By: Diane Benjamin When I moved to this area in 1980 if Democrats wanted to get elected they had to run as Republicans. Nobody here then would ever elect a Democrat. Some of those “pretend” Republicans are still in office. Today it’s hard to tell the difference between Democrats and Republicans. Big time Republican Matt […]
By: Diane Benjamin McLean County Board Chairman Matt Sorenson appeared on WGLT yesterday. Either Bloomington passes 1/4 Sales Tax increase for mental health or the County will raise property taxes. http://wglt.org/wireready/news/2015/08/01262_sorenson_SI_MH_spot_web_180041.shtml Instead of jumping at raising taxes, how about cutting administrators Matt? Below is a list of every Taxing Body on the State Comptrollers website […]
Contrary to claims made by Tari, Bloomington population is decreasing. So is Normal’s. Raise taxes and watch the people flee! Source: https://www.illinoispolicy.org/most-illinois-cities-are-shrinking-according-to-u-s-census-bureau/?utm_source=Illinois+Policy%3A+Opens&utm_campaign=8d7c43b0c3-utm_source%3Dmailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9471dd8540-8d7c43b0c3-14268985 By: Diane Benjamin Both Bloomington and Normal are bleeding taxpayers to death with new taxes and fees or raising old ones. Both have a 2% Food and Beverage Tax, but it’s really sad when […]
By: Diane Benjamin Quote from today’s editorial: http://www.pantagraph.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-united-front-is-only-way-to-drive-economic-development/article_942a3be9-533e-5f46-b2f8-d0f15d3ac211.html There must be a consensus to step forward as a group to support ideas or processes that are in the best interest of the county as a whole. I didn’t need to attend the joint Council + County meeting this week to know what was said. I […]
By: Diane Benjamin The information below is included in Book 1 of the Bloomington budget: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8224 The amount included in the budget is also shown. I believe the Bloomington Election Commission is also housed here, but they aren’t mentioned below.
By: Diane Benjamin Add CIRA to the list of projects government created firmly believing it would create economic activity, benefit citizens, and not be a tax burden. CIRA now joins the ranks of other local boondoggles like the Coliseum and the BPCA. If we build it, they will come. For awhile they did come. CIRA […]
By: Diane Benjamin Evidently the people have learned nothing from Dixon Illinois. Money corrupts everybody from City leaders to church secretaries. Putting trust in a person with a checkbook, without common sense protections against theft, it like putting up a sign: Free money here. The sad part is it’s not that difficult to prevent. The […]
by: Diane Benjamin McLean County Sheriff Mike Emery is once again on the CSPOA (Constitutional Sheriff and Peace Officers Assoc) list supporting the 2nd Amendment. http://cspoa.org/sheriffs-gun-rights/ These are the only Sheriffs in Illinois who pledged to protect your rights: Champaign Dan Walsh Clark Jerry Parsley Link Clinton Mike Kreke Link Crawford Todd W. Liston Signed […]
by: Diane Benjamin The first job of government is to defend freedom and liberty. Obviously, government forgot that. The federal government has been on a spending spree for a long time, but so have local governments. They grab more and more of your income for their agenda. See last weeks post on Heyworth: http://blnnews.com/2014/10/03/heyworth-can-you-explain-this/ and Standford: […]
by: Diane Benjamin The counties with the highest rates of youth 10 to 16 arrested (200 to 511 per 10,000) in 2012 were: Whiteside Lee Winnebago Kane DeKalb Cook Kankakee Livingston McLean Warren McDonough Morgan Macon Champaign Vermillion Effingham Marion Jefferson See the entire Reboot Illinois report here: http://www.rebootillinois.com/2014/10/01/editors-picks/caitlinwilson/illinois-youth-arrest-rates-continued-downard-trend-in-2012/26087/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=10/2/2014
Make sure you read the comments to this story at Blnnews.com (Especially McLean County!) by: Diane Benjamin McLean County has forgotten they work for us. Taxpayers are merely their piggy bank. On September 30, the Attorney General’s Public Access Office issued a BINDING opinion against the County public comment policy. Normally the AG just writes […]
21 Sep 2014 | Brian Costin Illinois Policy Institute http://www.illinoispolicy.org/mclean-county-makes-a-mockery-of-open-meetings-act/ In 2010, the Illinois General Assembly unanimously affirmed the right of citizens to speak at public meetings in stating: “Any person shall be permitted an opportunity to address public officials under the rules established and recorded by the public body.” In a sense, McLean County […]
by: Diane Benjamin Want proof? See this link to their policy for speaking at Board meetings: http://www.mcleancountyil.gov/index.aspx?nid=663 Get on your knees and beg permission Hope the County administrator doesn’t “misplace” your request 5 days before the meeting Then hope Matt Sorensen (chairman) doesn’t cut you off because you aren’t worthy to waste their time on […]
NOTE: If you don’t stop the County Board, Bloomington are Normal are next! After that is Illinois pushing teacher pensions to local districts. Think your property taxes are bad now? Just wait! by: Diane Benjamin Taxes are theft by government. Tax increases CUT the money you have to spend on everything else. Government decides how to spend your […]
The Tax Policy Center looked at property taxes around the country, sorted by county, to find what the highest average tax paid by county was. In 2012, six Illinois counties broke into the top 50, but there was only one Illinois county that was in the top 100 for average home prices. What does that […]
by: Diane Benjamin I hear New Orleans is lovely this time of year. Ask Ben Owens – McLean County Board. In July he attended a conference there. Travel $544.00. Expenses from 7/10 to 7/13 – $810.68. The County doesn’t know if the conference cost anything. Common sense government is no longer allowed. Education is required […]
Update: I talked to the former County Auditor Jackie Dozier. The credit card assigned to Michelle Anderson is also used by departments that do not have their own credit card. That may account for at least some of the redactions. My FOIA request was for all charges and receipts to the Auditors credit card, […]
When very few politicians in Illinois are held accountable, is this a surprise? Local politicians move on to State offices, accountability must starts on the LOCAL level. (CNSNews.com) – The people of North Dakota put more trust and confidence in their state government than people in any other state, while the people of Illinois put […]
by: Diane Benjamin According to the Pantagraph, County Auditor Michelle Anderson has been questioned by the County Finance Committee concerning the purchase of new furniture for her office. Evidently the furniture wasn’t budgeted, the money came from a personnel account. The question now is whether she will be held accountable for shifting money. The Pantagraph […]
by: Diane Benjamin McLean County is going to add to the bike trail going north. The Illinois Department of Transportation is paying 80% of the cost, McLean county, Bloomington, and Normal are paying most of the rest. The smaller cities are pitching in some money too. McLean County will pay: $145,000 Bloomington will pay: […]
Source: http://politics.rebootillinois.com/2014/02/18/editors-picks/brendanbond/counties-highest-property-taxes/438/#.Ux5srOddUrg?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=3/11/2014
by: Diane Benjamin A month ago this story was posted: http://blnnews.com/2014/01/08/fly-on-the-wall-kathy-michael/ Kathy Michael ranted in the comments – she has a real problem with being anything less than perfect and somebody pointing that out. Kathy, here’s a tip: just tell the truth and nothing else matters. I told you to get me proof of what […]
by: Diane Benjamin From the Illinois Policy Institute http://illinoispolicy.org/wp-content/files_mf/1381871836102_countiesFINAL.pdf# Online transparency is the best solution to address the corruption problems in Illinois. Illinois does not need to be the national headquarters for political corruption; this state can be a national leader when it comes to good government transparency and accountability reforms at the state and […]
http://cspoa.org/cspoa-jan-2014-resolution/The following was drafted at a meeting of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) on Jan 24, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada and approved by the members present. We encourage all sheriffs, peace officers and those in public office to sign with us.Resolution Of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association Pursuant to the […]
Obama’s bad. Madigan’s bad. Quinn’s bad. I get it. If you’re the kind of person who would like to do something productive in response to bad Democrats, beyond just preaching to a self-selected choir on Facebook, then run for Republican Precinct Committeeman – or at least help recruit. There are currently 6,407 precincts in Illinois. […]
Illinois has 102 counties! Author Name: Brendan Bond Affiliation: Reboot Illinois How high are your property taxes? Here are the Top 25 median property tax bills by county in Illinois. These figures represent county-wide averages. Tax rates within counties can vary widely by school district and other factors. Top 25 Counties 1. Lake County – $6,285 2. […]
by: Diane Benjamin I attended for an hour and half the joint meeting between the McLean County Board and the Bloomington and Normal Town Councils. It was excruciating listening to the same presentation for the third time, with a couple minor tweaks. It appears the ONLY people pushing this plan are big government guys who […]
The county says they are always looking for money. Not surprising when you look at this chart. The information is from OpenTheBooks.com 2001 Wages: 24,678,157 2011 Wages: 33,433,451 That’s around a 33% increase in wages in 10 years. 2001 spending: 49,690,795 2011 spending: 81,260,567 That’s around a 61% increase in total spending in 10 years. […]
One of the best protections against corruption is transparency, and in today’s digital age one of the easiest ways for government to be open and accountable is through posting public documents on the Internet. The Illinois Policy Institute just updated their analysis of all 102 Illinois Counties. The report concentrates on transparency because the […]
With McLean County still rated “F” for transparency by the Illinois Policy Institute, what ever happened to the March 2012 promise by the current County Auditor, Michelle Anderson, to put the County checkbook on-line? Another election time lie Michelle?
by: Diane Benjamin Being willing to expose government abuse only leads to information on more government abuses. I got a call this morning from a gentleman who filed a Small Claims Court suit against 2 contractors. He paid all the required fees at the County, including postage to have 2 summons mailed to the contractors. […]
The anti-fracking crowd wants you to believe fracking contaminates water forever. Here’s a company in Wisconsin handling that problem. Ask them what energy they want used? Why can’t our own resources be used? Tech and Biotech: AquaMost makes a move http://host.madison.com/wsj/business/technology/biotech/tech-and-biotech-aquamost-makes-a-move/article_e3fec856-464c-11e2-b097-0019bb2963f4.html December 15, 2012 4:00 pm • JUDY NEWMAN | Wisconsin State Journal | jdnewman@madison.com | AquaMost, a Madison company […]
This report was released by the tax foundation in 2011 for 2005-2009. http://taxfoundation.org/article/property-taxes-owner-occupied-housing-county-ranked-taxes-paid-2005-2009-five-year-average The comparison is for ALL Counties in the United States. McLean County isn’t far down the list: #130 for medium property tax paid on homes #61 for % of tax paid based on home value #151 for % of tax based on […]
When buzzing in my ear is too great to ignore – I must report! http://blnnews.com/2012/09/26/fly-on-the-wall/ This report from way back in September is suddenly getting lots of reads! Is somebody nervous? Is somebody at the County looking to close that budget deficit by actually looking at County Offices and their spending patterns? Is somebody at […]
by Diane Benjamin http://www.ilhonorroll.niu.edu/scripts/awards.asp?searchStr=L&awtype=E&year=2011&so=name Which area schools achieved: 2011 Academic Excellence Awards No Unit 5 Schools No Dist 87 Schools Tri-Valley Elementary Tri-Valley Middle School No Leroy schools Lexington Elementary No Heyworth Schools Olympia West Elementary Ridgeview Elementary Also See: http://blnnews.com/2012/11/12/school-district-comparison-continued/ Also See: http://blnnews.com/2012/11/12/school-district-comparisons/
by Diane Benjamin (continued from previous post) From the Illinois State Board of Education website: http://www.isbe.net/ See the chart below: Close to 50% of all 11th graders in the state are BELOW average in all 3 subjects Dist 87: 52.5% below standards in reading 57% below standards in math 58.6% below standards in science If your […]
by Diane Benjamin From the Illinois State Board of Education website: http://www.isbe.net/ See the chart below: Unit 5 and District 87 have less Administrators per pupil, but the percent spent on Instruction is low. Where is the money going? Graduations rates are way below surrounding districts. Leroy, Lexington, and Ridgeview have high pupil to admin percentages. […]
When buzzing in my ear is too great to ignore – I must report! What’s the turnover rate at some county offices? Can employees be treated as less than slaves and be expected to not only stay, but give their best? Maybe those in the know need to stop covering up for incompetent managers. (Unless taxpayers like […]
When buzzing in my ear is too great to ignore – I must report! Heard around the Bloomington City Council: Very afraid to be found guilty of Open Meetings Act Violation – still awaiting determination from State’s Attorney – but now running any events by the city lawyer to make sure members comply. Novel idea […]
The County ballot for the November 6th, 2012 election has been released. There are 24 races on the ballot, most will have less depending on where you live. Of the 24 races, 7 have a choice of who to vote for. REAPEAT: 17 of the races give you NO choice of who to vote for. Bill Brady […]
