By: Diane Benjamin
1)
City of Bloomington has been doing a lot of surveys. The results are dependents on who completes the survey. In the past, surveys had low participation and therefore did not reflect real citizen values. Remember Bring It On Bloomington? https://blnnews.com/2016/10/13/bloomingtons-award-good/
If you live in Bloomington, this is the link: https://engage.thinkconfluence.com/miller-park-plan
2)
Rivian’s new $45,000 SUV won’t cost $45,000 according to numerous stories online. This is one of them:
3)
The ruling party in Illinois can’t collect enough taxes. They are desperate for more. Below is what they are up to, want your social security and pension taxed? High income people won’t be sticking around just to have Illinois steal their income. That’s means everyone else has to pay more. Simple Economics. If they can change the Illinois Constitution on their own, they can change the part about guaranteed pensions too.
Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 4 and House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 16 would eliminate the constitutional requirement that income be taxed at one flat rate. That means lawmakers could impose as many tax brackets – and rates – as they want.
First, lawmakers would gain authority to create multiple tax brackets with escalating marginal rates. Even if initial legislation targets only the highest earners, nothing prevents future expansions. Illinois has repeatedly enacted “temporary” income tax increases that became permanent. Broader taxing authority makes it easier to expand higher rates to smaller income thresholds over time.
Second, eliminating the flat-tax requirement would allow lawmakers to treat different types of income differently. When legislators tried to pass a graduated income tax in 2020, state Treasurer Michael Frerichs admitted the measure would make a retirement income tax — currently banned in Illinois — more likely.
4)
I reported last July about solar farms raising the temperature: https://blnnews.com/2025/07/05/solar-farms-raise-the-temperature/
Wheatfield, Indiana. The tornado didn’t rip a path through the field, it leveled all of it.
5)
Voting started February 5th:
Bloomington early voting: https://bloomingtonelectionsil.gov/
The rest of the County: https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/1226/Elections
The real election is next Tuesday.
People had to be paid to work early voting. Turnout will be just as dismal Tuesday.
Just remember, when the income tax was passed in the 16th amendment, it initially only applied to the top 3% of wage earners, and had a maximum tax rate of just 5%. This was what was sold to the masses as propaganda to pass the 16th amendment:it would only ever be a modest tax on only the rich.
In just 5 years, because of Wilson’s reckless involvement in the Great War, the rate was raised progressively to 77%. By world war 2, the majority of Americans were paying income tax, and by the 1960s, the maximum tax rate was 95%.
Beware Illinois, this too shall pass.
2)
As with many automotive startups, a higher-priced, early-adopters version is released initially because companies know demand is there. Later, the same companies release a base model with a more reasonable price.
“2027 Rivian R2 Launches With 656 HP And 330-Mile Range For Under $60K, Base RWD Trim Coming Next Year For $46,495”
Read More: https://www.jalopnik.com/2121494/2027-rivian-r2-launches-details-range-specs-pricing/
Obviously the base model pricing is slightly higher than the $45,000 originally suggested.
As someone who works in the gov building, the vast majority of those working the early voting polls are volunteers, not paid employees. Some of us who do work here help on our own time but to say they are paying all these people is 100 percent false.
Volunteers? Sure. From where? Just people with kindness in their hearts, nothing else to do? They do exist. Favors? Doesn’t matter. Paper ballots? ALL paper ballots, then I’m in. Otherwise I don’t trust 1 minute of it.
might as well travel back in time to 2000 and revisit CHADS…….
“There were punch-card ballots where the voters’ attempt to make their choice had only succeeded in detaching a portion of the perforated paper (“hanging chads” ) or merely denting – rather than removing – the punch-out (“dimpled chads”)”….