By: Diane Benjamin All those light tan blocks have declining Personal Income. Are all units of local government now taxing you to death because they understand the gig is up? Go back to this story: https://blnnews.com/2023/11/30/why-bloomington/ Normal admits their population is decreasing. I don’t know where their income numbers came from, they claim the Bureau […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below are 3 charts from financial statements. The first one is BNWRD, then Bloomington, then Normal. All 3 show Per Capita Income obtained from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. If you’ve never heard of that office, it was founded by a Republican: Richard Nixon. Home page: https://www.bea.gov/ Look close at the reports. […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you want to speak at this meeting you will have to threaten the County with contacting the Illinois Attorney General because they are violating your rights to address your government! (1st Amendment) They expect you to provide 24 hour notice, of course that provides them with 24 hours to counter whatever […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is another chart from the BNWRD financial statements. Since the source is the Economic Development Council, all local governments have the same information: Unit 5 has almost 300 more employees now than they had in 2014. That would make sense is they had more students. They don’t! https://blnnews.com/2023/11/01/unit-5-has-lost-1447-students-since-2016/ For the 2013-2014 […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve been waiting years for someone to file with the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access division concerning their policies. Public Comment is Freedom of Speech and a 1st Amendment Right to address grievances with YOUR government. McLean County thinks you need to give them 24 hours notice if you want to speak. […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Did the City of Bloomington really tell the Salvation Army they can’t use mats so homeless have a place to sleep on cold nights because it’s too dangerous? People can shelter there but they won’t be allowed to sleep. Is sleeping more dangerous or being non-productive all winter because sleeping isn’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin McLean County is already planning to massively raise your property taxes. Every other unit of government might be making the same plans, after all your property values increased substantially – you can afford it right? If you don’t stand up for yourself IN PERSON they will take more of your money. Emails […]
By: Diane Benjamin My FOIA for the current enrollment is due today. The highest enrollment in the last 13 years was in 2016: 13,751. Last school year enrollment was only 12,304 – that is a DECREASE of 1,447 students. If classrooms are overcrowded it has to be because Unit 5 refuses to use their resources […]
The speech below is almost 20 years old, the plan recapped is very current however. Google it, references are numerous. Although this isn’t what I typically print, I thought it was vital for all to know. Former Democrat Governor of Colorado gave this speech in 2004 in Washington DC. I have a plan to destroy […]
By: Diane Benjamin Does Unit 5 know September 30 was 30 days ago? I FOIA’d the current enrollment last week, eventually we will know. You can look at the Report Cards for every Illinois Public school here: https://www.isbe.net/Pages/PublicSchoolDistrictLookup.aspx After you pick a school – click Academic Progress. Tons of information is on this site. This […]
By: Diane Benjamin These things only exist because of the FAKE WAR on fossil fuels while they require fossil fuels to work. In case you missed this story: https://www.thecollegefix.com/more-than-1600-scientists-and-other-scholars-sign-no-climate-emergency-declaration/ I’ve done many stories about oil leaking from turbines. Where do you think that leaking oil ends up? You think it stays on the turbine? It […]
By: Diane Benjamin McLean County Regional Planning Commission: Metropolitan Long-Range Transportation Plan 2050 This report will be used by all local governments to make transportation decisions. Reading it will make you aware of what is coming. It is 311 pages, you don’t have to read every page since many are just the same information in […]
By: Diane Benjamin This was the Preamble to the Illinois Constitution before it was changed in 1970: https://archive.org/details/constitutionof00illi/page/n7/mode/2up . Below is the current Preamble: https://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/conp.htm . As Bloomington goes full on socialist know that Illinois enshrined socialism in the State Constitution way back in 1970. (Bloomington is considering tiered water rates, requiring private investment to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Keep in mind voters were scared into giving Unit 5 the right to increase tax rates. The below is using the rate Unit 5 charged property owners in 2022. They now have the right to charge you much more regardless of how much the assessed value of your property increased. The below […]
By: Diane Benjamin Evidently your McLean County representatives don’t want you to know how much Cassy Taylor is paid. A salary increase was approved last Thursday with no mention of how much it was. The agenda said: A. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE – Elizabeth Johnston The only transparency here is the County answered my FOIA request within […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since the actual Constitution was signed 236 years ago yesterday and it fell on a weekend, the National Constitution Center is celebrating today. See their website: https://constitutioncenter.org/education/constitution-day-resources Most of the problems we face today are because the Constitution is immaterial. Restoring the principles that made America the shining city on the hill […]
It is impossible for me to cover all local units of government myself, therefore I am going to quit covering Normal. If anyone actually cares about schools, I need help there too. Your part-time mayor driving a vehicle taxpayers paid almost $74,000 for and putting regular plates on it instead of government plates didn’t make […]
By: Diane Benjamin It was the Democrats who wanted to change the agreement made when a 10-10 Board was elected and a Republican was picked as chair. Last night changed nothing. In October the last empty seat will be filled restoring the 10-10 board. A Republican will still be in charge, what the Republicans did […]
By: Diane Benjamin This is the only mention in the agenda attachments of the raise the County Board awarded to Cassy Taylor last night: Board member Chuck Erickson tried to stop it because salaries of Administrators are out of control. He couldn’t muster enough Republican votes to stop it. So, how much is it? I […]
By: Diane Benjamin One Democrat was denied the right to attend the meeting tonight remotely which meant 9 Republicans were present and voting to 8 Democrats present and voting. The rules were changed by the Republican majority to elect a chair based on the majority present instead of a majority of the total. On a […]
I’m told the established rules require 10 votes for a chair regardless of who is present. By: Diane Benjamin The County Board now has two vacancies. Since every District has two elected officials everyone still has representation. The only District that doesn’t have the same representation is 5, it used to have a Democrats and […]
See if you can figure out why: The author is Carl Hinshaw.
By: Diane Benjamin The County Board now has two vacant seats with the resignation of John McIntyre – District 5. The seat vacated by Jeannie Biles – District 8 – hasn’t been filled yet after her resignation in August. Democrat Elizabeth Johnston, currently vice-chair, will be acting chairman until a new election by the Board. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Ask your Unit 5 students if they had to DECLARE their pronouns. At least some Unit 5 high school teachers mandated it. Imagine being 14 or 15 and tip toeing around the other kids so you don’t accidently refer to a female as “she”when she wants to be called “they” or “them”. […]
By: Diane Benjamin The County, Bloomington, and Normal rely on data collected by the McLean County Regional Planning Commission to make plans. MCRPC did surveys so much of their data is determined by who answered the survey. Remember Bring It On Bloomington that has a dismal response rate but became the GOLD standard anyway? https://blnnews.com/2014/09/19/bring-it-on-bloomington-flops/ […]
BLOOMINGTON IL — Ross Webb has announced his candidacy to serve the citizens of the 10th District on the McLean County Board. Ross wants to give a voice to the constituents of the eastern Bloomington district and is delivering a message of common-sense approach to local government. Ross is an advocate for the taxpayer, a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is a map of the 88th district currently represented by Dan Calkins who isn’t running for re-elections. Two Republicans want to replace him. The choice: Which will represent you better? Of course Chuck Erickson will. Don’t be fooled.
By: Diane Benjamin 1) BBQ Contest to Help Veterans Two meat categories: Ribs and Chicken. $30.00 per entry. Cash Prizes. Sign-up will be open until slots are filled. Check-in with the event table. This is a time to prove your grilling talents. Sign-up can be done on the day of the event at the American […]
By: Diane Benjamin People around the country will see this report and believe it. https://247wallst.com/special-report/2023/08/18/these-are-americas-19-fastest-shrinking-big-cities/?amp=1 3 of the top 19 shrinking big cities are in Illinois: Danville, Champaign-Urbana, and Bloomington. They don’t really mean Bloomington however, they have to mean McLean County. Page all the way down to #7 The census bureau only shows an […]
By: Diane Benjamin All of the data below can be viewed on the McLean County Justice Committee reports from this page: https://mcleancountyil.gov/Archive.aspx?AMID=70 Find the reports by Kathy Yoder. Data after June 2023 won’t be available until the September meeting. Compare these to the same time period last year: Details of suicides aren’t available. I’ve asked […]
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 I attended an event last night at Mount Pisgah Baptist Church entitled Protecting Places of Worship Forum. I attended on behalf of my church with another member. This event was only advertised to churches, many locals attended. The event was organized in conjunction with the US Department of Justice. It was THREE […]
Written by Carl Hinshaw – Letter to the Editor, Heyworth Buzz
By: Diane Benjamin Get ready for your PTAX-228 Notice of Assessment Change. Sit down before you open it! Thanks to the housing shortage prices have been rising fast. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t selling your house – this notice will reflect the prices of other houses that sold for inflated prices. I hear you […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you want to see all previous stories, click here: https://blnnews.com/?s=Justin+Barr I was contacted yesterday by another alleged victim. The emailer wished she had seen all those stories before signing a contract with him. I referred her to the State’s Attorney and another victim who has a criminal and civil case that […]
By: Diane Benjamin It is a glorious beautiful morning! The Canadian smoke is gone for now. Since there is close to NO wind the turbines aren’t turning. I found a newspaper yesterday from October 8, 2006. Then Gov Rod Blagojevich flew in via helicopter to announce a $2.2 million grant to build the first 120 […]
Central Illinois Housing Network is holding another fundraiser at Casper Brewing Company from 3:00-9:00. They are raising funds to help vets in our community with much needed home repairs. This story is one example from last September: https://blnnews.com/2022/09/02/this-group-is-helping-veterans-and-worthy-of-support/ Food and LIVE music will be available. Please consider supporting this worthy organization! Home Repairs for Heroes […]
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 video below was done by a comedian. I don’t agree with everything he says, some I do. How many people no longer rent properties because government told tenants they don’t have to pay, they don’t have to pay the water bill, and they can’t be evicted? Government created a housing shortage with stupidity that […]
I drove by here this morning. The grass is mowed even though a lawn EXPERT told me not to mow in a drought because it harms the grass. There are some lilies blooming now that weren’t when this pic was taken. By: Diane Benjamin The County and the City of Bloomington got together to improve […]
