By: Diane Benjamin
Unit 5 video of the June 23 School Board meeting: https://vimeo.com/event/5178329
The sound is horrible as is the camera angle. I wanted to see if parents of Chiddix students would show up in light of the teacher arrests and investigations. Evidently they didn’t.
I did hear Superintendent Weikle’s comments. At 1:03:30 she mentions so far this year Unit 5 has collected $11.5 million from the 1% County Sales Tax passed at the last local election few bothered to vote in. Figure out yet the question was on that ballot because it would be easy to pass with low voter turnout?
I believe she meant $11.5 million for the school year, not 2026. She went on to proclaim property taxes were not raised because of this new tax.
REALLY?
Below are the taxes for a random house in Unit 5. The left is 2024, the right is 2025.
.
See the first line. Can someone get word to Weikle that $3,442.27 is more than $3,293.17? That is called a tax increase even though the rate is lower.
This house went from a taxable value in 2024 of $64,793 to $71,482 in 2025. The increase is why taxes went up – Unit 5 seized part of that increased value.
Want to know why kids can’t do math? It’s because the Superintendent can’t.
Property taxes are legalized theft. Everyone is taxed on gains they will only realize if they sell their house.
Other states have capped increased values or are working to eliminate most property taxes. The State of Illinois demands you pay more property taxes so they don’t have to fund things like schools they are required to fund. This is why the Illinois exodus will continue.
Our unit 5 property taxes went up $292.30.
Send her a bill!
As I recall from being on a school board it is the Superintendent who determines the budget then they sit back and wait to see how much the assessed values increase and then decide the tax rate. On the surface it appears a property tax decrease when it isn’t. It’s all a big farce and shell game.
I’ve always said if you gave these public schools a billion or more dollars they would want more.
I believe it was some Rep. in the state of IN is proposing getting rid of property taxes and use sales taxes. Some place I read that. Maybe it was in Michigan.
Florida is
Not only can they not do math, they also cannot read. So they can put any words they want with any numbers they want and the functionally illiterate will not know the difference. Which is precisely the objective.
It’s one thing to be drowning in taxes but it’s another thing to know that the money you can no longer afford to part with is being misused. Weikle and the U5 School board were the early and most comprehensive adopters of the state’s progressive education experiment (Equity, Social Emotional Learning and Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning.) They allowing teachers to compel children to embrace the racial and sexual ideology of CRT, hate our country and ignore authority. But that’s not all. Instead of changing their approach they are now doubling down on the very same policies.
This pathetic failure all starts at the top with the governor and democrat controlled state legislature and filters down to local school boards and administrations that are devoid of common sense and are afraid to say no more.
The really sad part of this Weikle and company will retire with huge pensions and live a long life of ease while some students that they so blatantly shortchanged will struggle with their lives. And at the same time all us home owners will continue to struggle with paying the huge taxes that Weikle and company stuck us with paying.
And she will never display one second of regret for how failed her policies were carried out.
Strutting all the way to the bank!!!
On the subject of taxes, everyone who still lives there need a huge refund. In Peoria and BN to visit relatives over the weekend. Both cities look haggard and worn out. Streets are still garbage in both (I get they are fixing some now in BN but long overdue). No evidence of new commercial or residential construction in either place. Many neighbors look unkempt and worn out. It was depressing to see. I really don’t see how anyone can live in either place. The local leadership past and present, should be embarrassed and ashamed. Two communities with promise years ago look the exact opposite today. Taxpayers deserve much more.
You will never see that kind of unkept property in areas where people work hard and pay their way ,capitalism vs those that feel like they are shortchanged and rely on government handouts to live ,socialism. Leftist demoncrats at their finest. Just take a look at major cities that they control.
We won’t see it in our lifetime but America is headed towards a third world country environment. Maybe not 100% but enough that true Americans will be ashamed!!
BN problems go way beyond a right/left paradigm or capitalist/socialist political thought. No matter who has been in charge there politically or economically it has always been about maintaining the community status quo and a non-agressive approach in expanding the local economy. I can’t begin to tell you the amount of people I interacted with professionally that thought SF and the universities would be the economic drivers forever. They were totally unconcerned with economic diversification or the future. The population in BN has always been pretty much lazy when it comes to anything and putting in the minimum of effort when it comes to their jobs, rich or poor. The same can be said when raising their children or community involvement. What you see now is the result of a pretty much across the board minimalist attitude about everthing in their lives except for massaging their massive personal egos. Their are also plenty of examples across the country of model communities of all sizes that took the bull by the horns and improved or built their communities through being aggressive when opportunities presented themselves. BN just isn’t one of them or ever will be. A desire to be great was never present but being recognized for next to nothing was.
Not to change the subject but what in the world is going on in America today. I just saw on the national news the mob of teenagers attacking a female police officer and beating the heck out of her.
This has been on the news several times over the past few months and the news media keeps referring to teenage takeovers. What they refuse to say is that every time they show these teenage takeovers they are all black teenagers. Am I missing something what in the world is motivating these teens to act like savages. How sad for America!