By: Diane Benjamin Remember the Eagles song Desperato? That should be the Chris Koos theme song. He has NOTHING to run on so he is now personally attacking Marc Tiritilli instead of addressing the issues. Chris is a divisive leader because he knows people don’t want the things he wants. Marc Tiritilli is running to […]
By: Diane Benjamin At the WGLT mayoral debate the good leftist host had to bring up systemic racism, that discussion kept him from asking about real issues. You are expected to believe minorities can not succeed because whites won’t let them. Obviously it’s a myth because their are countless successful minorities. Obviously it is a […]
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 […]
By: Diane Benjamin The law was changed in 2012 to require additional contributions to IMRF retirement fund if employees received large payouts that increased their pension at retirement. (accelerated payments) That law was badly needed because cities and employees never contributed to the higher payouts. Since the spiking practice should now be over in Bloomington […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since Chris Koos, Kevin McCarthy, Scott Preston, and Chemberly Cummings want your vote April 6th, does this look like something they would do to get it? The Normal Council held a 9 hour budget session yesterday. Surprise! They aren’t going to raise property taxes this year. Instead they are rearranging money they […]
This is Kiplinger, not some conservative outlet trying to play politics: https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/state-tax/601614/least-tax-friendly-states-for-middle-class-families?rid=EML-today&rmrecid=2482908579&utm_campaign=20210126-today&utm_medium=email&utm_source=today Before both Bloomington and Normal decide to raise property taxes, and Unit 5 does again – these were the rates: District 87: 5.144810 City of Bloomington: 1.090100 Unit 5: 5.355410 Town of Normal: 1.032630
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve questioned for YEARS why CIRBN employees are considered Town of Normal employees entitled to all the benefits every other employee has. CIRBN is a direct competitor to other internet providers who don’t have that luxury. The Town of Normal has subsidized CIRBN by using their service and paying them to run […]
By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up to this story: https://blnnews.com/2020/12/19/oops-did-i-say-that/ A few people have wondered if the video in that story was taken out of context. If you want the 20 minutes before of ceiling shots, people cleaning their cameras, and others jumping in and out I can post it. The meeting was about to start when […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington City Council is meeting Monday night. The ICE hater s will be out in force because Donna Boelen’s council initiative is on the agenda. The far left doesn’t think laws are material to any conversation. http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1098&Inline=True At last Monday’s meeting the City auditor stated Bloomington is paying more than necessary […]
By: Diane Benjamin Due to Christmas the Bloomington City Council is changing their meeting schedule. They will be meeting tonight. One item on the agenda: It should be riveting to hear discussion of data that is 8 months old. Congrats Bloomington, you aren’t supposed to know any facts in a timely manner. I wonder if […]
By: Diane Benjamin Numerous items Normal citizens need to know: Below is part of an email written by Stan Nord. The yellow is City Manager Pam Reece’s response to his email. Pam does not understand citizens saw Target being looted and the destruction to police vehicles while the police did nothing. They know Mayor Chris […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal has gone from 10 minute meetings with no discussion before spending millions of dollars to bloviating just to hear themselves talk. I can’t possibly recap everything that happened, so I will pick what I think is important. The other media can fill you in on what the Town thinks happened. Last […]
By: Diane Benjamin Just a reminder: Chemberly Cummings wants to make laws in Springfield to control you, but she refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance. She put the red sign over her camera. She hates America and is unfit for ANY office. She did not get her internet connection fixed, the quality is still […]
By: Diane Benjamin From the Illinois Comptrollers website: https://illinoiscomptroller.gov/financial-data/local-government-division/local-government-data/processsearchresults/?DisplayMode=GETAFR&AFRDesiredData=Indebtedness&Code=064/095/31&CFY=2020&Menu=Yes&PrintIt=No Bond debt and “Other” = $85,752,874 Note: The Town only paid off $2,205,000 the entire year. Keep in mind NO principal is being paid on some of the loans, just interest. They forgot to say what “other” is: (did the same in 2019 and 2018) Pensions […]
by: Diane Benjamin In my opinion voting in September for an election in November is lamebrained, dim-witted, and unintelligent. There will be “October surprises”, the presidential debates don’t even start until next week. The ONLY reason to vote now is to pretend you investigated all the candidates and have determined which ones represent your values. […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/17188/CAFR20-FINAL-DOC From Normal’s just issued financial statements as of 3/31/2020: Note the Long-Term total debt – $224,909,947. It increased more than $25 million in 1 year. What makes up that debt? $84,320,000 is bond debt, the IEPA loan doesn’t have interest expense. PDF page 31 Below is a chart showing the biggest […]
See this link: https://wirepoints.org/heres-the-central-misleading-claim-constantly-made-about-the-fair-tax-proposal-quicktake/ Excerpts from the article: Don’t be deceived: The State of Illinois can not live within their means. The Progressive Tax Amendment is just the latest scheme to get more of your money. Instead of reforming un-affordable pensions, they want more of your money. Jobs will be lost and more people will […]
By: Diane Benjamin The mantra of the left is Equality – unless you earn more money than somebody else. Equality is not stealing a higher percentage of income from the people who earned it. A completely FAIR tax is taking the same percent from everyone. The proposed change to the Illinois Constitution to Tax The […]
By: Diane Benjamin During Tuesday’s night Normal Town Council meeting much was made about the Financial Trends Reports and what a valuable tool it is. This year it isn’t. It recaps what happened from 4/1/2019 through 3/31/2020. Something happened around the time this report ends: Glance through the report. It contains little current information: http://normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/17189/Financial-Trend-and-Condition-Report-FY2019-20 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington Committee of the Whole tonight: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1080&Inline=True It looks like Mboka Mwilambwe doesn’t know the city is spending money taxpayers had to work for so the City can steal way too much of it. He wants to give employees another paid vacation day! I looked at 2 of the latest union contracts […]
By: Diane Benjamin It doesn’t make sense to send the same representatives to Springfield over and over and over when Illinois is in a death spiral of debt. Pensions need reformed, we don’t need a progressive tax that will chase high income job creators out of the state. We need fighters in Springfield, we don’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin The below proves yet again why you should vote NO to the Democrats Constitutional Amendment for a progressive income tax. Pensions Pensions Pensions! Below are the top 31 pensions being collected in Illinois. Keep in mind, these people aren’t working for a dime they are currently receive. An organization called Taxpayers United […]
By: Diane Benjamin The chart below was compiled from these 3 links listed. This is strictly my opinion, but I lumped General Fund spending and Enterprise Fund spending together because things like garbage used to be in the General Fund but now it isn’t.. The Enterprise Funds are: PDF page 50: https://www.cityblm.org/home/showdocument?id=22149 All of these […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal reported the same credit ratings in their financial statements that I reported in this story: https://blnnews.com/2019/12/07/moodys-normal-doesnt-have-a-aaa-credit-rating/ PDF page 33: https://normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/15625/CAFR19-FINAL-DOC What they failed to tell you is that Fitch is owned by a French company and is the smallest of the “Big Three” ratings companies. https://www.sapling.com/7319147/sp-moodys-fitch-ratings S&P doesn’t not have […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Bloomington Council holds Committee of the Whole meetings to discuss items in public. In Normal they meet during the day for many hours at a time so the public doesn’t attend. The meeting with Lyle Sumek wasn’t even held in the Council Chambers. All of the pics below are from the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yes, I know I posted this yesterday. I wouldn’t be re-posting this picture if it wasn’t vital to understanding what is happening to Illinois. Government across Illinois exists for government employees. It does not exist to handle problems citizens can not handle themselves. This is the proof: An overwhelming percent of the […]
By: Diane Benjamin The financial statements for Bloomington’s year ended 4/30/19 are finally being presented at Council Monday night: https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=23337 The chart below shows the long term debt. Why can’t the roads be fixed? Because retired employees need paid. OPEB is Other Post Employment Benefits. Look closely at these numbers! PDF page 31 This chart […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal has 136 retired employees collecting a pension. The information below is from OpenTheBooks.com https://www.openthebooks.com/Pension/TownNormal At Monday’s Council meeting Karyn Smith asked the Finance Director how much employees contribute. Police and Fire contribute between 9.8 and 9.9%. Other employees contribute 4.5%. All will also receive Social Security. See the video at […]
By: Diane Benjamin The video and Live Stream from Normal’s Council meeting last night didn’t start until the last speaker at Public Comment was almost finished. Here’s the problem: Speakers must sign up at least 15 minutes in advance, Koos and company know pretty much what is going to be said based on that information. […]
By: Diane Benjamin By a vote of 4-3 the property tax increase was defeated. The Council voted to fund pensions on a 90% projection instead of 100% by 2040 in hopes changes the State will.make this year ease required contributions. They also voted to keep the tax rate level after a long discussion. Kathleen Lorenz […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve written many stories about the Illinois Municipal League. This organization works for cities, not the people paying their bills. This is their latest plan: It all sounds wonderful until you look at the facts. All of these funding numbers come from the Comptroller’s website, the latest numbers for Bloomington and Normal […]
By: Diane Benjamin Dan Brady, Bill Brady, Jason Barickman, Tom Bennett, and Chapin Rose I bet the gas prices are killing your budget. Lawmakers never understand you have to cut your budget in other places to pay their tax increases. You have less money to spend, therefore tax revenue, like sales tax, will decrease. You […]
By: Diane Benjamin The meeting was scripted with pre-determined results, there was very little discussion on anything. The Public Hearing started with a presentation of how the Federal Grant money (CDBG) will be spent. No one commented, it wouldn’t have changed the vote anyway. People were urged to take the survey to determine how next […]
By: Diane Benjamin City of Bloomington AFSCME Local 699 ratified a new contract yesterday that eliminates Sick Leave Buy Back. The City Council will approve it Monday. Congrats to both sides! For once the City did not hire a Chicago lawyer to negotiate for them. That made a contract easier to achieve and saved both […]
By: Diane Benjamin The budget will be passed with ZERO priority based funding discussions. The City staff writes the budget, the Council members nod their head in agreement. Nothing can ever be cut, the priorities are what the City wants, not citizens. Houseal Lavigne & Associates has already received $125,000 to rewrite the Zoning Code. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is what the failure by the Bloomington City Council to change the Sick Leave Buy Back policy has cost you. Penalties began to be charged in 2012, they are assessed for allowing employees to spike their pensions with pay for unused days off. Received by FOIA from IMRF: (the final cost […]
By: Diane Benjamin The new Bloomington City Manager seems to be launching a campaign to make citizens trust their government. No Tim, spending money on signs when a few roads get fixed isn’t going to cut it. The people paying more for gas will see that as just another waste of their dollars. Since Tim […]
By: Diane Benjamin If the residents of Bloomington still haven’t figured out the Council doesn’t represent you, watch last night’s meeting. The schmoozing was over the top with accolades for each other for everything but breathing. There were a few slaps in the face to citizens. The first one was made by City Manager Tim […]
By: Diane Benjamin Democrats have only been in complete control of the state for a short time. Already they have passed a $15 minimum wage which make Illinois even less competitive with all of the surrounding states. Other things being seriously considered: Removing all regulations including parental notification on abortion Allowing abortion up to birth […]
By: Diane Benjamin HB 0875 is working its way through the Illinois House. SB 0170 is working its way through the Senate. Both bills want the Treasurer is create a Financially Distressed Cities Fund. Both bills ignore Illinois can’t pay its bills. Both also ignore why cities are financially distressed. The biggest driver is pensions that can […]
