Category: Local

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Parental Rights in Jeopardy in Illinois

By: Diane Benjamin Are you getting signatures? https://blnnews.com/2024/01/29/its-not-the-states-job-to-parent-your-kids/ It is VITAL this question gets on the November ballot: Why is it vital? Because HB 4876 was introduced in the Illinois House. This bill finds parents guilty of child abuse if they don’t allow their child to get an abortion or gender-affirming care: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=4876&GAID=17&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=152735&SessionID=112&GA=103 More on this bill and the […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Does Bloomington know it’s February?

By: Diane Benjamin Even though the City has 3 top Administrators now, according to the meeting documentation THEY requested this proclamation: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/2392365/Health_for_Humanity_Yogathon_Day_Proclamation_2024.pdf It recognizes the Health for Humanity Yogathon Organized by Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA. The event happened from January 13th – 28th. Definitely on top of everything with 3. 😉 Unlike Normal that only discusses the […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Disturbing Local Trend

By: Diane Benjamin Remember this story? https://blnnews.com/2024/02/07/is-normal-doing-a-secret-survey/ I wrote that story on February 7th. On February 12th WGLT did this story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-02-12/normal-seeking-public-feedback-on-future-environmental-priorities The Town of Normal is doing that survey. See this quote by Town Planner Mercy Davidson in the story: . Let me interpret: This survey is only for supporters of the Town agenda. If you don’t believe in their […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Bloomington tonight 😏

By: Diane Benjamin The 1/22/24 payroll showed 880 employees. Pay rate averaged $17.90 per hour for seasonal employees. https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/30014/638410997409630000 Tonight’s Bills and Payroll shows 953. Pay rate averaged $18.22 per hour for seasonal employees. https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/30070 Seasonal hours worked increased by 1,615. So, people are forced to take temporary jobs because full time jobs aren’t available? On the Agenda for […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

The Immigration Project you don’t know

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 […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

FYI Normal

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 […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Update: What happened at the County Rules Committee meeting?

Audio is now available – over 2 hours. I may or may not listen. The problem with audio is listeners might not be able to tell who is talking. There are three Public Comments at the beginning you need to hear. The first 30 minutes resembles “Who’s On First”. https://mcleancountyil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/10027 By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up to this story: https://blnnews.com/2024/02/05/weaponizing-the-county-board/ The Rules Committee met […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Illegal Immigration Public Comment – Springfield again

By: Diane Benjamin The speaker is different than the one in this story: https://blnnews.com/2024/02/01/comment-to-springfield-council-about-illegal-immigration/ This Public Comment happened on February 6th. The speaker states many facts and then asks what the Council is doing to protect the citizens of Springfield.  Just hit play: (you might want to keep listening to the guy who follows)

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Follow-up: See the 8th grade survey

By: Diane Benjamin More on this story from yesterday: https://blnnews.com/2024/02/07/this-survey-is-real-your-kids/ According to the IYS website, the survey many area schools are participating in will be given to 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in Illinois public schools. Keep in mind the University of Illinois is conducting the survey. Tri-Valley sent a copy of the survey to parents with the […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Update: This survey is real: Your kids!

See the 8th grade survey in this story: https://blnnews.com/2024/02/08/follow-up-see-the-8th-grade-survey/ By: Diane Benjamin See this link: https://iys.cprd.illinois.edu/conducting The University of Illinois is conducting this survey via public schools. Below are the McLean County schools participating, others may still sign up: Your child’s school isn’t going to ask for permission to survey anyone. A parental opt-out form is available here: https://iys.cprd.illinois.edu/conducting/opt-out/ The three […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Is Normal doing a secret survey?

By: Diane Benjamin Is this a scam? As seen on social media: Normal Vision 2050/Sustainability Plan Survey I couldn’t find promotion of this survey on the Town of Normal website promoting this survey. See Vision Plans here – no mention of a new survey: https://www.normalil.gov/1738/Vision-Plans The main Town of Normal website page usually links to such initiatives, but it’s […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

More Water Main Failure around Laesch Acres

By: Diane Benjamin Why do so many water main breaks occur around Laesch Acres? The latest: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/Home/Components/News/News/9944/1394 Greenwood Avenue, Laesch Avenue to West Hamilton Road Closed Effective Immediately Post Date:02/05/2024 11:02 AM BLOOMINGTON, IL – Beginning immediately, Greenwood Avenue, from Laesch Avenue to West Hamilton Road will be closed to all traffic due to water main repair. This […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Replacement theory proves true

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 […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Weaponizing the County Board

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 […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Local Socialists Kills Free Speech

By: Diane Benjamin A Facebook page for parents of Unit 5 kids has been taken down. It only lasted a few days. Many parents appreciated a place to discuss school issues, County Board member Krystle Able didn’t. Under socialism you aren’t allowed to even have causal conversations against the elites. You are expected to only praise Unit 5 and […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

One more thing on the Coliseum

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 […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Bloomington Admits the Obvious

By: Diane Benjamin Everyone should know by now the Coliseum never performed as sold to the citizens of Bloomington: It will never cost you a dime! Billy Tyus, Deputy City Manager, admitted the obvious to WGLT: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-02-01/with-hockey-team-in-place-bloomington-looks-to-bring-arena-back-to-life?fbclid=IwAR1YSf-4fJksOpolUowyg7i2Qz9WmQlSCllxjwsP0BTE2Yb7G6tkVC6F_6k Excerpt: Note: The hockey team won’t be around long if they have to help the city recoup costs. Meanwhile, Mike Matejka who […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Tri-Valley update to Public Comment Policy

By: Diane Benjamin As I stated in this story Erika Reynolds, State’s Attorney had not responded to my two requests: https://blnnews.com/2024/01/31/tri-valley-lost-my-trust/ She did last night. I not only emailed her directly, but I also sent two emails to the General address listed on the County website. ([email protected]) From Erika: Wed, Jan 31 at 6:44 PM I am sorry for […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Free Money: Peoria Schools get Electric Buses

By: Diane Benjamin See this story: https://www.25newsnow.com/2024/01/30/peoria-public-schools-is-expecting-15-electric-buses/?outputType=amp Quotes: Peoria Public Schools District 150 has received almost $6 million in federal grants to add 15 electric school buses to its fleet. PPS Transportation Director Josh Collins says the grant will cover the cost of all 15 buses and a small portion of the infrastructure required for charging stations. The district […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Comment to Springfield Council about illegal immigration

By: Diane Benjamin You need to hear this Public Comment by Rosanna Pulido Tuesday night in Springfield. She is a long time anti-illegal immigration activist – and American Hispanic. Springfield put all the documents she discussed and distributed on their website: http://www.springfieldcityclerk.com/Government/PDFHandler.ashx?itemID=4826&itemType=MeetingAtt  Don’t miss pages 4-6! Just hit play – a must listen:

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Tri-Valley lost my trust

By: Diane Benjamin I lost trust in Tri-Valley a few years ago when they paid off some bonds and then put another bond issue for the same amount on the ballot. Evidently TV taxpayers don’t ever want to see their property taxes decrease because they approved it. In the next few years they are plotting to do it […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

How much has Connect Transit paid Proterra?

By: Diane Benjamin All previous electric bus stories: https://blnnews.com/2024/01/30/3-more-shocking-emails-electric-buses/ https://blnnews.com/2024/01/30/foia-emails-from-rivian-to-connect-transit/ https://blnnews.com/2024/01/24/connect-transit-random-finds/ https://blnnews.com/2024/01/23/one-more-connect-transit-for-now/ https://blnnews.com/2024/01/23/proterra-is-solyndra/ From this story: How much of your money has been wasted on Proterra buses? Since ADHD is both a blessing and a curse, I could have missed some payments. Note, Proterra filed for bankruptcy in August of 2023. The oldest electric buses are two […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

3 more shocking emails: Electric Buses

By: Diane Benjamin 3 more Connect transit emails I received via FOIA: 1) This one is from Proterra, the writer appears to be joking that a new bus made it to 900 miles. 2) Proof the electric buses are a joke – a many millions of dollars joke. The problems existed long before Proterra filed for bankruptcy. 3) I […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

FOIA emails FROM Rivian TO Connect Transit

By: Diane Benjamin I know some of you read stories on your phone and emails I post can be difficult to read on a small screen. Here’s the recap: A Rivian employee wrote an email to Connect Transit because she considers them “experts in the Electric vehicle industry”. The email is dated November 28, 2023. Rivian was having problems […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Why you need to circulate those petitions

h/t a reader See petitions in this story: https://blnnews.com/2024/01/29/its-not-the-states-job-to-parent-your-kids/ Why do schools need to know your child’s sexual orientation? To exploit the answer? From Unit 5’s 2021 Equity Audit, feelings change daily especially in kids. Unit 5 wants to affirm self-identities with no guidance from parents: (note developing – what did they develop?)

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

It’s Not the State’s job to Parent Your Kids

By: Diane Benjamin Public Schools in Illinois are a threat to your job as parents. A group called Parents Matter Coalition wants to put this on the November ballot: Advisory Question of Public Policy on the Right to Parent . See this website for more information: https://www.parentsmattercoalition.org/ You can download petitions with instructions at that link. Get involved! Schools should not […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Please explain!

By: Diane Benjamin See this story: https://www.illinoispolicy.org/5-illinois-metro-areas-await-pandemic-recovery-most-add-jobs-in-december/ Can anyone explain why Bloomington is losing jobs? Are business owners leaving this wonderful town because it can’t suck enough money out of your pockets? Are illegals working for cash and taking jobs away from citizens? Imagine how much worse it would be without Rivian!

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

3 more BCPA event reports

By: Diane Benjamin It’s getting more difficult to match event reports with artists fees because the dates listed are frequently wrong. I don’t know if all the performance fees stating 12/15/23 are actually for that date. I haven’t found an artist fee dated 12/20. If all apply to 12/15 that show lost a lot of money. Look at the […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Comedy via Krystle Able

By: Diane Benjamin Sometimes people deserve to be laughed at. Start with this meme from Able’s Facebook page: . Israel is a foreign country that was attacked on October 7th. They don’t care what Chicago’s mayor says! Maybe Israel should call out Chicago for all the daily violence and schools that don’t educate – just babysit. Progressives just want chaos. […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

2 Good Public Comments at Bloomington Council meeting

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 […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Connect Transit Random finds

By: Diane Benjamin The Connect Transit Board met last night. The only mention of their electric buses was in connection to a new propaganda campaign that will be launching. (They call it marketing) Goal: You will proud of your local bus system! Part of the campaign will be wrapping all the buses – except electric ones. Only one is running so why […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

One more Must See Connect Transit

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 […]