By: Diane Benjamin
The Central Illinois Regional Airport is owned by taxpayers. It isn’t a private company doing whatever it wants – it just acts like it.
The meeting minutes aren’t posted on their website. No agendas and no meeting dates either.
That means they are violation of the Open Meetings Act!
I thought CIRA would be more transparent when I started issuing Freedom of Information requests. They didn’t.
As useless as I think the Attorney General’s Public Access office is, I filed a Request for Review with them anyway. Last Friday I received a notification from the AG asking CIRA to explain why they aren’t complying with the law: 40774 FI let
Did you know David Hales and Austin Grammer went before the CIRA Board to ask them to rebate taxes for GreenTop grocery? (and two other properties)
Did you know the airport manager gets paid more than the lady who managed O’Hare AND Midway for the City of Chicago? http://blnnews.com/2016/02/24/why-does-cira-manager-get-big/
Lots of information is hidden because CIRA doesn’t believe in transparency.
In February of 2015 the Commissioners talked about taxing the entire County instead of just Bloomington-Normal.
What else is hidden?
I can keep filing FOIA requests, attend their meetings, or demand the Open Meetings Act be enforced.
Let’s see what the AG’s office does.
The Attorney General issued a binding resolution against the County’s Public Comment policy. It appears the County has ignored it since the policy on their website hasn’t changed. (I might have notified the AG about that too)
Do laws matter in Illinois?
Evidently, not to government.
Just us…
Not sure how that all works, but ridership goes down and his compensation goes up?
Must be a government job!
Obviously!
“Did you know David Hales and Austin Grammer went before the CIRA Board to ask them to rebate taxes for GreenTop grocery? (and two other properties)”
The taxpayers should be screaming on this. How many more businesses are they going to pacify for a hand out? Not to mention giving preferential treatment for select businesses.
Like I’ve always said before. David Hales needs to be shown the door and ASAP wouldn’t be fast enough.
To get tax rebates for “economic develop” projects, Hales has to get approval from all other taxing bodies.
Why can’t just Bloomington abate their part?
I don’t know but am guessing it is because of some intergovernmental agreement.
Has anyone ever got a rental car at CIRA? I cannot believe the taxes that are slapped on a rental. I wish someone would open a rental car place at a local town.
Hello, that used to be my job at Bloomington Normal Airport Authority a/k/a Central Illinois Regional Airport. Responding to FOIA requests (my pleasure) and working with the FAA in re-writing the terminal security plans after 9/11. Fingerprinting was my job, too. Initiating the Federal Bureau of Investigation background checks . . . you should’a seen how the bookkeeper tried to skitter under a rock and obfuscate the process. She herself DID NOT want to be fingerprinted.
https://youtu.be/_Ib5H5auk-c?t=69
Things That Make You Go Hmmm, by David Cole, performed by C+C Music Factory.