By: Diane Benjamin
Few people probably know the McLean County Treasurer’s website has years of payments to every taxing district they collect property taxes for: https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/590/Taxing-Dist-Distribution-Settlement-Shee
Someday if I really want a huge project I could compile tax payments to EVERY unit of government on your tax bill. If someone wants this project, or at least the BIG Taxing Bodies, let me know.
It’s a pretty easy project, just repetitive. Start with the link above. Once you pick a year to review pick the final distribution report. That report recaps all property tax payments to each unit of government.
I have recapped property tax payments over 5 years to 4 school districts. I could have continued with others but I chose not to.
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Now see enrollment for each district. Keep in mind Unit 5 and District 87 had a large number of English as a Second Language enrollees. All of the below are from this State website: https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/Default.aspx
Local the District you want, click on Students, then Enrollment – then trends.
District 87:
Unit 5:
Tri-Valley:
Heyworth:
All four show enrollment decreases. All 4 show large property tax increases.
Ask them to explain why they really want a 1% tax increase. If the private sector was losing customers expenses would be cut. Schools districts just want more money to do less work.
Unit 5 sent the email below to parents. Keep in mind these are the same people who said approving a bond wouldn’t raise your property taxes. I’m pretty sure your property taxes will not go down since they haven’t in any county that passed this 1% Sales Tax increase. What happens after 5 years Unit 5?
See the recap above. Raising them every year while educating fewer students should be criminal.
Good afternoon,
On Tuesday, April 1, 2025, school districts in McLean County are asking voters to consider a 1% Illinois County Schools Facility Tax. All school districts in McLean County have united to bring forward this request to voters.
If approved, the revenue would directly benefit all public school districts in McLean County, including Unit 5.
School districts are proposing the 1 cent sales tax to address:
- Increased safety, security and student support needs
- Aging facilities in need of significant updates
- Desire to reduce the financial burden on local property owners
In Unit 5, this money would be used for:
- Safe Schools – School Resource Officers, crisis alert tools, improved surveillance systems, and secure learning environments
- Facility Needs – Maintenance and upgrades including: roofs, HVAC systems, plumbing and electrical updates
- Mental Health Professionals – School Psychologists, School Social Workers
- Technology Infrastructure – Enhancing technological resources and infrastructure to support modern educational needs.
- Property Tax Relief – Unit 5 would offset one-third of any new one-cent tax revenue to reduce property taxes for at least five years.
To learn more about the referendum, Unit 5 is hosting several community meetings.
The community meetings are:
- Wednesday, Feb. 12, 6 pm at Parkside Elementary
- Thursday, Feb. 20, 6 pm at Kingsley Junior High
- Thursday, March 13 , 6 pm at Northpoint Elementary
- Tuesday, March 18, 6 pm, Virtual
A virtual link will be sent closer to the date.
Have a good day!
I notice they do Not say the money will go towards:
1.) Ensuring students learn to Spell correctly at every grade level.
2.) Ensuring students learn to Read correctly at every grade level.
3.) Ensuring students learn to Write correctly at every grade level.
4.) Ensuring students learn to do Math accurately at every grade level.
>>>Parents expect and pay for public school to actually educate their children. Unfortunately, the children do not learn these basics at every grade level. Proficiency is at an abysmal low. Why?
I think they are prohibited from using the money to educate
I think they are prohibited from using the money to educate
In Unit 5, this money should be used for:
Safe Schools – Instead expell the troublemakers, prosecute as necessary. A firm hand would go a long way.
Facility Needs – These items probably need more money. Sorry, get it from another area.
Mental Health Professionals – Eliminate dei crap, psychological trama such as teaching the trans bs, critical race theory, and expell the bullies.
Technology Infrastructure – Can we just get back to reading, writing and arithmetic? Those subject matters were and would be, more productive. Specialty classes for special students.
Property Tax Relief – The one cent sales still punishes local property owners it’s just a shift. All taxes are already too high. School administrators need to revisit their arithmetic and live within their means. * Bring back bake sales!
In higher ed, we’re constantly reminded of the coming enrollment cliff. This is where the number of high school graduates in Illinois (and the country) drastically drops in the coming years. This means exactly what you’re seeing above: enrollment in k-12 schools is declining and will continue to do so…
If this passes, Bloomington and Normal will have the highest sales tax rate of any Central Illinois community at 9.75%. Peoria is 9%, Decatur is 9.25%, Champaign and Urbana are 9%, Morton is 8.5%, Lasalle Peru is 7.5%, Pontiac is 7.25%, Lincoln is 8.75%, Clinton is 7.25%. Retailers in our town need to fight this with all they’ve got. This will put Bloomington / Normal on an even par with Springfield of one of the highest sales tax rates in downstate Illinois at 9.75%, if not the entire Midwest.
By comparison, Columbia, Missouri is 6.25%, Indianapolis is 7%, Madison, Wisconsin is 5.5%, Des Moines, Iowa is 7% and I’m sure people in these cities are paying less in property taxes.
And, best of all Unit 5 promises that they’ll refund property owners only one-third of the revenue and fool voters into believing it’s tax relief as property owners pay more in taxes for goods and services in BloNo. For those who buy their groceries in Normal, you still get to pay a 1% grocery tax. So just where, Unit 5, is the tax relief for property owners that you claim?
Wake up Bloomington Normal. This fleecing has got to stop.
Get rid of the DEI administrator at Unit 5 who is making close to $100K or more and all associated costs. Same with Unit 87
I agree. You know what these corruptocrats did at U5 ? They renamed her title in an attempt to hide the job she is still doing. She’s still an overpaid and unnecessary dei grifter.
People actually believe when you pass a tax increase it will lower taxes elsewhere. Heyworth said the taxes on a $190,000 house could be lowered by $222.00 if this is passed. It will never happen.
There is limited data available, but analysis in 2014 found that when Champaign County passed this 1% sales tax, of the 13 school districts in the county, only ONE (Mahomet Seymour 3) lowered their tax levy the following year. I haven’t found any evidence that ANY other school district in the 60% of Illinois Counties that passed the CFST hike have ever voted to lower their property tax levy below what it was the year prior.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/champaign-county-breaks-promise-on-sales-tax-hike/
So how much do you all really trust your local mclean county school boards to decrease the tax levy next year or any year in the future? I’m talking about an actual dollar for dollar cut, not a slightly lower increase in the levy “offset” by revenue from the sales tax. Every single board voted unanimously to put this on the April ballot… they all made their overwhelming desire for tax hikes forever very clear.
Every district superintendent and treasurer is supporting this tax hike, and they are the ones who determine and present the levy to the board. Heck, even every school district website and school building is being used to “advocate” for this hike under the guise of “neutral fact telling”. Try reserving the school buildings after hours to host a public “neutral fact telling” of what the negative consequences of this tax hike will be. Good luck there…
I think we’re about to see a whole new way our schools are funded in the coming years. The shake up that is happening will be drastic. I also think many eyes will soon be opened creating a wave of locals that will actually be interested in where their money is going, perhaps for the first time ever. For far to long we’ve been small enough to be easily ignored, not enough people care. That time is ending.
I hope you are right. The waste here is no different than DC