By: Diane Benjamin
1)
Bloomington (and Normal) placed 20th on a list of worst places to live in Illinois for retirees: https://consumergravity.com/worst-towns-retirees-illinois/
Two reasons are listed. Healthcare costs are higher than the national average and you have to travel to get specialized care. The second reason given is Public Transportation that doesn’t fully meet the needs of people without vehicles.
The list has pretty much all of downstate included. Both reasons they give are true. If you need a specialist you probably have to go to Peoria. Huge empty buses prove failed public transportation, forget the non running electric bus waste.
2)
The Illinois rulers won’t ever have enough of your money. This is the latest proposal: https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/proposal-would-deduct-il-paychecks-create-new-state-agency
They want to create a new state agency funded by money taken out of paychecks to provide paid leave. Of course giving more money to the government who can’t handle what they already steal is a bad idea. Of course those ruling over the rest of us don’t understand that.
FYI: July 1st the gas tax is increasing again to 48.3 per gallon: https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-gas-taxes-rising-in-july-but-state-leaders-still-want-more/
Click that link to see the gas tax history. Illinois will never see cheap gas again. Add another 8 cents in local tax. Then add Sales Tax to both.
3)
I’m working on a property tax project. What I’m finding is shocking to me but I’m not ready to write it yet. Stay tuned.
I’m wondering why Connect Flex only covers a small chunk of Bloomington. They boast about it’s success and grown ridership, obviously, and even want to expand to other places in McLean County, but they should firstly expand the region where Connect Flex can ride.
Maybe only going where large buses don’t?
See, that’s what I thought except the routes cover the region pretty vividly. For example, Flex stretches out down South Main (near Statefarm Park) and loops around, and that is exactly where the Aqua Route goes. They branch off a little bit and cover the area, except a lot of residential housing is drawn out of Flex boundaries . . . like Hilltop and Cardinal Ridge. It doesn’t make much sense, though, because any bus is within walking distance of Flex zone yet Flex doesn’t cover housing, which means there isn’t really door-to-door service so you’ll have to walk anyway. I don’t know.
Flex is a response to no service in SW Bloomington-Ward 2. Prospective employees for Ferrero needed to own a car to get to work. CT assigned Flex service to the west side of Bloomimgton with the idea of expanding Flex to other areas. Flex is not truer “door to door.” A rider has no walk to the nearest bus stop or intersection if no bus stop exists, like in Ward 2.
I live in Ward 2, the area is covered by the Aqua Route. There is a series of stops, the area is mainly covered. Like I said though, there is a walk if you use the route OR use flex. Especially if you live in any of the apartment complexes or mobile home parks, you’ll have to walk to an area where Flex will do pickups, which oftentimes is just a little less or even equal to the bus stop where Aqua picks up.
UPDATE: I looked at the map, there is a region of Ward 2 that goes uncovered by the Aqua Route. That said, this area may be covered by Flex but what does it matter when Flex can only take you so far? Let’s say it takes you to Downtown, then you have to get on another bus or even more just to get where you need to go rather than one simple ride. And when you return, you have to get into “coverage” zones which basically means Downtown Bloomington. Why not have another route covering that part of town instead of having a “solution” that only works in very specific cases?
Connect Transit needs to improve itself within BloNo limits before it expands to all of McLean County, IMO.
RE Tax perspective FYI: My 2024 property tax increased 14.23% over last year; 15.13% increase for 2023. This 1981 property is in Ward 1, 1880 square feet including garage.
Protest taxes you say. Between 2008 and 2016 I was 0-8 protesting my property taxes. During that time, I could stand on my driveway and count 8 houses that were newer, more square feet and sold for less than what Steve Scudder said my dwelling was worth. I don’t know what more I can do. They may as well give me the denial letter before I leave the Collector’s office.
IMO, Steve Scudder’s performance review must be predicted on how much he can increase the EAV without a Hamas style attack on these parasitic taxing bodies.
Before long we will all be living in the type of house proposed by the City for Oakland and Main.
Story tomorrow