By: Diane Benjamin
Read this story: https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-09-15/bnwrd-steps-in-to-solve-colonial-meadows-water-woes
The Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District (BNWRD) charges monthly and on property tax bills. Both will go up because they need your money.
Meanwhile, BNWRD is giving the Children’s Discovery Museum $2 million for an exhibit.
Slick move!
One unit of government taxes you more so another unit of government gets more money. Is CDM going to claim the exhibit was funded with donations since they didn’t have to tax more?
Quote from the story:
The district plans to add $1.5 million to its tax levy, which is currently about $6.2 million, said Ervin.
Would $2 million have been too obvious?
The Town of Normal owns the Children’s Discovery Museum.
.
.
Tax tax tax. Special interest handouts to a tiny neighborhood (one of Corey Bierne’s pet projects BTW), and then an insanely expensive exhibit at a museum, with the vain glory belief that it will somehow inspire children to work at the water reclamation district one day.
Seems about right.
Summer internships would work better
“Occasionally, residents will get (water bill non-paymeny)notices taped to their doors. Sometimes that’s monthly. Sometimes it’s every three months,” he said. “I’ve been told sometimes it’s closer to once a year. And people are expected to send in their $35 monthly payment to this particular address. Unfortunately, since there’s no oversight on that, not a lot of folks have done that.”
Beirne said revenue hasn’t been steady enough to support the service for several years. Resident Ryan Johnson said some residents have told him they don’t pay because they’re not getting much in return.”
This tiny neighborhood of 80 houses literally refused for years to pay for their own water system to run efficiently or get updated, and now they have conspired with county board members and BNWRD to raise everyone else’s taxes by 24% so they can raid the taxpayer Treasury for special handouts.
This is crooked.
https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-07-23/residents-of-an-east-bloomington-enclave-live-without-reliable-quality-water
Does it make you mad that noted local communist Darin Lahood is funding this project? https://lahood.house.gov/_cache/files/8/c/8c50bc1b-72d1-44e0-9b6b-221945fe6a11/5D1B5172ECA68C2B3707B6622B2C3866C1882F9E6DE230AF6BB07ED82F56BFED.mclean-county-drinking-water-failing-infrastructure-replacement—federal-nexus.pdf
Of course, not enough to hand his seat to DSA