By: Diane Benjamin This is the final consultant report. Stories the last few days total the almost $6 million I reported by on March 18th: https://blnnews.com/2026/03/18/paid-consultants-inccrra/ Heartland Community College got $165,408.88 to run a pilot program to train childcare workers. My original FOIA stated Heartland got $169,408, maybe expenses were exceeded. All of the rest […]
By: Diane Benjamin Did you know Dick Durbin was one of the rogue Democrats who voted to reopen government? Either he was terrified of Republicans voting to abolish the filibuster or he decided to do the right thing since he’s not running for re-election. Of course Krystle Able would show her outrage by quoting the […]
By: Diane Benjamin I love reading a site called Michigan Capital Confidential. It isn’t run-of-the-mill boring news, these guy actually investigate. Most of their investigations pertain to Michigan, but a lot of what they find applies to politics in Illinois too. A story today mentions Rivian and Ford’s investment. The bottom line is: Unless government […]
By: Diane Benjamin Town of Normal agenda for Monday: http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3274 This item is listed: Discussions about subsidies is not on the agenda. According to this document, plans for Constitution Trail Centre PUD go back to 2005: http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2636 A hotel was always part of the plan. Evidently Normal doesn’t know when you pass plans specifying what […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://www.normal.org/Archive.aspx?AMID=47 Anybody see an agenda posted for yesterday’s meeting? According to the dead tree the Normal Town Council held a budget workshop yesterday. In the TWO stories they did, 5 of the 7 Council members are mentioned. Five is more than half, meaning it was a meeting. Open Meetings Act violation #6345. […]
By: Diane Benjamin I hope Tari’s handpicked stacked Downtown Bloomington Committee is having fun dreaming of how to spend your money. At the end of this month they will enlighten the public with ideas for getting people downtown. Just because somebody builds it, it doesn’t mean anybody will come. How many decades has taxpayer money […]
By: Diane Benjamin The pictures below were all taken on June 2, 2017 east of Ellsworth, Il. In case you don’t know, wind turbines must have a backup system (FOSSIL FUELS!) because turbines aren’t capable of producing steady electricity. The wind doesn’t always blow or it blows too hard. Meanwhile, fossils fuels pollute more because […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday news reports stated the zoo increased the number of visitors from last year and revenues were up around $21,000. Good for them! One reason given was the new flamingo exhibit. Left out of all the good news stories is how much it cost to increase revenue and attendance. Just construction – […]
By: Diane Benjamin Jim Fruin proved economics is way beyond his abilities last night. In his farewell statement Jim said he plans to attend Council meetings, but only sit by positive people. Some people are positive Bloomington needs to keep making ‘progress’. Others are positive we are witnessing the destruction of the jewel Bloomington used […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday night the Bloomington City Council approved this: In case you forgot, the Council approved this payment at the March 27th meeting – PDF Page 253 http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=12448 The documentation for this meeting states the YWCA needs to money to continue operations until the end of their fiscal year. They are transporting people […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember when Normal’s Town Council was giddy over handing money to a developer for a Portillos? Normal was going to be a destination – people would drive to Normal from all over Central Illinois! People traveling the interstates would go out of their way for a Portillos hot dog! Champaign is going […]
By: Diane Benjamin If government wants to help a segment of people: It has to steal money from some to hand to others It has to remove any incentive for personal responsibility It has to weaken the economy by not allowing earners to keep their money It has to pay bureaucrats to administer programs It […]
By: Diane Benjamin The next Board meeting for Connect Transit is July 26th at 4:30. Meetings are held in the Board Room at 351 Wylie Drive, Normal. The packet for the meeting has not been posted yet, but Connect Transit’s year-end was 6/30/2016. This meeting packet will show the total operating losses for the entire […]
By: Diane Benjamin Numerous times Mayor Renner said they could abolish Parks and Rec and not balance the budget. It was his way of justifying tax increases. A found this document from 2015 on-line: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8116 Many documents exist on-line that were only done once. This is one of them. Evidently the City can’t decide on […]
By: Diane Benjamin When government thinks they are helping people they are really robbing the population – the ones paying the bills and the ones receiving goods or services. Obviously if you are forced to give your money to the government for things you never use, want, or need your wallet is being fleeced. Many […]
(Written by my 15 year-old intern) By: Sarah Welander Bus systems are a wonderful way for towns like Bloomington-Normal to transport people. People who don’t have cars use them and elderly people who can’t drive use them. There is no way to lie and say buses aren’t a good thing, but why is there so […]
By: Diane Benjamin The anonymous editorial writer at the Pantagraph jumped in this week to proclaim the greatness of Bloomington and Normal sharing Sales Tax. Citizens are being set up! Normal has 5 TIF districts that are costing them A LOT of money because revenues generated aren’t paying the interest and principle on all the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Want to balance Bloomington’s budget? First, cut the planned spending at the Coliseum: $2,510,000 http://blnnews.com/2015/02/27/coliseum-2510000/ (Funny how the Flex has videos on their Facebook page from the equipment the City claims can’t be fixed!) The Zoo is a great place, but subsidizing it for $667,324 isn’t prioritizing spending. Do you want the […]
by: Diane Benjamin According to the Pantagraph, Mayor Renner wants garbage rates raised to bring them closer to the actual costs. I guess Renner doesn’t realize that virtually everything Bloomington does is a subsidy, the ole Quality of Life crap the Council has been pushing for decades. If he was serious, the management contract for […]
By Pat Hughes We have gotten used to a steady drumbeat of bad news about Illinois. It is not even news anymore when we find out that Illinois is last in the nation, or 47th, or somewhere near rock-bottom, in one economic ranking or another. We have known for a while now that Illinois is last in […]
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee has held hearings on Obama’s WAR on COAL. Is GREEN ENERGY worth the cost? It’s not the “Do Nothing” Congress – it’s the “Do Nothing Senate” John Boehner’s Office sent the following email today: #WarOnCoal Energy & Commerce Hearing Highlights Obama Administration’s “War on Coal,” Expected […]
