By: Diane Benjamin
The massive list of Normal’s spending for the last 3 years is a treasure trove of information. It’s pretty easy to search for questionable spending like the ones below.
I search for all expenses marked sponsor, comment with what you think. I’m sure Normal thinks this is petty cash. I call it buying votes and supporting organizations which are incapable of existing on their own. Don’t miss the only recipient that starts with H. Keep in mind this money was taken from the taxpayers in Normal.
What can I say? At first glance this looks like the redistribution of taxpayer wealth. But on second thought, it REALLY looks like mafia payola (bribery) to maintain power and influence among the various voting blocks and power centers?
United Way collections at work was (is) extortion of the worst kind. This is Normal’s version of such. Taxpayer extortion. No money should ever be given by a city to fund anything like groups listed. Government exists to serve all of the people, not to redistribute wealth thru forced donations no doubt to pay off past favors.
When I worked at a high school, United Way giving was STRONGLY encouraged. So much so that I felt uncomfortable. I didn’t participate.
McLean Co museum of History sure made HISTORY out of OUR money, and professional baseball?
Basically this list reads like a leftist BORG colony that is trying to raise awareness of the “collective”!
and of course who was the director of Museum? why the mayor’s brother!
There is not ONE thing the city/town should use taxpayer dollars to sponsor. If they truly feel so strongly about these organizations they can always write a check out of their own account and we know how likely that is to happen.
Hmmm… over $40K/yr. Almost half the money they said they could Never find in order to avoid raising property taxes.
And wasn’t there another $25K or more that they ‘found’ recently to fund something that wasn’t budgeted for?
Sure seems like they could’ve kept the property tax assessment the same if it wasn’t more important for them to show the taxpayers who’s the boss…
As always this is obscene. Who are they to waste our money this way? Who approves these expenditures? And the Cornbelters REALLY cleaned up. Jeez. Koos and company need to be removed.
Learning about taft-hartley funds which provide benefits to union members like health and pension funds. It is completely illegal to use any of these funds to contribute to a charity. How is this a legal use of taxpayers money?
Without a prosecutor legal doesn’t matter