By: Diane Benjamin Below are the property taxes assessed on farmland in McLean County. This is a small parcel – 45.63 acres. Also shown is the percentage increase over various 5 year time frames: See this website for historical prices of corn and soybeans: https://www.fcsamerica.com/insurance/resources/crop-price-history Corn: . Soybeans: . One thing is clear: Taxes only […]
By: Diane Benjamin Before enrolling in college the first question that should be asked is: Can the accumulated debt be paid back with my chosen major? Unless public schools are hiring, who is going to welcome recent grads with this degree: https://illinoiseagle.com/2025/05/29/isu-establishes-queer-studies-certificate/ Illinois State University (ISU) launched an undergraduate queer studies certificate this month. The […]
By: Diane Benjamin The new Illinois budget gives Sharon Chung a $7,000 a year raise. $98,000 a year for a part-time job. Public Schools are lowering the standards so testing looks better. Illegals get free healthcare. Socialists lie. You get what you vote for. In case you forgot who Biss is: https://blnnews.com/2017/09/05/tari-still-supporting-biss/ . This is […]
By: Diane Benjamin Gas price yesterday at a Mobile station in Belvidere Il: . Gas price yesterday at a Mobile station 20 miles north in Clinton Wisconsin: . Illinois motor fuel tax now: 47 cents a gallon Wisconsin motor fuel tax now: 30.9 cents a gallon. The difference is 17.9 cents per gallon. The price […]
By: Diane Benjamin The only way be certain only legal voters are registered is to require the return of something. The County doesn’t do any verification. Every time new card are sent out I hear people say I got one for someone who doesn’t live here. Most of the time it gets thrown away. That […]
By: Diane Benjamin When free money is handed to you there is no incentive to care about how it’s spent. Are any of the huge electric buses Connect spent at least $16 million on running? Now that Connect wants to expand Flex service, they need more vehicles. PDF page 22 https://connect-transit.com/file/3569/05%2027%202025_BoT%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf Yes taxpayers, they are […]
By: Diane Benjamin Finding any information on this organization is next to impossible. They don’t post meeting minutes on their website. I’m told they don’t want other cities to see what they do and steal ideas. The public can attend meetings, probably nobody does. Meanwhile, Bloomington has their own economic development department and they own […]
By: Diane Benjamin WGLT headline: Regional Planning Commission helps conduct the first Illinois high-speed rail feasibility study https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-05-20/regional-planning-commission-helps-conduct-the-first-illinois-high-speed-rail-feasibility-study Remember when new tracks were installed just a few years ago? We were told crossings had to be closed and new tracks were needed for high speed rail we supposedly have now! Flashbacks: 2011: durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-kirk-quinn-announce-186-million-for-chicago-to-st-louis-high-speed-rail 2014: https://blnnews.com/2014/05/20/high-speed-rail-one-hour/ […]
By: Diane Benjamin A Livingston County wind company is running commercials promoting yet another wind farm. Evidently they are trying to gain public support. Yes, property tax money is generated. Yes, some electricity is generated – if the wind is blowing. Yes, the turbines leak oil. Yes, a backup energy source is required for when […]
By: Diane Benjamin What does this screen shot from last night’s Normal Town Council meeting tell you? . Does the Deputy Clerk have her hand over her heart? It sure doesn’t look like it. The citizens of Normal are paying the salary, benefits, and pension for a Deputy Clerk who refuses to say the Pledge […]
By: Diane Benjamin Send thank you cards to the green weenies who think wind and solar can produce the electricity we need. Neither can as evidenced by the new interest in nuclear energy because of the massive amount of electricity needed by AI. Green has always been a scam to limit your access and raise […]
By: Diane Benjamin Illinois is taxing people out of the State. Since the left never has enough money, the latest scheme is to tax services like haircuts that have always been exempt. The State thinks they can raise another $2.7 billion from you. A report in 2021 claimed Illinois has 8,923 taxing bodies, at least […]
By: Diane Benjamin The doctor who responded to the story earlier today does not want to be identified (justifiable reasons!) If you missed it: https://blnnews.com/2025/05/15/childhood-vaccinations-and-pediatricians/ I’m not quoting most of what was said, again justifiable reasons. Summary of the comments: This doctor sounds like he’s on the MAHA bandwagon. How many other doctors are secretly […]
See response from a local doctor here: https://blnnews.com/2025/05/15/response-from-a-doctor-on-vaccinations/ By: Diane Benjamin I’ve been hearing stories about pediatricians who refuse to see children if their parents decline vaccinations. Here is the link to the CDC’s vaccine schedule for the first 15 months of life:https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-schedules/child-adolescent-age.html#table-1 Since Hepatitis B is spread through sexual contact or needle drug use, […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Regulating homeschooling in Illinois (HB 2827) appears to be dead for now, but that doesn’t mean it will stay that way. The left has a habit of using “shell bills” to pass legislation without holding public hearings. A “shell bill” is created by stripping all language from a bill that has […]
By: Diane Benjamin All of the information on local properties was found on the County Property Tax Inquiry website: https://mcleanil.devnetwedge.com/ Tax rates in Bloomington depend on whether the house is in Unit 5 or District 87. All of Normal is Unit 5. Correction to previous versions: . The houses below were chosen to represent various […]
By: Diane Benjamin Are you “hopeful” knowing this guy teaches at Unit 5 and serves on the County Board? Are you “hopeful” knowing his wife was just elected to the Bloomington City Council? . Woke and mad is a winning message? Are you “hopeful” seeing this? Diversity is just a talking point. The 2 Wards […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) I attended the swearing-in ceremony yesterday. I estimate the BCPA auditorium was about two-thirds full. Alderman Sheila Montney wasn’t able to attend; I’m sure she will be sworn in soon. The right oath of office was used! A reception was held downstairs afterward. It was fun talking to lots of different […]
By: Diane Benjamin One day residents are told they have to opt out of electric aggregation 40% rate increases by May 7th. Now WGLT is reporting via the Ecology Action Center (EAC) residents should wait and maybe opt out later: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-04-29/ecology-action-centers-advice-wait-and-see-about-electric-rates Meanwhile Corn Belt Electric customers won’t have the huge increases – unless the State […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Did everyone miss this in yesterday’s story on the comments made by retired judge Knecht? https://blnnews.com/2025/04/28/laws-apply-to-judges-too/ Knecht thinks ICE should have operated in secret, behind closed doors, instead of attempting to arrest a criminal illegal at the courthouse. This isn’t government “For and By The People”. It is how most of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is why judges should NEVER be retained. They end up thinking they are gods. Trump was elected to get criminal illegals out of the country. Obstructing the President’s performance of his duties deserves justice. Remember when states wanted to deport illegals and the Supreme Court told them immigration enforcement was the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Board packet: Connect Transit 4/22/25 Items of note: The Salary increase isn’t in the packet. Staff recommends not releasing any Executive Session Minutes – PDF page 52 . The meeting video is very hard to hear even with the sound all the way up. When the Board returned from Executive Session they […]
By: Diane Benjamin See the agenda for the April 15th 2025 meeting of the Illinois State Board of Elections: https://www.elections.il.gov/AboutTheBoard/Agenda.aspx A hearing was held regarding the complaint filed by Chad Berck. The complaint pertained to Lizzy Johnston and Cassy Taylor raising money on County Property to remove the elected office of Auditor. The complaint was […]
By: Diane Benjamin These beauties are just north of Dawson Lake. Most of the field shows oil leaking, some are much worse than these.
By: Diane Benjamin February 2025 and Year-to-Date ridership: PDF page 9 The first circle highlights the COST per ride in February, the second is Year To Date costs per ride. . Click PLAY to hear the Board Chair, re-elected Ryan Whitehouse, ask David Braun if Flex Ridership is going up because Mobility Riders are switching […]
By: Diane Benjamin I started driving again about a week and half ago. I’m no longer in house jail. The gas bubble the doctor put in my eye to hold it in place disappeared today. It had been shrinking steadily for weeks. The last time the bubble disappeared the fix only lasted for a week. […]
Attend if you want to see who is opposed to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse. This is OUR hard-earned money. The left must be profiting; otherwise, they wouldn’t oppose audits. Medicaid isn’t being taken away—funding is simply returning to pre-COVID levels since COVID no longer requires emergency funding. Your data isn’t being stolen. The protests […]
By: Diane Benjamin Numbers can overwhelm people, so start with a few: Bloomington results: https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/IL/Bloomington/123382/web.345435/#/summary County results: https://countyclerk.mcleancountyil.gov/eresults/results-1.html Last November Voter Turnout in Bloomington was 72.19% https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/IL/Bloomington/122759/web.345435/#/summary County turnout was 79.67 https://mcleancountyil.gov/DocumentCenter/View/28200/2024-General-Election-Official-Summary The Sales Tax question was put on this ballot because the people behind it knew it has a better chance of passing when […]
Some of us still believe in Election Day, not the 40 day scam.
By Diane Benjamin Krystle Able wants to win with the ISU vote. Those voters don’t have to live under the radicals they elect. Normal needs to outvote them. Signs on public property: District 87 is texting voters, of course directing them to the sales tax website. Desperate for your money!
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Election Commission only handles elections. They have full-time staff dedicated solely to elections. County taxpayers are forced to fund this office—not the taxpayers of the City of Bloomington. In the County you can enter your address and see your ballot before you vote: https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/1600/Ballots In Bloomington you can’t. Their full […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Bloomington agenda for tonight: https://d2kbkoa27fdvtw.cloudfront.net/cityblm/8941a8856acf86d8eb133ec7a8132d1a0.pdf 3 Public hearings will be held. All 3 items are on the Consent Agenda. That means the hearings are meaningless. The Consent Agenda is usually passed without comment. Also, the City is spending another $215,366.27 on the water quality. This time they are treating both lakes […]
By: Diane Benjamin I heard from a reliable source yesterday Assessed Values will increase another 8-9% this year. Your property taxes will increase even if the 1% sales tax passes. Schools drool over rising property values, as does every taxing body listed on your property tax bill. The assessor will be blamed instead of the […]
Below is a summary document compiled from some of the files I received by FOIA. Teachers are REQUIRED to participate in these trainings. Note all the WOKE (Marxists) ideology and buzz words included. The referenced files are below. You are going to vote to give them more money? 🤦♀️ Don’t miss pages 3 and 4.
By: Diane Benjamin 1) The Down Village Board failed to get a motion to take a vote: https://blnnews.com/2025/03/13/downs-tonight-flooding-shaddyville/ The issue isn’t totally dead, the people affected need to stay vigilant. 2) Barry Reilly’s Vote Yes for McLean County Schools received some donations they couldn’t hide until after the vote: Since the Unit 5 Teacher’s Union […]
By: Diane Benjamin This just might make everyone with common sense realize there is no hope for Illinois: https://www.newsbreak.com/mystateline-com-wtvo-wqrf-1589920/3854313830110-illinois-clarifies-no-local-laws-can-restrict-homeless-camping-in-public-areas According to the State of Illinois, local governments must allow “camping” on public property: . I wonder how Illinois lawmakers would feel if “camping” was all over the capitol building grounds? Do the Normal mayoral candidates […]
By: Diane Benjamin This road closure announcement is on the County website: https://mcleancountyil.gov/319/Road-Closures-Construction-Map Lexington-LeRoy Rd, (CH21) or N 2600 East Rd between E 600 North Rd & E 800 North Rd, will be closed to through traffic, beginning Monday, March 24, 2025, through Friday, August 15, 2025. For Bridge Replacement. Since this is a road I occasionally use […]
By: Diane Benjamin So far in March two plants have reported closing: https://www.illinoisworknet.com/LayoffRecovery/Pages/IllinoisWARNData.aspx 1117 people won’t have jobs when they close: . A bill in Illinois will make staying in business harder than it already is. Excerpts: Bill expands organ donation leave for employees Both full-time and part-time employees in Illinois may be able to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Abby Scott is running for Bloomington Council Ward 9: . This is her husband and County Board memeber: . Fascists don’t cut the size of government. A teacher should know that one! I hope his list has some better choices, he missed great singers like Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. He could […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Krystle Able pretends to love Diversity and Inclusiveness. If you are pro-life and/or a Christian you aren’t included in her world. She proves frequently she is unfit for any public office. The real extremists are those who judge people based on the color of their skin. That is what DEI does. […]
