It appears McLean County is doing a study and the McLean County Regional Planning Commission is doing another. This story mixes the two and will take more work. By: Diane Benjamin The McLean County Regional Planning Commission website shows 7 employees and 2 interns: https://mcplan.org/about-us/about-mcrpc/staff Those employees didn’t want to create or aren’t capable of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night a Peoria TV station’s lead story at 6:00 pm was the petition asking for the resignation of Alex Williams from the Unit 5 School Board. See the video and story here: https://www.25newsnow.com/2025/09/30/petition-circulates-calling-unit-5-school-board-presidents-resignation-after-controversial-social-media-posts/ If course Unit 5 had no comment. Alex Williams promised WEEK a comment and never provided one. You […]
By: Diane Benjamin A non-profit called Truth In Accounting rated every state in a report called Financial State of the States: Top and bottom states: . Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Missouri all received a “B” rating. Illinois got an “F”. A “B” rating means those states have a budget surplus. An “F” means an unbalanced […]
By: Diane Benjamin A Bloomington Board we know little about: BOARD OF FIRE AND POLICE COMMISSIONERS I believe this is the same Board that recently ruled against Ty Carlton: https://blnnews.com/2025/09/01/two-things-you-need-to-know-7/ This link has the rules and regulations governing this Board: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/29826/638355568072014235 Two excerpts from that link: . . Why does the underlined matter? Because changes […]
https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-09-25/visionary-leader-ryan-whitehouse-remembered-for-his-advocacy-and-service This is a tragedy for his family, the Illinois Farm Bureau, and Connect Transit. Condolences to all.
By: Diane Benjamin The agenda was not posted on line for the meeting held September 18th. https://normaltownship.org/index.php/clerks-office/board-agenda/ By September 22nd the agenda was still not posted. The agenda contains a zoom address that was NOT available to anyone in the public who wanted to watch that meeting. I filed a Request for Review with the […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.tri-valley3.org/o/district/article/2444046 .\ Know who else offers free dental exams for students? Chicago Public Schools, not a model anyone should emulate. Orland Park Dental Services created jobs for themselves by providing this mobile service. How much are Tri-Valley district taxpayers getting billed for this? We won’t know until after 11/10/25. How much other […]
By: Diane Benjamin . Even though the meeting was cancelled, the packet is available they would have used: https://connect-transit.com/file/3833/2025%2009%2023_Board%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf Financial information is finally available for the year that ended on June 30th. I think they expect celebrations because they lost less than what was budgeted: Budget: <$20,054,326> Actual: <$19,357,702> How many taxis or Ubers would […]
By: Diane Benjamin The posted plan is a Google doc: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16zzKHLTUw6LhtiEwbCtnyqkehUx2kXin/view I converted their doc to a PDF so AI could read it: I had both Chat GPT5 and Grok analyze the effect it has on rural land. I only looked at rural because that is where I live and a person who is looking […]
By: Diane Benjamin Parents of students in Unit 5 consider this comment by Board Chair Alex Williams hate speech: . Alex Williams thinks Trump voters and Fox News viewers are the dregs of society. He thinks Christians are hypocrites. He thinks all white people are racist. A person willing to post this comment publicly is […]
By: Diane Benjamin What causes deficits? What causes “structural deficits”? Duh! Spending more money than you take in. Bloomington has a spending problem! Every budget includes spending every penny they expect to receive in taxes. That allows them to “cry” when they don’t receive what they feel entitled to. (Just like you right?) Every budget […]
By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up to this story: https://blnnews.com/2025/09/20/controversy-surrounds-unit-5-board-chair-alex-williams/ A taxpayer sent an email to the Unit 5 School Board concerning the comments made by the Board Chair Alex Williams. She received a response. Below is a copied response since a picture of the email would be hard to read, I did include a picture at […]
The McLean County yearly audit is 3 months late. There is a way to recoup whatever money the County is being forced to pay an accounting firm because 1 employee didn’t do her job. This way will also remove the responsible person forever. The only question is: Will they do it?
By: Diane Benjamin Remember when the Bloomington elites claimed they weren’t going to pass their own 1% Grocery tax? Joke is on you. They tripled your water rates (by next May 1st), raised every fee 3% without ever voting since those are automatic, and negotiated unaffordable electricity rates on your behalf. Bloomington has the chance […]
By: Diane Benjamin MANY people have sent this to me. I feel there is more to add to this conversation, hence this story. This I believe was originally posted by the McLean County Republicans, I edited the photo to only show the comments made by Unit 5 Board Chair Alex Williams: . I will address […]
By: Diane Benjamin Update to this story: https://blnnews.com/2025/06/10/if-bloomington-needs-money-why-is-this-guy-on-a-paid-vacation/ A source told me James Buenrostro has resigned. It appears he might have to answer questions he didn’t want to answer. The source also responded to this story about 3 Champaign fire employees being stabbed responding to a mental health crisis call: https://blnnews.com/2025/09/18/illinois-law-police-cant-respond-to-a-mental-health-crisis/ The source to me […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s agenda is here: https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Organization/1482 I can’t wait for property bills next year. I can’t wait to hear how much property taxes increase because those who bothered to vote were conned into believing their property taxes would decrease if the 1% Sales Tax increase passed. Still no word from the State’s […]
By: Diane Benjamin The left thinks “social workers” should respond to mental health crisis calls. This proves they are wrong yet again: https://champaignil.gov/2025/09/05/champaign-police-arrest-man-after-knife-attack-injures-three-medical-personnel/ That government issued release of course leaves out some details. The story does say Fire and EMT personnel were dispatched to a call for a 23 year old experiencing a mental health […]
By: Diane Benjamin Why I burned my diploma. Pension from openthebooks.com
By: Diane Benjamin https://blnnews.com/2025/09/16/why-be-divisive/ The Administrator of this site couldn’t help responding. Not once – 3 times: . Since the word “racists” was worn out years ago, fascists is the new term for promoting violence. Everyone who used to be called racist is now called fascist. The writer missed this story: https://blnnews.com/2025/09/16/is-trump-a-fascist/ Matthew 5:11 Blessed […]
By: Diane Benjamin . Relatively new Facebook page that evidently has something to do with me: Biane Denjamine https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577196614971 This isn’t the first page like this, I’m honored to evidently be over the target. By the way, Benjamin doesn’t have an “e” at the end. I don’t know what the purpose of this page is […]
By: Diane Benjamin I hope this story encourages thinking for yourself instead of believing what some commentator tells you to believe. We can’t bridge the political divide without conversations. Political violence is encouraged by dehumanizing rhetoric. People can either be part of the problem or part of the solution. I don’t expect readers to agree […]
By: Diane Benjamin . No discussions tonight on setting up more BIG PLANS for a future vote. Good.
By: Diane Benjamin Charlie Kirk didn’t hate anyone. Social media is full of lies about what he believed. The people spewing that hate are obviously repeating what they have been told instead of doing their own research. It is particularly hard to see teachers who are shaping young minds write vile comments. 18,000 requests to […]
By: Diane Benjamin By now readers should know laws only apply to peons. Aldermen can violate City Code while campaigning for office and nothing happens to them. The City Manager can violate his $50,000 spending limit and nothing happens to him. The latest: A Planning Commision meeting was held last week. Since it was held […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is a comment made on my site about Charlie Kirk. The writer is employed by Illinois State University. I thought this comment deserved attention, it was made to the Evil Hates Love story: Did I agree with most of what he said? Nope. Did he deserve to die for what he […]
By: Diane Benjamin Words like racist now have no meaning. Other words are rapidly suffering the same fate: Nazi, White Supremacist, Democracy, and Fascist. Throwing out labels where they don’t apply makes them immaterial and it proves those who use them are incapable of independent thought. Example: . Many people today have no idea what […]
By: Diane Benjamin I was heartened yesterday when I saw this from the McLean County Democrats: . Then I read the comments. Some of them set the tone people should have when a political assassination occurs. However some of them reflect the fact that evil does exist in this world. Evil has infected some those […]
By: Diane Benjamin Obviously the City of Bloomington is not going to hold elected officials or the City Manager accountable for violating City code. In case you forgot: https://blnnews.com/2025/07/11/the-latest-people-bloomington-prosecuted-for-violating-city-code/ Add City Manager Jeff Jurgens to that story. He is allowed by code to spend $50,000 (needs reduced!) without Council approval. He exceeded that amount with […]
By: Diane Benjamin Public Education has led to this: . Socialism doesn’t produce liberation, it enslaves. No Nazis were ever going to march in Bloomington. PSL has no idea what Fascism is, they have been taught it is the extreme right wing. It isn’t. Ending capitalism means freedom disappears with it. Education needs a reset […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Council meeting was ridiculously long – over 3 hours. I left after about 1 1/2 hours and watched the rest on YouTube. Public Comment was still happening when I got home. My comment is at 26:13. The room started off packed. Many people were there to witness the introduction of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Details for my Public Comment at the 9/8/2025 City Council meeting: Criminal Damage to Property because of political ideology is a HATE CRIME. Where is Not In Our Town? I am not going to identify where this property is to prevent further harm to the homeowner. It is on a major Bloomington […]
By: Diane Benjamin . I am not speaking about anything on the agenda. I will post a story before 6:00 tonight with details. Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1009/files/agenda/6790 Missing Middle Housing and zoning changes are back again. The agenda doesn’t mention the City Manager exceeding his $50,000 spending limit by hiring Opticos. Did you know Chicago has Missing […]
By: Diane Benjamin Charlie Schlenker, WGLT, wrote what was really close to a good story about Krystle Able: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-09-05/normal-township-supervisor-draws-two-paychecks Read the story if you haven’t yet, because this was Krystle’s response to it – posted on her Facebook page: . Since she tries hard to ignore my stories, I doubt that comment was directed at […]
By: Diane Benjamin Surely next year’s elections is not why the website was changed! Right?https://www.illinoisworknet.com/LayoffRecovery/Pages/ArchivedWARNReports.aspx It no longer lists layoffs as they happen. You now have to wait for a monthly report. This is the August report – it has to be downloaded from the website in order to read it: I deleted many columns […]
By: Diane Benjamin How the Normal Township Supervisor, Krystle Able, self identifies on her Facebook page: . Posted this week: . Keep in mind she is a County Board member, Executive Director at Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans, and Normal Township Supervisor. Yesterday Able posted this, if the office hasn’t been fully staffed for years did […]
