By: Diane Benjamin Source: https://files.illinoiscomptroller.gov/LocGovTIF/FY2023/06409531/23TIF06409531Downtown_volpment_1.pdf Page 1 states the TIF was formed on 5/5/2003. Now see page 11. Why did the Town of Normal use 1999? The TIF wasn’t active in 1999, was this to make the return on investment look better? What private or public investment took place between 11/1/99 and 5/4/2003 that shouldn’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin A total of 1,609 scientists, professors and other scholars have signed on to a new declaration that argues there is no climate change crisis. https://www.thecollegefix.com/more-than-1600-scientists-and-other-scholars-sign-no-climate-emergency-declaration/ That didn’t stop Normal City Manager Pam Reece telling WGLT Normal has been affected by Climate Change: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2023-09-22/climate-change-impacts-noticeable-in-bloomington-normal Reece claims the trees were affected by heat and […]
By: Diane Benjamin Read this WGLT story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2023-09-12/group-looks-to-rally-support-for-a-community-land-trust-in-bloomington-normal-aimed-at-housing-affordability Local housing is a problem that the free market will self-correct. Interference in the process is why housing is unaffordable. One thing is certain: Additional housing can’t be created next month. It takes time and creating a Community Land Trust isn’t going to fix anything quickly. They […]
See if you can figure out why: The author is Carl Hinshaw.
Ok, now I can rest because I have heard it all. The “so called” leader in the Republican party is no leader at all. House Leader Tony McCombie is instrumental of total misinformation. People better wake up! I am very tired of hearing the opinions of these elected officials instead of what is lawful and […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) The smoke from Canada is back: 2) The company Bloomington hired to do the $750,000 downtown study is all in on DEI. https://www.cmtengr.com/dei/ The report is due in August. The City keeps using recommendations from old outdated reports like Bring It On Bloomington and the Downtown Bloomington Task Force. How many […]
By: Diane Benjamin Citizenship in America is meaningless as illegals continue to flood the border. They are handed benefits paid for by you. If you haven’t asked yourself why tax dollars are used to house them you probably went to a public school that didn’t teach what immigration as always been: opportunity, not freebies. You […]
The mom below works at Sarah Raymond but she isn’t a teacher. The dad is a District 87 teacher. He is pictured in her Facebook posts. By: Diane Benjamin Her name is Meighan Hopper. Her former daughter is 18 years old, she/he can make any decision wanted because supposedly 18 qualifies as an adult. Remember […]
By: Diane Benjamin This meeting lasted almost 1 1/2 hours, 4 people spoke at Public Comment. Mayor Mboka always reads a prepared statement before public comment. That statement is incorrect. Public Comment isn’t for the Council, it is for citizens. The Council regardly ignores what citizens say, that happened again last night via Mollie Ward. […]
By: Diane Benjamin There is a Facebook Group called Our Communities Oppose Rivian Assembly Plant. This is a Georgia group that doesn’t want their rural communities and farmland destroyed by this plant. They are also worried about the possible destruction of their water supply. Georgia is giving Rivian HUGE subsidies that has led to lawsuits. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Note: Any media in bed with government isn’t going to report things that would sever the relationship. That would be WGLT, even the Pantagraph noticed. This email is part of a huge FOIA request I’m taking my time reading. Readers: Refrain from commenting on my grammar after reading the below.
May 12, 2023: https://www.governing.com/policy/legalized-marijuana-products-still-go-largely-unregulated Excerpts: If you think cannabis is harmless, read the story. Of course you could continue to think it is, many will.
By: Diane Benjamin Before you move to Tri-Valley in hopes of a better education for your children, you need to know the district bought 6.69 acres and paid $450,000. Excessive? I’ve heard the Board bought the property only in case they needed it. They will create the need. The property includes a house that will […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bakana is the guy accused of murder who cut off his ankle monitor and fled. It was reported he spoke with a heavy accent, of course nobody will tell us if he’s here legally of illegally. Besides being arrested in January 2021 for murder and gun charges, he was also arrested for […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you haven’t checked the Illinois Report Card for Olympia, see the High School and some District information here: https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/school.aspx?source=profile&Schoolid=170640160260009 The other schools are also available by searching. The high school is below State averages in Language and Math. They also have a 42% chronic absenteeism rate. 82% of 9th graders are […]
By: Diane Benjamin Watch which local media sources report this story. It will prove who is #FakeNews and who isn’t. Refer back to this story: https://blnnews.com/2023/03/07/normal-buy-local-is-immaterial/ Chris Koos wants Uptown 2.0 built without any natural gas pipelines. Normal thinks that is “sustainable”. It’s also illegal. In Koos world laws don’t matter however. He didn’t want […]
By: Diane Benjamin FYI: The Vote Yes people committed more electioneering at ISU on Tuesday. Of course no prosecutions will happen, they were eventually kicked out by the election judges. Winning is all that matters to the left, breaking laws or lying is immaterial. Keep reading for proof. This is what happened, I hope Cities […]
By: Diane Benjamin The driver of the vehicle that ran a red light and crashed at 7:20 AM last Sunday at Washington and East Streets was charged with DUI. Bond was set at $250,000 (10% applies) The accident killed the passenger Kudeidrea L. Stewart. The article below doesn’t have the condition of the other driver […]
By: Diane Benjamin Democrats in Illinois prove they are the party of DEATH. Their goal is to kill as many babies as possible through abortion. SB 1909 just passed the Illinois Senate is now headed to the House. It targets crisis pregnancy centers. They want to fine any organization that helps women who find themselves […]
By: Diane Benjamin HB 3337 was heard by the Counties and Townships Committee because Sharon Chung is a member. Duh, the Town of Normal isn’t a County or Township so this bill did not belong in this committee. Even though Republicans on the Committee mentioned this, they were ignored. The committee passed it and now […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2023-03-06/amid-growth-ellsworth-wind-farm-manager-tells-his-story-theres-great-growth-opportunities Excerpt: WGLT: What do you feel like the most common thread of misinformation is? Alexander: The biggest one is ‘Those things kill birds.’ And then you hit them with the statistics and then they see, ‘Oh. Wait. Buildings kill more birds. Cats kill more birds.’ The amount of birds that are injured […]
This is the group putting up billboards:
By: Diane Benjamin The budget isn’t called Proposed Budget, but it is on line as a 5 years budget. Good luck reading it: https://www.normalil.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21181/Town-of-Normal-2022-23-to-2027-28-Five-Year-Operating-and-Capital-Investment-Budget Tonight – a whole 5 minutes is devoted to a Public Hearing about the Proposed budget. Even though the announcement below claims the budget is on line it isn’t. Kathleen was […]
By: Diane Benjamin Unit 5’s own data shows controlling costs isn’t happening. They have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. Start with this chart complied from OpenTheBooks: https://blnnews.com/2022/04/01/unit-5-did-esser-funds-inflate-salaries/ Compared that chart with the one below compiled by Unit 5 – PDF page 15 https://www.unit5.org/cms/lib/IL01905100/Centricity/Domain/51/CAC%20Financial%20Presentation%2002-02-2022.pdf Why did PERSONNEL costs (blue line) skyrocket since 2015? The […]
By: Diane Benjamin The FBI told Twitter what needed to be deleted – Twitter complied. The Russia hoax was perpetuated for years by “media”. The Covid vaccine has to be the worst example of media reporting what they are told and hiding actual facts. Wearing masks did nothing and multiple shots have produced adverse effects. […]
If we don’t report it didn’t happen If we don’t report it didn’t happen If we don’t report it didn’t happen If we don’t report it didn’t happen Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Election Commission has a long history of failing at their one job: Elections. Just in November they couldn’t tell candidates for Bloomington Council how many signatures they needed on petitions because of redistricting. In 2022 BEC requested and increase to their budget of $550,000. BEC has had a hard time […]
By: Diane Benjamin Only contributions to candidates or political action committees over $1000 are required to be immediately reported. Other contributions are reported quarterly. That means you won’t know who contributed to either until after the April 4th election since reports won’t be filed before then. Reports are available on Illinois Sunshine for contributions that […]
By: Diane Benjamin The email below proves the Town staff knows the Council will pass whatever is brought to them. All but one Trustee doesn’t make independent votes on what is best for the citizens, they vote for “progress” as defined by staff. Just last Monday Doug Farr presented the Uptown South project as he […]
By: Diane Benjamin I had another meeting to attend last night so I didn’t watch either Normal or Bloomington live. Normal’s was only around 1/2 hour so I did watch it. I heard 2 media outlets showed up with video cameras, maybe they were expecting fireworks that didn’t happen. Mayor Koos wasn’t there, maybe not […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did anyone notice calamity because the Federal Government has now been shut down for the third day in a row? It shuts down every weekend, today is just a bonus day off for MLK day. Remember this shutdown when media starts screaming about DEFAULT if the debt ceiling isn’t increased. Tax dollars […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t readers Sonja was at the candidates forum yesterday. She made clear who her favorite Normal candidates are on her Facebook page, keep in mind she is the Normal City Manager’s mother-in-law and lives in a $4000+ a month subsidized apartment at 1 Uptown Circle. If you had any doubt who Koos […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Steve Suess is no longer at Cities 92.9. He’s exploring other opportunities. BIG LOSS to Sunday afternoons, guest host spots, and election coverage. 😲 2) State Farm is selling employees: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230112005620/en/HCLTech-to-Modernize-IT-Operations-for-State-Farm%C2%AE Sources tell me these are 1st and 2nd level support and claims help desk staff. Most are already working remotely. […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Unit 5 is counting on low voter turnout to pass yet another attempt to raise your taxes – that’s after they already raised property taxes. These current School Board members want re-elected: Kelly Pyle Amy Roser Both were appointed in 2018, they are part of the problem. Unions will be running […]
. Answer: I’m ready to delete comments from those who don’t care about truth.
By: Diane Benjamin Obviously Charlie Schlenker and WGLT can’t hold hold impartial campaign forums: https://blnnews.com/2023/01/06/wglt-does-political-comedy-again/ Another opportunity to get to know the candidates is below. Bloomington is electing Ward 1 for 2 years to replace Jamie Mathy. Wards 2 and 8 have no choices. Bloomington: Ward 1: Jenna L Kearns Ward 2: Donna Boelen Ward […]
By: Diane Benjamin Judge Kording ruled in September that Normal is an Incorporated Town even though they don’t act like it. In his ruling he stated he knows his decision could: . The “parade of horribles” has only just begun. The Normal elites ignored the ruling while celebrating the defeat of the citizen led referendum […]
By: Diane Benjamin Notice anything wrong with the picture accompanying the story they posted to Facebook an hour ago? I can think of at least 7 things wrong the pic, how many do you count? I bet WJBC has press credentials! I wonder why?
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2022-12-09/normal-mayor-wants-town-to-draft-rules-to-allow-auxiliary-housing Title of the story: Normal mayor wants town to draft rules to allow auxiliary housing At least half of the story is Koos condemning Stan Nord. Here’s what Koos ignored in the interview: The clerk would not have posted the petitions for Supervisor, Collector and Clerk on the website if Stan […]
By: Diane Benjamin The petitions submitted for Supervisor, Clerk, and Collector have been challenged by TWO people. The challenges are identical. Were they afraid the Normal Electoral Board couldn’t read the first one so they filed two? Guess who is back challenging again? The guy who got Normal into this mess: Patrick Dullard He is […]
