By: Diane Benjamin State GOP Chair Tim Schneider led the Republican Party in a wipe-out last November. The Republicans have zero power in Springfield thanks to his leadership. There is now a lawsuit connected to the election of the State Central Committeeman over election improprieties. Schneider is accused of stealing the election. Details here: 19-0422 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Town Council meeting TUESDAY http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3172 (delayed for MLK Day) Misc spending: CDM is Children Discovery Museum. It’s easy to give your money as a memorial! This is what you need to see: (yes it’s complicated) The Town of Normal owns the building at 104 W. North. It is currently rented to Dan Brady […]
By: Diane Benjamin This is an update to yesterday’s story: https://blnnews.com/2018/07/11/not-the-right-fit-tari/ This morning I spoke to the Marine veteran who was the subject of the Facebook post by Danny Leifel. He wants to remain anonymous because of the large number of phone calls he received yesterday. One phone call he never received was from […]
By: Diane Benjamin Illinois is in a death spiral and now it’s local. Every level of government refuses to live within their means and adjust to changing conditions. They think they can pick your pocket whenever they want. Central Illinois Regional Airport is the latest. CIRA has found a state legislator in Bellville to sponsor […]
The 2nd amendment wasn’t written when the only guns were muskets! Scott Laughlin thinks today’s guns don’t qualify as a right. He needs to know HISTORY. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/04/03/firearms-technology-and-the-original-meaning-of-the-second-amendment/?utm_term=.78e56d448119 Excepts: Gun-control advocates often argue that gun-control laws must be more restrictive than the original meaning of the Second Amendment would allow, because modern firearms are so different […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tonight on the agenda for the Normal Town Council is reauthorizing the lease of 104 W North Street to Dan Brady for $1 per year and FREE to Rodney Davis. This note is included on PDF page 63: http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2273 If Normal actually read the law, they might find it is illegal to […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this previous post: https://blnnews.com/2016/10/28/connect-transit-tears/ I made the list in that story quickly this morning – chances are good I missed some! The list was to make a point, not get exact numbers. I saw many other items I could have added, like THOUSANDS spent on HVAC. Isn’t the facility pretty new? […]
See this story for the totals: https://blnnews.com/2016/10/28/connect-transit-totals/https://blnnews.com/2016/10/28/connect-transit-totals/ By: Diane Benjamin I didn’t attend the Connect Transit meeting last night, but I have reports from people who did. Of course people spoke that rely on buses, but people also spoke about BUDGETING a $12,000,000 loss when the country and the State of Illinois both have no […]
By: Diane Benjamin Comptroller Leslie Munger has a new website to promote transparency. This one reveals campaign contributions. The State Board of Elections has this information, but it’s NOT in a usable format. This website is! Data can be copied to a spreadsheet without doing any reformatting. From there is can be sorted, grouped, and […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’m one of those people who thanks veterans and the police whenever I see them. I really appreciate the job they do for the people of this country. I have military and police in my family, their jobs aren’t easy. We all know veterans have made the ultimate sacrifice, but so have […]
Ask him why, he’s got a story. None of it has anything to do with the Campaign Contributions from the Teachers Union. Does showing up everywhere make a good legislator? Evidently, nobody is running against him again. He had a chance to free around 30,000 Chicago kids from rotten schools and the teacher’s union. He […]
by: Diane Benjamin On Friday I got THREE certified letters from the City of Chicago. At a cost of $3.50 each, my husband and I were notified that our vehicle was impounded for Altered Tags. All 3 letters were identical except one had my name and 2 had my husband’s – more government efficiency in […]
by Diane Benjamin Weeks ago I heard from a source INSIDE the Illinois Lottery that Illinois has been skimming money to pay bills. Yesterday Crain’s Business reported that an audit found $200 Million in reporting errors. http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130701/BLOGS02/130709979 Associated Press reported the same story. Reporting errors? $200,000,000? Crain’s blames a “transition to being an independent agency”. Illinois […]
This site will end without your support. Click here to contribute: http://blnnews.blogspot.com/ Below is a recap of votes taken in the HOUSE yesterday. Note how many times Dan Brady voted Present! Keith Sommer even had a few. See the entire report: http://tinyurl.com/a7njqw6 Legislation remains on second reading – will need another vote in House before […]
Thanks to Yes votes from both Bill Brady and Dan Brady, illegal (ILLEGAL) aliens will now be able to get Driver’s Licenses in Illinois. Supposedly the roads will be safer. How are they going to verify identity? Legal citizens have to bring a birth certificate when they get a drivers license. It didn’t work in […]
by: Diane Benjamin According to the state Comptroller’s website: http://ledger.illinoiscomptroller.com/index.cfm/find-the-salary-of-a-state-employee/find-state-employee-salary-sql/ Salary paid through 11/30/2012 Dan Brady $75,123.95 (annual: $81,953.40) Bill Brady $77,382.03 (annual: $84,416.76) Keith Sommer $68,355.10 (annual: $74,569.20) GARS = General Assembly Retirement System This information was obtain under the Freedom of Information Act: Dan Brady has served 11 years and 11 months. He has […]
Dollars for leaders Of the 177 Illinois state legislators, 136 receive some type of salary boost for a leadership post, which will cost taxpayers an additional $1.7 million this year. Annual salaries for all 177 is $64,716. Both Dan Brady and Bill Brady receive extra money for their leaderships rolls: Dan $9,851 Total $ 74,567 […]
1) They are illegal! Why should anybody who entered our country illegally, breaking the law to do so, be given any privileges? 2) If the law keeps bending to accommodate illegal aliens, why have any laws at all? or is that the point! 3) American laws have always worked on the “honor” system. Citizens aren’t assigned a personal monitor by […]
Illinois Review posted a story this weekend about Madigan’s pension mess. It concentrated on the bill allowing people to work briefly for the state, then work for a union, then collect huge state pensions based on their work for other organizations instead of the state. Madigan, of course, wrote the bill to benefit an […]
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2012/09/last-14-teacher-union-contributions-to-republican-leaders.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2FbYHz+%28Illinois+Review%29 This article may further explain. oes Republican silence on CTU strike relate to union contributions? Illinois Republican lawmakers seem strangely quiet on the CTU strike. Few press releases. Even fewer comments. Might it have something to do with teachers union support? Below are some of the contributions the Illinois Education Association – Illinois’ largest […]
by Diane Benjamin Democrats control the Illinois House Democrats control the Illinois Senate The Governor if a Democrat . . . and they have been in the majority for a long time. But they can’t pass anything to fix the fiscal mess in Illinois because Republicans aren’t helping. Sure. In other words, the Republicans haven’t […]
Update: Taxes next year are going to skyrocket! If you don’t believe yet that the TEA Party is your ONLY hope to preserve Liberty and Freedom in America – welcome to socialist America. The mandate under the commerce clause was ruled unconstitutional, but Congress has the RIGHT to tax – even though it was never […]
