By: Diane Benjamin The second installment of your property taxes are due on 9/17. The check you will be writing is higher because of many things, but a BIG one is Tax Increment Financing. TIF’s The Uptown TIF is Normal’s huge one. The 2020 comprehensive report isn’t available yet, so I have to use the […]
By: Diane Benjamin See the agenda packet for Monday here: http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1089&Inline=True City Manager Tim Gleason is getting a 3% raise because he’s doing such a wonderful job: See PDF page 57. You have to continue reading to find out how much the new salary is before benefits: $197,219 I wonder if Jenn Carrillo is okay […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/17188/CAFR20-FINAL-DOC See the below on PDF pages 177 and following. The only good news is the first one will be paid off next year. I added the interest rates in the lower left corner. The loans with no payments for many years carry high interest rates likely for that reason. This isn’t […]
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 Much of the meeting was spent talking about the 3/31/2020 financial statements and the financial trends report. Neither are on-line yet, so they aren’t worth discussing much here. Many accolades were thrown at staff for doing a good job preparing for the audit. I agree, but isn’t that what they get paid […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal met for almost 4 hours last night. See the 6:00 pm Work Session story here: https://blnnews.com/2020/09/09/stealing-more-from-you-the-town-of-normal/ I’m going to start with the END of the regular meeting since I might have been one of the few still awake watching it. Chris Koos is attempting to fix his image since he was […]
By: Diane Benjamin When you vote for progressives your taxes will go up. Utopia takes cold hard cash – YOURS. During the Work Session at 6:00 pm last night the only topic was increasing the gas tax. The theme at this meeting and the 7:00 meeting was “pots” of money. Think about how you handle […]
By: Diane Benjamin Green Top Grocery has a program called Positive Change. Customers that bring their own bag get and token with which to “Vote” for a non-profit. There doesn’t appear to be any benefit of winning the “vote”. Instead of choosing non-profits that aren’t controversial, Green Top must want to alienate at least half […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you want a County Board full of Jenn Carrillo buddies – vote Democrat. Her socialist buddy who is running for Bloomington City Council (unless he chickens out) identified one for you. County Board meetings were already live streamed before COVID. Lawler and Laymon want to make sure the public won’t be […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3733 Before the 7:00 meeting the Council is holding a Work Session. At 6:00 they will discuss raising the gas tax. The Town wants more money for Connect Transit, a service most will never use and those that need it no longer can. Expect other items, the “professional staff” and Koos need […]
By: Diane Benjamin Portillos didn’t get a dime of taxpayer money. Koos’s buddy did! Chris Koos wanted Portillos in Normal. I don’t know if he really believed it would be a destination as he claimed, but obviously it isn’t since other nearby cities also got a Portillos. Koos wanted the hotel where the restaurant is […]
By: Diane Benjamin Campaign sign of conservatives and GOP candidates have been disappearing for years. I’ve never heard of signs by Democrats disappearing. When issues won’t win an election, the left isn’t above cheating. Two huge Trump/Pence signs have disappeared from the same location: Fox Creek Road and West Oakland. Anybody in the area with […]
By: Diane Benjamin Why would any business decide to locate in Bloomington when a member of the City Council retweeted this: Black Lives Matter lost all credibility when they bailed looters out of jail. People of all political persuasions know theft and destruction of other people’s property is wrong. Looks like Jenn thinks it’s fine. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last Wednesday Normal passed ordinances limiting gatherings to 10 or fewer people within the ISU campus area and additional bar and restaurant social distancing restrictions. This was in response to the skyrocketing infection rate of COVID in the campus and Uptown area. Town hall is located near the epicenter of the outbreak […]
By: Diane Benjamin This statement is in the Town of Normal code: No the Council can’t “waive” disclosure requirements, but that’s not the important part. The Open Meetings Act states they can’t vote on anything not disclosed 48 hours in advance. The code states the City Manger must know a week in advance what will […]
By: Diane Benjamin Start with One Normal Plaza. STAFF convinced the Council to instigate zoning changes. The area residents only want ONE THING – alcohol sales banned in the park. Drive through – it’s a park like setting with narrow roads and family atmosphere. They want it to stay a tranquil place. STAFF refused to […]
by: Diane Benjamin Normal has an excellent chance of electing servant representatives next April. You do remember they used to be called PUBLIC SERVANTS, not tyrants with their own agenda? Bloomington not so much yet. Either everyone with morals and values is too busy working or they have left town. This guy claims he is […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Normal Town Council held a special meeting last night to address the COVID outbreak around campus. Guess what! Protests are exempt from regulations so as not to trample on the 1st Amendment. Funny how Normal has no problem trampling on YOUR rights under the 1st Amendment: …to petition the government for […]
By: Diane Benjamin Marc saved me the trouble of writing further comments on the DOCUMENT I showed yesterday in this story: https://blnnews.com/2020/09/02/the-document-you-must-see/ The video has captions, watch it with or without the sound. Marc has researched the PAC and knows the contributors and how they have spent money so far. He proves the PAC is […]
By: Diane Benjamin Before I show you the whole document, you need to see the supporters names at the bottom: Many of those names will be familiar, the rest I might talk about in another story. One name doesn’t fit with the rest since he claims to be a Republican: Josh Barnett This proves the […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader If you forgot the details of the SWEET deal Normal gave Terri Ryburn to live cheap in the “historic” Sprague’s Service Station at 305 Pine St – see the details here: https://blnnews.com/2018/01/07/sweet-deal-for-koos-buddy/ If you can’t read the sign on the door: The Ryburn Place Facebook page says closed until […]
By: Diane Benjamin Connect Transit held a meeting on August 25th: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EbHKo7ekQqGztDU9fvqRgbALV64ZfNI0/view This is how their year ended on June 30, 2020. (PDF page 8) The actual loss was slightly below the 12,000,000 budgeted: See PDF page 15: The budgeted loss for this year is 12,825,000. Connect is well on the way to meeting that […]
Flying around I heard the League has severed ties with WGLT to conduct local debates. Is WGLT too partisan for LOWV now? Will voters only get WGLT’s candidate interviews to base a vote on? Is the League going to make an announcement? Some organization needs to step up and hold debates! Meanwhile, the League still […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since Chris Koos has been dictating to citizens without any input from your elected officials, didn’t you already think the Town of Normal employees were required to wear masks at work? Evidently not. Remember why the shutdown happened? It was to keep the hospitals from being overwhelmed. It was never to keep […]
ISU has released a plan for social change! http://www.videtteonline.com/sports/illinois-state-releases-action-plan-for-social-change-in-response-to-athlete-boycott/article_80feef42-ebb2-11ea-a80e-db89545107d9.html?fbclid=IwAR2rk9FyaZB7wZw_nQHqTngKMG3YybfZvMkJyLLOHCN0meOpY6qeVrcoQpo ________________ By: Diane Benjamin ISU President Dietz declared ISU is a Social Justice University. https://blnnews.com/2020/06/02/dietz-social-justice-is-an-isu-priority/ Athletics Director Larry Lyons proclaimed he’s all in too: https://blnnews.com/2020/08/04/did-isus-larry-lyons-become-a-social-justice-warrior/ What neither understand is caving to progressives never ends. Hand them one victory they will want 5 more things. When they […]
By: Diane Benjamin I have to start here. Below are two logos Joe Biden is using: WGLT just happened totally by coincidence to use THREE RED bars just like Joe? The big story from yesterday’s Back the Blue rally was the number of people who believe police are essential. Americans want to live in a […]
John Boch of Guns Save Life posted a nice recap on his website. It includes lots of pics and other information. Click below to see on on his website: PEACEFUL THANKS TO GUNS: Back the Blue in Bloomington sees big pro-police crowd, harassment of attendees entering and arrest of anti-cop heckler . . . . […]
These are just to give you and idea of how many people attended. counting was difficult because people were social distancing. Black Lives Matter only had a handful of people trying to disrupt the rally, we were too far away to hear them. h/t John Boch – Guns Save Life for these pics. h/t Sonny […]
There are more people who support the police than don’t. Those who do MUST show up at the rally tomorrow. Rep Darren Bailey will be speaking. Today he is at a rally in Charleston. The loony left is disrupting the event. Tomorrow they will be across the street, security will keep them out of the […]
By: Diane Benjamin The illustrious Mayor of Normal has been spewing edicts for months and calling them Executive Orders. He forgot 6 other people were elected to govern Normal. He failed to get his compliant majority to at least have input. He must have forgotten he just barely won 3 years ago and therefore doesn’t […]
Ask him why! I believe it is too late for the Democrat party to replace him now.
By: Diane Benjamin Nikita Richards is not only the chair of the local Democrat Party, she is an employee of the City of Bloomington in Human Resources. Yesterday she posted this on Facebook: Nikita just alienated all 130 Bloomington police officers. Nikita accused every officer of being unprofessional at best and racist at worst. How […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember when cannabis was legalized in Illinois? Remember how the point system was suppose to award licenses to those most affected by past drug enforcement policies? https://chicago.suntimes.com/cannabis/2019/10/1/20894020/pot-marijuana-cannabis-shop-dispensary-license-illinois If those “disproportionately” affected planned to profit they thought wrong. Meanwhile local money is spent in Normal, but where does it go? https://www.streetinsider.com/Globe+Newswire/Jushi+Holdings+Inc.+Reports+Second+Quarter+2020+Financial+Results/17293320.html Jushi Holdings […]
By: Diane Benjamin According to my millennial interpreter, this means happy and sad at the same time. The symbol is all over Uptown, there are also letters said to be a slur on police. Below are just a few examples: h/t: Two readers Maybe the Marxist teacher running for Bloomington City Council can provide further […]
by: Diane Benjamin Normally the Finance Director presents a report monthly. Monday night City Manager Tim Gleason said it would be posted to the website. It is now: https://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=25082 Start with the bottom of page 3. The only reason Bloomington is not bleeding now is because they STOCKPILED your money. Under David Hales the number […]
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By: Diane Benjamin Some politicians have a really hard time leaving office. Progressives always have just one more project to complete, and then another, and then another. Progress must be made – problem is it’s “their vision” and not shared by the people paying the bills. Anybody craving an underpass? Chris Koos has joined this […]
