By: Diane Benjamin
NOBODY has done more to force transparency on government than Adam Andrzejewski (An-Gee-eski) and his Open The Books project. If you aren’t on his email list, you need to be! Click here: http://tinyurl.com/OTB-Email-List
Open the Books has compiled a summary for every taxing body in the State of Illinois. The entire list is here: http://www.openthebooks.com/search/documents/?PensionCode=1841
Below are the links for some of the local units of government. The data is shocking. Page 2 lists the top salaries. Page 4 lists the top pensions, their lifetime earnings, and how much they contributed to their pension.
Are we being governed by civil servants or are we ruled by bureaucrats? Let me know. Do you understand why government never has enough money now?
Earlier this week I posted a story about the Edgar County Watchdogs. (http://blnnews.com/2015/03/02/ec-watchdogs-front-page-of-the-chicago-tribune/)
Media used to do the job the EC Watchdogs, Adam, and I do. We exist because media is in bed with government. Remember this quote from the Bloomington Budget:
Staff continued to build strong working relationships with reporters from The Pantagraph, WJBC, WGLT, and other area media. http://www.cityblm.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8224 Page 116
Maybe they should build strong relationships with the people paying the bills instead.
Prepare to be amazed at what you are paying for:
http://tinyurl.com/City-of-Bloomington
http://tinyurl.com/Bloomington-Township
http://tinyurl.com/Bloomington-District-87
http://tinyurl.com/Town-of-Normal
http://tinyurl.com/McLean-County
http://tinyurl.com/Normal-Unit-5
Read here to see just how much Emily Bell is bilking the taxpayers of Bloomington:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2015/01/27/the-big-dogs-of-illinois-municipal-government/
Keep in mind she was human resource director and I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t some type of “insider influence” that has allowed her to retire when such an outrageous payout and pension????
It is the City policy to allow employees to accumulate sick days – then get paid for them when they retire. Normal only allows Police and Fire to do it, Bloomington allows everybody.
Well she certainly knew how to work the system to her advantage and my point above is whether or not anyone is questioning who set policy for Bloomington that all employees are able to accumulate sick days the way she did? Is she the beneficiary of her own policies?
How about asking why nobody has fixed it? Employee perks can’t be taken away? It’s been the policy for a long time, it would take a lot of research to find out when it started.
Holy cow I cannot believe what I have been reading.
Are we taxpayers ever being soaked and I mean big time too.
I know the Koch brothers receive a lot of bad press and they see this going on too and now I understand why.
Remember the $600 toilet seats that received national attention in the 80’s? Nothing has changed. The fleecing of the taxpayers is nothing new and continues with vigor.
Speaking of fleecing. I see where the Pantagraph on their website tried to bury the article on the Coliseum losses again yesterday evening. Now I see it at the top of their website more visible.
John Butler does his excuse song and dance again.
I’m writing a story now!