diane Benjamin If anyone wants to try to abolish the Bloomington […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Elect one more socialist and you too can lose property rights

By: Diane Benjamin You can’t see any of the Public Comments because the camera never changed to show them. You can only hear them. Even though City Code prohibits holding meetings on a Federal or State holiday they did. (Chap 2 Sect 15) Maybe staff had the day off except for a rookie called in […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Downs Annexation Update

By: Diane Benjamin Previous stories: At the Board meeting Thursday the developer withdrew his petition for re-zoning supposedly to redesign the subdivision. That action means it has to go through the Zoning Board. The residents of Shaddyville will be there.

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Probable Short Meeting tonight in Bloomington

By: Diane Benjamin The only item on the regular agenda is designating Holy Trinity Church and Rectory an historic landmark against the wishes of the Peoria Diocese. The difference this time is staff gave the Council 2 options, last time they recommended approval. This item was tabled to tonight from the last meeting: https://blnnews.com/2024/09/24/the-holy-trinity-council-scam/ Maybe […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

One party wants to eliminate the Electoral College

By: Diane Benjamin I get fundraising emails everyday demanding the Electoral College be abolished. I’ve been appointed to the Advisory Board to make that happen, just donate money. Examples: Vice presidential candidate Time Walz wants it gone: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/08/walz-says-the-electoral-college-needs-to-go-00182981 What do they all have in common? If you don’t know you just might agree. Since the […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Can’t decide how to vote on not electing a County Auditor?

By: Diane Benjamin Maybe this will help: . Rob Fazzini is the former Bloomington alderman who claimed gas taxes don’t raise the price of gas. He stated that to justify a Bloomington gas tax. Before Fazzini a local gas tax didn’t exist. https://blnnews.com/2014/01/27/culture-tales-bloomington-council-retreat/ Below are the facts, local gas taxes are not included in these […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Pam Reece now makes $226,000 a year

By: Diane Benjamin The Normal Town Council just gave her a 4% raise. Inflation must be killing her. Put “City Manager Salary in Illinois” into your search bar. I got this: https://www.salary.com/research/salary/recruiting/city-manager-salary/il Only 5% of Americans earn more than $200,000. https://gcelt.org/what-percentage-of-americans-make-over-200k-a-comprehensive-look-at-income-distribution-in-the-us/#google_vignette That article also states: “the sectors most commonly associated with big bucks are finance, […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Three Things You Need to Know

By: Diane Benjamin 1) Safe, Legal, and Rare is now Democrat humor: 2) Yes FEMA spent disaster relief funds on illegals, it’s right on their website: 2023 – $363.8 million. See the list: https://www.fema.gov/grants/preparedness/shelter-services-program/fy23-awards 2024 – $640.9 million. See this list: https://www.fema.gov/grants/preparedness/shelter-services-program/fy24-awards 3) I posted the US Debt Clock on April 16, 2024 in this […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Did you know Illinois has a looming electricity crisis?

By: Diane Benjamin If you think electricity comes from a switch on the wall, keep reading. Illinois thinks 100 renewable electricity is possible. It isn’t. Start with this story to understand the difference between baseload and intermittent production: https://icl.coop/the-difference-between-baseload-and-intermittent-power/ That editorial was in the August issue of Illinois Country Living Magazine sent to Corn Belt […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Downs Board Meeting Thursday

By: Diane Benjamin More on this story: https://blnnews.com/2024/09/30/will-downs-choose-flooding-over-people/ Thursday the Board will decide whether to annex a corn field that drains downhill to an area prone to flooding. Below are a few pictures from the horrendous Shaddyville flooding of 2021. Note the field was able to absorb some of the rain then. Concrete doesn’t absorb […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

5 Things You Need To Know

By: Diane Benjamin 1) Many companies have realized DEI is ridiculous for business because it puts people in positions they didn’t earn and are not qualified for. The Town of Normal didn’t get the message: 2) I was notified by a friend that his deceased mother is still on the voter roles. Evidently the Bloomington […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Unit 5 Disinformation

By: Diane Benjamin Unit 5 has a page linked to their Home page called US and State Political Contacts: https://www.unit5.org/about-u5/u-s-and-state-political-contacts I don’t know why this page is on a school website. Worse, Unit 5 is displaying disinformation. All the highlighted people aren’t in office anymore and haven’t been for quite awhile: . If you look […]