By: Diane Benjamin I write and research stories based on: This story was spurred by a reader. They wanted to know how much water Rivian used since we are in a drought. My first thought was Rivian uses Normal’s water since the plant is in Normal. I decided to ask Bloomington anyway since the reader […]
If you LOVE a lot of numbers read this link: https://electrek.co/2026/02/12/rivian-rivn-q4-2025-earnings-report-yoy-growth/ If you just want a summary: https://sherwood.news/markets/rivian-climbs-after-posting-better-than-expected-q4-results-provides-2026/ Rivian climbs after posting better-than-expected Q4 results; sees R2 SUV hitting the market in Q2 EV maker RivianRIVN $16.79 (-4.95%) reported its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings results after markets closed on Thursday. Its shares climbed 13% in after-hours trading. In the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since 2 people have contacted me, I will tell you what I think happened. The battery area employees were evacuated to the cafeteria because of a fire. The fire was extinguished pretty quick, no injuries that I know of. If anyone has any further information, let me know.
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 […]
I heard Rivian laid off salaried workers this week. The number I heard was high. Maybe Government Paid Media can ask for us. Why would anyone relocate here to work where their job isn’t guaranteed? Is Illinois going to cut their funding now? h/t a reader 140 jobs: https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/rivian-cuts-140-manufacturing-jobs-ahead-of-r2-suv-launch–techcrunch-93CH-4113423
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader Top 25 Illinois companies bringing in foreign labor via H1B visas. See Number 13? https://www.myvisajobs.com/reports/h1b/work-state/illinois . See this link: https://www.myvisajobs.com/h1b/search.aspx?e=Rivian&wc=Normal&o1=Employer&y=2025#google_vignette 89 jobs are listed for Normal. All of them aren’t highly skilled. The list includes software developers, data scientists, product managers, quality manager, various engineers including staff, etc, etc, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Looks like 4 rows of Rivian vans: Rivian reported 1st Qtr 2025 production of 14,611 vehicles. Only 8,640 were delivered. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/rivian-stock-rivn-drops-alongside-dismal-q1-deliveries-1034543896 . . .
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 […]
All 3 locations of Marco’s Pizza closed. (Bloomington, Peoria, and Springfield) The increase January 1st to the minimum wage was the final blow. Nice job Illinois! They won’t be the last business to close. The unemployment rate will increase. 1) Expect the same in Illinois caused by economically challenged leftists. https://reason.com/2025/01/03/corpse-president-says-companies-cant-do-what-they-want Seattle minimum wage hike […]
By: Diane Benjamin The fire was not in the plant, it was in a lot. If you haven’t seen the video or reports – go to this link: https://insideevs.com/news/731281/rivian-factory-fire-r1s-r1t/amp The fire involved many more than “several” vehicles. It looks to me like barriers were put around vehicles that were parked close together. That kept the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’m told all the Rivians that were at State Farm got moved back to the plant late last week. This article claims Rivian is cutting prices on existing vehicles: https://www.carscoops.com/2024/05/rivian-reportedly-cutting-prices-up-to-6000-on-existing-inventory/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1z3iomszUx_LdyRctX-wEu1DhPodGP1j4RgCYl4bhdb6PuZNRcQsOUZf4_aem_AYtZqwPMyEpz37xLNJEG_yPiLaFf7NS8D9go5i5zJr2Smdkd7Y2E_Ft2u74D7xZaZ-5hKKXrc0PO0UY8EVS2eY2Y I was told the majority of the production lines are taking Fridays off – as in employees only get 32 hours instead […]
h/t a reader There was yet another fire at Rivian Thursday morning. One side of the plant was evacuated. The fire was big enough to need a large emergency response. I hear 3 fire engines and 3 rescue squads. This is NOT the first plant fire!
By: Diane Benjamin Inflation has stolen close to 20% of your buying power – just since 2021: . Inflation will continue unless government policies change. Facts: https://www.bidenomics.com/ According to GasBuddy, the cheapest local gas is at Huck’s on West Oakland – $3.39. Three years ago gas was more than $1 less a gallon. https://www.gasbuddy.com/go/gas-prices-2021-year-in-review According […]
By: Diane Benjamin Rivian announced yesterday they are putting a hold on building the plant in Georgia. See this story: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2024/03/07/rivian-halts-planned-5-billion-georgia-ev-plant-and-its-shares-surge/?sh=38a438f615ca&mibextid=oE The stock price this morning is $11.25, in Rivian world that must be a surge. It closed at $11.03 yesterday. The article calls the delay indefinite. It just might be, a Facebook group in […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) More about this story on Rivian moving to two shifts: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-03-05/rivian-to-cut-3rd-shift-for-r1-production-at-normal-plant-next-month?fbclid=IwAR14-gqvch-aRzqS0sQotFTIA9NuEwrvC8JfWDUSsfiuK7JQnIdJxEDDXkg All hourly employees were sent a form so they could pick what shift they wanted to work: 7:00 am to 3:30 pm or 9:00 pm to 5:30 am They won’t be working 10-12 hour days as rumored on social media […]
Parked at State Farm Then this video appeared tying to unionize the plant:
By: Diane Benjamin I know some of you read stories on your phone and emails I post can be difficult to read on a small screen. Here’s the recap: A Rivian employee wrote an email to Connect Transit because she considers them “experts in the Electric vehicle industry”. The email is dated November 28, 2023. Rivian was having problems […]
Lots of people want to know why they aren’t being delivered!
Citizens where Rivian wants to build a plant in Georgia are still fighting to stop it. Similar to Goshen in Illinois, it seems if government wants something they will do it regardless of what the people affected think. No2Rivian is the name of the group opposing construction.
By: Diane Benjamin Keep in mind voters were scared into giving Unit 5 the right to increase tax rates. The below is using the rate Unit 5 charged property owners in 2022. They now have the right to charge you much more regardless of how much the assessed value of your property increased. The below […]
By: Diane Benjamin There is a Facebook Group called Our Communities Oppose Rivian Assembly Plant. This is a Georgia group that doesn’t want their rural communities and farmland destroyed by this plant. They are also worried about the possible destruction of their water supply. Georgia is giving Rivian HUGE subsidies that has led to lawsuits. […]
By: Diane Benjamin I received a tip a few days ago about layoffs at State Farm. Employees were blindsighted in another department, not claims. It doesn’t matter how long they have been with the company, State Farm is picking who stays and who goes by skillsets. Retaining jobs in McLean County hasn’t been mentioned much […]
By: Diane Benjamin The last time I FOIA’d how much Chris Koos was charged for using the Town’s Mitsubishi I received this: . I don’t know if $45 was listed as additional compensation on every check that year or just monthly. The point is he was paying something for having that vehicle permanently assigned to […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’m betting Chris Koos won’t be installing a super-charger at his house to charge the Rivian. He can charge it for free in the parking garage next to his Town office. If necessary he can leave it there and walk to his bike shop. This story has a list of other FREE […]
By: Diane Benjamin Asking the Council to approve buying TWO Rivian vehicles was on the Omnibus Agenda without a cost in the documentation: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4451 The only reason to put this on the Omnibus was to get a blank check vote without any discussion. That didn’t happen. Just hit PLAY to hear Chris Koos say both […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal has only received delivery of ONE Rivian vehicle, the one parked at Chris Koos’ house. The other one Normal put a deposit down on is an SUV. I have no idea when it will be delivered. How do I know Koos has the Town’s Rivian? Freedom of Information […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www3.forbes.com/leadership/the-u-s-states-people-are-fleeing-and-the-ones-they-are-moving-to-version-5-ifs-vue-mn-wnb/ Forbes has a new list of the top 12 States people are moving from, I will save you the trouble of reading it: 1. Illinois Total Moves: 8,157Percentage Moving Out: 63.4%Population: 12,802,000Median Household Income: $62,881Job Growth (2018): 0.9% Projected population growth is negative. Illinois is ahead of New Jersey and New […]
By: Diane Benjamin PDF page 69: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4451 Remember when Pam Reece claimed buying these vehicles was not in the 5 year budget? Ha Ha. Remember the Vehicle and Equipment Replacement Fund where they stockpile your money so they can pay cash? Remember when they decided to LEASE 30 vehicles instead of paying cash? https://blnnews.com/2021/12/06/normal-truth-in-taxation-is-mia/ Remember […]
By: Diane Benjamin I really didn’t want to post this video today, but I’m going to anyway. Chris Koos made a campaign commercial featuring Normal for JB Pritzker. One would almost think Pritzker was governor when Rivian bought the plant. (He wasn’t) One would think the Feds hadn’t poured printed money into Illinois that helps […]
By: Diane Benjamin 5/25/22 Unit 5 School board meeting video: This video should go viral, no I’m not going to tell you what EDC Director Hoban said. Hoban had just run through all the potential incentives offered to new businesses. The EDC might want to speed this up if they are going to push it, […]
By: Diane Benjamin This won’t be the only story from the Normal Town Council meeting last night. How did employees get to Diamond Star? How did they get to Mitsubishi? Neither had bus service. Who wants bus service now? How many of those buses will be empty for the low low price of $1,000,000? General […]
By: Diane Benjamin Unit 5 has held 2 events with citizens because they want a tax increase. The last one is virtual tonight: Question that needs answered: Why did salaries increase in 2020: https://blnnews.com/2022/04/01/unit-5-did-esser-funds-inflate-salaries/ The number of employees and students decreased from 2019 but salaries increased over 7%. Was that a planned increase to push […]
WGLT is reporting Rivian won’t raise the price for existing customers because of the back lash. Losing money on every vehicle sold is better? The Rivian stock price is still down today https://www.wglt.org/2022-03-03/after-backlash-and-canceled-orders-rivian-backtracks-and-wont-raise-prices-for-existing-customers?fbclid=IwAR3ewocgV5DUP_o9H624_U-dCPM3eO6IphJdXTUU8qkXd2DWWUV1DaAEs2w By: Diane Benjamin This story is more about interesting things you should know than anything else. Start with this story: https://www.autonews.com/retail/there-may-be-more-rivians-price-hike-materials-costs Automotive […]
By: Diane Benjamin This is the second source I’ve seen reporting this. Since I rarely see local media, I don’t know if they have reported it yet or not. Excerpt: . . . . . . .
By: Diane Benjamin Government is not capable of Master Planning because they are spending YOUR money not theirs. They use your taxes as a piggy bank to fulfill their wishes. Voters keep electing progressives who promise to make their lives better and of course not raise taxes to do it. Insert your own joke__________________. Proof […]
By: Diane Benjamin Interesting Excerpts: A Saudi family that built its business on gasoline-fueled cars is sitting on an almost $11.5 billion fortune after electric truck maker Rivian Automative Inc. surged on its trading debut in 2021’s biggest initial public offering. Abdul Latif Jameel, a Jeddah-based group named after its founder and today run by his sons, […]
By: Diane Benjamin How about a fun story! I thought about naming it “De Plane De Plane”, but I refrained. Bloomington has some airport/flight enthusiasts, apps are available that show information on flights out of CIRA. One plane that makes frequent flights from CIRA didn’t show any information on the apps. Of course that made […]
This version of the article does not require a subscription: https://bdnews24.com/economy/2021/09/13/can-a-green-economy-boom-town-be-built-to-last Title of the story: Can a green-economy boom town be built to last? Many local people are mentioned in the article, click the link to read it yourself! I don’t think the question in the title was answered, it mostly reviews history. It doesn’t […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember when Normal gave away Electric Avenue to Rivian? https://blnnews.com/2021/07/31/did-the-realtors-pac-get-their-moneys-worth/ Bloomington held a public hearing Monday on vacating an alley. This was included in the documentation: Bloomington followed the law by publishing legal notice of the public hearing: Did Normal follow the law? I filed this FOIA: Copy of the notice published […]
