Category: Local
Normal’s estimators are Professional Staff?
By: Diane Benjamin This was on Normal’s agenda on 2/17/2020: https://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3553 This was on Normal’s agenda on 1/9/21: https://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3867 This is on the agenda for Monday: https://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3903 In about a year the cost of repairing this bridge almost tripled! According to the documentation, this bid is 16.1% higher than the engineers estimate. The engineer was […]
Normal’s Professional Staff
By: Diane Benjamin This would not be an issue if the Town of Normal wasn’t constantly claiming their “professional staff” does a wonderful job and is above criticism or questioning. Nobody is perfect, Normal needs to stop claiming they are. I’m sure the below will be fixed soon, but this was what the link for […]
Proving Tari WRONG
By: Diane Benjamin Tari claimed in his rant that I would never live in Bloomington and I hate Bloomington. He’s right about never living in Bloomington (or Normal) because out in the country I am free. My taxes are much lower and I don’t have authoritarian bullies telling me how to live my life. However […]
UPDATE: Electric vehicles?
https://www.ntd.com/hyundais-recall-of-82000-electric-cars-is-one-of-the-most-expensive-in-history_572514.html Hyundai will recall 82,000 electric cars globally to replace their batteries after 15 reports of fires involving the vehicles. Despite the relatively small number of cars involved, Hyundai’s recall is one of the most expensive in history, signaling how electric car defects could create hefty costs for automakers—at least in the near future. By: Diane […]
For Tari Renner, the rest of you can enjoy
The Edgar County Watchdogs did a video in response to Tari’s tirade. You can see it hear: https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2021/02/video-ecwd-response-to-bloomington-mayor-renners-explosive-comments/ Watch the whole video, it just keeps getting better.
Since Mark Peterson, Connect is even worse
By: Diane Benjamin When Connect transit was trying to decide where the downtown transfer station should be, they stated many riders use the bus to get to the Laws and Justice Center or the Library. The location they picked is the farthest from either. Buses could have dropped people where CII East is now, it’s […]
UPDATE: Normal Town Council Candidate Forum TOMORROW NIGHT
Only 5 of the candidates on the ballot bothered to show up. Those not attending were: Kevin McCarthy, Chemberly Cummings, Donna Toney, and AJ Zimmerman. If the GOP saved the video I don’t see it anywhere. If you want to know who the elites don’t want to see elected: These 3 with Marc Tiritilli as […]
New Edgar County Watchdog story
Excerpt: BY KIRK ALLEN & JOHN KRAFT FEBRUARY 24, 2021 Bloomington, IL (ECWd) – After publishing this article, numerous outlets focused on the Mayor’s response to a public comment made during the last city council meeting. We will provide a video update to those comments in an upcoming article. The following day the city manager was […]
UPDATE: Large turnout for Ward 7 primary! 301 people
If you love Jenn Carrillo’s version of governing, you will love Kelby: By: Diane Benjamin I wonder how the poll workers kept up with so many voters exercising their constitutional right to pick their representatives: Keep doing this voters and somebody is going to propose abolishing elections because they are just too expensive and people […]
Update: Massive Journalism FAIL
Tari Renner on WJBC this morning: https://post.futurimedia.com/wjbcam/playlist/26/listen-1273.html?cb=1614188824.212135&fbclid=IwAR2bkJ0Mt5rUvXFk1H0qILFjNK_Uzw9XZvqqh4fxq08IVJnyR54s8YyUZfs By: Diane Benjamin Numerous media outlet have covered Tari Renner’s rant at Monday’s City Council meeting. Not ONE has bothered to look at the evidence presented by the Edgar County Watchdogs. Not ONE has asked how the story got started. If any of you had bothered to investigate […]
Proof of the Koos debt
By: Diane Benjamin I could write MANY stories about last night’s Bloomington Council meeting. I might write more, I might not. I didn’t want you to miss this graphic: Every citizen of Normal is in twice as much debt as those who live in Bloomington. That is why the end of the Uptown TIF is […]
“Equity” rears it’s ugly head
By: Diane Benjamin It’s easy these days to figure out where people stand politically. The Constitution states we are created “Equal”, those who want to create victims demand “Equity”. Socialism and communism create “equity” by redistributing wealth, except for those in charge of course. Some will never have enough, those who worked hard for theirs […]
Pop goes the Tari
By: Diane Benjamin Last night Kirk Allen (Edgar County Watchdogs) couldn’t speak at Public Comment so I spoke instead. I wanted to make sure people and the City knew about the story they published yesterday. https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2021/02/city-of-bloomington-police-coverup-exposed-zero-reporting-from-media-even-after-being-provided-all-the-facts/ The story includes proof of a Bloomington cover-up by allowing an officer to resign instead of prosecuting him. The […]
Remember Kirk Allen at Public Comment?
Since the Bloomington City Council refuses to meet in person, the Edgar County Watchdogs did a story today. I can NOT get the link to post. Go to edgarcountywatchdogs.com to see the story. Right now it is at the top of their site. It would have been nice if they could have confronted Tari in […]
Thanks Jenn for the socialist agenda
By: Diane Benjamin I wonder if Jenn thinks this is a winning strategy for her socialist buddies April 6th: Excerpt: These people are her hopes for being on the “new” council: I appreciate Jenn’s honesty for what the agenda will be. On-site consumption means a lot of revenue can be generated by parking surveillance 1/2 […]
What Mike Matejka left out
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.pantagraph.com/opinion/columnists/mike-matejka-normal-election-potholes-vs-progress/article_b11f20fe-e830-5d01-bc84-d912acc37bf5.html Anybody know why the guy who voted to build the Coliseum gets to write a column in the paper? Better yet, why does anybody listen to him when he not only voted against the will of the people but has never apologized for his taxpayer fleece? Of course Mike is campaigning […]
Since it is cheaper to go out of state to college . . . ISU wants illegals
Illinois State University promotes scholarship program for illegal immigrant students What about citizens who can’t afford ISU? Read the rest yourself.
Plowing bike paths:
By: Diane Benjamin This is a beautiful plowed bike path – done way before the streets: This is the path to get to the above: Has your street been plowed? I hear some never are.
Tari Flashback, Monday’s agenda
By: Diane Benajmin Something I found while looking for something else, this is dated in December of 2017: https://www.wjbc.com/2017/12/13/renner-bloomington-wont-be-sanctuary-city-mayor-sees-need-to-cut-personnel-costs-to-reduce-spending/ Excerpt: Monday night Jenn Carrillo’s Welcoming City Ordinance is on the agenda: Are you going to tell the Council not to approve this Tari? Change your mind? You now want Bloomington to be a sanctuary City […]
More Questions for Pam Reece:
By: Diane Benjamin Remember 305 S. Linden? Without a vote by the Council Pam Reece declared this building surplus property and put it up for sale: Request for proposals: https://www.normal.org/bids.aspx?bidID=267 Since the property is in a TIF staff doesn’t need the approval of the Council according to Town code. Bidding ended in November. Waiting until […]
Did Pam Reece LIE to the Feds?
By: Diane Benjamin The document below and MANY others were received by FOIA via a reader. From the submitted underpass application for Federal Funds: Included in the application for Federal Funds: Who writes a letter and fails to have a DATE on it? Pam Reece: Fully committed? When was the vote Pam? Behind closed doors […]
Fly on the Wall: Trail snow removed before streets
Flying around I saw lots of angry citizens who couldn’t get out of their driveway for days, maybe still can’t. I see the trails in both cities got cleared before streets. Are both Normal and Bloomington using snow to fill the potholes? How much MOTOR FUEL TAX was used to clear the trail for bikes […]
Stan Nord walks out of 2 on ?
By: Diane Benjamin Both the Bloomington City Council and Normal Town Council members meet with staff before meetings. It would take way too long to hash out issues in public, so they do it in private small groups instead. Items the majority of the Council will reject at meetings never make it to the public. […]
Reece/Koos Scam-a-lot
By: Diane Benjamin More on Normal’s Monday meeting: Nobody cared that Pam Reece did not follow her current contract. This didn’t happen: Chris Koos stated he and Pam cooked up the new contract. Poor Pam won’t get the 9 months of severance her old contract called for, the new one limits her to 20 weeks. […]
Bloomington: Pay up
By: Diane Benjamin Remember when Bloomington bought all new garbage trucks so they only needed one person instead of two? Remember when they bought “carts” so those trucks could pick them up automatically? Remember when that didn’t save enough money so a previous Council passed automatic fee increases to avoid ever having to vote on […]
Normal Publicly announces the War with Bloomington
By: Diane Benjamin Last night during Trustee comments at the end of the meeting Chris Koos claimed Council agreed to limit each to 5 minutes. Evidently that was done in secret. I doubt Stan Nord got 5 minutes because he was constantly interrupted. Nord showed a map of where Normal plans to run water lines […]
Message from Koos buddy Dave Shields
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader Dave Shields must still be hurting from losing to Stan Nord 2 years ago: Sorry Dave, but it appears your opinion doesn’t carry a lot of weight. That doesn’t stop Dave from working for his good buddy Chris Koos however. Does Davie know Town elections are supposedly non-partisan? Sure […]
Bloomington: Solid Waste 2.0 tonight
By: Diane Benjamin Committee of the Whole: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1103&Inline=True Businesses are flocking to low tax states with limited regulations. Proving yet again companies have to be paid to locate in Illinois: Illinois is perfectly located to successful promote economic development without incentives. Standing in the way is Illinois government and the massive debt and unfunded liabilities. […]
Normal really has a AAA credit rating?
By: Diane Benjamin https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1468-0416.00029 Fitch does have Normal at AAA, did Normal pay to get that rating? Moody’s doesn’t have Normal at AAA: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/normal-town-il-moodys-assigns-230707753.html This story is based on the $2 million debt Normal recently refinanced instead of paying it off. QUOTE: RATING OUTLOOK The stable outlook incorporates our expectation that the town’s financial position […]
Uptown Derailment
The best pictured I’ve seen on line was posted by Belle Pierpont. The caption says it was taken from her window. All of the crossings from Ft. Jesse to University were closed according to the Normal Police Department at 8:30 this morning. This underpass is also closed. Several cars parked at student housing were damaged […]
History Friday
Sorry, I’ve been sidetracked away from history for way too long. Since February is Black History month and much of Black History has been erased by progressives, here’s a story you probably don’t know. A former black slaved named Jack Sisson was a hero of the Revolutionary War. In case you forgot, that war won […]
Ward 9, probably no good choices
By: Diane Benjamin I’m no fan of Jim Fruin but I’m not a fan of his opponent either. This story recaps a lot of what Jim Fruin did while he was on the Council: https://blnnews.com/2016/10/03/who-voted-for-taris-nonsense/ Jim was on the Council that ignored audit calls for Coliseum Concessions and he was on the Council when Tari […]
Proof of Who NOT to Vote For
By: Diane Benjamin If the citizens of Bloomington do not show up to vote, the Council will be dominated by Jenn Carrillo. She already thinks she runs the agenda: Below is what the socialist agenda will be: Identity Politics LGBTQ politics Class warfare Wealth redistribution The April 6th winners will be on the Council for […]
Well, this is disgusting
By: Diane Benjamin Click this link: https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/1531/Consolidated-Candidates What you will see is every candidate that will be on the April 6th ballot outside of Bloomington. MOST of the races aren’t contested! These people have no problem raising your taxes and fees, congrats citizens. Evidently you don’t care enough to run for office yourself or find […]
More info on local candidates:
If you want to hear from the candidates themselves, below are two places to find interviews with questions you would ask. These aren’t interviews with questions the old media asks. POD BN interviewed Ward 5 candidates Patrick Lawler and Nick Becker. They also have two of the 5 Ward 7 candidates: Kelby Cumpston and Mollie […]
Ward 7 Candidates
By: Diane Benjamin Note: I know only one of these candidates, Kelby Cumpston. He is running as a team with 3 other socialists. Mollie Ward I only know from watching her at Council meetings since she was appointed to fill Scott Black’s seat. The primary election to remove 3 of these from the April 6th […]
Responsible Cities needs to explain how they aren’t Chris Koos’s campaign
By: Diane Benjamin Refer back to this earlier story: https://blnnews.com/2021/02/10/more-on-the-responsible-cities-pac/ Who got paid $3,511 for consulting? Maura Freeman From the Elect Chris Koos Mayor of Normal Facebook page: Who is Maura Freeman? According to her Facebook page: Facebook friends include Dave Shields (Koos buddy). She “liked” the Marc Tiritilli for Mayor of Normal Facebook page. […]
More on the Responsible Cities PAC
By: Diane Benjamin The document above is from the filings with the State of Illinois. Where did the $4500 this PAC started with come from? We don’t know. Maybe it came from all the people mentioned in this story: https://blnnews.com/2020/09/02/the-document-you-must-see/ According to their website this PAC was formed in April 2019 – note above. They […]
