By: Diane Benjamin Either Normal is spending money they don’t have because of COVID or they have over-taxed everybody and have a huge stockpile of cash. Without ISU students revenues have to be down, but Normal is hiring anyway. I bet they will say: It is in the budget: DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS […]
Get the facts from those who have READ the law and been right since MARCH: https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/governors-pritzkers-executive-orders-void-what-does-that-mean
By: Diane Benjamin When Shayna Watchinski ran for the McLean County Board she told people she worked in “healthcare”. See this WGLT story: https://www.wglt.org/post/facing-primary-challenge-left-segobiano-touts-bipartisan-record#stream/0 Excerpt: Professional? According to the Illinois License Look up website, Shayna Watchinski has never held a professional license of any kind: https://ilesonline.idfpr.illinois.gov/DFPR/Lookup/LicenseLookup.aspx That didn’t stop Watchinski from posing for campaign photos […]
By: Diane Benjamin I don’t want you to miss the comment made to this story: https://blnnews.com/2020/03/15/a-real-emergency-will-kill-you/ It says everything I’ve been trying to tell you: Everyone needs to relax. This virus has been here for some time, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the actual number of cases is 10 times what has been […]
By: Diane Benjamin It could take a long time to report everything I received with a FOIA of emails between Stan Nord and Normal City Manager Pam Reece. One thing obvious is she doesn’t approve of Stan looking at what she and the “professional staff” do. Pam thinks Stan’s job is setting policy, not looking […]
By: Diane Benjamin It’s hard to understand why the General Assembly in Springfield opens each day of session with prayer, but they do. When a Catholic Bishop in Springfield announced the leadership would not be allowed to take communion, Mike Madigan’s response was: “I don’t go to church anyway”. Duh, Mike. That is obvious. After […]
by: Diane Benjamin Facts frequently don’t matter because too many people think with their heart instead of their brain. They twist facts to prove to themselves why conservative values are wrong. Any one who thinks government is their friend falls into this category. Government doesn’t exist to solve problem because: 1) it isn’t their money […]
https://csteventucker.wordpress.com/2018/11/06/the-truth-about-republicans-and-preexisting-conditions/ Contrary to popular belief, both Democrats AND Republicans have had a long history of ensuring that Americans have access to coverage for preexisting conditions. In fact, a bipartisan piece of federal legislation requiring coverage for preexisting conditions existed long before the implementation of the ACA – Affordable Care Act, known colloquially as “Obamacare”. Public law […]
Update: The Income Statement was not available for Board approval because an audit of last year (ending June 30th) was underway. Both July and August will be approved in September. Something else the private sector would never tolerate, but Connect isn’t private. By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit meeting yesterday: http://www.connect-transit.com/documents/8-22-2017%20Regular%20Board%20Meeting%20Binder1.pdf No Income Statement was included […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Normal Town Council had a long meeting last night by their standards. They discussed employee health benefits and wellness programs at length. I didn’t write about it before the meeting because I was waiting to see their comments. Normal has worked with Advocate for over a decade developing a wellness program […]
Andy is going to work next week! We are so blessed with his recovery and the people who have pitched in to help with the medical expenses. Thanks so much for the prayers, words of support, and financial aid. Andy will probably be very tired, but he is close to a full recovery. We have […]
By: Diane Benjamin On this Memorial Day weekend, we remember those who have fought and died for us. America began with a war for freedom and many wars have been fought since to protect it. We would not enjoy this legacy today without the sacrifices of those willing to lose their life in our defense. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tonight’s Bloomington Council packet contains this statement on PDF page 4: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=12802 Now jump to the Bills and Payroll for tonight: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=12794 PDF page 107 The City if THROWING away money by allowing employees to spike their pensions! This payment of $64,859.95 brings the total to $1,877,252.40 since the law was changed in […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner is a community organizer. He was a speaker at Camp Obama in 2007: https://blnnews.com/2013/02/25/vetting-tari-renner-obama/ After 8 years of a President who didn’t care about laws, the local radicals are outraged a President was elected to end the chaos Obama caused. See Renner’s picture and comments from last night’s Rally for […]
By: Diane Benjamin I will be on Cities 92.9 today at 3:30 with Ben Yount to discuss the future of BlnNews. Now for last night’s Bloomington City Council meeting: Bring in the CLOWNS! Oops, they were already there! Starting at 1:05, and ending 45 minutes later, the Council droned on about spending $300,000 at The […]
By: Diane Benjamin I was looking for something else when I came across this again on my computer: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/ct-municipal-pension-padding-met-20150816-story.html The story is from August 2015. It is where we found out for the FIRST time that City employees were allowed to spike their pensions, and then taxpayers had to make additional payments to IMRF (the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is a brief recap of things I’ve written about previously: Comprehensive City Manger reports are no longer issued because Hauman thinks they are a waste of money. Now citizens have no idea how tax receipts are trending. See email HERE This email also sounds like she doesn’t care about speakers at […]
By: Diane Benjamin On the agenda for the Bloomington City Council on Monday is approving an agreement with Health Alliance to cover fire fighters and retirees. Of course it’s on the consent agenda so nobody asks questions. See the NUMEROUS pages beginning on PDF page 87 HERE Sometimes i have to wonder if way too […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this previous post for a link to the WJBC interview: https://blnnews.com/2016/09/29/tari-on-wjbc-wiggling/ Tari took Alderman Jim Fruin’s advice and asked citizens to mail their health insurance plan summary to him. MAIL? Seriously, who mails anything! Okay, for the few of the computer challenged, put a copy in the mail to him. The […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night the Bloomington City Council met as a Committee of the Whole. Around an hour was spent on a presentation by an ISU professor on how to do a salary and benefits survey. See his written presentation here – beginning on PDF page 49: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=11309 This presentation was prompted by Alderman […]
By: Diane Benjamin Fitch hasn’t changed Bloomington’s credit rating from AA+, but you need to understand why. See the story here: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/fitch-affirms-bloomington-ils-gos-182900665.html They seem to have miss the local RISING unemployment rate, even though the story does mention Mitsubishi closing. The article has much more information. I’m sure Mayor Renner will tout his great management. […]
This part of the meeting is live-streamed. Smartest thing I’ve heard is a court should decide on any changes to the trust administration. Archived video will be available sometime after the meeting. UPDATE below By: Diane Benjamin At the 5:00 meeting tonight this item is on the agenda: Instead of putting this item before an […]
By: Diane Benjamin Some months ago a presentation at a Bloomington City Council meeting talked about the ObamaCare Luxury Tax and how the City might be hit with HIGH penalties. Some of the aldermen had never heard of it. From this link: money.cnn.com/2015/12/18/news/economy/obamacare-cadillac-tax/ The tax has been delayed because people subject to the tax have […]
By: Diane Benjamin A Work Session was held before the Council meeting. The most remarkable discussion was started by Alderman Fruin. It pertained to employee benefits. Watch his comments starting at 15:30, other people join the conversation, so keep watching. Jim actually stands up for citizens! That’s until he gets to an off-hand comment about […]
By: Diane Benjamin Want to know why Donald Trump is still high in the polls? Read this WJBC forum commentary to see what the “establishment” thinks. He’s not even close to the real reason, but it’s good for laughs. This is exactly what the GOP thinks too – and it’s why the Trump attacks are […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is a bowl full of baby parts harvested by Planned Parenthood so they can sell them. PP gets a half a billion dollars of our tax money. The language in the videos is even worse – they like whole cadavers the best. The Germans claimed they didn’t know what the Nazis […]
By: Diane Benjamin The media has done a great job telling people if you don’t have health insurance under ObamaCare, then you have to pay a fine. They are also wrong! The IRS isn’t going to bill you. It isn’t authorized in the law. All the IRS can do is steal your refund. Don’t want to […]
When McLean County got offered money, they took it. The only NO vote was Chuck Erickson. McHenry County is smarter. The top three things McHenry County taxpayers need to know about ‘free’ ObamaCare money 29 Oct 2014 | Naomi Lopez Bauman The McHenry County Board recently took a brave stance by voting to reject “free” […]
by: Diane Benjamin I just received my new Health Insurance benefits book for the insurance we have through my husband’s employer. Since I’m not capable of doing only one thing at a time, I was paging through it while eating lunch. Hobby Lobby just had to take their case to the Supreme Court to get […]
by: Diane Benjamin Hopefully you don’t have to interact with the State of Illinois on-line for your business or in any other way. They are still in the dark ages of technology. Example #1 I recently switched my corporate account to another bank. Illinois has a system to pay businesses taxes on-line that will debit […]
Is it an employment farm, or a medical system? Open The Books Investigation: Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System Phoenix, AZ | May 15, 2014 Salary data at OpenTheBooks.com shows clear evidence that the bureaucracy served the bureaucracy, not veterans… “Our nation’s veterans need access to health care and doctors, not interior decorators and […]
by: Diane Benjamin No, this has nothing to do with Nevada! Now that ObamaCare is being implemented (at least the parts not delayed), the Federal government thinks they can write all the rules. The local serfs must comply. Here’s the latest proposed rule change: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced a […]
by: Diane Benjamin Yes, today is supposedly the last day to enroll in ObamaCare. The media tells people armageddon will occur if you don’t comply and Get Covered. Here’s the truth: You will NOT have to pay penalties unless you get a tax refund! You won’t get a bill, the IRS won’t put a lien […]
by: Diane Benjamin Being a CPA, I like numbers. Frequently they reveal interesting things. Here’s my latest: The information listed about employees is now really good on both the Champaign and Bloomington websites – thanks to the Illinois Policy Institute. All expenses per employee are listed, so I decided to see how much Bloomington pays […]
by: Diane Benjamin Being a CPA, I like numbers. Frequently they reveal interesting things. Here’s my latest: The information listed about employees is now really good on both the Champaign and Bloomington websites – thanks to the Illinois Policy Institute. All expenses per employee are listed, so I decided to see how much Bloomington pays […]
by: Diane Benjamin The State of Illinois isn’t any more transparent than Bloomington. I worked with the Edgar County Watchdogs for close to a year to uncover the state’s activities with Medicaid payment processing. Many FOIA requests were returned to us with a “No matching documents” label. The State didn’t know that we have many […]
Source: http://www.aim.org/guest-column/obama-dooms-seniors-to-ravages-of-aging/?utm_source=co2hog&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AccuracyInMedia+%28Accuracy+In+Media%29 Betsy McCaughey — January 2, 2014 On Oct. 1, 2012 the Obama administration started awarding bonus points to hospitals that spend the least on elderly patients. It will result in fewer knee replacements, hip replacements, angioplasty, bypass surgery and cataract operations. These are the five procedures that have transformed aging for older […]
A man wrote…I’m a 54-year-old consulting engineer and make between $60,000 and $125,000 per year, depending on how hard I work and whether or not there are work projects out there for me. My girlfriend is 61 and makes about $18,000 per year, working as a part-time mail clerk. For me, making $60,000 a year, […]
I wrote previously about C Steven Tucker and the IRS: http://blnnews.com/2013/11/29/irs-auditing-2-men-who-spoke-against-obamacare/ IRS Goes After Obamacare Whistleblowers: An Interview with C. Steven Tucker By Arlen Williams This is an update published today in American Thinker: http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/12/irs_goes_after_obamacare_whistleblowers_an_interview_with_c_steven_tucker.html Excerpts: By now, the news has spread online of the IRS audit notices sent to two Obamacare whistleblowers. On November 25th, cancer victim […]
