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 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Progressives are FAR left. They don’t believe in capitalism or the Republic. Below are pictures from the Student for Justice in Palestine ISU Facebook page. 7 members were arrested Friday after refusing to leave the Hovey Hall Administration Building. https://www.25newsnow.com/2024/05/03/pro-palestinian-protesters-stage-sit-in-after-meeting-with-illinois-state-universitys-president/ One of those arrested was 40 year old Steven Lazarov. More about […]
h/t a reader There aren’t many kids left in the Palestinian protest. Students walking by didn’t support them, just their right to peacefully protest.
By: Diane Benjamin See this WGLT story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-04-30/isu-students-set-up-pro-palestinian-tent-encampment-on-quad The pictures say all you need to know about the “protesters”: They are all wearing masks outside on a beautiful day: Why wear masks? There is only one reason: To hide their identity. ISU has a “microaggression” policy. The protest is more of a macro-aggression against jewish […]
By: Diane Benjamin Green Top hasn’t met their fundraising goal even with $20,000 from one donor and $5,000 from another. A few people gave $1,000, most of the others are $100 or less: https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-local-organic-food-in-our-community Some ISU students want their own Green Top but can’t find anyone wanting to participate. Uptown is a food desert according […]
By: Diane Benjamin Maybe the voting age should be reconsidered. Illinois has FORTY DAYS of early voting, obviously this makes people doubt the validity of elections, but the ISU kids are now demanding election day off so they can vote because 40 days isn’t nearly enough: Citizenship requires responsibility. The polls open at 6:00 am. […]
By: Diane Benjamin We know in 2021 The Immigration Project was 99.95% funded by tax dollars: https://blnnews.com/2024/02/12/the-immigration-project-you-dont-know/ Using the new Benjamin Chat Box on OpenTheBooks.com I searched under “Vendors” for payments made to them. Try it, incredibly easy to use! Results are emailed to you after it searches multiple databases. In 2022 ISU gave them […]
By: Diane Benjamin More from this story on the local Housing Assessment: https://blnnews.com/2024/03/05/ignoring-the-elephant-in-the-room/ PDF page 32 – copied and reformatted since the paragraph is difficult to read: Poverty levels have increased in McLean County over the last 5 years, Bloomington and Normal. Poverty is measured by the Official Poverty Measure (OPM), which measures pre-tax income […]
By: Diane Benjamin A reader sent me this link to a Daily Wire story: https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-universities-are-teaching-students-to-blow-up-oil-pipelines-records-show Excerpt: At Illinois State University, students in an English class are required to read only four books, one of which is “How To Blow Up a Pipeline.” Another is a book on Marxism by Friedrich Engels, whom Vladimir Lenin called “the […]
By: Diane Benjamin One of the finalist for the new head of ISU is Dr. Donald Easton-Brooks. https://www.25newsnow.com/2024/02/21/illinois-state-university-names-second-presidential-candidate-finalist/?outputType=amp Who is he? See this story: https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2021/aug/28/guy-farmer-critical-race-theory-advocate-unr/ Next see his own website: https://donaldeastonbrooks.com/page/ Quote: Dr. Easton-Brooks Is Best Known As An Award-Winning Author, Leader, Researcher, And Advocate In The Area Of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, And Culturally Responsive […]
By: Diane Benjamin In case you missed the podcast, it’s about an unsolved murder in Normal from 1975. https://blnnews.com/2023/02/10/all-9-episodes-now-available/ Last week CI Proud and News 25 did stories claiming Normal police are now trying to solve the murder: https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-news/normal-police-seek-help-in-solving-48-year-old-murder-at-isu/amp/ https://www.25newsnow.com/2023/12/22/normal-police-has-gone-great-lengths-solve-48-year-old-cold-case/?outputType=amp Two more episodes were added in November. Listen here: https://radiomisfits.com/podcasts/carols-last-christmas/ Just 48 hours before Christmas, 1975, 21 year old […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is what came up for me. How many years of debt do those 31% accumulate before they drop out?
You Can Be Addicted to Weed. I Was When I Was 12. I’m not printing excerpts of this one – you need to read it yourself: https://www.thefp.com/p/legal-weed-destroying-my-generation?publication_id=260347&post_id=137019148&action=share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=2d31np h/t a reader Next: https://redbirdlife.illinoisstate.edu/organization/cannabisclubredbirds Cannabis is illegal at ISU however: https://wellness.illinoisstate.edu/living/cannabis/
By: Diane Benjamin Bonner is the Heyworth teacher who was forced to resign after making porn available to her students. A friend sent me an op-ed that featured Bonner – see page 2: https://www.boonecountyjournal.com/_files/ugd/66b509_f7f6cd1c0dc6466fb922fca60c45ba81.pdf The writer found it ironic that she was forced to resign because of the materials she made available to students while […]
By: Diane Benjamin FYI: The Vote Yes people committed more electioneering at ISU on Tuesday. Of course no prosecutions will happen, they were eventually kicked out by the election judges. Winning is all that matters to the left, breaking laws or lying is immaterial. Keep reading for proof. This is what happened, I hope Cities […]
By: Diane Benjamin The person this was sent to is not going to participate. Does this have anything to do with funding Pritzker’s transgender agenda? https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-money-behind-the-transgender-movement/
By: Diane Benjamin A reader sent me this link to a book co-written by Sarah Bonner: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0807767549?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_YPCEB6G2WCP116Q67G00 Much of the description sounds mundane until you get to this line: which ultimately positions young people to be change agents in their communities. Change agents for what Sarah? From the books and video links found in your […]
By: Diane Benjamin Sarah Bonner is no longer teaching Language Arts in Heyworth after parents found inappropriate materials in her classroom. Bonner is still listed on the Illinois State University website as a teacher training students to do exactly what she did in her classroom: Click this link: https://education.illinoisstate.edu/faculty_staff/profile.php?ulid=sabonne#fs-tabs-accord2 Next click on RESEARCH. It looks […]
Board of Trustees announces university leadership changes The Board of Trustees of Illinois State University has announced that President Terri Goss Kinzy has resigned as of February 14, 2023, and will vote to accept her resignation at the regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meeting at 2 p.m., Friday, February 17. The Board of Trustees appointed […]
https://dailycaller.com/2023/02/08/university-student-snitching-systems-bias-reporting-teams/ Excerpt: I’m embarrassed to be an ISU graduate. They aren’t preparing to students to function in the real world. What a waste of tax dollars. . .
By: Diane Benjamin Another bike path was on the agenda. Refer back to the previous story, bike paths have a higher priority than roads. Mayor Bike Shop? The Town supposedly received 100% funding for the new path on the west side of Normal. Engineering is 8.5% higher than expected so the Town needed a budget […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) ISU has announced the speaker for their annual MLK Cultural Dinner: Yusef Salaam. He was one of the five convicted of a rape and murder in New York City decades ago. After many years in prison all 5 were exonerated thanks to DNA technology that wasn’t available in 1989. Read more […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Arena was renamed in 2017 when Grossinger Motors agreed to pay naming rights. See this story: https://blnnews.com/2017/06/23/arena-name-change/ The naming rights expired June 30, 2022. Grossinger Motors doesn’t even exist anymore so obviously they didn’t renew the naming rights. I would have to file a FOIA to see if they even paid […]
By: Diane Benjamin Think of anything you have ever received free. Advertising magnets? Pencils? Ink pens? How much value did they have? Probably not much. JB wants to give away college education Who is going to pay these salaries? That would be every taxpayer in Illinois who already paid for their college education or never […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did you get this email? Greetings Wildcats! You are being contacted in hopes you might allow your student to participate in a research study being conducted by Tyra Jackson at ISU. If your adolescent chooses to participate, they will be asked to complete a 5-minute online survey and a few activities during […]
By: Diane Benjamin In case you forgot, the State of Illinois passed and Pritzker signed SB 818 last summer. This bill enshrines in law the sexualization of your children: https://blnnews.com/2021/06/15/sb-818-sexualizing-your-kids/ Schools are ordered to teach and groom your kids with information that should be between parents and their children. If your neighbors were caught with […]
By: Diane Benjamin Thanks again to Doug Fansler who started me off mapping crashes in the area from this story: https://blnnews.com/2022/04/05/isu-kids-show-up-for-public-comment/ All of the maps below are from Normal’s new Open Data Portal, access it at the bottom of the main screen: https://normal.org/ Page down to IDOT McLean County Traffic Crashes. Start with the number […]
By: Diane Benjamin The data below was FOIA’d by Doug Fansler from the Town of Normal. Guess who is paying to charge Electric Vehicles? That would be the taxpayers of Normal, State of Illinois (ISU), and Heartland College district taxpayers. Maybe after paying way more for an EV than a gas powered vehicle free electricity […]
Lots of students at ISU found this story last night and today and left comments. Please read the comments and respond if you choose. I responded to a few, I left the rest for you guys. Check back often, I expect more to be added.
By: Diane Benjamin Since the Normal Town Council meeting was shorter than usual, one ISU kid only had to wait about an hour to speak since he was off agenda. He brought 15-20 other kids with him that didn’t speak. This guy is a freshman Political Science major at ISU. He’s worried about crossing College […]
By: Diane Benjamin The author of this email is with the College of Nursing at ISU. I don’t know if this course is required or optional. This is teaching Critical Race Theory: The instructor is also employed at ISU as a specialist in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The goal of the course is to teach […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did the local school district’s leadership even blink when Judge Grischow ruled masking kids EVIL? “Statutory rights have attempted to be bypassed through the issuance of Executive Orders and Emergency Rules … This type of evil is exactly what the law was intended to constrain.” Her statement called Pritzker EVIL! We are […]
By: Diane Benjamin This story was posted yesterday: https://www.buckys5thquarter.com/2021/12/29/22856964/does-your-college-town-suck-illinois-state-university-redbirds-normal Yes, the title is: Does your college town suck? Illinois State University It might be a biased story because the writer appears to be comparing Illinois to Wisconsin. He must not know about Rivian, it isn’t mentioned in the story. It is an interesting read though. […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve written before about a dangerous crosswalk on Raab Road: https://blnnews.com/2020/07/14/raab-road-is-a-death-waiting-to-happen/ The Town of Normal trains people on Constitution Trail to think vehicles will stop for them just because lines are painted on the road and there is a pole in the middle of the street. The Normal police had to do […]
By: Diane Benjamin I can prove it! In God We Trust is still on our money, if progressives have their way it won’t be much longer. This is pretty much the last place God is allowed in today’s society, but that isn’t what you need to see. Read the bottom of the back side. I […]
By: Diane Benjamin The memorial tribute of Jelani Day was taken down because the Town of Normal is authoritarian. You can’t talk at a Council meeting until the end, whenever that happens to be, if what you want to say doesn’t pertain to the agenda. You could wait hours to get 3 minutes of their […]
By: Diane Benjamin Racism is so prevalent at ISU you are expected to forget this guy used to run the place: Yesterday the ISU Academic Senate passed a recommendation to require all students to take a course on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access in U.S. Society in order to graduate. These courses are classic Karl […]
By: Diane Benjamin It’s really sad when government thinks they have the right to force people to comply based on a façade of fear. Is Reece just trying to get more Pritzker money? Want to know why Pritzker hasn’t allowed the legislature to make laws concerning COVID? He doesn’t want Illinois to find out the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I guarantee you will be cheering too (unless you are woke). The School Board voted to ban CRT after he spoke. Wednesday night the ISU Academic Senate will likely pass by a LARGE majority a graduation requirement to create “woke” students. They call it IDEAS – Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access in […]
By: Diane Benjamin Keep in mind while reading: Illinois got an “F” in teaching history and civics: https://blnnews.com/2021/07/03/the-enemy-within-is-the-public-schools/ All of the information below was received months ago from Unit 5 by FOIA. What does this tell you? Are teachers “historians” or teachers of history? Should teachers be “activists” and teaching their students to mimic them? […]
