The ISU Communist responds

By: Diane Benjamin Andrew Franson responded to this story on his Facebook page: https://blnnews.com/2026/02/02/5-things-you-need-to-know-11/ I hope ISU is proud of this student with no grasp of the English language. Maybe he’s aiming for a job in Illinois government: . Franson did send a pictures of people standing in front of the BCPA. They could have […]

5 Things You Need To Know

By: Diane Benjamin 1) Remember the communist organizer from ISU – Andrew Franson? https://blnnews.com/2025/10/16/email-from-an-isu-communist/ He calls himself a communist, I didn’t label him. I received an email from him saying the picture in this story is wrong: https://blnnews.com/2026/01/30/tiny-anti-ice-crowd/ Andrew claims people had left by the time the picture in the story was taken. He claims […]

ISU comes up short in more ways than one

By: Diane Benjamin The Illinois State University football team came from behind to force overtime last night for the FCS championship. The team ended up losing by 1 point. They deserve to be proud of what they accomplished. Meanwhile, an ISU professor was one of the organizers of the protest Sunday: https://www.25newsnow.com/2026/01/05/activists-protesting-us-military-force-venezuela-gather-busy-bloomington-shopping-center/#aj0ltkn477e8vlubp6audiolk8wpxhqt Excerpts: Activist group Bloomington […]

ISU has the ability to spy on students

By: Diane Benjamin Remember when ISU wouldn’t give me emails that mentioned Charlie Kirk? https://blnnews.com/2025/11/15/isu-foia-fail/ ISU claimed there were too many emails, even when I narrowed the request to ONE DAY. I wasn’t the only person trying to find out what staff were telling students about Kirk. Another FOIA was filed by Chad Berck on […]

Update on Derek Lopez – he’s still being held in custody

By: Diane Benjamin I can’t post links to this information because a PACER account is required to access federal case information. Lopez has one charge against him. His court appointed attorney requested bail, the judge denied it. An Order of Protection against him was granted, I don’t know who requested it. The below was copied […]

The ISU Table Flipper Police Interview

By: Diane Benjamin Cloudfare, the company keeping the internet safe from attacks, was attacked earlier today. It appears to mostly back up and running but it has affected WordPress and therefore my posts. I don’t know if stories are going to anyone who hasn’t subscribed. Now would be a good time to subscribe if you […]

Remember the 2 unsolved ISU murders?

By: Diane Benjamin The families of murder victims deserve justice. The families of Jennifer Lockmiller and Carol Rofstad deserve justice and haven’t received it. Has the DNA from Jennifer Lockmiller been uploaded to CODIS? Is any DNA available from the Carol Rofstad case? If you don’t know what CODIS is? https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/dna-fingerprint-act-of-2005-expungement-policy/codis-and-ndis-fact-sheet If CODIS doesn’t have […]

ISU FOIA fail

By: Diane Benjamin See if you can follow how ISU responded to my FOIA. I was looking for emails mentioning Charlie Kirk around the time he was on the ISU campus. Read the below chain, what don’t they want you to know? Original request 9/12/25: All communication in any form by any ISU employee using […]

This is What Diversity Looks Like

If you attend, please count

By: Diane Benjamin Count how many times she mentions she’s black and queer. Maybe she’ll “circle back” if asked about it. Anyone want to FOIA her fee? Keep in mind she left the Democrat Party but vowed to never vote for a Republican. She also never saw Biden in mental decline even though she claims […]

Rivian H1B Visas, Transparency and ISU

By: Diane Benjamin Read to the bottom of this one! Getting millions of tax dollars and tax breaks requires transparency. Rivian stopped providing even the basics. We have no idea how many employees work in Normal because they stopped saying: https://wirepoints.org/after-getting-millions-in-tax-breaks-rivian-now-wont-say-how-many-people-work-in-normal-wglt-npr-at-isu/ Do you know Rivian just settled a lawsuit for $250,000,000? https://www.rttnews.com/3585443/rivian-automotive-reaches-250-mln-settlement-in-securities-class-action.aspx 600 employees across […]

Derek Lopez Confession

By: Diane Benjamin It is alway nice when criminals confess. Derek Lopez wrote the below on X. He blamed the victim and not himself, typical deflection: . Below are excerpts from an email sent by Turning Point USA: . Pick a side.

Is Derek Lopez really still in jail?

By: Diane Benjamin If you didn’t know, the McLean County Sheriff’s office has an app that allows looking up inmates being held: https://mcleancountyil.gov/95/Sheriff I know it feels like too many accused persons are let loose with no bail, but the app is currently showing 218 inmates. One of them is Lopez even though initial reports […]

UPDATE: ISU TA attacks Turning Point Table – TWICE

Lopez was arrested. This does not say he was banned from campus: By: Diane Benjamin Make sure you read this entire post because Unit 5 is involved too. In case you missed the first story: https://blnnews.com/2025/10/15/more-reasons-isu-should-be-embarrassed/ Since it appears ISU did nothing, including the ISU police, the same guy repeated his criminal activities: . This […]

Update: Email from an ISU Communist

Picture added by request By: Diane Benjamin This is the email writer: . This self-admitted communist sent this email – note the typos and command of the English language: . In case the print is too small, here is the text: I tried to leave a comment on your posts about the Nazi situation (I […]

More Reasons ISU should be Embarrassed

By: Diane Benjamin Illinois State University SHOULD be embarrassed but probably won’t be. Monday this happened on the ISU campus: . This is the guy student say flipped their table, a police report was filed: . I’m sure ISU knows who this guy is. Are they doing anything to him? Is this the poster child […]

ISU buys into Fascists rhetoric

By: Diane Benjamin Why I burned my diploma. Pension from openthebooks.com

Comment worth seeing: ISU and Charlie Kirk

By: Diane Benjamin Below is a comment made on my site about Charlie Kirk. The writer is employed by Illinois State University. I thought this comment deserved attention, it was made to the Evil Hates Love story: Did I agree with most of what he said? Nope. Did he deserve to die for what he […]

The ISU kids who think they defeated the pretend Nazis:

By: Diane Benjamin Public Education has led to this: . Socialism doesn’t produce liberation, it enslaves. No Nazis were ever going to march in Bloomington. PSL has no idea what Fascism is, they have been taught it is the extreme right wing. It isn’t. Ending capitalism means freedom disappears with it. Education needs a reset […]

Connect Transit – No Financial Info and more

By: Diane Benjamin See the agenda, financial information is crossed off for both June and July because of year end: https://connect-transit.com/file/3810/2025%2008%2026_Meeting%20Packet.pdf Every other year this data has only been delayed 1 month. The Managing Director, David Braun, claimed they are still collecting June bills. When Flex replaces vehicles, the new ones will be electric! Meanwhile […]

GOP Press Release – ISU

Links: (Above is a picture) https://www.bing.com/search?q=Department+of+Education+stops+federal+funding+of+workforce+study&pc=GD03&form=GDAVG1&ptag=9309 https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careers/department-of-education-ends-support-for-political-activism/ar-AA1KU6P5?ocid=BingNewsSerp https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-admin-bans-federal-work-study-funds-from-supporting-political-activism-college-campuses?msockid=27d69318ee1a6ba8370886faef646a80

I Found It and I Burned It!

By: Diane Benjamin After looking for months I finally found it! I’ve been saying for a long time when I do find this I can’t wait to burn it! I did yesterday. Below are 2 videos. The 1st one is 3 minutes and 33 seconds and explains most of why I did this. The second […]

What a Waste of Money

By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington is now dreaming up ways to keep discriminatory DEI policies by calling them other names: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-08-12/city-of-bloomington-to-host-a-free-symposium-discussing-the-future-of-inclusion-and-access Mentioned in the story: (What happened to the .gov extension?) All of the salaries came from OpenTheBooks.com. If you haven’t tried the new format, you should! Michael Hurt salary in 2024: $121,804.15 […]

ISU’s DEI Practices Under Scrutiny: A Closer Look

By: Diane Benjamin If you missed yesterday’s story, read it now: https://blnnews.com/2025/08/05/bloomington-quit-celebrating-mlk-day/ Many of the leaders of this Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion event are associated with Illinois State University. That is important to remember while reading this story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-08-05/isu-to-digest-u-s-attorney-generals-message-on-unlawful-dei ISU is figuring out how to comply with demands to end unlawful discrimination. The US Attorney […]

Bloomington: Quit celebrating MLK Day

By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington obviously doesn’t believe in Martin Luther King’s vision of not judging people by the color of their skin. It appears they think no person of color is capable of succeeding on their own merits. In the latest version of expanding government and wasting money on non-essential events, see […]

Update: More on the Illinois Commission Appointed to Discriminate

https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_3e27d777-f68c-47be-ac50-d64a99e509ea.html Quote: The nine-page memo clarifies that federal anti-discrimination laws apply to programs that involve discriminatory practices, including DEI policies. Organizations that receive federal funding are subject to federal anti-discrimination laws and must ensure that their programs do not discriminate against race, gender, religion and more, the memo added.  By: Diane Benjamin More to this story: Illinois-Discriminates-Against-White-Males/ […]

Birthright Citizenship Facts

By: Diane Benjamin Someday when I have time I’m going to look for my ISU graduation certificate so I can burn it. It has to do with stories like this: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-07-14/isu-scholar-expects-birthright-citizenship-will-be-upheld-after-confusion-and-harm?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook Missing from the story is the background of why the 14th Amendment was passed. It’s not easy to add an amendment, so why it […]

Terri Ryburn: Are you receiving TWO pensions?

By: Diane Benjamin Additional information on this story: https://blnnews.com/2025/07/07/is-terri-ryburn-still-living-at-spragues/ From Open The Books Note: These numbers are MONTHLY.

People pay for this?

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 […]

Laws apply to judges too!

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 […]

2 Things You Need to Know

By: Diane Benjamin 1) The Vidette finally published a story late yesterday on Charlie Kirk’s ISU rally: https://www.videtteonline.com Charlie Kirk Creates a Stir at Illinois State University with Open Discussion The reporter included comments from students who attended as well as Kirk’s opening remarks. Also included was the proverbial “racists” label that gets thrown at […]

Vidette Fail

By: Diane Benjamin According to the Vidette website: https://www.videtteonline.com/ The “Student Voice” has written NOTHING about the massive gathering on their campus yesterday. These are the top 2 stories under NEWS: The Vidette has joined the ranks of FAKE NEWS. Congrats Maybe the staff doesn’t get out of bed until mid afternoon. Keep in mind […]

Update: Charlie Kirk at ISU

Where you get news matters. Read the title: This pic from today was posted by Turning Point USA of the ISU rally, massive crowd! Sent to me by a reader, much bigger crowd than showed up for the Hands Off Protest: What conservative event wouldn’t have a clown shop up to protest: Demonic, of course. […]

4 Things you need to know

By: Diane Benjamin 1) I was notified by a reader the BNWRD owns the tent city property in Normal. That’s the Bloomington Normal Water Reclamation District. Illinois law prevents them from removing the campers. It doesn’t prevent them from demanding they CLEAN up their mess. 2) I was also notified that ISU is planning for […]

What ISU Faculty wants: mediocracy

By: Diane Benjamin If you didn’t know, enrollment at ISU increased this year because many students received tuition breaks. ISU knows future enrollment will decrease because birth rates have declined, which means fewer kids will be available to fill seats. That doesn’t stop the faculty union from demanding more money. There’s an online video of […]

Who Marched with the Union at ISU

By: Diane Benjamin https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-03-27/photos-faculty-demonstrate-on-isu-quad-ahead-of-possible-strike A strike is threatened by tenured and tenure-track facility at ISU. Do you know what ISU costs (before any financial aid)? The cost per year goes up from here – click on other majors: https://financialaid.illinoisstate.edu/paying/2024-2025-undergraduate/index.php Remember the lady with a Masters Degree in Communications who can’t afford rent? Does she have […]

Ballot Harvesting on University Campuses

Below are two documents. The first one is a press release that was just issued. The second is a complaint that was filed with the US Department of Education. It accuses Universities, including ISU, of violating students Rights to Privacy. Personal information was released to NGO’s who use that data to increase voter participation on […]

Local Unions Support Illegal Aliens?

By: Diane Benjamin According to Krystle Able they do. Below is part of a video of Able imploring ISU students to get out and vote for her April 1st. In this clip she claims local unions support illegals. Evidently the local unions want to lose jobs to illegals. Illegals don’t respect picket lines, they just […]

Remember Carol Rofstad? Jennifer Lockmiller?

By: Diane Benjamin ISU has two unsolved campus murders. Is anyone trying to solve Jennifer Lockmiller’s murder in 1993 after Alan Beaman was declared innocent? Crickets. The Normal police haven’t solved the 49 year old murder of Carol Rofstad either. Was this a jab at Normal police? https://www.25newsnow.com/video/2024/12/23/normal-police-rigorously-working-solve-49-year-old-cold-case-killing/ Last year CI Proud and News 25 […]

The Able and Beirne comedy show

By: Diane Benjamin Keep in mind GAZA was free until they attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Palestinians elected Hamas and haven’t had elections again since that happened in 2006. Hamas then murdered opposition to keep power. Nice folks. I wasn’t going to do a story on just Krystle Able, but when Corey Beirne chimed […]