by: Diane Benjamin For the year May 2011 – April 2012: CIAM reported an operating loss of $51,281 Source: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=6561 The auditor reported an operating loss of (1,071,599) Depreciation of 911,269 = loss of $109,049 Source: http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=4650 Reporting by CIAM was off by: $57,768————— For the year May 2012 – April 2013: CIAM reported operating income of $ 176,759 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Mayor Transparency Renner isn’t so transparent. Keep in mind, he teaches kids at Wesleyan! I had to file a lawsuit to obtain information RENNER wants hidden. The email below isn’t the only one I have, it’s just the first. Mayor Renner has a public persona, but out of the public eye he’s […]
by: Diane Benjamin Nobody is against development Tari, just development funded with taxpayer dollars. Do I need to start listing all the Bloomington City boondoggles the citizens were told are going to be great? Or maybe a list of all the City “gifts” they gave citizens that don’t come close to breaking even? I realize […]
by: Diane Benjamin I reported previously the Flex got kicked out of their league last year because they refused to travel to the playoffs. (http://blnnews.com/2014/04/07/bloomington-flex-the-leagues-side-of-the-story/) Without a League to play in, the Flex started their own. (http://blnnews.com/2014/08/30/flex-kicked-out-so-start-your-own-league/) Every major local media outlet has reported that China choose the Flex as the only American team […]
by: Diane Benjamin I’d like to have weekends off, but news never stops. 1) Renner blames the Council Mayor Transparency was on WJBC yesterday morning. He claims Normal has a AAA credit rating because their Council will do what ever it takes. Translation: They will tax and raise fees without blinking. The Council is hand-picked […]
The buzz about the Bloomington City employee(s) who wrote checks and took cash from the City till is this: YOU weren’t suppose to know about it. It appears somebody spilled the beans on the City to WJBC. Not sure why WJBC, seems a strange place to rat. The real questions are: Did the whistle-blower try the […]
by: Diane Benjamin I’ve posted a few stories showing how much the City Council approves in bills payable to local media: http://blnnews.com/2014/07/14/pantagraph-wjbc-why-they-dont-hold-government-accountable/ http://blnnews.com/2014/07/25/more-on-media-paid-to-not-report/ Monday night the Council will approve paying: Cumulus – WJBC $1406.75 Pantagraph – $897.69 Those number are way down, but I will keep watching. I found a few interesting emails that were […]
by: Diane Benjamin At every Bloomington City Council meeting part of the agenda is approving bills and payroll. On July 14th I reported the bills included 1,355.85 to Cumulus Broadcasting (WJBC) and 3,645.50 to the Pantagraph. http://blnnews.com/2014/07/14/pantagraph-wjbc-why-they-dont-hold-government-accountable/ On Monday the council will approval more payments to both: http://www.cityblm.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=7057 Cumulus $1500.00 Pantagraph $3083.40 Totals for 1 month: […]
by: Diane Benjamin The role of media is to hold the government accountable. It is NOT to be friends with government. It is the media’s job to inform the public and expose corruption. From page 111 of Book 1 City Budget: http://www.cityblm.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=6393 See the ***** below: How can the media REPORT news when they have […]
by: Diane Benjamin This morning Scott Laughlin read an article on the air from a website you’ve probably never heard of, written by a guy you’ve probably never heard of. The article accused Bruce Rauner of being behind the attacks on Dan Rutherford. I have no way of knowing what the truth is, but the […]
by: Diane Benjamin Yesterday the Chicago Tribune posted a long article on a vote Bill Brady took last November that benefited his family. The local press not only didn’t report on Brady’s vote, they never looked for any corruption in it. Local insiders are exempt from any scrutiny. The Pantagraph and WJBC have a firm policy […]
by: Diane Benjamin The League of Women Voters has a history of being on the wrong side of issues. I remember discussing ObamamCare on Facebook with a member before it was passed. The League supported ObamaCare and so did the member I discussed it with. I wonder if they have changed their minds? If not, […]
by: Diane Benjamin Evidently the local press lacks curiosity. Maybe they aren’t allowed to do investigative reporting. Maybe reporters can’t investigate the local “insiders”. Maybe they can’t investigate their advertisers. Maybe Illinois wouldn’t be so corrupt if REAL media existed. Below are some questions I’d be asking: How about some investigation of the unemployment […]
by: Diane Benjamin The Illinois GOP under Pat Brady gave Illinois voters very few reasons to vote Republican. Pat would have been very happy if GOP candidates were just like Democrats. Maybe that’s why they had to cheat to raise any money. The Illinois GOP is now dead because they stand for NOTHING! A […]
by: Diane Benjamin I caught 15 seconds of Scott & Colleen this morning-the radio was on the wrong station. 15 seconds was 15 seconds too many because they were both calling out the Congressman who confronted the Park Service employee barring the WWII vets from entering their memorial. They must not know the memorial is […]
by: Diane Benjamin While reviewing the Trial Balance received under the Freedom of Information Act for the BCPA, an entry under advertising looked suspicious. For the non-accountants out there, a Trial Balance lists every entry, both income and expenses. Below is the entry – see the one for $193,835.00. It is labeled Like-Kind exchange. […]
A reader told me Chris Koos heavily advertises his 2 businesses on WJBC and B104. Does this influence how they cover Normal’s government? by: Diane Benjamin Everybody knows the Coliseum is a disaster for taxpayers. It does NOT make money and is a couple million dollars away from even breaking even. The rosy reports published […]
by: Diane Benjamin Yesterday at 4:30pm around 7 members of the Bloomington Library Board met illegally. The Open Meetings Act requires all meetings to be posted in advance and open to the public. The agenda must also be posted. The only reason the Pantagraph and WJBC attended was because they were tipped off to the […]
Now it can be said who WJBC discussed hiring and then changed their mind: Benjamin Yount. Yount would have been a return to the days when WJBC ruled the airwaves with good content and conservative talk. In case you don’t remember, it was a long time ago. WJBC used to be the top rated AM […]
WJBC has apparently chickened out on the new afternoon host they were set to hire. He would have created discussions and controversy on a station not used to real conveyance of facts without the veil of liberal bias. Too bad Bloomington. Maybe some other local station will get the guy on the air. Of course, […]
I hear a new guy is starting next week who understands government is not the solution to problems. Wonder how much of the staff is going to quit because they can’t handle the truth!
All day yesterday the Pantagraph and WJBC predicted Armageddon type storms were going to hit us. INSIDE events were cancelled around the twin cities for last night because of the dire predictions. Wind we had, storms no. Funny, the Weather Channel clearly showed the storms staying north of us. Heard the one about the boy […]
There was a discussion of the NSA phone records seizure on WJBC this morning. A caller said she didn’t care if they listened to her phone calls. The hosts said they weren’t listening, the caller was smart enough to know they might be. She still said she didn’t care. Then the conversation turned to the […]
This site will end without your support. Click here to contribute: http://blnnews.blogspot.com/ by: Diane Benjamin Durbin was interviewed this morning on local radio. The discussion was sequestration. He eluded to the local airport being affected by cuts. According to Durbin, air traffic controllers at smaller airports may be lost. He even managed to throw in a jab […]
Scott Lauglin just announced we have laws about printing money. Government is restricted by law, according to Laughlin. I guess he didn’t hear we aren’t on the GOLD standard anymore. We haven’t been since NIXON! The Federal Reserve is printing over $40,000,000,000 a MONTH to keep the Feds in dough. Worse yet, Colleen Reynolds didn’t […]
Comments from a reader: I am a Certified Professional Geologist in Wyoming, with 13 years of oil and gas industry experience. I don’t know the geology of the area, but generally, oil and gas is much deeper than the aquifer. In most cases you can’t Frac more than a couple hundred feet up and […]
by Diane Benjamin The McLean County Regional Planning Commission has been very busy planning how to spend YOUR money. The complete Long Range Plan is available at: http://www.mcplan.org/egov/documents/1350666761_64351.pdf Keep in mind, these people are un-elected. You will never vote on the members of this commission. Some are elected in other areas of government, some are […]
by: Diane Benjamin I firmly believe the American people are too smart to fall for the same Obama lines again and they are WAY over voting for the first Black President. McCain was a lousy candidate. We were told banks would collapse without bailouts, I don’t blame anybody for saying – let’s give the guy […]
by: Diane Benjamin The article published September 5th was a glowing endorsement of wind energy – typical left wing propaganda. Here’s the subsidy facts according to the US Department of Energy and Institute for Energy Research: Federal Subsidies for electric power – fiscal year 2010 Total in millions $ $ […]
Do we really wonder who took “God” and “Jerusalem” out of the Platform? Jamal Said is to Durbin’s left, an unindicted conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror funding case that led to criminal conviction. To Durbin’s right is Kifah Mustapha, another unindicted terror trial co conspirator. This “unindicted co-conspirator” also serves as […]
If you want to voice your opinion:, email: Jay Groves [email protected] Jay approved the contract. by Diane Benjamin http://illinoisstate.edu/president/speaker-series/fall-2012/jones.shtml See the above link. Van Jones will be speaking at Illinois State University for the Martin Luther King dinner 1/18/2013. He will be speaking about the ‘Greening’ of the US economy. The announcement leaves A […]
by Diane Benjamin Democrats control the Illinois House Democrats control the Illinois Senate The Governor if a Democrat . . . and they have been in the majority for a long time. But they can’t pass anything to fix the fiscal mess in Illinois because Republicans aren’t helping. Sure. In other words, the Republicans haven’t […]
byline: Stanley Wonder Is it just me, or is something missing at Bloomington City Hall? No, not the usual trappings of government – the podiums, microphones, gavels, and flags. They’re all there, complete with the beautiful blue and gold of the United Nations. Huh? The UN? Isn’t that the organization that wants a New World […]
by: Diane Benjamin The following has come to my attention: *This Friday, August 31, 6:30 PM- 8:30: Showing of the Movie “Gasland” (about Hydraulic Fracking) *Where: Holy Trinity Parish Center, 704 N. Main Street, Bloomington Cost: Free A brief planning meeting will follow the showing PLEASE RSVP: (309) 827-9627 One BIG problem: This movie is full of […]
Cute, aren’t they? We hear the Bloomington Zoo wants to add them and other attractions totaling $16.7 Million – YOUR tax money. The financial statement for the year ending 3/31/2012 are NOT issued yet, but here are some notes from the 3/31/2011 statement: The City continues to retire compensated absences liabilities for employees; however, for […]
by Diane Benjamin The Pantagraph has a HUGE fear of being exposed for their bias reporting. This is in YOUR hands. They will never reform unless the citizens DEMAND it or quit paying them. Maybe their advertisers need to be contacted and asked why they are willing to support the spreading of flat out lies! […]
It’s been over a week since the last Bloomington City Council get-together but the goings-on still ring fresh in my mind. Local media co-conspirators, the Pantagraph and WJBC radio, as well, continue to frame the most popular issue – visioning. It continues to resonate throughout a significant segment of their programming and reporting topics. In […]
Byline: Stanley Wonder Would it be too much to ask why some of our Bloomington aldermen are taking “road trips” to observe other City Councils? The Pantagraph recently reported on a possible Open Meetings Act violation when four of them plus the Mayor trucked off to the Peoria meeting and met privately to talk city […]
by Diane Benjamin Once AGAIN: If you get your news from Associated Press – you aren’t getting the REAL news! Illinois wants to sell this prison to the Feds because: Obama wants to close GITMO and send all the prisoners to Illinois! The Illinois TEA Party already defeated this sale in 2009 when over 800 […]
Just the Facts: The United Auto Workers received a 39% Equity stake in the company Over 1000 GM dealerships were forced out of business Bond holders received a 10% stake – much less than invested Salaried employees lost most or all pensions benefits $50 billion of taxpayer money is still invested in GM – 500 […]
