By: Diane Benjamin
Quote from the story below: While Bloomington saw more births than deaths, domestic outmigration of more than 1,000 residents led to overall population decline.
Why are people leaving? Duh, taxes. We can quit worrying about a housing shortage. People will continue leaving since there is no reason to stay good enough to pay ridiculous taxes.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/more-than-half-of-illinois-counties-suffer-outmigration/
Wait until you see your property tax bill! Probably ever unit of government has needs that don’t include letting you keep your money.
Normal just raised taxes. I wonder if Chris Koos will try to convince Dan Brady to match Normal’s Food/Beverage tax and Hotel/Motel tax while they are flying to Rome.
I’m sure taxpayers are paying for their “diplomatic” vacation. https://www.cities929.com/2026/03/25/bloomington-mayor-to-join-rome-diplomacy-mission/
Property taxes must not be high enough yet for most people. Voters approve over 80% of referendums that have an emotional appeal. Sky is the limit…
I don’t believe the school sales tax referendum would have passed had the ISU students been excluded from the vote. They shouldn’t be allowed to register locally and have a permanent home address that is not here.
Democrats wouldn’t win without them so nothing is going to change
High taxes or not, who would want to stay there? There is basically no future. Leaders were never interested in diversifying the local economy. No one wants to spend 30 or 40 years of their life working at boring, dead end jobs for local insurance companies that are slashing jobs and infrastructure. Rivian is a revolving door that hedges its future on a small market share and high priced vehicles with large repair costs in an industry that is totally dependent on government assistance. Local governments can’t even keep the infrastructure up to date and continually wastes money on downtown projects than only a noisey minority cares about. The local political and business leadership is beyond a joke where most have no idea what they are doing or what they are talking about. The same tired names run the show on all fronts and are fine with a status quo that’s been the same since the 1980s…and so it goes.
What doesn’t seem to align is the other article about the number of available homes for sale dropping. I would have thought with the outmigration more homes would be on the market. If what I read about inmigration those individuals wouldn’t seem to have the available funds to purchase a home.
I do know if they pass legislation to tax retirement income it is game over for me here in IL sooner rather than later. Property taxes are ridiculously high. I plan on tearing down 2 buildings this year and if a 3rd one was empty it would go next. They’ll probably say that is an improvement and increase the taxes. I drove past a local farm yesterday and saw a barn collapsed and I just wonder if they are leaving it for the sake of devaluing the property as an eyesore. I don’t think the county could force an owner to remove it.
As I have mentioned before I have relatives and know of families picking up and moving to TN. When I was at the barbershop last Sat, there were several individuals talking about some they knew that moved to TN and what they were paying in property taxes as well as licensing vehicles and trailers.
To MPeabody’s point above I am really surprised SF is staying and not picking up and moving to GA, TX, or AZ. I just had to laugh and wear hip boots for the BS I believe the Bloomington Deputy City Manager was spreadding on WJBC this week about SF moving. It was like no big deal.. there are plans going on for SF Corp. building. I’m like who are you kidding. Then that joke of a sliver of hope of converting the former SF building downtown into a condo, restaurant, retail hub. LAFF I had to chuckle when I saw a $620K condo for sale above the Castle plus a $400+ monthly condo fee a couple of weeks ago listed. Great if you’re into brick walls in an open floor plan and retail store racks to position as functional closet space. To date as far as I know the building across from the parking garage north of Grove street still sits empty. The downtown redevopment is moving right along.. lol. Back on topic who would want to even work for an employer for 30+ years. The trend now is to stay 5 years get vested and move on because if you don’t you’ll fall into the 3% yearly merit pay increase trap that most employers do. The only way to increase your salary is to move on.
The political climate in the area is equal to a sinking ship. Get off now or get use to being under water. Good news – Eventually the state will get so much of your money you can live in Krystal Able’s paradise. Or – Who’s gonna pay for my bags of fudge rounds? (Hear – Rich Men North of Richmond” by Oliver Anthony)
Popular drop of 1,000 people. Unit 5 enrollment drop of 1,000 students in just 6 years. All the elementary schools have less kids per grade than the middle schools.
But when government does what it should do in response to lower demand for their services; lower staff, lower overhead, consolidate properties, you get a local response like NOTHING before. Was there hundreds of people at an 8 hour school board meeting in response to porn and DEI indoctrination in the schools? Nope. Was there an outcry when the schools raised property taxes every single year, and then passed two new taxes in three years? Nope.
But if the school board dares to do the right prudent thing, cut spending and consolidate school buildings in response to the lack of babies being born and the lack of net migration into Bloomington? It’s knives out.
So we get more and more taxes, going to educate fewer and fewer children, and if you dare to cut anything, you get a passionate minority hounding you nonstop.
Don’t think D87, City of Bloomington, Town of Normal, and Mclean county aren’t watching what’s going on. Good luck ever getting tax and spending cuts from them now. Those addicted to the spending will fight rather than take their medicine and briefly suffer from withdrawal symptoms.
If the housing market also does turn, as the county loses people, do you think they will actually lower their tax levy in any meaningful way?
What happens when the state farm 50% in office requirement kicks in over the next year? How many people just quit or retire early, and head to the warm, tax friendly, GOP states?
Add: next year local elections will have few voters and even less candidates