By: Diane Benjamin
1)
A Facebook group exists called No Data Centers Bloomington-Normal. I was not allow to post a comment which means this group doesn’t bother with facts.
My comment pertained to newer technology called Closed Loop which means a huge water supply isn’t needed. Water used to cool keeps circulating and doesn’t need to be replaced constantly with new water.
I also stated the builders need to bring their own energy source and put any excess on the grid for free. I have since learned new data centers aren’t producing noise.
Opposing all data centers does nothing. People can either control where and how they operate or have no control. Opposition isn’t a strategy.
I remain strongly opposed to building on rich farmland or near residential areas.
Update: I am now allowed to post in the group. Being a member wasn’t enough, they require jumping through hoops to post.
2)
The McLean County Republican Party claims there is a serious shortage of Republican Election Judges. People are needed for (the ridiculous) early voting and election day.
Your help is needed to ensure our elections remain fair, secure, and transparent.
More information and Sign Up: https://www.mcleancountyrepublicans.org/become_an_election_judge?utm_campaign=election_judges&utm_medium=email&utm_source=mcleancountygop
3)
McLean County Clerk Kathy Michael sent a press release because she keeps running into people who don’t know about the County Recorder program to notify property owners when any documents are filed on their property. This program stops fraud and is free.
Sign up here: https://recordhub.cottsystems.com/McLeanIL/Portal/Account/Login?returnUrl=/McLeanIL/Portal/PropertyCheckNotification/Create/
4)
This is Barbara Stuart, the 90 something year old woman behind getting the County, Normal, and Bloomington to pass a Code of Ethics. She believed putting the Code of Ethics in writing would magically create better elected officials. She wanted the Code posted prominently to remind elected officials of their responsibility. Bloomington needs a HUGE copy posted at every meeting. Maybe the next time a Council member launches a planned attack the mayor can pause the meeting and hand out copies to remind the offenders.
.
I hope (but don’t anticipate) she shows up at the next County Board meeting and Bloomington City Council and express her disappointment with Corey Beirne and Abby Scott. The Code is just as useful as Not In Our Town is to counter bigotry and bullying in the Twin Cities. NIOT claims it’s mission is to stop hate, address bullying and build a safe, inclusive community.
The left’s political opponents are excluded: https://blnnews.com/2025/12/29/more-on-the-not-in-our-town-frauds/
In case you missed this: https://blnnews.com/2026/06/24/abby-scott-and-corey-beirne-failed-the-ethics-test/
Holy crap Diane! You of all people should know the intent of the data centers is to spy on people. We don’t need no stinkin’ data centers! We’re all tired of having a private converstaion in our own home about unicorns a kumkwats and then getting bombarded with advertisements to sell us those same fantasies. Opposition is a strategy if you believe in freedom. Independence Day, 4th of July, 250 b-day just around the corner and we’re supposed to throw in the towel?!? Nope! No way, not gonna happen.
If you want China to win the AU game your fears are justified
@Toledo! Who told you that the “intent of the data centers is to spy on people.” Or is that just something you’re pretty sure is the truth.
You really ought to do more research on the data centers Diane. That old China fear mongering stuff is beneath you. Remind me when I get time to explain it to you.
You just don’t agree. How do you know my research was isn’t more accurate than yours?
There is no China AI race and it’s all the same models regardless of that narrative. Easy the get but in and project money for that narrative – It’s not a US DOD or critical mission but lotsa local and elected players like to portray that and throw contracts and money and data at em.
A shame McLean county and Central Illinois are salespeople with kickbacks in the name of a race and public safety, Insurnace, military, recruiting, robotics etc.
We pay for all this. An understanding of the system and architecture and abuses of data is important education.
Also how public safety is abuses and social engineering and so is scoring and surveillance capitalism exists in Illinois. And the global consulting partners (including China).
Stop social scoring!
Corrected keys…
There is no China AI race and it’s all the same models and players regardless of that narrative. Easy the get $ and buy in and project money for that narrative (and elected)– It’s not a US DOD or critical mission but lotsa local and elected players like to portray that and throw contracts and money and data at em.
A shame McLean county and Central Illinois are salespeople with kickbacks in the name of a race and public safety, Insurnace/SIU, military, recruiting, healthcare, robotics etc.
We pay for all this. An understanding of the system and architecture and abuses/integration/share of data is important education.
Also how public safety is abused and social engineering/social scoring is enabled and surveillance capitalism is ecpanded. This exists in Illinois. And the global consulting partners and dev teams (including China and other foreign entities).
Stop social scoring!
Bless your little heart.
Good grief… research!!
Here’s my research – I read your first six words about China and conclude that whatever follows is to be ignored. You’ve got all the buzzwords though. Good for you.
Unless you have hands on education, platform understanding, contract/partner and data understanding and HANDS ON experience..guess y’all sounds heroic and can push a narrative easy.
Go team- $$$ aka money and data funnel calling it risk/compliance and App Dev.
Good for u
@Grief – AI is coming, like it or not. There are risks to watch out for and bad players will try to take advantage. You are correct. But if you deny that there is no AI competition btw America and China, and you want to stop America’s efforts to win this world changing competition you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.
AI, LLM and business rules engines have been round a long time
So have the messes and AI slop and abuse of it..$$
Good narrative
“My comment pertained to newer technology called Closed Loop which means a huge water supply isn’t needed. Water used to cool keeps circulating and doesn’t need to be replaced constantly with new water.I also stated the builders need to bring their own energy source and put any excess on the grid for free. I have since learned new data centers aren’t producing noise”
These are excellent points. However, if we tried to add these to city and county regulations, we would scare away the data centers, because why build more expensive and responsible data centers in McLean county when some other dumb dumb down a county over will let us abuse them instead.
Also, no tax incentives for data centers. Why should big corporations (or any business, for that matter) get property tax breaks that the normal homeowners could never ever get? How can I get a TIF tax handout for my house, where I live and raise my children, just like the for profit businesses can get because “otherwise they can’t compete in the market” (hello, this means your businesses shouldn’t exist, invisible hand has decided).
Correct
Besides the fear of China taking over. Why does a free society need thousands of massive data centers? Smart meters, tvs, thermostats, flock camera, cell phones, computers, etc. are spying on us every second of every day. Shall we expect no privacy at all?
Data centers process. They use data government sells them like your drivers license info. Maybe quit electing people who bought flock cameras etc
Tin foil hats are effective protection against data centers. 😂
You must have financial and political or incentives gain from that race lol. Like most in area
@Fake –
Oh I have incentives, that’s true. Here are a few of my concerns if we cede AI to others.
1. Loss of Economic Power – Projected $10-20 trillion in long term GDP gains by moving GDP to 4% annually
2. Loss of Leadership in semiconductors, robitics, biotech, manufacturing among others.
3. Loss of Military Superiority (autonomous defense systems, hypersonic missles tech. Cyber defence and offence, intelligence analysis,
4. Loss of National Security, Cyber Vulnerability
5. Loss of Global Influence
6. Loss of Industrial independence (non reliance on China)
7. Loss of innovation advantage
8. Loss of competitiveness in Healthcare, Energy, Transportation, Agriculture, Finance, Pharmaceuticals …..
Source – JPMorgan Chase AI Competition Report (2026)
So I wonder – what are your incentives for putting a stop to AI advancement? And I’d like to know your source.
LOSS OF FREEDOM concerns me more than anything. I don’t see that on your list, nor does JP Morgan give a hill of beans about your/our/my freedom. As a matter of fact, stealing what is left of our freedom is their primary objective.
Exactly and China is already spying on us so the race to be first sounds more like propaganda to me so that now our own Government can join in. China steals everything anyway.
Give me your source to back up your statement that AI is meant to or will be used to spy on citizens.
I would love to know who made that up. My guess is the source originates from China. Makes sense doesn’t it.
Agree. The “national security” sales message is the strategy and pay to play race
Anything B2B, E2E and G2G Integration based is China model enabling a lot more than compliancewashing and stalking amd data breaches.
Consulting pushed that they ans colleges don’t reach that part in computer and cyber and IT training.
Especially Central Illinois education and consulting.
WE will never be #1 in data unless of course the use of our land, our tax incentives paid for by the people etc. is what will title us as #1. Nah, some big global owned corporation (for sale to the highest bidder) will be the #1 taking our land and our tax payer dollars while our freedoms are grossly compromised. Home of the brave, land of the free needs to be more than just a worn out cliche.
Every industry, every innovator, every large manufacturer, let’s say Microsoft or Ford Motor or General Electric gets land, gets tax incentives, invests billions of dollars and hires and pays 100’s of thousands of employees.
This new industry called AI will do the same x 1000. It will spawn new innovations, new businesses maybe even completely new industries and pay the wages of countless employees.
That IS the land of the free and the home of the brave.
You’re quoting JPMorgan Chase and you asking for others to name their sources?!? That’s about as funny as Al Gore’s “Inconveinent Truth” as credible. You’ve already thrown the favorite tin foil hat ridicule out there. At what lengths will you go to prove your naivety?
@ Howell – And after asking a number of times for ANY proof, sources or evidence that data centers and AI will be used to spy on citizens- I have received NONE.
You can disagree with my source (at least I use one) but there are 10 other sources that say essentially the same thing.
I’m beginning to think I’m talking to a Chinese bot at this point. Are you a Chinese bot?
People don’t need no “source” to understand freedom. It’s human nature.
I’m assuming you’re the same one that said “Good grief… research!!”
A little advice to the kid that everyone loves- it’s a good idea to not start spouting about things you have no evidence for, and don’t understand. A drop of common sense comes in handy to.
Your welcome.
FromHere must be public service or Pokemon Go/IT safety stalking and public private leader…sensitive bout comments and vendor partnerships and data centers (compliance at its worst) and NSA and Patriot Act or insirmace/ FinTech implementer of 1984.
“How many fingers am I holding up Wilson??”
Legal profession loves Surveillance Capitalism.
Makes ya wonder why..
From here. We understand more than u know and what’s been hidden and the narrative and platforms and players and system (reality) and abuses.
@Good Grief
But we’ll all just have to take your word for how smart you are without proof? You may get away with that approach with some , but not here.
And this is the problem today. People who will believe something simply because it reinforces their current belief. No matter how idiotic it really is or how much it lacks common sense they believe it. I call people like that simpletons. They’re easy to lead because they’re gullible.
Thus we have a Democrat party led by socialists and up and coming communists.
By the way Good Grief, who are “we”?
I guess drone shows and hack data are some Competition game now.
Call training, cybersec, communications, geokoc, social scoring platforms and HR/SHRM and application tracking systems AI and whoo hoo..
This is not new and there is a narrative and sales pitch in all this including STEM and college money/jobs and poor data share/handle.
Calling everything ALL IN AI and FOR TGE GOOD, data analytics/cloud architecture and public safety is easy money.
We pay for lots of this.
No conspiracy -reality
Innovation is NOT training or AI although it’s an easy sell in the digital tranformation money and project and education and system sales world.
I won’t name the parties but most know.
Drone shows, and machine learing and data store/share abuses and SAP training/workflow/compliance platforms or capabilities are not AI or race for AI.
But big players like to push that for project dollars and data har eating and education dollars. $$$
Taxes and incentives.
Data harvesting!!!
…guess drone shows and hack days and data are some Competition game now.
Call training, cybersec, communications, geoloc, social scoring platforms and HR/SHRM and application tracking systems AI and whoo hoo..
This is not new and there is a narrative and sales pitch in all this including STEM and college money/jobs and poor data share/handle.
Calling everything ALL IN AI and FOR THE GOOD, data analytics/cloud architecture and public safety is easy money.
We pay for lots of this.
No conspiracy -reality
Innovation is NOT training or AI although it’s an easy sell in the digital tranformation money and project and education and system sales world.
I won’t name the parties but most know.
AI is not all inclusive and am not against used in some instances but it has been mishandled (Insurnace and safety risk/compliance, marketing & communications and sales industries especially).