According to an anonymous Editorial:
It’s your fault Central Illinois Regional Airport (CIRA) keeps losing airlines. Quit driving to Springfield, Peoria, or Chicago to fly – you are hurting the local airport.
Here’s the plan:
1) You need to fly somewhere that currently isn’t a destination from Bloomington.
2) Book a flight out of Bloomington to somewhere that does connect with where you want to go – then book another flight to the final stop.
3) Driving elsewhere is unacceptable
Econ 101: If an airline can make money flying out of Bloomington, they will fly out of Bloomington.
If the local media had bothered to investigate facts BEFORE CIRA spent tons of taxpayer money and BEFORE Peoria spent tons of taxpayer money, somebody might have discovered that 2 regional airports in the same region is one too many! We know government isn’t looking out for taxpayers, but obviously neither is the media.
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This got me fired up too. Add to the plan #4, local government needs to subsidize CIRA in order to keep it open. No doubt this is where the Pantagraph is headed. We’ve been down this road before with subsidy money coming from Normal, Bloomington and McLean County. What we got for our money was a flight from Bloomington to Denver with Frontier that had a clause in their contract with CIRA that if they weren’t profitable CIRA would contribute to their unprofitability. I believe they’ve pulled out of CIRA, if I’m not mistaken. At some point this has got to fall back on the management of CIRA, but as long as there’s a government handout there will never be any accountability.
I read the editorial. Yet another example of liberals’ complete inability to remotely understand markets or even plain reality. I’m sure too there will be taxpayer subsidies soon. That woukd be too easy to just let the market figure out how to best allocate resources. I suppose the next editorial will blame me for the two stores closing at Eastland mall
Good evening from a retired Bloomingtonian.
I was born, raised and worked in Bloomington-Normal all my life.
Bloomington has always been known as a growing town and now I see that continuing. The effect is that as long as you continue growth the expenses seem fit. The status of council members would be degraded if you saw them eat at an “Mc…. “ restaurant not to say that a lower than $13 meal could be had there. Therefore, meals are keeping with the status of the representatives of the local government. Not to mention the tips that raise the salary of the restaurant workers… somewhat.
Bloomington also has a large percentage of business people who do pay taxes. The contractors that they hire also pay taxes on their earnings. Bloomington has had a rating that I don’t remember the name for that states the money earned in Bloomington is spent in Bloomington. That creates a boot strap effect.
Any growth in the city would have to be tied to increasing the income and taxes on that income of its citizens. To spend on projects when the money goes out of Bloomington… sure the surrounding area is included… is not going to help the city continue growing.
There are investors that are willing to fund local projects and help the process. What seems to be happening is the expenditures are leaving town. Once the investors realise that is happening the citizens will have to pay in the form of taxes to make up for that loss which is not possible by themselves.
Right now it seems that most of the middle aged employed citizens are too busy making money at their daily job to read your comments or understand the ramifications of the future miss balanced economic situation. The advertising wins. What sounds good must work. Better housing at less cost can’t be bad. Rent is just a portion of ones salary. If you are fortunate enough to buy a home, you can be guaranteed to double your expenditure when you sell it as long as the town grows.
All the ingredients are in Bloomington-Normal to be successful at growth.
Unfortunately the greater portion of the community do not understand what you are trying to tell them.
The wealth of the city is in the middle class majority and they would be in favour continuing the growth as long as they continue to make more income. Sure, they are willing to put up with the expenses as you point out as hidden from casual reports.
Therefore, the confrontation is two ways of doing business: spending like there is no end of money or being conservative and report all the losses of bad investments.
I personally loved Bloomington, the people in my employ, my customers, my representatives in government and the educational institutions that I worked at.
That is a Bloomington that I remember. Please help the town in your own legal manner. It is salvageable through education.
Sincerely,
Larry M. Keeran, retired
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State Farm re-locates 7,500 people, another 15,000 to go. Taxes and fees must go up to feed the mini-monster government as their lust for power grows.
OR just leave this potentially doomed town! Yes, Bloomington USED to be a great town 20 years or so ago, but now it seems that Bloomington HAS to do what UPTOWN does and vice-versa. I DO NOT want to be a UPTOWN resident nor do I even shop or like UPTOWN or go there-WAY too hard to get around and it’s NOT Boulder, Colorado, Sedona, Whitefish, St George or ANY other town where “New money” has moved to! The shoppes @ College Hills is NOT a “destination” mall, students are NOT rich, Mitsubishi is GONE, and IF you think State Farm is going to stick around because Tari and Koos says so, you’re mislead! The ONLY things that WILL go up are taxes and the price of TILLABLE farmland! And with the CURRENT administration, we’re just hamsters stuck on the treadmill! Tax and spend and we’ll build things and make it ALL too beautiful and they’ll show up! That’s what is going to take this town down on the mat.