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 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Realtors got heavily involved in last April’s Election. You probably noticed lots of campaign mail had their name on it – from Springfield. In addition they gave Koos: McCarthy: Cummings: Preston: Look up all contributions here: https://illinoissunshine.org/ FYI: Bob Broad, Planning Commission head and Julie Hile partner plus advocate for zoning changes […]
By: Diane Benjamin I used to love my Firebird Trans-Am. It was not only beautiful it was fun to say that’s my Trans-Am. Unfortunately I had to sell it to afford my last year of college. Maybe geeks will be able to tell Rivian’s new names apart, I won’t have a clue: https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1133053_rivian-r2s-r3s-r4s-r5s-r2t-r3t-r4t-and-r5t-trademarked-future-laid-out (hey, it’s […]
By: Diane Benjamin Extending water down East College, where Bloomington already has water lines, is out for bid. Normal has said over and over they are not going to use this line for the current Rivian plant that Bloomington already serves. See this pic from the bid pack: Also from the bid pack: So who […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you are a Corn Belt customer we are in the same boat: Paying more for electricity. You will get Illinois Country Living Magazine however. One story in this month’s edition that is NOT on-line concerns charging electric vehicles. Considering electricity is more expensive for Corn Belt customers, I don’t know why […]
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By: Diane Benjamin 1) Buying a Rivian? How are you going to charge it? According to this story Rivian will connect you with a company called Qmerit: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/qmerit-ev-charger-installations-homes-141700627.html You can sign up and pay seamlessly on line to get a charging system installed in your home! How much will it cost? https://www.qmeritcharging.com/owner-faqs Installation: $750 to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Stan Nord was absent from the meeting last night so business only took about 15 minutes. One item that was passed with little discussion of actual facts was this: Staff has said they have no requests for extending the current sewer lines, so how does Crawford etc. know what to design? How […]
Rivian deliveries are now delayed until July 1st: https://www.autoweek.com/news/green-cars/a36556537/rumor-rivian-r1t-pickup-delayed/ EPA is using fictitious data to claim Global Warming: https://climaterealism.com/2021/05/epas-new-climate-change-indicators-publication-misleads-on-heatwaves/ WEEK TV has a story on Wednesday night’s District 87 School Board meeting, unfortunately no video of the parents speaking but they are in the story: https://week.com/2021/05/26/district-87-parents-voice-concerns-over-covid-rules-and-curriculum-focus/
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Ford’s F150 electric battery weighs 1800 pounds: https://jalopnik.com/ford-f-150-lightnings-battery-alone-weighs-as-much-as-a-1846925168?fbclid=IwAR08fR6H4a8DHjuzzpJ_sqKd6V4gazHoDIzIvDlw95456SYxszgtXlbBUkc That is the weight of a Volkswagen Beetle. Is Rivian’s the same? What happens to your car if you get hit by one of these tanks? 1800 pounds is just the battery. 2) The Pantagraph printed a picture of a Rivian employee charging […]
By: Diane Benjamin Make sure you reads to the bottom! https://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3962 PDF page 31-39: 104 West North has been leased to Dan Brady and Rodney Davis for many years – same price $1 a year. They are responsible for utilities and insurance. Then there’s this: PDF page 36: So, the Town gets $1 in revenue, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember this Pam Reece email: This isn’t the only time Reece implies (or flat out states) spending $5 million+ to lay water lines on top of Bloomington’s isn’t to steal providing water to Rivian from Bloomington. I wonder how she explains this email: That brings me to this email from August of […]
By: Diane Benjamin More emails the Normal taxpayers need to see. Note the date, Rivian never requested water from Normal. The Town of Normal is trying to talk them into it. Pam Reece has said OVER and OVER spending $5 million+ for water lines on top of Bloomington’s is for future economic development. The email […]
I should have read a few more pages before posting this story. See below, Kathleen Lorenz qualifies as a useful idiot. By: Diane Benjamin The two emails in the previous story are from last fall: https://blnnews.com/2021/04/15/more-on-normals-war-with-bloomington/ Those emails prove Normal’s plan to replace Bloomington water at the Rivian plant. Note the date in this email […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember Pam Reece claiming numerous times the $5 million water project by Rivian is NOT to run water to Rivian? Bloomington currently provides the water. See this story: https://blnnews.com/2021/03/11/think-pam-reece-lied/ I have a ton of documents I received by FOIA. Read these two emails and see if you think Normal has no intention […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t to a reader! February 19, 2018 This item was on the agenda: https://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2890 The clip below shows Chemberly Cummings claiming: it isn’t an easy decision for her things like this keep me up at night too many unknows with this company everything seems so convoluted and secretive I want it known […]
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-30/tesla-can-move-forward-with-trade-secret-suit-against-rivian Tesla Inc. can move forward with a lawsuit claiming that Rivian Automotive Inc. stole its trade secrets with the help of former employees of the electric carmaker. Read the rest yourself!
By: Diane Benjamin From the PAC website: https://www.responsiblecities.com/ Gee, it sounds like this group wants the best candidates for the entire community. They don’t. Chris Koos and Kevin McCarthy have recently stated they were elected by the citizens of Normal and they don’t care about Bloomington. They want to run water pipes on top of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday Rivian showed 211 job openings in Normal, today they have 213: https://rivian.com/careers?location=Normal&workType 2 of the positions are part-time. Check it out of you need work.
By: Diane Benjamin Remember the Eagles song Desperato? That should be the Chris Koos theme song. He has NOTHING to run on so he is now personally attacking Marc Tiritilli instead of addressing the issues. Chris is a divisive leader because he knows people don’t want the things he wants. Marc Tiritilli is running to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember the $5 million water project Normal has in the budget? Stan Nord asked many times why this project is in the budget. Normal is running water lines on top of Bloomington’s. The only answer he ever got from Pam Reece was: 1) Nobody has requested water service 2) It is for […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal (taxpayers) own the vehicle Chris Koos drives: Taxpayers also pay for the plates which could have been GOV plates for much less: https://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3881 I am told Koos has Mayor vanity plates instead of government plates. Use of a taxpayer owned vehicle amounts to additional compensation. So how much […]
Only 5 of the candidates on the ballot bothered to show up. Those not attending were: Kevin McCarthy, Chemberly Cummings, Donna Toney, and AJ Zimmerman. If the GOP saved the video I don’t see it anywhere. If you want to know who the elites don’t want to see elected: These 3 with Marc Tiritilli as […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.pantagraph.com/opinion/columnists/mike-matejka-normal-election-potholes-vs-progress/article_b11f20fe-e830-5d01-bc84-d912acc37bf5.html Anybody know why the guy who voted to build the Coliseum gets to write a column in the paper? Better yet, why does anybody listen to him when he not only voted against the will of the people but has never apologized for his taxpayer fleece? Of course Mike is campaigning […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night during Trustee comments at the end of the meeting Chris Koos claimed Council agreed to limit each to 5 minutes. Evidently that was done in secret. I doubt Stan Nord got 5 minutes because he was constantly interrupted. Nord showed a map of where Normal plans to run water lines […]
By: Diane Benjamin Long before Rivian received major investments, the Town of Normal put deposits down on TWO Rivian vehicles. https://blnnews.com/2018/12/21/merry-christmas-rivian/ Buying one could be considered supporting a Normal business, but why two VERY expensive luxury vehicles? The Council has not approved purchasing any at this point. We have no idea who would drive them […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal scheduled ONE day for the Council to review next years budget put together by staff. So far they have met for a little over 9 hours and they aren’t done. They will continue Monday before the Council meeting. Note: 9 hours all at once with a few breaks. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Many of the locally elected aldermen and trustees are inflicted with the same disease. They believe everything they are told instead of looking at facts for themselves. They weren’t elected to represent government staff, they should be representing the people. There were two glaring examples during the Town of Normal meeting last […]
Since everyone isn’t on Facebook, I am posting Marc’s latest story here: What does it take for residents to have a water-quality problem fixed? Apparently, a lot of public activism. For nearly two years, the neighborhood at Grove and Ruston has been experiencing substandard water quality with issues such as brown water, bad taste, and […]
By: Diane Benjamin A total of 28 companies are now together to force Washington DC to mandate ONLY electric vehicles sales by 2030. Rivian is one of them: https://carbuzz.com/news/tesla-joins-forces-with-rivian-and-lucid?fbclid=IwAR1YXsy5C8YHQnRkDVCHzySENQ_LlyCPIfarQdNj-lFG7vPd2F52hXTv6_E Rivian wants to force you to buy a ridiculously priced vehicle because they produce it. How about we all grow radishes and get a law passed […]
By: Diane Benjamin Of course the media won’t ask questions and officials in Normal won’t publicly say anything about it. But, instead of suing Bloomington when they dissolved the west side sales tax sharing agreement (Metrozone), Normal appears to be plotting. Of course they are using your money for payback. A pattern is developing, even […]
By: Diane Benjamin The below was received by FOIA from the City of Bloomington. It is a list of the top purchasers of Bloomington water: There is more to this story, soon!
By: Diane Benjamin Much of the meeting was spent talking about the 3/31/2020 financial statements and the financial trends report. Neither are on-line yet, so they aren’t worth discussing much here. Many accolades were thrown at staff for doing a good job preparing for the audit. I agree, but isn’t that what they get paid […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3733 Before the 7:00 meeting the Council is holding a Work Session. At 6:00 they will discuss raising the gas tax. The Town wants more money for Connect Transit, a service most will never use and those that need it no longer can. Expect other items, the “professional staff” and Koos need […]
By: Diane Benjamin I FOIA’d the Town of Normal concerning permits issued to Rivian from the Town of Normal. This list is just in the last 6 months. Total construction value is over $107 million during that time period. Rivian received taxpayer dollars yet all this construction is not required to pay prevailing wage. Rivian […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3668 This meeting has only one agenda item – allocating local Motor Fuel Tax funds to fixing West College. Where the money is coming from: Besides not maintaining the roads Normal has and expecting grants to fix them, one troubling phrase is included: If that refers to Constitution Trail, there is no […]
By: Diane Benjamin Watch a Normal Council meeting. Kathleen Lorenz will attempt at least one to convey that Stan Nord has no idea what he’s doing. In emails she is even worse. Below are a few choice picks – from FOIA: Response from Kathleen: This issue isn’t dead, I’m just waiting for more information. How […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal’s IT staff continues to show their incompetence. The Live Stream video and the posted recorded video are TINY. Early in the meeting the audio would go out, reappear, and go out again. Why does the Town of Normal tolerate employees who aren’t capable of doing their job? I’ve lost track of […]
By: Diane Benjamin In 2018 Rivian didn’t qualify for property tax abatement. At Monday’s Council meeting they will get a rebate for the taxes due to the Town of Normal based on 2019: All of the other taxing bodies that were part of the 2016 agreement will also have to rebate taxes. These are the […]
