By: Diane Benjamin
1)
Both Bloomington and Normal opted every household into electric aggregation. Now we know if everyone doesn’t opt out they will be paying more for electicity.
The right thing to do is opt everyone out! Will government do it? Everyone affected will never hear they need to opt out.
2)
Executive Session minutes discussing raises for City Managers are NEVER released. The citizens paying the bills deserve to know what discussions took place and who supported wage increases – like the 3.5% increase Bloomington’s City Manager just got.
It’s a secret you will never know. Sit down, shut up, pay your taxes. Zero transparency or accountability.
3)
Bloomington has an extra $18.7 million it wasn’t expecting. The have been racking in sales tax on high gas prices. If they really wanted to provide some affordability after raising property taxes, they could temporarily suspend the $.08 a gallon gas tax.
They won’t because plans are already being made for that money. https://blnnews.com/2026/05/27/bloomington-games-last-nights-meeting/
4)
Connect Transit reported a new high operating loss record for April: $1,817,764. PDF page 7 https://connect-transit.com/file/4289/2026%2005%2026_Board%20Meeting%20Packet-v2.pdf
See PDF page 9 at that link. A nationwide search was done for a new managing director. Media reported a current employee, Brady Lange, was picked. The document included in the packet doesn’t provide any details including what Lange will be paid. Transparency!
The packet formerly included summaries from both the national and state paid lobbyists. Cardinal Infrastructure and Cornerstone Government Affairs are still getting paid. Where are the reports?
5)
High gas prices mean Illinois governments are racking in Sales Tax Revenue. Get ready for tears when that revenue goes down with prices.
Yes, every fill-up included gas taxes and sales taxes.