By: Diane Benjamin Did you notice the name on the banner Tari Renner is behind? https://blnnews.com/2018/07/07/bloomington-is-at-war-thanks-to-tari/ It says Illinois People’s Action. This event today is by ONE People’s Campaign.: . Those two organization are tied together. Guess who former alderman Jenn Carrillo works for? . Where do they get money? Cue the rabbit holes: . […]
By: Diane Benjamin This 8 year old story now has over 17,500 views THIS YEAR: https://blnnews.com/2018/07/07/bloomington-is-at-war-thanks-to-tari/ One guy featured in that story is in this one too. Make sure you read all the way to the bottom. h/t a reader Meet one of the guys responsible for the non-binding referendum questions on the 11/3 ballot. […]
By: Diane Benjamin I got a message last night from a guy who fled Illinois for Florida. His home’s assessed value went up $7000, his property tax bill went up $5.83. Florida has School Choice which means education costs are lower because schools have to complete for students. Unit 5 spends $16,000 per student, District […]
By: Diane Benjamin Update to this story: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/17/affordable-housing-isnt-possible-when-the-elected-constantly-raise-property-taxes/ Carl Hinshaw helped this family protest the 11% assessment increase. He told me yesterday it was cut in half. Still higher than requested, but more affordable than the original. Congrats family and Carl. Taxing on unrealized gains is still evil. McLean County voted for that to continue.
By: Diane Benjamin Large company plant closings and layoffs are posted on this website: https://www.illinoisworknet.com/LayoffRecovery/Pages/IllinoisWARNData.aspx Before election day the Tyson Foods closing affecting 2495 people was the last one posted. That was mid October. Nothing else was posted until the day AFTER the election. These are all new: . The first listing is a closure, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Ben Matthews! McLean County Democratic Central Comm lists this payment: https://illinoissunshine.org/committees/159/ Who is BAMDESIGN? . His website has been undergoing scheduled maintenance for over a week: https://bamdesign.net/ That $162,988.91 is only from one source. Matthews got paid by lots of other democrats too. More: https://benmatthews.net/ Quote: My “real job” is as a […]
By: Diane Benjamin My thoughts on the election: Bailey never had a chance to win. I tried to tell people that before the primary, they didn’t listen. Pritzker now owns McLean County. He bought it. Democrats don’t really hate billionaires, just the ones that fund opposition. McLean County Clerk employees need to start looking for […]
By: Diane Benjamin JB was in town yesterday to survey his bought kingdom. King Pritzker has invested millions in buying votes, what do you think he wants in return? . How the vote going? 2022 General Election results Bloomington: County: . Total voters 4 years ago: 64,646 Early vote this year: Bloomington: County: . Total […]
By: Diane Benjamin A reader sent me a screenshot of the front page of today’s paper. Headline: County Plans $150 Million Budget In smaller print below this: Property tax rate may hit 20-year low Read down and you will find out the proposed budget is $6 million higher than this year. Budget up, rates down. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since everyone’s finally sick of the nonstop election commercials and lies—congratulations, you survived! Now get ready for Round Two. Next April there’s another election… the local one that almost nobody bothers showing up for. Apparently tossing out the same clowns who keep jacking up your taxes just isn’t worth the five minutes […]
By: Diane Benjamin In 2025, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) lowered the test-score thresholds required for students to be classified as proficient in English and Mathematics. Duh, lower proficiency standards magically raises scores. This guy is taking credit: . Here’s what is really happening, Illinois Public Schools have been failing to educate for […]
By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/24/little-birdie-update-why-she-was-fired/ Krystle Able posted again this morning the Township is hiring a Development Director. The last one WAS fired for probable theft and that was likely never reported to the Normal Police. Stealing from taxpayers is a non-prosecutable offense? Krystle doesn’t want you to know how she and her HR director […]
By: Diane Benjamin You are expected to forget this story: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/24/little-birdie-update-why-she-was-fired/ Have you? Start with this pic of the crowd and Board Pledging allegiance to the almost invisible flag. The screen has never been in front of it before. . The video below is of the Township Assessor. His office currently has 416 assessment protests. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Update to this story: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/07/know-what-this-is-2/ That story shows the beginnings of high voltage transmission lines running to a new battery storage facility near Ellsworth. This is what is looks like now. These HUGE poles runs east and west of Leroy-Lexington blacktop for what looks like miles: . Note how much taller they […]
By: Diane Benjamin Previous: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/27/3-things-you-need-to-know-17/ Are all the Democrat incumbents break the law by wearing their taxpayer funded name tag out campaigning? Here’s another one: Eric Hansen, spouse of alderman Cody Hendricks, with Corey Beirne. Remember this? Voters can dissolve this cabal in 1 week. Beirne has a ton of other pics on his Facebook […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) The Normal Township meeting was canceled yesterday: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/25/oma-violation-krystle/ Nothing was ever put on the website about this meeting, including canceling it. Township Board member Tanner Starr, who just filed paperwork to run for Normal Trustee, is now claiming Beth wasn’t fired. She quit. A new little birdie told me she is […]
By: Diane Benjamin The three agenda items supporting the redevelopment of Eastland Mall all passed easily at last night’s City Council Meeting. That will be the end of easy because Molly Ward and the other pretend nonpartisan aldermen made demands. Molly will not support any further plans unless they include a Project Labor Agreement (PLA). […]
By: Diane Benjamin McLean County Board District 10 has a clear choice: A fireman who saves lives – Matt Steinkoenig or an elementary school music who throws sex ed into the curriculum – Corey Beirne This link will take you to a ton of Beirne stories: https://blnnews.com/?s=Corey+Beirne This one is the biggest lie he’s told […]
By: Diane Benjamin I don’t know anyone who still reads the Pantagraph. I don’t use them in stories anymore because I’m not buying a subscription and a lot of people here don’t either. That means nobody would be able to read any articles I link to. I was contacted this week by two people who […]
By: Diane Benjamin At the July 2026 Normal Township meeting Supervisor Krystle Able crowed about the great job her new hire at the ARCwas doing: . In the 3 weeks since her hiring, Beth had already made relationships with local businesses who would provide free stuff to the ARC for events, mostly food. Yesterday, according […]
By: Diane Benjamin This clip is only 1 minute long. Krystle Able claims the Audit Fund is showing negative because this year’s audit cost $40,000 when it previously cost $8,000. See more below after you listen to the video: How much has the Town of Normal paid for this year’s audit? https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5702 https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5655 Total payments: […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington announced they had settled a lawsuit against the City and former Assistant Police Chief Paul Williams: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-10-21/plaintiffs-attorney-calls-for-an-independent-investigation-following-bloomington-police-misconduct-settlement The amount in this story is wrong. Each of the plaintiffs did not get $25,000. They got $24,999.99. Why is that important? Because of this action by the then City Council […]
h/t a reader In case you forgot, Andrew Franson calls himself a communist: https://blnnews.com/2026/02/03/the-isu-communist-responds/ I wish he would list the ISU professors filling his head with anarchy. Of course he won’t. Are all these people he supports communists? Paul Nolley, Krystle Able, Joshua Crockett, Matt Coates (running for Normal Trustee) and others. He also thinks […]
By: Diane Benjamin I was out of town for part of the day yesterday. Luckily I made it back in time to attend the 3 hour Normal Township Board meeting because the Zoom stream went out 35 minutes into the meeting. A few highlights, there will be more: In September, Krystle Able’s boyfriend was paid […]
By: Diane Benjamin Voters have a right to know the facts. Is media telling you this? Illinois has a king: Pritzker. He is not only buying a 3rd term, he is buying the minions he needs supporting him: He wrote this check to the McLean County Democrats. https://www.illinoissunshine.org/committees/159 He and others are helping buy Joshua […]
By: Diane Benjamin The law permits mailing ballots to nursing homes. The County Clerk’s office does not because of the risk of fraud, especially in dementia units. They send a judge from both parties to each nursing home to supervise voting. This is also called: Common Sense. The Bloomington Election Commission isn’t doing that. They […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda for Tuesday meeting: https://normaltownship.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/October-20th-2026-3.pdf Remember when grants were suspended in this year’s budget because the Board didn’t want to raise the levy? Shifting funds has now given them money to give away. The problem is Township Law requires grants to benefit the residents of the Township. How will that be required […]
By: Diane Benjamin This comment was made to this story on BlnNews: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/16/property-taxes-wreck-affordable-housing/ Print this and hand a copy to EVERY elected official in office and those running. Progressive spending on wants are destroying the ability to not only buy a home but to keep a home. THEY did this! We are the Habitat for […]
By: Diane Benjamin Carl Hinshaw recently held another property tax appeal seminar. He told me this story. A couple who bought a Habitat of Humanity home about 5 years ago are now worried about being able to keep it because of PROPERTY TAXES. Their assessment was increased 11% this year including a 3.85% Township multiplier. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Previous stories: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/10/wglt-bias/ https://blnnews.com/2026/10/12/another-example-of-wglt-bias/ Here’s another one: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-10-14/music-teacher-and-normal-firefighter-running-to-represent-mclean-county-boards-district-10?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook The AI bias analysis is below, I don’t ask AI anything other than analyze the story for bias. 5. Overall effect The piece does not attack Steinkoenig or invent facts, but the cumulative choices — greater positive credit for Beirne on data centers, more […]
By: Diane Benjamin BNWRD is just one of many local taxing districts that nobody watches. This is the result: . Taxed enough yet?
By: Diane Benjamin Something else to watch first: PDF page 144 https://mcleancountyil.gov/AgendaCenter/County-Board-1#docaccess-2ffafebe6a9a4388fd0c969f31ff6b40 The County will be creating a parks master plan. After they hire the firm revealed on the numerous following pages they will of course have to follow the plan. There will be community engagement, surveys few people take, and then fabulous plans that […]
By: Diane Benjamin The video below was filmed from WGLT’s live stream. In case rural McLean County is confused about him, he doesn’t believe anything that you do. Don’t be fooled by his blue suit and red tie. He believes the Save America Act is too cumbersome and requires too much of voters. In other […]
By: Diane Benjamin WGLT broadcast a live stream on Facebook. It is still there if you want to watch it. The moderators should have told the crowd not to disrupt the event with clapping and cheering—they didn’t. Questions were limited because of disruptions by Crockett supporters. Of course, the question I submitted wasn’t asked. I […]
By: Diane Benjamin The County has a meaningless code of ethics. It’s meaningless because there are no consequences for violating it. This is the last point in the code: The below was posted by McLean County Board candidate Corey Beirne to his official Facebook page. Keep in mind he claims not to be divisive. Keep […]
By: Diane Benjamin For many years Bloomington has held meetings on Columbus Day, this is from last year: https://blnnews.com/2025/10/13/bloomington-could-be-a-long-meeting/ Maybe they intentionally wanted to interfere with the McLean County Clerk forum and open house Tuesday night. Maybe the far leftists on the council didn’t want to meet on Indigenous People’s Day. Maybe somebody actually read […]
By: Grok First instance of bias: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/10/wglt-bias/ If WGLT exists to be left wing media, add that to your name. If you want to be fair and balanced, pick an AI and let it show you where you aren’t before posting stories. I expect neither to happen. Here’s the WGLT story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-10-12/differing-types-of-public-service-shape-key-mclean-county-board-race This is Grok’s […]
By: Diane Benjamin Illinois isn’t smart. Data centers would have paid the costs themselves instead of taxpayers. See this link: https://dceo.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dceo/aboutdceo/reportsrequiredbystatute/2025-data-centers-annual-report.pdf PDF pages 5-6: . PDF page 2: . In June 2026 Pritzker paused this program: https://gov-pritzker-newsroom.prezly.com/gov-pritzker-pauses-new-data-center-tax-incentives So, he was for them before he was against them. In 2023 CIRA received: $1.25 million Illinois Department […]
By: Diane Benjamin Read this story ONLY after you read what Grok said when I asked it to: Say how much bias is in this story. Below is a lot of what it reported. Type it in yourself is you want to see what else was reported. https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-10-09/in-northeast-normals-district-5-mclean-county-board-candidates-discuss-finances-and-budget-issues If you think the McLean County Clerk […]
