By: Diane Benjamin The current Sales tax rate is 10.25, if Pritzker signs the bill it increases to 10.5% Read more: https://www.illinoispolicy.org/chicagos-high-sales-taxes-about-to-increase-to-no-1-in-nation/ Bloomington and Normal have the same Sales Tax rate – 9.75%: . Aren’t you proud the local Sales Tax rate almost matches Chicago? The 1% School Facilities Tax was put on a local […]
By: Diane Benjamin Once again it’s time for every unit of local government to raise your property taxes. You will hear the average homeowner will only pay X more a year. Look at your property tax bill from last year. How many units of government are listed? Each one of them wants more money, not […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Council meeting was pretty boring except for one item. Sheila Montney pulled approval of a liquor license for Spinnegan’s, LLC from the Consent Agenda. This business is located where Crafted was on Airport Road. Obviously Montney received information pertaining to this license application that was not considered by the Liquor […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda for tonight: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1011/files/agenda/7996 Just two items on the Regular agenda. Only government can get by with reporting financial information 6 1/2 months after year end. Does anyone care what Bloomington’s financial conditions were on 4/30/2025? The same auditor that has been used too many years in a row will say all […]
By: Diane Benjamin I have stated many times I rarely cross Veterans Parkway. I also avoid driving Veterans Parkway. Is anyone seriously thinking of reducing it from 6 lanes to 4? Why does that make me think of the people who wanted to build an East side bypass? Do planners want people crying for a […]
By: Diane Benjamin See the link below for BCPA event reports. This event is the only one listed in this new format. I hope they all use this format in the future. Surprise! Artist fees are included. More surprises, it made money! I hope this wasn’t posted by accident! Transparency is essential. Good start Bloomington. […]
By: Diane Benjamin At the 8/25/2025 Council meeting a LONG list of email public commenters was read. I FOIA’d the City for those emails in September. I received a response with EVERY NAME redacted. Of course that isn’t legal. Nobody at Council meetings makes an anonymous public comment. No one who emails the Council can […]
By: Diane Benjamin Thanks to an anonymous US mail source for this story. I had to file a FOIA request before reporting it. The actual number might be higher, but I’m going with 7. Before showing you this story I need to tell you a backstory. Firefighters and police respond to evil and unimaginable violence […]
By: Diane Benjamin To get the whole picture, readers have to combine the video and the meeting documentation about the downtown transfer station: PDF page 29 https://connect-transit.com/file/3878/2025%2010%2028_Meeting%20Packet.pdf Once Connect Transit found out the old Pantagraph building wouldn’t work for the downtown transit center, this happened: . Bloomington has wanted to get rid of the Market […]
By: Diane Benjamin There were 2 interesting public comments last night. The first guy incurred thousands of dollars for water bills at a house no one was living in. The shutoff valve at the street keep getting turned off and on which flooded the basement 3 times. He came to Council expecting to get answers […]
By: Diane Benjamin Very brief agenda! The committee Alderman Mollie Ward insisted on after gunfire came through her home is giving a report tonight. In case you forgot: https://blnnews.com/2024/08/20/safe-communities-in-sick-societies/ It looks like this committee is now permanent since the term of some appointees doesn’t expire until 2027. (PDF page 26) Meeting Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1023/files/agenda/7957 Report from […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yes, that abbreviation for Committee of the Whole is hilarious. The City uses it, so I will too. Free, free, free! Traffic at the new library is up — imagine that. Offer free meeting space and people flock to it. Spending more than $26 million and raising taxes bought “free” stuff for […]
By: Diane Benjamin Committee of the Whole meetings are pre-vote discussions. Most items discussed come back for a vote at future Council meetings. No votes are taken at COW meetings. Read about any of these agenda items here: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1035/files/agenda/6930 . This mockup is included for item B: … . Hopefully the pole gets painted before […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.nhipdata.org/local/upload/file/2024-HIC-Counts-by-State%20-%20Housing%20Efficiency.pdf The National Homeless Project Issued this document in 2025. Bloomington/Central Il is listed on PDF page 3: . Same report from 2019: https://www.nhipdata.org/local/upload/file/Success%20Formula%20-%20by%20CoC%202019.pdf PDF page 7: . These reports show homelessness is down from 2019 and the number who have found permanent housing is much higher now. These pictures are from […]
By: Diane Benjamin There was only 1 Public Comment. The speaker was greatly concerned about the Salvation Army and the Federal grant they received to rehab apartments on Tracy Drive for veterans. According to him, Bloomington needs to intervene more than they have. Police have responded to numerous incidents and progress isn’t happening: . Alderman […]
By: Diane Benjamin The former Speaker of House in Illinois reports to a Federal prison today. Of course it’s 7.5 years in minimum security. Note no one in the State of Illinois prosecuted him. I filed a FOIA request with the City of Bloomington that would have been received by them on September 15th. Your […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1010/files/agenda/6908 Today is a Federal Holiday, the City of Bloomington once again violates City Code to meet today. https://blnnews.com/2019/10/13/bloomington-violates-their-own-code/ Violating City code is now a way of life for aldermen, Council, and City Manager who spent over $50,000 without Council approval. https://blnnews.com/2025/07/17/more-bloomington-prosecutions-for-code-violations/ This item is on the regular agenda. See if […]
By: Diane Benjamin I was contacted last week by a resident of Nashville Tn after she found stories I wrote about Opticos Designs. No surprise their plans for Nashville are Missing Middle Housing, same story as Bloomington. Nashville has a bigger problem than Bloomington because the population growth is huge as people flee states like […]
By: Diane Benjain Abby fails to state her husband, Corey Beirne, is employed by Unit 5. Beirne can’t say this himself since he is likely running for re-election: . Let me remind you what Alex Williams stated on social media: . Abby thinks his comments are positive? According to Abby Scott, Bloomington Ward 9 alderman, […]
By: Diane Benjamin More information on this story: https://blnnews.com/2025/10/01/bloomington-foia-fail-planning-commission/ Just so everyone is clear on what happened with my FOIA request, I’m printing these screenshots from the emails I sent to Corporate lawyer Chris Spanos. I consider Chris one of the good guys, but even he has limits in what he can admit. I’m surprised […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you still don’t understand laws in Bloomington only apply to citizen peons, this story should convince you. Follow-up to this story: https://blnnews.com/2025/09/13/strike-3-bloomington/ After the Planning Commission postponed hearing the case for allowing a homeless shelter in a single family neighborhood, staff hung around to answer questions and hear comments from the […]
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 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 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 . 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 . No discussions tonight on setting up more BIG PLANS for a future vote. Good.
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 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 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 Missing Middle Housing is supposed to be on the September 8th Bloomington City Council Agenda. There are some things the City and the Council either don’t know or do and aren’t telling you. No wonder some on the Council wanted a fast vote. Opticos has been using the same canned program for […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) The Nazi march was obviously fake. It was hilarious see the local media and activists organizing protests. I wonder if a Not In Our Town member created it since their relevance is diminishing without visible proof of activity they can rouse the leftists to rally against? How did I know it […]
By: Diane Benjamin Opticos Designs is the California based consultant who is recommending zoning changes to single family neighborhoods in Bloomington. Note that Normal isn’t doing anything close. Guess what? Opticos is pushing the same talking points in Maryland: https://montgomeryplanning.org/events/what-is-missing-middle-housing-presentation-to-the-silver-spring-community-from-opticos-design/ This event will feature Tony Perez from Opticos Design who is a Missing Middle Housing expert in […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Since Krystle Able calls herself a Democratic Socialist, she of course supports the far left guy running for mayor of New York. She doesn’t know history, most socialists are elected using talking points that sound nice but don’t work. Meanwhile, people who know history are handing out cards in New York […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve done many stories on Opticos and Missing Middle Housing. Review this story, it contains what the Council told staff they wanted back in July 2024 to solve the “housing crisis”: https://blnnews.com/2025/05/31/remember-when-i-told-you-staff-wouldnt-drop-it/ There is ZERO in those instructions about creating “walkable neighborhoods” or hiring a consultant from California. That didn’t stop Jeff […]
By: Diane Benjamin Part 1: https://blnnews.com/2025/08/26/bam-bloomington-residents-put-in-their-place/ I’m going to attempt to track how much money the City is spending relocating Public Works to the former Owens Nursery property. Start with the purchase June 10, 2024: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/f7099398-5bbe-11ee-ae13-0050569183fa-791fe512-602c-4d20-98c8-ecdbbed39134-1717791762.pdf . Last night $154,740 was approved for a consultant to create a preliminary design for the “campus”. It won’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin This is Part 1, a short Part 2 is next. Last night’s festivities were full of misinformation by citizen speakers. Of course that’s why the 1st Amendment exists. It’s vitally important for all people to have free speech and the ability to address their government. Public Comment had to be extended over […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/1021/files/agenda/6725 Justin Boyd is getting a Proclamation for serving 9 years on the Planning Commission. The documentation doesn’t say if he’s leaving or if he’s just being celebrated. My question: Is Bloomington better now because of his ‘Planning” than it was 9 years ago? Guess what’s back! . TEN YEARS ago […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s Bloomington Committee of the Whole: Also on the agenda was a discussion of video gaming. Start with the Public Comment at 33:35 from a downtown bar owner that isn’t allowed to have video gaming because of the arbitrary limit on the number of establishments the City set. Now see 2:11:20. […]
