By: Diane Benjamin What these 2 charts are saying: FIVE of the area top 10 employers are government while the population isn’t growing. Since government only has money they take from the population, other employers can’t grow. School test scores aren’t stellar while schools are “educating” fewer students with a lot more employees. Remember when […]
By: Diane Benjamin Definition: Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA). This is an NGO located in Towanda Plaza. If this organization wasn’t shoveling Federal and State money to consultants and illegal aliens, I wouldn’t be spending nearly as much time on them. The 2024 INCCRRA tax return showed they spent $17,000,000 on […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington and Normal used to have an understanding both cities needed to have the same tax rates (except property tax). Bloomington Budget – Book 1 PDF page 90: I blacked out the other cities so you only see Bloomington and Normal: This chart is already updated for the Normal increases going into […]
By: Diane Benjamin One public comment at 11:05 was by a guy calling for the City to quit burning the brush in parks every spring. He claimed it destroys wildlife habitat. It probably does but it is also the opposite of “being green” because it pollutes. Citizens aren’t allowed to burn brush inside the city, […]
You won’t have to wait in lines! County sample ballots: https://mcleancountyil.gov/1600/Ballots Bloomington sample ballots: https://bloomingtonelectionsil.gov/march-17-2026-general-primary-election/specimen-ballot/ Anyone going to prove the Bloomington Election Commission needs abolished soon? 2 election authorities are a waste of money and BEC can’t be held responsible for any problems by the people paying their bills: County citizens, not Bloomington. It’s already […]
By: Diane Benjamin Committee of the Whole was switched to special meeting because one item needs a vote: Remember when BNWRD tried to buy 3 properties and one showed it was owned by the City of Bloomington and not the guy BNWRD thought they were buying it from? https://blnnews.com/2025/12/31/bnwrd-story-6/ Tonight: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4376/files/attachment/8566 Bloomington is Quit Claiming […]
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) […]
By: Diane Benjamin This payment was approved at last Monday’s Bloomington City Council meeting: If you still don’t understand what Accelerated IMRF Payments are: SOME Bloomington employees are still allowed to SPIKE their pensions. Sick Days (possibly others too) are accumulated and then the employee is compensated for unused days when they retire. That compensation […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Proclamation – https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4101/files/attachment/8470 – was postponed to sometime in the future – See 12:25. How about ending ALL proclamations? The department heads talking about their budgets was delayed until next Monday. Instead of a Committee of the Whole, it will be a Special meeting because they have something they need to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Separation of Church and State is immaterial tonight. Do Christians ever get a Proclamation? The Islamic faith will: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4101/files/attachment/8470 I dare you to name any Islamic country where Freedom and Liberty prevail and women aren’t second class citizens. Don’t even ask about LGBTQ rights, they don’t exist. Nice job Administration Department. Is […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-to-be-a-taxpayer/2416 Illinois has the highest tax rates in the COUNTRY! Taxes are high but the ruling party always wants more money. People will continue to leave Illinois for lower tax states. Click the link above for a lot more details. Next, vote your interests instead of re-electing people who will never have […]
By: Diane Benjamin This story and the last one about CIRA are because a reader contacted me. Part 1: https://blnnews.com/2026/03/03/cira-part-1-2/ That reader left a voicemail at CIRA on February 5, 2026: . The name is redacted because it isn’t important to the story. Based on what this reader was told, I FOIA’d CIRA for what […]
By: Diane Benjamin Taxation without representation: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-02-13/cira-cruises-along-at-a-stable-altitude Springfield allowed CIRA to tax the County thanks to Sen Dave Koehler https://blnnews.com/2023/04/27/cira-doesnt-need-money-they-just-want-it/ Your property tax bills this year will reflect that. County property owners get yet another line item added to their bill. Bloomington-Normal gets a decrease. One of the dumbest parts of the WGLT article: “The Airport […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit – February meeting: https://connect-transit.com/file/4079/2026%2002%2024_BoT%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf The January loss: Yes, that’s the loss for ONE MONTH. Your tax dollars at work subsidizing every passenger:
By: Diane Benjamin Previous consultants story: https://blnnews.com/2026/02/27/in-illinois-child-care-needs-a-translator/ Below is screenshot showing another part of where INCCRRA spent $17 million on consultants: . The total paid to 108 LLC during this time period is: $3,490,000. I believe the real name of this vendor is 108 Group LLC. The payment is listed as “marketing”, 108 Group LLC […]
By: Diane Benjamin Original story: https://blnnews.com/2026/01/09/bloomington-fireman-8-i-think/ I didn’t think anyone had worse handwriting than me, but I found a judge who is at least a close rival. All the charges were dismissed against Bloomington fireman Jon Caponi yesterday. It turns out the dashcam video didn’t match what the deputy testified to and wrote in his […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since the local INCCRRA office told me they can’t release information, even though the data request form is on their website, I sent a FOIA to IDHS (Illinois Department of Human Services) for the same information. That office extended my request an additional 5 days because they had to obtain the data […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you live in Bloomington and haven’t reviewed the proposed budget, now would be a good time: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/32355/639074561303430000 PDF page 21: . Every chart in the budget would be more informative with a ten year history instead of just a comparison with the previous budget. First note: The population isn’t changing. What […]
By: Diane Benjamin Before you see the analysis, see this link: https://ieanea.org/2026/02/23/illinoisans-strongly-support-public-education-are-against-ice-near-schools-and-federal-funding-cuts/ The questions were asked in a way to elicit the desired results. 69% believe funding for public schools should increase? Do the people in Carlock feel like that? Does anyone in the Unit 5 district think they need more money after passing the […]
By: Diane Benjamin A 97 year old lady asked the Council to pass an ethics ordinance. She didn’t mention any specific reason other than it will install TRUST in government. Novel idea! Of course City Code is meaningless, an ethics ordinance would be ignored too. Trust is lost when there are penalties for peons and […]
By: Diane Benjamin I will refrain from writing what I really think about Unit 5’s inability to live within their means. That would include comments about citizens who don’t vote in local elections or run for office. No, I didn’t watch the last meeting. I suggest people in the Unit 5 district take their survey: […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4113/files/agenda/12437 From the Consent Agenda: . Bloomington will approve hiring this firm to make the Sign Code make sense. Meanwhile, the first item on the Regular Agenda makes a change to the Sign Code: . The only other item is a first look at the budget. . Historic Total! . Of […]
By: Diane Benjamin The video below was played at Monday’s Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting. It shows what the priorities were in 2025: Downtown. That priority hasn’t changed in decades. The video is a little over 3 minutes long. Downtown got a about half of it. The slide at 3:00 say 28 lane miles […]
By: Diane Benjamin I don’t know the guy who wrote this, but I do know Jeanne Ives – former State representative: . Bloomington staff has complained about this one forever. The Illinois Municipal League has a good explanation of FGDF on their website: https://www.iml.org/file.cfm?key=15419 Bloomington used to receive 10% of all income taxes the State […]
By: Diane Benjamin The EIN number for The Immigration Project is 43-1700482 With that number you can look up how much the State of Illinois has paid them: https://illinoiscomptroller.gov/vendor-services/vendor-payments-new This organization not only provides provides legal services to “immigrants”, they send out ICE warnings to their rapid response people. Taxpayers are funding the obstruction of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Matt Burgess, Home Sweet Home Ministries, gave a presentation on how the first month operating The Bridge is going. He gave an honest report that is worth listening to. 4 people have already been kicked out. 2 others left voluntarily. Others had difficulty adjusting to living indoors. Matt has also seen people […]
By: Diane Benjamin The pic below was sent to me by a reader. The Senate version has been referred to Assignments. The House version has been referred to the Rules Committee. That means neither versions is dead. Why only a $27 minimum wage by 2032. Why not $50 or more? Does everyone want to pay […]
By: Diane Benjamin WGLT is not allowed to sell advertising. What did The Town of Normal pay WGLT to do? (2025 data isn’t available yet) https://www.openthebooks.com/search-results/details/?n=Wglt-Normal&e=73583&t=c&burl=%2Fsearch-results%2F%3Ft%3Dc%26F_Name_S%3DWGLT%26F_State%3DIllinois%26F_Year%3D0 . Has WGLT applied for State of Illinois money? If you don’t know about the plan Springfield passed to subsidize media, read up on it: https://dceo.illinois.gov/expandrelocate/incentives/taxassistance/new-journalism-tax-incentive-program.html Yes, non-profit media […]
I wrote the story in 2018: https://blnnews.com/2018/07/07/bloomington-is-at-war-thanks-to-tari/ It got a LOT of reads in 2018, but it has been read to varying degrees every year since. A month and a half into 2026 and it already has more reads than it had in 2018. Nothing in that article should be a surprise if you were […]
By: Diane Benjamin Not really. Smart people know facts about candidates never come out until a lot closer to election to day – March 17th. People who don’t vote in primaries will complain about their choices in November while forfeiting their right to decide who appears on the ballot. Early voting started February 5th. This […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City calls this meeting COW themselves. Since that amuses me, I use it whenever it fits. The Bloomington Committee of the Whole won’t meet until tomorrow night since today is a Federal Holiday. Even though Columbus Day is also a Federal Holiday but they met anyway, some are Federal Holidays are […]
By: Diane Benjamin PDF page 8: https://champaigncountyclerk.com/elections/who-represents-me Nobody proofreads in Champaign County? . There is no one running named Tad Dabrowski. His name is Ted. The current County Clerk and running for re-election is AARON AMMONS. He should be required to reprint all Republican ballots. It should be no surprise Champaign County has a “structural […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you believe mail-in voting is the least secure way to vote (like Jimmy Carter did), file a witness slip opposing this bill: https://www.ilga.gov/house/hearings/details/3110/22403/CreateWitnessSlip/?legislationId=161868&GaId=18&View=Create&fbclid=IwZnRzaAP9uYtjbGNrA_2r12V4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMmJ1TEZ0cUdCcnI0UXROMExzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeHvldQnGykVQ9QF2QhUtasHWRqVU-lW50PiWlTTicr5tNT5RC2mFh4NcFLnQ_aem_A-yI2QCswrei74xph3gobw HB 3355: Amends the Election Code. Provides that an election authority may elect to mail a vote by mail ballot to all qualified voters instead of sending notices […]
By: Diane Benjamin I write and research stories based on: This story was spurred by a reader. They wanted to know how much water Rivian used since we are in a drought. My first thought was Rivian uses Normal’s water since the plant is in Normal. I decided to ask Bloomington anyway since the reader […]
If you LOVE a lot of numbers read this link: https://electrek.co/2026/02/12/rivian-rivn-q4-2025-earnings-report-yoy-growth/ If you just want a summary: https://sherwood.news/markets/rivian-climbs-after-posting-better-than-expected-q4-results-provides-2026/ Rivian climbs after posting better-than-expected Q4 results; sees R2 SUV hitting the market in Q2 EV maker RivianRIVN $16.79 (-4.95%) reported its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings results after markets closed on Thursday. Its shares climbed 13% in after-hours trading. In the […]
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By: Diane Benjamin This story shows the HUGE increase in funding as shown on the nonprofit tax returns of INCCRRA: https://blnnews.com/2026/01/16/the-local-ngos-tax-return-inccrra/ . Those numbers are MILLIONS – a huge increase from 2019 to 2020. What did they do with that money? At least part was the establishment of Birth To Five. Illinois was divided into […]
By: Diane Benjamin You will never know! Remember, ONE guy owed $22,105.11 https://blnnews.com/2026/02/07/unpaid-county-fines-bloomington-liquor-license/ This link shows what the Circuit Court policy for collections is: https://mcleancountyil.gov/166/Cases-Referred-to-Collections Either none of the actions listed were enforced or none of them mattered. Was there a warrant issued for his arrest? He supposedly owes an additional $6,631.53 for being turned […]
By: Diane Benjamin Mike Matejka posted this on his Not In Our Town Facebook page: . Of course Mike is implying there is no difference between the KKK and ICE. Since Wikipedia has a fake history of the KKK, see History.com instead: https://www.history.com/articles/ku-klux-klan Quote: Founded in 1865, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) extended into almost […]
