By: Diane Benjamin Remember this? https://blnnews.com/2025/09/20/controversy-surrounds-unit-5-board-chair-alex-williams/ Then Unit 5 Board president made a disgusting comment on Facebook. Now he is leaving the Board. He already left Country Financial. From LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilliams-communicationconsulting/ . He now claims to be an expert on misinformation and disinformation. Go back to his Facebook post in the linked story above. Williams […]
By: Diane Benjamin PDF page 114: https://www.normalil.gov/DocumentCenter/View/29463/Annual-Comprehensive-Financial-Report-for-the-fiscal-year-ending-March-31-2026-PDF Remember the Town of Normal taking out a loan to pay for the underpass? This note is in the 3/31/26 financial statements. You are going to paying interest and principal for a LONG time: . Jump to PDF page 173 to see all the other debt.
By: Diane Benjamin Since Normal Township Trustees receive a packet of meeting information that the taxpayers who pay the bills never see, I have to wonder whether they have any concerns about these payments. Apparently not—they didn’t raise the issue at the meeting. I only have it because of a FOIA. Township Supervisor Krystle Able’s […]
By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up to this story: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/01/unit-5-and-their-5-electric-buses/ The Town of Normal is notorious for funding wants with grants. They can’t afford the underpass or all the trails, so they get other taxpayers to fund things for them. Grants aren’t free money, it was either stolen from other taxpayers or printed money that created the […]
By: Diane Benjamin . These poles are the beginning construction of high voltage transmission lines to act as major conduits for electricity. Thanks to Pritzker for subsidizing battery storage facilities. This one will be very close to Ellsworth. Last I heard the Ellsworth volunteer fire department had no idea how to extinguish a battery fire […]
By: Diane Benjamin Carl Hinshaw is holding one more property tax seminar THIS WEDNESDAY. 6:00pm-8:00pm GOP office – 202 S. Eldorado, Suite C1, Bloomington According to Carl, the Bloomington Township assigned multiplier was only low because the assessor jacked up many property values! Protests have to filed by 10/29/26. Carl will show you how to […]
By: Diane Benjamin This started with global cooling, that flipped to global warming. Climate Change was then the name picked so they didn’t have to reverse course again. This is a screen shot from the Unit 5 agenda, see item 16: https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/1482?meeting=660148 Illinois democrats passed a law mandating this as part of the curriculum. It […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader Last January this Democrat candidate was begging for money on Facebook: . According to the Illinois Board of Elections, his campaign treasurer is Abby Scott – wife of Democrat candidate Corey Beirne: https://www.elections.il.gov/CampaignDisclosure/CommitteeDetail.aspx?ID=9QquPh013NVHggvFpapUFg%3d%3d . . If you see John Poling, ask him if he knows his Treasurer transferred $1000 […]
By: Diane Benjamin There will be at least 1 more story from this meeting. Previous story: https://blnnews.com/2026/10/02/normal-township-recorded-meetings-quickly-deleted/ Back when the Normal Township Board did this year’s budget around June, they decided to suspend grants because they didn’t want to raise the levy. This video is two public comments at the 9/22/26 meeting: Times have changed […]
By: Diane Benjamin Read this story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-09-22/mclean-county-superintendents-say-school-sales-tax-has-made-a-big-impact For now concentrate on Unit 5. The story claims Unit 5 collects more than $1 million a month from the 1% Sales Tax voters approved. Keep in mind the referendum was placed on a ballot for an elections few people bother to vote in – the local election […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember when Unit 5 bought electric buses? They didn’t notice Connect Transit dumped theirs? https://blnnews.com/2024/11/22/unit-5-bought-5-electric-buses/ A reader sent me this link – NY City is dumping electric buses now because they aren’t reliable and require too much maintenance and electricity: NYC-turns-back-gas-buses-finding-hard-way-electric-versions-big-problems I sent a FOIA to Unit 5. I’m still waiting for […]
By: Diane Benajmin Connect Transit packet with a lot less information than they used to post: https://connect-transit.com/file/4720/2026%2009%2022_Board%20Meeting%20Packet.pdf We used to see what their highly paid consultants reported. Not anymore. Meanwhile, ridership shows down in August while buses are operating more hours. Guess where the money comes from to pay these operating losses? July loss: . […]
By: Diane Benjamin Ask AI about Pritzker support for data centers. He was for them before this election year. I despise politicians who change positions to win elections, even worse if they are buying their seat. Grok summary: Bottom line: Before 2026, Pritzker was a clear supporter who created and defended state tax incentives to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since the children in charge can’t fix what they created, below are some facts for them to conside. First, read this story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-09-28/sales-tax-dispute-reignites-between-mclean-county-and-bloomington-and-normal Bloomington, Normal, and the County might end up in court. Of course that just wastes money – tax dollars will be paying the bills. Who originally negotiated this 20 […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’m not talking about the fight between Bloomington, Normal, and the County over spending mental health dollars. That story will be tomorrow, you won’t want to miss it! These pictures were taken at the recycle bins behind Walmart on Greenbriar. The paper bin clearly says NO BAGS and NO CARDBOARD: . Inside […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember the NEVER used water tower? If not review this 2015 story: https://blnnews.com/2015/08/04/more-ineptness/ The below is from the water plan presented at the Bloomington City Council meeting last night: . That elevated tank is over 11 years old. Spending $60 million to finally use it is questionable, but at least it won’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin Of course Beirne wants you to believe he isn’t raising your property taxes. He posted this on his official Facebook page: HAPPY BUDGET SEASON TO ALL WHO CELEBRATE! McLean County’s FY2027 Recommended Budget is a BALANCED $150.42 million plan focused on maintaining core services while controlling discretionary spending and making targeted long-term […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader who obtained the below from a person who filed a FOIA BEFORE Ty Carlton filed a lawsuit. When I filed a FOIA for it I didn’t get it. Review the Carlton case if you forgot: https://blnnews.com/2026/08/13/remember-ty-carlton/ Defendants in this case are: City of Bloomington Chief Simington Chad Wamsley – […]
By: Diane Benjamin Source: https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/109/Filing-an-Assessment-Complaint I copied and sorted the Equalization Factors from that page. They are listed from highest to lowest. Some townships are getting hit really hard. This website has a good explanation of what is happening: https://www.cutmytaxes.com/what-is-illinois-equalization/ The Illinois Department of Revenue conducts their own sales ratio tests on all 101 counties […]
By: Diane Benjamin On Facebook Beirne is accusing McLean County Clerk Kathy Michael of being deceptive about the number of employees in her office. HR has told him and others how many full time employees are in that office, he evidently is having trouble reading. He really wants a democrat running local elections – anything […]
By: Diane Benjamin Campaign signs are being stolen, the only ones I’m aware of are Republican signs. I suggest candidates attach an Apple Air Tag on one likely to be stolen and track it’s demise. 😊 Far left radicals found out they can get Advisory questions on the ballot by going through Township Annual Meetings. […]
By: Diane Benajmin I know people who regretted voting early. The next month will produce a lot of information that isn’t yet available. Foreign governments will be interfering in national elections. 40 days is ridiculous and only meant to bank votes so one side knows how many votes they need to produce before election day. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Krystle proudly declares she is a progressive. She knows most people think that means she wants to make life better for you. It doesn’t. It means redistributing taxes to who she deems are worthy. If that means everyone else needs to pay more, she doesn’t care because the collective good is essential. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4133/files/agenda/15090 Two items are on the Agenda: Both presentations are scheduled for 10 minute presentations and 15 minutes Council discussion. Isn’t it nice the people’s business has a time limit? Of course they can always vote for more time if needed. Of course they can vote to not allow more time […]
By: Diane Benjamin In case you saw some on-line geniuses claims the $2,000,000 BNWRD gave to the Children’s Discovery Museum wasn’t really $2,000,000 – the real story is worse. BNWRD borrowed that $2,000,000 so with interest the real cost is higher: PDF page 37: https://blnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/September-2026-Board-Packet-reduced-size-1.pdf . You probably know the local Boys and Girls Club […]
By: Diane Benjamin How many students did Unit 5 have last year? I don’t know because the Illinois Report Card website hasn’t been updated since the 2024-2025 school year. Once again, government transparency doesn’t exist. I do know 2 years ago the district had 12,219 students: https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/district.aspx?source=studentcharacteristics&Districtid=17064005026 I FOIA’d Unit 5 for how many they […]
By: Diane Benjamin If Bloomington wanted to be transparent, ALL costs pertaining to shows would be on the event reports. They believe booking future shows would be affected if bookers knew how much was paid for previous shows. Therefore, if any of the below is incorrect – blame the City. A new fiscal year started […]
By: Diane Benjamin Read this story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-09-15/bnwrd-steps-in-to-solve-colonial-meadows-water-woes The Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District (BNWRD) charges monthly and on property tax bills. Both will go up because they need your money. Meanwhile, BNWRD is giving the Children’s Discovery Museum $2 million for an exhibit. Slick move! One unit of government taxes you more so another unit of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tonight’s Agenda: https://bloomingtonil.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4107/files/agenda/15071 Nothing is on the Regular Agenda. Upcoming elections have a way of stopping nonsense spending and tax increases which might affect the outcome. The Council will be meeting in private however: , The Council only has one employee – City Manager Jeff Jurgens. Is he due for another raise […]
By: Diane Benjamin Review this story: https://blnnews.com/2026/09/10/normal-locks-people-up-for-ordinance-violations/ Obviously Derek Riggs was booked into the McLean County jail after his arrest by the Normal Police Department because that story has his booking photo and info. When I did that story all I knew was he was charged with an ordinance violation. Now I know what that […]
. Property Tax Crisis in Illinois Like a fierce thunderstorm with tornado-force winds, the property tax system in Illinois forces tax payers to take cover wherever they can. Insurance companies scramble to avoid paying claims after a major storm is like JB and his super-majority refusing any and all discussion of property tax reform. In […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is an update to this story: https://blnnews.com/2022/12/08/id-love-to-hear-how-normal-police-explain-this-one/ I don’t believe the Normal police have ever apologized for arresting the victim, Chad Berck, who was stabbed 19 times by a neighbor who was and never arrested. Think an Order of Protection is going to protect you? It didn’t protect Normal resident Amy […]
By: Diane Benjamin This Labor Day celebrate local governments stealing your hard earned dollars. A home in Bloomington property tax history: . In 10 years, 2016 to 2025, property taxes increased 47.2%. The assessed value in 2016 was $75,995, in 2025 it was $119,493. That is an increase of 57.24%. The left side is taxes […]
By: Diane Benjamin The first class by Carl Hinshaw teaching homeowners how to protest assessed values was well attended. Carl is doing it again. Whoever set your property value doesn’t get the last word. You can object and win. Carl will show you how. Wednesday October 7th 6-8 pm GOP office – 202 S. Eldorado, […]
By: Diane Benjamin This WGLT article misses a huge point taxpayers should notice: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-09-01/path-to-resolution-of-shared-sales-tax-dispute-remains-unclear The County, Bloomington, and Normal can’t agree on funding local mental health initiatives. Keep in mind your SALES TAX was increased to fund it. It is your money they are fighting over. Quote: Bloomington City Manager Jeff Jurgens said even after […]
By: Diane Benjamin Rick Perez is a Democrat running for McLean County Board District 3 – the seat George Wendt held. From his Facebook page: . From his LinkedIn – notice it’s the same picture: Perez lives here: Just to verify, this is his statement of candidacy showing the same address: . . He bought […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit August Board meeting: https://connect-transit.com/file/4587/20260825_Meeting%20Packet.pdf Large expenditures: . Did Connect find a way to get rid of the non-functioning electric buses or are they still parked as a memorial to failed policies? June 30, 2026 report – the fiscal year end: . Operating loss for the fiscal year was $19.5 million. […]
By: Diane Benjamin A new website tracks the amount of JB’s own inherited money he has used to buy Illinois: https://pritzkermoney.org/ In 2022 Pritzker bought Illinois Supreme Court justices – $2,000,000 From 2024-2026 JB funneled $12,000,000 to PACs – $10,000,000 of that want to Juliana Stratton’s Senate primary In 2022 JB spent $350,000 on candidates […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader . Fake history got turned into a musical. Town of Normal Trustee Karyn Smith promoted this event on Facebook. It is being pushed by Unit 5, the Normal Human Rights Commission, Normal Parks and Recreation, and the Normal Public Library. Tax dollars anyone? I’m pretty sure it won’t mention: […]
By: Diane Benjamin Midterm elections are November 3rd. Closely following are local primary elections on February 23rd (if needed) and local supposed non-partisan elections on April 6th. Turnout for that election is aways ridiculously low since most people don’t even know an election is happening. It’s almost like the people who established election dates did […]
