By: Diane Benjamin Alderman Tom Crumpler gave an impassioned speech pertaining to the plight of illegals and local housing. Of course his version is “migrants”. He based his comments on this WGLT story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-03-22/it-is-difficult-right-now-housing-coalition-cites-ongoing-challenges-in-bloomington-normal A couple of points that are evidently way over Tom’s head: “Migrants” are abused long before they illegally enter the country. […]
By: Diane Benjamin I mentioned in this story a reader told me he/she witnessed an electric Connect Transit bus being towed: https://blnnews.com/2024/03/04/two-things-i-wish-i-had-pics-of/ It turns out it wasn’t an electric bus. Obtained by FOIA: Connect Transit is forced to use OLD buses because the new electric fleet is junk. In case you can’t read that email, […]
By: Diane Benjamin The McLean County Regional Planning Commission hired an Indianapolis firm to conduct a local housing survey. The draft version is available here: https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/a2/83/4592f3f04409bcdd453644d32b78/draft-final-rise-plan.pdf Comments can be made on this document until 3/14. I’m not close to going through all 97 pages, but problems are pretty easy to see. The chart on PDF […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) In April I will have been writing for TWELVE YEARS. Actually page views went over 10,000,000 a few years ago, but lots of views aren’t officially counted because many of you are Following BlnNews.com and getting an email for every story written. All of those reads aren’t included in the totals. […]
By: Diane Benjamin This group probably doesn’t want you to know their non-profit tax returns are posted on line: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/431700482/202311359349302656/full If you haven’t been paying attention, the Immigration Project always pops up to support illegal immigrants with bleeding heart leftist rhetoric meant to subdue citizen resistance to invasion. What you don’t know is they get most of […]
By: Daine VBenjamin Further proof nobody elected in Normal is looking out for you: The rent for the 2nd floor of 1 Uptown Circle keeps going up. This year the Town will throw away $455,147 because a big hole in Uptown needed filled. Nothing would have been built if Normal hadn’t made taxpayers responsible for paying for it […]
By: Diane Benjamin District 87 students score well below State averages in English and Math. See last year’s scores here: https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/District.aspx?source=trends&Districtid=17064087025 The district spends $15,000 per student for this substandard education. (Click District Snapshot at the link above) 34% are chronically absent, the graduation rate is an appalling 79%. I find it fascinating that WGLT can normalize stories like […]
By: Diane Benjamin Members of the McLean County Democrat Party on the County Board are proposing new rules for meetings and members. The new Public Comment policy allows citizens to sign up at least 15 minutes before meetings. However, the allotted time is still only 15 minutes, which is ridiculous for a county as large as […]
By: Diane Benjamin I saw a social media post asking why the arena was built downtown instead of along the interstate that could have brought people in from nearby cities. (Common sense?) I didn’t respond but the answer is clear. It was built downtown because the people who are elected to represent you have been trying for DECADES […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Council met yesterday afternoon after canceling Monday night’s meeting due to ice. It was short even with 3 Public Comments. Just hit play below to hear the first two. The new hockey owners made a brief presentation with slides that aren’t on video. The person who films at night usually switches the view so people […]
By: Diane Benjamin I have not finished reading everything I received. There is likely more to report. Make sure you read to the bottom. Connect’s General Manager doesn’t want you to know any of this. Refer back to the HUGE November loss: https://blnnews.com/2024/01/23/connect-loses-more-than-the-coliseum/ Salaries were almost twice normal. I thought Connect had a hiring spree of drivers and were no longer […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-01-16/bloomington-mayor-says-migrant-arrivals-are-an-opportunity?fbclid=IwAR3sk1vSuXaYjJpAoVD7JzKIiefInecaDL3F2HE4CZuaX7RlA2UXXaVG24Q_aem_Ac-7erlnSRtzkVEj2ctv7mKVdaRhb_7AO3U0opqMbcMf0h77UtpKx_QX-t_C6tOdMA0 Elections for local offices – like Bloomington Mayor – will be early in 2025. Since few vote Mboka could easily be re-elected by the majority who vote socialist. He won’t run as a socialist because that’s a loser, he just needs to act socialist. Read the story, he welcomes people illegally in this […]
By: Diane Benjamin Evidently they have open door policies in their homes because they don’t want to protect McLean County from Biden’s invasion of the country – estimated now at 8 million people who walked across the border. These people know nothing about local and national laws, many expect to be taken care of by taxpayers. See Chicago […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday I was sent a Bloomington-Normal Housing Analysis that is dated April of 2022. Note: the source is NPR. You can see it here: https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/69/5d/501447894b7cb83e9117e436d098/bloomington-normal-housing-analysis-white-paper-april-2022.pdf I stopped reading it at PDF page 9 because there is a huge problem! Note the McLean County Regional Planning Commission is listed on PDF page 2 […]
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.
