A reader found these stories: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/business/article194506349.html State Farm employees were reeling Friday from the shock of Thursday’s announcement that the company plans to shutter its Tacoma operations by the end of this year. Potentially 800 people could be out of work of the 1,400 people in the company’s two downtown Tacoma offices. Workers will have […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve heard from a reliable source that State Farm is not remodeling their downtown Bloomington building. It will be empty in mid January. Grand Cafe is not going to re-open. Maybe you can help compile a list of businesses no longer downtown. Lancasters Chocolatier Mueller, Reece & Hinch Attorneys Who else? Anybody open […]
By: Diane Benjamin State Farm has an Employees Activities group, it sounds similar to the City of Bloomington except the activities aren’t during working hours. One activity I know they organize is golf tournaments. This message was on the SFEA site today: The SFEA area is going through a redesign and all SFEA activities for […]
By: Diane Benjamin It’s not hard to find someone at State Farm willing to talk. The employees have no idea whether they will have a job tomorrow, 3 months from now, or 6 months from now. I’m told 2018 is going to be worse for downsizing than 2017 was. Keep your eyes on this site: https://www.thelayoff.com/state-farm […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve received several reports from citizens about State Farm leaving their building in downtown Bloomington. One person just commented they are in the process of moving out the last group now. When did the evacuation start? Why isn’t that public knowledge? Did the Bloomington City Council know? Is the City of Bloomington […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve talked to numerous people about what is really going on at State Farm. One felt Ed Rust protected Bloomington-Normal, but he is no longer there. The new management has no reason to be loyal to Bloomington-Normal. Another person told me State Farm has serious internal problems that are making them un-competitive. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below are excerpts from an email I received yesterday from a current State Farm employee: So…the story about State Farm. There are a lot of management level employees in our IT shop. Percentages of people whose jobs will move or be eliminated range from about 20% to 50% depending on the area […]
A reader sent me this: https://atlanta.curbed.com/2017/9/7/16264644/state-farm-atlanta-perimeter-dunwoody-development-construction He added this: It looks like we are headed for a chalk outline of BN taxpayer… See this story too: From a SF Employee ________________________________________________ By: Diane Benjamin State Farm announced to their employees they will be moving 7% of IT out of Bloomington and cutting management company wide […]
By: Anonymous All over Bloomington-Normal, no one is talking about the worst kept secret. It seems almost everyone knows, but no one is talking. State Farm is planning to downsize, likely before year-end. This is no secret. In fact, it’s echoing throughout the halls of the insurance giant, as well as the local business community […]
With the news release of State Farm displacing 4,200 employees in various locations throughout the country, here is what a little research has produced. The following link offers additional general information from a neutral source which includes more details than the Pantagraph article. http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2017/05/04/450094.htm Last year it was announced that the Corporate Headquarters in Bloomington […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington finally released the financial statements for April 30, 2016. The TIF report still hasn’t been released and neither has a separate audited statement on the Coliseum. Maybe another year? Two? At this point, what difference does it make? It’s much easier to read the information from the Comptroller’s site. Total Full […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) State Farm is expanding again – in Atlanta. They are building an office for up to 10,000 employees: http://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt–politics/watch-crews-implode-dunwoody-office-building/iZnPJmTxmPswgoj4gJwEeL/ 2) Cities 92.9 is holding a Bloomington mayoral debate next Wednesday. They showed total disregard for church activities that normally happen on Wednesday evenings, but worse – Wednesday evening services during the […]
See Part 1 here: https://blnnews.com/2016/10/09/the-end-of-bloomingtonnormal-as-we-know-it/ Part 2 by: Lawrence Butts Illinois State University . The bubble that higher education is currently riding high on is about to burst. The first question that will be asked is “ISU is doing great, they fill their enrollment every year – how are they in trouble?” Yes, for the […]
Part 1 by Lawrence Butts Introduction . I came to this town in 1970. As you might imagine, there have been many changes since that time. Some of these changes have been for the better and some have been for the worse. This is a much larger community with more to do and with better […]
By: Diane Benjamin State Farm is facing a $7.6 BILLION class action lawsuit. What effect will that have the local economy? At the end of 2015, State Farm reported a Net Worth of $82.7 Billion. http://www.mcgisweb.org/Html5Viewer/index.html?viewer=public The lawsuit is close to 10% of their total value. Keep spending Bloomington/Normal – at least towns (unlike states) […]
By: Diane Benjamin State Farm isn’t growing here. Formally local jobs now exists in other states. Send Mike Madigan a thank-you card. A recent report rated all 50 States from Best to Worst for business. See this story: http://chiefexecutive.net/2016-best-and-worst-states-for-business-full-list/ Celebrate now – Illinois is number 48. Businesses and jobs will never return to Illinois as […]
By: Diane Benjamin Big corporations do two things: Hire people Negotiate taxes Because of an extensive well-funded legal department, corporations weld a lot of power not available to small business. It’s impossible for free market competition to exist when the biggest entities use their money and connections for perks available only to them. Here’s the […]
By: Diane Benjamin TAXPAYERS own the Central Illinois Regional Airport, but you know very little about the management or financial position. See the CIRA website here: http://www.cira.com/ (Under “City Information” – Mitsubishi is still listed) It has ZERO transparency! There are no links to financial information, agendas, minutes of meetings, or who is on the […]
This item got pulled from the consent agenda for discussion. Hales claimed Springfield exempted insurance companies from utility taxes. That doesn’t explain why State Farm is named but Country Financial isn’t. Both are in Bloomington and both are insurance companies. Lets say Hales is right. Call the Brady bunch and change it! It’s still […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t Illinois Leaks/Edgar County Watchdogs http://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2016/01/mcclean-county-board-chairman-indicted-in-federal-court-for-theft-wire-fraud-totaling-over-890000/ You can see the entire 14 page indictment here or on the Edgar County Watchdogs site above: Indictment-Sorensen
h/t Illinois leaks/Edgar County Watchdogs http://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2016/01/mcclean-county-board-chairman-indicted-in-federal-court-for-theft-wire-fraud-totaling-over-890000/ The Press Release contains MANY details left out of the Reuters story.
Additional stories: http://blnnews.com/2016/01/07/sorensen-more-info/ http://blnnews.com/2016/01/06/county-board-a-chance-to-change/ http://blnnews.com/2016/01/05/sorensen-grand-jury-indictment/ http://blnnews.com/2016/01/05/more-on-sorensen-court-press-release/ By: Diane Benjamin Maybe if the local press did investigative reporting we would know. Why did the press not care when Matt Sorensen left State Farm under less than amicable circumstances. What does it take for State Farm to fire a high-ranking employee, let alone the McLean County […]
By: Diane Benjamin I filed Freedom of Information requests with ISU, Heartland, and Connect Transit based on the previous post: http://blnnews.com/2015/11/12/connect-transit-requires-photo-id/ I appreciate ISU responding in ONE day, Heartland and Connect Transit took the 5 days permitted to respond. See the current ISU contract with Connect Transit here: ISU-Connect Transit FY16 ISU is paying Connect […]
Don’t miss the comments. Two readers reported relatives only working 4 days a week now. Several others say this is meaningless. You decide. By: Diane Benjamin An email was sent to every associate at State Farm today. Does this sound like State Farm is staying in Bloomington? I’ve heard from numerous sources that employees locally […]
Buzzing around I heard crying and gnashing of teeth at State Farm yesterday. A memo to employees who are still here in the Property Damage Division (Auto) will be out of a job next year. Transfer to a hub, apply for a job in a different division, or collect unemployment. Yeah! Raise taxes.
By: Diane Benjamin Illinois Freedom of Information Law intro: (5 ILCS 140/1) (from Ch. 116, par. 201) Sec. 1. Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of government, it is declared to be the public policy of the State of Illinois that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding […]
Flying around, I heard something interesting: State Farm has told up to 3000 people they can transfer to one of their 3 hubs. Hear any sucking noises?
Evidently the local food pantries can’t keep food in stock. Lines are long, food is in short supply. Why would formerly prosperous Bloomington-Normal have long lines at food pantries? Think . . Think. . Think hard. State Farm has moved people out. That means less money in the local economy which means fewer jobs all […]
I hear State Farm announced this week they are ONLY relocating 500 internal IT persons! ONLY?!? So, if these internal IT people are married, that’s 1000 people moving out of Bloomington-Normal and Illinois. If they have 2 kids that’s a total of 2000 people! There will be 500 empty houses or apartments, 1000 less kids in […]
Update: Read all the below or this won’t make sense. I’ve done some further investigating. The City of Chicago did cancel all three of the notices I received in July. The two notices I have now are NEW! It looks like Chicago scrapped my car and the company that took it sold it again! Now […]
Business Execs: Fight for Common Core Before It’s Too Late http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/marketplacek12/2013/09/business_execs_fight_for_common_core_before_its_too_late.html?intc=es By Sean Cavanagh on September 17, 2013 1:04 PM | 6 Comments UPDATED Washington Representatives of major corporations today urged their peers in the business community to take up the fight to defend the Common Core State Standards—and warned them to steel themselves for opposition from some quarters, and apathy from […]
by: Diane Benjamin During a discussion of the future needs of the City at the Administration and Finance Committee held on August 5th, the following was presented by the Finance Director, Ms. Silva. As usual, Alderman Fazzini lives in a world of bubbles and candy where everything is wonderful and the City needs to spend […]
by: Diane Benjamin At my church today we had a sendoff for a member and her family moving to Phoenix-transferred by State Farm. After the service, we spoke for a few minutes. She told me there were 20 people in this wave of transfers. 20 families leaving Bloomington-Normal in this wave! Still believe 15,000 people […]
by: Diane Benjamin On Friday I got THREE certified letters from the City of Chicago. At a cost of $3.50 each, my husband and I were notified that our vehicle was impounded for Altered Tags. All 3 letters were identical except one had my name and 2 had my husband’s – more government efficiency in […]
This site will end without your support. Click here to contribute: http://blnnews.blogspot.com/ State Farm, the nationally-known insurance chain headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, has apparently had its fill of “The Land of Lincoln’s” confiscatory taxes. The 800 million dollar company is reported to have purchased “substantial workspace” in the Dallas, Texas area. The giant insurance firm’s […]
Update: From an insider at State Farm: The memo employees got from SF said they are consolidating claims and underwriting in those regions. I predict some local media will publish a quote calling all this untrue. Meanwhile, 10 years from now, State Farm will have quietly moved some departments out of Illinois as they demand […]
