By: Diane Benjamin The 2 videos below are from the GOP candidate forum held January 18th. These are the question and answer session for the Bloomington mayoral candidates. All of the videos can be found here: https://www.mcleancountyrepublicans.org/meet_the_mayoral_candidates Chemberly Harris and Kathleen Lorenz videos are also on that link. Chris Koos was out of town that […]
By: Diane Benjamin Also from a reader: Evidently Illinois has a bunch of loopholes that allow THC sales outside of dispensaries! That expensive license dispensaries got from the State and who are heavily taxed aren’t that important: https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/unregulated-hemp-thc-sales-illinois-loophole/3607019/ Original story that was also updated: https://blnnews.com/2025/01/30/the-bistro-admits-illegal-activity/
By: Diane Benjamin Another h/t a reader Did you know State Representative Sonya Harper introduced a bill called Enslavement Era Disclosure and Redress Act? “This legislation mandates that any corporation or institution with ties to enslavement or the transatlantic slave trade disclose their historical involvement and provide redress if they wish to do business with […]
By: Diane Benjamin Evidently Illinois has a bunch of loopholes that allow THC sales outside of dispensaries! That expensive license dispensaries got from the State and who are heavily taxed aren’t that important: https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/unregulated-hemp-thc-sales-illinois-loophole/3607019/ h/t a reader Many things I write about are brought to my attention by a reader. This is one of them. […]
h/t a reader Firm beliefs require hiding your identity. 😆 Sonny is Sonny Garcia:
By: Diane Benjamin Early voting starts February 20th for the April 1st election. A 1% Sales Tax increase for schools will be on the ballot. Vote NO! You are ruled by the people who vote. More than 75% of registered voters don’t. Elections have consequences, these turnout numbers are disgusting at best. Most people won’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit canceled their January meeting due to lack of a quorum. The same thing happened in October 2024. Normal filled a Trustee seat in November bringing the total to 7: https://connect-transit.com/board-of-trustees/meet-the-trustees Four of the seven needed to show up. Not meeting should mean bills can’t be paid. If Trustees can’t attend […]
By: Diane Benjamin Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe mentioned her passing at last night’s Council meeting since she was on the PSCRB and a frequent commentor. See Surena’s obituary here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/pantagraph/name/surena-fish-obituary?id=57389718 There won’t be any local events.
By: Diane Benjamin This is not the truth: . CTU President Stacy Gates spread a false rumor. ICE wasn’t at the school, it was Secret Service investigating a threat against the President: https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/secret-service-agents-responded-to-chicago-school-not-ice-agency-says/3655654/ Krystle never corrected what she wrote. She also never asked herself why the Chicago Teacher’s Union lied in the first place! She […]
By: Diane Benjamin I continue to see comments concerning Normal’s debt. Some people don’t understand Normal paid off all their debt so they could take out bonds for the grand Uptown plan. TIF report as of 3/31/2024: https://files.illinoiscomptroller.gov/LocGovTIF/FY2024/06409531/24TIF06409531Downtown_volpment_1.pdf PDF page 8 shows the debt Normal too on for Uptown: The point of creating a TIF […]
By: Diane Benjamin It should be a short meeting. That gives them time to explain why Friday night’s Bison game was cancelled because of ice problems. I’m pretty sure the people who had the job of making sure the ice was ready are still employed. LOTS of people who expected to see a game didn’t. […]
By: Diane Benjamin This pic is from a video was on NextDoor. The comments say geese were being shot at the airport. That makes sense since geese and planes can be a deadly combination. There is a retention pond west of the airport with large geese population. Shooting a few won’t fix the problem permanently. […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’m only doing this post because Krystle Able thinks the voters of Normal Township should vote for her to be the Township supervisor. Socialism has never worked anywhere because eventually more people expect free stuff than are willing to work for it. The election is April 1st! The below is from the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve written many times about the left governing on feelings while the right uses facts. Here’s another case: https://wirepoints.org/homelessness-could-no-longer-be-a-crime-under-a-new-plan-filed-in-springfield-wand-decatur/ An Illinois Democrat wants to legalize homeless people and allow them to camp on public property. It will be wonderful to see Bloomington’s new $28 million library turned into a homeless camp and […]
By: Diane Benjamin I wouldn’t know anything was sent out at Unit 5 if this guy had kept his mouth shut: (County Board member and music teacher) . Beirne must not know the administration is picking up CRIMINAL illegals. They aren’t interested in kids. Is Unit 5 harboring criminal kids Corey? In a follow-up post […]
By: Diane Benjamin Start by reading this story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-01-17/bloomington-couple-acquitted-for-felony-theft-by-deception The Lacey’s mainly did infusions. Since I had no idea what that meant, I asked them yesterday. The infusions are customized for people like cancer patients where vitamins and minerals are needed to make them feel better. They don’t use any regulated drugs. They are both […]
By: Diane Benjamin The same far left cabal voters soundly defeated 4 years ago just regrouped as different people. Cody Hendricks is no different than Jackie Gunderson. Abby Scott is no different than Jenn Carrillo and Jeff Crabill. If socialists/Marxists are supporting you, it’s not a stretch to see you are one too. Abby Scott […]
By: Diane Benjamin I was notified last night that Surena Fish died. Surena was on the PSCRB Board and West Side neighbors. She was a voice for downtown business owners and a frequent Public Commentor. This story has a video of one of her comments: https://blnnews.com/2024/07/16/two-public-comments-last-night-you-need-to-see/ Bloomington lost one of it’s champions and I lost […]
By: Diane Benjamin I keep hearing from Cody supporters that he will “get things done”. The below is a comment left on my site stating what they “want done”. How does a mayor guarantee a “living wage”? Many businesses are barely holding on since the Illinois Progressives raised the minimum wage which of course raised […]
By: Diane Benjamin AOC and Bernie Sanders are progressives. Basically anyone who wants to use government to shape the future the way they want it to be is progressive. If you don’t agree with that vision you are ignored. Defund the Police was progressive. https://www.25newsnow.com/2025/01/22/bloomington-normal-mayors-fail-win-unions-backing-reelection The local unions refused to endorse Chris Koos as they’ve […]
By: Diane Benjamin Keep in mind the City has stated they have budget deficit for the upcoming year of $6 million. Motor Fuel tax keeps dropping, at least partially because EV drivers don’t pay it. Last night’s Bloomington Council meeting can best be summed up by George Bush: “I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Committee of the Whole is meeting tonight. The only way government can fix the “housing crisis” is to get out of the way. Quit raising property taxes, quit applying for grants the feds printed money to pay that caused inflation. Live within your means and concentrate on essential services. It will […]
By: Diane Benjamin Both of the people below are elected County Board Members Beirne has no idea what fascism is. He doesn’t even know how to spell it. . Spoken like a true Marxist Krystle. She also doesn’t know what a fascist is: . Since these two despise Trump, how do you think they feel […]
By: Diane Benjamin Today we celebrate both Martin Luther King and the inauguration of Donald Trump. It is fitting that both fall on the same day. We will now return to King’s dream of judging individuals on the content of their character instead of installing the unqualified in positions of power. Equity is dead. People […]
By: Diane Benjamin Keep in mind this woman is an elected County Board member and is trying to get votes to make her Normal’s Township Supervisor: Donald Trump has stated criminal illegal immigrants are his first target for deportation. Tom Homan has stated families are welcome to be deported with the criminal. If I had […]
By: Diane Benjamin The below appeared in the Lexington newspaper and evidently the Normalite. h/t a reader Chris Koos needs an order of protection? I hope he doesn’t believe a piece of paper signed by a judge protects him! Since there are too many No Gun Allowed locations in Illinois, I suggest the mayor get […]
By: Diane Benjamin In case you missed last night’s update, The Democrats picked the guy I predicted to fill the District 1 seat: https://blnnews.com/2025/01/14/county-board-district-1-news/ The announcement wasn’t made before the meeting. Chair Lizzy Johnston called for a vote before announcing the name. She must have taken lessons from Chris Koos. I’m sure Andy Ziebarth is […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last November the Springfield City Council violated the rights of a citizen during public comment. Review this story: https://blnnews.com/2024/11/14/did-the-springfield-city-council-violate-civil-rights/ The American Center for Law and Justice is now involved. (ACLJ) This month they sent a letter to the Springfield Council merely asking for a written apology and assurances Rosanna Pulido’s 1st Amendment […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://blnnews.com/2025/01/08/duty-related-injury-rules-for-police-a-bloomington-case/ The officer was notified by HR they will be paying him benefits and reimbursing the personal sick time he was forced to use. The incident happened in October. The law is black and white. It shouldn’t have taken this long. Just:
By: Diane Benjamin See this Center Square story: https://shorturl.at/kAu7S Democrats, activists push to decriminalize sex work in Illinois Excerpts: Members of the Sex Worker Advisory Group, or SWAG, said a bill to be filed in the 104th General Assembly that started last week will modernize existing laws and will prioritize the safety, privacy and dignity […]
By: Diane Benjamin Read yesterday’s story if you missed it: https://blnnews.com/2025/01/14/video-gaming-discrimination/ Jill Whitacre, owner of Shake It Up Cocktail Lounge, made a plea for a video gaming license. The number of licenses are limited because the Council under Tari Renner thought there would be less gambling if machines weren’t everywhere. If Bloomington wanted to limit […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Council meeting was more about awards than City business: At least the Council Chambers were full of people temporarily. There was one Public Comment by Jill Whitacre worth seeing. Jill and her husband own Shake It Up cocktail lounge in downtown Bloomington. The City usurped capitalism by limiting the number […]
Guess who the Democrats picked? Progressives are so easy to predict. I called it below. The only guy who can’t prove he’s a Republican This was received by one of the applicants. The others need to check their spam folder if they haven’t seen it. That’s called a punt: By: Diane Benjamin Five people applied […]
Since Illinois Progressives exist to provide jobs for government employees and therefore votes, the position of the current Illinois flag keeps rotating. They want to make it has hard as possible to keep the current flag. Wasting money is more fun. By: Diane Benjamin 1) More on the Eastland Mall story: https://blnnews.com/2025/01/12/what-really-happened-at-eastland-mall/ If the police […]
By: Diane Benjamin This is the official statement the Bloomington Police put on Facebook: There are three HUGE problems with the statement. For I think the first time posts on NextDoor appeared fast. I combined knowledge from there and Facebook posts to know no shots were fired. I’m sure numerous hits with a hammer to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Try not to laugh while reading this. After all Krystle Able is an elected Democrat on the McLean County Board. She also wants to be Normal’s Township Supervisor earning close to $90,000 a year before benefits if she’s elected April 1st. She posted this on Facebook. If she didn’t want people to […]
By: Diane Benjamin The destruction from the fires in California was predicted. If whatever media you listen to hasn’t played clips proving that find a new media source. This is what part of Pacific Palisades looks like now: . Santa Ana Winds happen every year. Dead trees and dry brush fuel fires. Lack of water […]
