By: Diane Benjamin A SPECIAL meeting of the Bloomington Township is schedule for 6:30 Tuesday night. The Bloomington aldermen who are Township trustees are not participating except as electors. The meeting is illegal because the agenda was NOT posted 48 hours in advance, in fact it was posted sometime in the last 1-2 hours. The […]
By: Diane Benjamin Not a list they want to be on and one they won’t admit: Cities Americans are abandoning in droves https://247wallst.com/population-and-social-characteristics/2024/05/13/cities-americans-are-abandoning-in-droves/ Obviously Normal is included in the population. Champaign-Urbana is #34, Chicago area is #36, Decatur is #24. California has numerous cities that made the list. “Migrants” are moving in while citizens are […]
By: Diane Benjamin On tonight’s agenda: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/f701e2e2-5bbe-11ee-ae13-0050569183fa-d854eb82-3702-4140-9de6-ac3a8e3f379d-1715296014.pdf The Lake Bloomington building burned down 5 years ago. The City collected $536,581.87 from insurance according to these docs: PDF page 80: https://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1167&Inline=True That document is from the May 9, 2022 Council packet. The estimate in 2022 was $565,000 for the total project. (PDF page 90). Since inflation […]
By: Diane Benjamin Link to all previous stories from Part #4: https://blnnews.com/2024/05/10/road-ratings-part-4/ Sorry, but I’m still not done mapping the rated 3 roads. This part has a ton of tiny roads and small roads with pieces rated 3 and other pieces rated 4. Part #6 should be the end. Just so you know, some of […]
By: Diane Benjamin The video below is from the McLean County Finance Committee meeting on May 8th. The price of farmland has risen dramatically since the early 2000’s. Statutes cap property tax increases at 10% a year which means the economic value of the land is higher than it is being taxed. With high interest […]
By: Diane Benjamin Part 3 has a link to the first two stories: https://blnnews.com/2024/05/09/road-ratings-part-3/ I might be able to finish this with one more part. Keep in mind I’m only summarizing the number of lane miles for the worst roads – those rated 3. There are MANY just slightly better at 4. The picture below […]
By: Diane Benjamin What happened was democrats proved they have no problem raising your property taxes because government needs your money more than you do. Last year the Board voted to keep the property tax rate the same which means they grabbed all the increases in assessed value. That amounted to a 13% tax increase. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Part 2 with a link to Part 1: https://blnnews.com/2024/05/08/road-ratings-part-2/ Today’s edition covers north of Empire, east of Veterans, and north to where Bloomington ends on Fort Jesse. If you don’t understand a “3” rating, drive Fort Jesse. It is rated a 4 or better. Much of this section isn’t old. There are […]
By: Diane Benjamin PDF page 32: https://mcleancountyil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/10169 The Finance Committee meets today at 4:30. The County Administrator wants to change the budget policy. Proposed: Anybody see a problem? I bet this comes up at the meeting!
By: Diane Benjamin Keep in mind GAZA was free until they attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Palestinians elected Hamas and haven’t had elections again since that happened in 2006. Hamas then murdered opposition to keep power. Nice folks. I wasn’t going to do a story on just Krystle Able, but when Corey Beirne chimed […]
By: Diane Benjamin Part 1: https://blnnews.com/2024/05/07/citizens-wants-the-roads-fixed-they-wont-be/ Today’s addition is east of Veterans, north of Oakland, and south of Empire: I mapped all the roads with the worst rating – 3. East Washington has a small section that’s 6 lanes – .06 miles x 6 = .36 lane miles It also has 2 sections that are […]
By: Diane Benjamin ABC poll: Only 20% are very confident in elections https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/americans-faith-election-integrity-drops-poll/story?id=82069876 40 days of voting does zero for credible elections. Then the stunt Illinois democrats pulled last week to keep people off the ballot AND eliminating the chance of getting a Parental Rights non-binding question on the ballot prove Illinois elections are fixed. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Using Bloomington’s Road ratings: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/36eea74c6ede4cd08e7d6ec03ed14246 and McLean County GIS: https://mcleangis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=541971ad75f248c38c9bc6ffcd3a7516 I mapped the roads with a 3 rating. The colors are too close to distinguish, but I didn’t find any roads rating less than 3. See the legend on the first link. Whoever created the legend did a poor job with colors […]
By: Diane Benjamin More on this story: https://blnnews.com/2024/05/06/illegal-handouts-by-government/ How much did Connect Transit spend on employees picking presents from the catalog? Total: $5,825.00 So far, there could be more illegal gifts. Meanwhile, they lose $1.2 million+ EVERY month while getting $75,833 a month from Bloomington and $49,167 a month from Normal taxpayers – just in […]
By: Diane Benjamin See this story from the Edgar County Watchdogs: https://tinyurl.com/Leroy-Christmas-Money It is also illegal to hand out taxpayer dollars for Christmas presents. The story has proof Leroy did it but they are far from alone. Using taxpayer dollars for funeral flowers isn’t companionate. It’s illegal to use government money for non-public expenses. Read […]
By: Diane Benjamin Progressives are FAR left. They don’t believe in capitalism or the Republic. Below are pictures from the Student for Justice in Palestine ISU Facebook page. 7 members were arrested Friday after refusing to leave the Hovey Hall Administration Building. https://www.25newsnow.com/2024/05/03/pro-palestinian-protesters-stage-sit-in-after-meeting-with-illinois-state-universitys-president/ One of those arrested was 40 year old Steven Lazarov. More about […]
By: Diane Benjamin Illinois Democrats have been using tricks to pass legislation for as long as I can remember. Here’s the trick: They just did it again to change election law in the middle of an election cycle: https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_2b607af8-08cb-11ef-be4b-4314e8b49453.html?a?utm_source=thecentersquare.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Flists%2Ft2%2Fillinois%2F&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline When asked about this bill Pritzker claimed it’s an ethics bill. Obviously democrats don’t have any […]
h/t a reader There aren’t many kids left in the Palestinian protest. Students walking by didn’t support them, just their right to peacefully protest.
By: Diane Benjamin The McLean County Coroner, Kathy Yoder, includes a report every month in the Justice Committee packet. It recaps County deaths including causes. Falls and Fractures continue to be the highest rate of accidental death. Total County deaths for 2023 were 101 less than 2022. https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/10011 The first 3 months of 2024 are […]
Maybe Leroy can get their fair share of what is causing inflation: https://www.eenews.net/articles/white-house-sends-3b-to-states-for-lead-pipes/ It will be fun to see what cities want money while hiding the have lead pipes. By: Diane Benjamin Lead isn’t the only problem with Leroy water. For some residents the water has a disgusting color that stains everything. Other have a […]
This is the group I’ve written about before. VMS helps veterans with home repairs at no charge to them. https://blnnews.com/2022/09/02/this-group-is-helping-veterans-and-worthy-of-support https://blnnews.com/2023/07/03/save-the-date-july-15th Veterans Maintenance Solutions website: https://servingvets.net/ Of course they need money to keep helping, so if you like to golf sign up to help them help vets:
By: Diane Benjamin See this WGLT story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-04-30/isu-students-set-up-pro-palestinian-tent-encampment-on-quad The pictures say all you need to know about the “protesters”: They are all wearing masks outside on a beautiful day: Why wear masks? There is only one reason: To hide their identity. ISU has a “microaggression” policy. The protest is more of a macro-aggression against jewish […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve been out of town the last few days. We actually saw gas $.06 less – not in time to get a pic however. Kentucky: Kentucky gas tax is $.26 a gallon. Illinois gas tax is $.454 a gallon. This morning gasbuddy.com shows local prices exactly the difference in tax higher here. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Our roof has hail damage, luckily we don’t have solar panels This is what hail does to an entire field of solar panels. County Board members may want to watch this video before approving any more: https://www.facebook.com/reel/944478347165945 The panels are full of chemicals that can contaminate the groundwater.
By: Diane Benjamin Green Top hasn’t met their fundraising goal even with $20,000 from one donor and $5,000 from another. A few people gave $1,000, most of the others are $100 or less: https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-local-organic-food-in-our-community Some ISU students want their own Green Top but can’t find anyone wanting to participate. Uptown is a food desert according […]
By: Diane Benjamin Maybe the voting age should be reconsidered. Illinois has FORTY DAYS of early voting, obviously this makes people doubt the validity of elections, but the ISU kids are now demanding election day off so they can vote because 40 days isn’t nearly enough: Citizenship requires responsibility. The polls open at 6:00 am. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Long time readers know I have been really hard on Dan Brady. The main reason was because he was in leadership of the Republican Party in Springfield and I saw him do ZERO to stop the Democrat supermajority from railroading destructive legislation. One thing Dan did do really well as a State […]
By: Diane Benjamin Geese are so endangered they have to reserve their own parking spaces now. Probably listed as endangered by the same people who told you the polar ice cap would be gone decades ago.
By: Diane Benjamin Actually they are the fault of everyone who DOESN’T bother to vote in local elections. I’m seeing a lot of unhappy people who opened their property tax bill. Look at who is taxing you. It’s local! Not voting in local elections makes it really easy to install big government types who have […]
By: Diane Benjamin Details: https://blnnews.com/2024/04/24/replica-of-tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier-tomorrow/ I stopped by the Doubletree yesterday: Viewing starts at noon today. This is history. Go and find out why it was erected. If you don’t know what is on the back side go and find out! Hint:
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 I got mine today. 🤑 I looked up some random properties to see how bad the tax increases are. Bloomington: Net taxable value for 2023 is $55,521, taxes increased $213.28 from last year (Dist 87) Net taxable value for 2023 is $136,131, taxes increase $382.70 from last year (Unit 5) Normal: Net […]
By: Diane Benjamin A reader sent this pic yesterday. The driver was across 2 lanes for a long time on College Ave: At the 4/23 Board meeting Connect Transit General Manager David Braun stated that if the electric grid ever went down they wouldn’t be able to charge their electric buses. Hey David: If the […]
By: Diane Benjamin WMDB reported this story 3 weeks ago thinking you would remember. Since you probably don’t: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/tomb-of-the-unknown-replica-to-come-to-bloomington-as-part-of-dar-convention/ar-BB1kTH2r A replica of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier will be featured at the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution convention in Bloomington. It will be in the back lot of the Doubletree. Viewing times […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday was Tim Gleason’s last meeting so the Mayor had to do a list of his accomplishments. Mentioned was getting them through COVID which wasn’t difficult when the Feds threw many millions of dollars to them and tax receipts skyrocketed because of inflation. The new budget is spending LESS on roads than […]
By: Diane Benjamin Pulled from the Consent Agenda was approving a Community Change Grant from the EPA who is handing out $20 billion. (Inflation will continue as the Feds spend money they have to print) The money isn’t free, it’s still taxpayers who will be responsible for the debt. Bloomington wants $20 million, most of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington City Council last night: Occasional reminder that Ward 1 Alderman Kearns does not believe in Liberty and Justice for All. She never says the Pledge of Allegiance: Just an example of Mr. Giggles at work:
