By: Diane Benjamin This payment was approved at last Monday’s Bloomington City Council meeting: If you still don’t understand what Accelerated IMRF Payments are: SOME Bloomington employees are still allowed to SPIKE their pensions. Sick Days (possibly others too) are accumulated and then the employee is compensated for unused days when they retire. That compensation […]
By: Diane Benjamin Sometimes I think readers know what I mean when I say Accelerated Payments since I’ve been writing about them for years. Since 1 commentor asked what the numbers in this story mean, I will explain in detail: https://blnnews.com/2025/06/05/bloomington-is-still-spiking-pensions-2/ Bloomington employees are allowed to accumulate sick days (Sick Leave Buy Back). They collect […]
By: Diane Benjamin Previous stories: 2/26/24: https://blnnews.com/2024/02/26/guess-who-is-still-spiking-pensions/ 1/28/21: https://blnnews.com/2021/01/28/how-much-was-wasted-allowing-employees-to-spike-pensions/ 10/19/17: https://blnnews.com/2017/10/19/blatant-taxpayer-abuse/ I sent a FOIA request to IMRF on April 28, 2025 after receiving a tip. Normally IMRF is very prompt, this time they weren’t. I even sent a Past Due notice to them on May 8, 2025 and got no response. I received the […]
By: Diane Benjamin That’s to IMRF (Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund) for answering my FOIA request the same day it was filed! I filed it because there is another Accelerated Payment to IMRF on the Bills and Payroll to be approved Monday night. That practice should have ended years ago. If you don’t know what it […]
By: Diane Benjamín Bills and payroll: https://www.bloomingtonil.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/29123 IMRF wouldn’t have required this payment if some pension wasn’t spiked: . . Agenda for tonight: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/25841e19-7d4f-11ed-9024-0050569183fa-791fe512-602c-4d20-98c8-ecdbbed39134-1678461338.pdf The meeting is mostly budget. PDF page 30 might be interesting. Take a look. .
By: Diane Benjamin On the 7/25/2022 Bloomington Bills and Payroll report was an Accelerated Payment to IMRF for $5,568.15. Since the Sick Leave Buy Back policy was FINALLY phased out, I FOIA’d information on this payment. This is the explanation I received from the City of Bloomington: Their note doesn’t explain what I received from […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.cityblm.org/home/showpublisheddocument/26961/637679239022670000 Evidently what is charged on Credit Cards in Bloomington is now a secret, details used to be listed: The BCPA event report tab doesn’t even have a spot yet for this year. When do we find out how much each show lost (or made)? In 2 days there is a show […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Buying a Rivian? How are you going to charge it? According to this story Rivian will connect you with a company called Qmerit: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/qmerit-ev-charger-installations-homes-141700627.html You can sign up and pay seamlessly on line to get a charging system installed in your home! How much will it cost? https://www.qmeritcharging.com/owner-faqs Installation: $750 to […]
By: Diane Benjamin The law was changed in 2012 to require additional contributions to IMRF retirement fund if employees received large payouts that increased their pension at retirement. (accelerated payments) That law was badly needed because cities and employees never contributed to the higher payouts. Since the spiking practice should now be over in Bloomington […]
By: Diane Benjamin Public comment only had two people, one was a member of the Connect Transit Working Group. See her comments at 13:30. She was excited about the upcoming report. It will be interesting to see how many members agree with her. Those who don’t agree need to issue their own report. She mentioned […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bills and payroll for Monday night: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=21241 6 more employees will be spiking their pensions: This is the penalty for the last group who spiked theirs: The legal budget must be running out of money, this is less than a normal month. I filed a FOIA request for the […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington has done nothing to stop employees from “spiking” their pensions. Besides collecting a higher pension for life at taxpayer expense, taxpayers are forced to pay penalties to cover the increased cost. The “spiking” comes from accumulating unused sick days. Bloomington has changed the policy for new hires, but they refuse to […]
By: Diane Benjamin I haven’t looked at the entire Bills and Payroll yet – it just got posted late this afternoon. See the very last page: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=17440 They threw away $135,015 on spiked pensions: . . The City of Bloomington government exists only to scam YOU. . . . . .
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington changed the pension spiking policy for all new hires after they became liable for the increased cost – that was in 2012. The policy has not been changed for existing employees. Why should any person be entitled to a pension they didn’t earn? Employees are getting paid months before they retire for […]
By: Diane Benjamin The taxpayers of Bloomington have been abused by their chicken government. I’m talking about pension spiking. It’s bad enough taxpayers with no pensions are forced to pay for the retirements of highly paid city employees. It’s worse when they are allowed to increase their retirements at your expense when it’s easily avoidable. […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington knew the law had changed on pension spiking in 2012. They changed the policy for NEW hires, but not for existing employees. Here’s the recap: The IMRF retirement fund was tired of paying for spiked pensions because of Sick Leave Buy Back payments that inflated ending salaries. Since […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tonight’s Bloomington Council packet contains this statement on PDF page 4: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=12802 Now jump to the Bills and Payroll for tonight: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=12794 PDF page 107 The City if THROWING away money by allowing employees to spike their pensions! This payment of $64,859.95 brings the total to $1,877,252.40 since the law was changed in […]
By: Diane Benjamin $135,743.79 + an adjustment of $130.75 got paid to IMRF so one employee can have a fabulous retirement with a spike pension! See page 130 Monday Bills and Payroll That expense was completely avoidable, but employees came before taxpayers. Page 109 – $580 for Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. […]
By: Diane Benjamin All the City of Bloomington had to do to prevent paying the penalties below was change when accumulated sick and vacation got paid to employees. David Hales, Steve Stockton, and Tari Renner refused to change their policies, so the below was paid as a penalty. These employees were allowed to spike their […]
By: Diane Benjamin From Monday’s Bills and Payroll: http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=12446 Employees are still allowed to SPIKE their pensions by getting paid for accumulated sick and vacation days. TWO courts have recently ruled that employers do not have to allow this, of course the rules haven’t been changed. It just cost you another $32,106.66. The City is […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday the Pantagraph did a story about County union employee salary increases: http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/mclean-county-highway-workers-get-raises/article_e1a807b1-6dcc-535b-83dd-f39b4b00079f.html This paragraph is in the story: Two problems: The City of Bloomington has been hit by at least 24 penalties amounting to around $1.6 million. (it could be more by now) That’s not “several”. Second, the County negotiated with […]
By: Diane Benjamin The daily rag has a new story about pension spiking at the City of Bloomington. In an effort to deflect from the City’s unethical practice of allowing employees to spike their pensions with unused sick days, they even call the practice legal. It is legal because Bloomington’s Mayor, City Manager, and Council […]
By: Diane Benjamin I few days ago I posted how much citizens of Bloomington have been forced to pay because City employees are allowed to spike pensions: https://blnnews.com/2016/08/20/proof-the-council-is-immaterial/ Only $1,597,264.60! That’s money that could have been spent for the benefit of citizens, instead of employees. When I did a FOIA request for Bloomington, I included […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve now got proof that Bills and Payroll, approved by the Council at regular meetings, is meaningless. Nobody is holding checks waiting for the Council vote. I wonder how many aldermen even read what they are asked to approve! If you don’t know what Bills and Payroll looks like, see this webpage. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Name a problem we face today not caused by government. Bad roads, invasion by illegals, minimal economic growth, flat incomes, high taxes, unfunded liabilities, unfunded mandates. Another endless list. Tari’s mug is in today’s paper saying Springfield has to fix problems caused by local government. If the City never allowed employees to […]
By: Diane Benjamin David Hales on WJBC 9/15 : http://cdn.stationcaster.com/stations/wjbc/media/mpeg/David_Hales__Bloomington_City_Manager-1442324001.mp3 Hales was asked about the comments made by Alton Franklin Monday night calling for him to be fired over the pension spiking which cost Bloomington taxpayers more than $1.2 million. Obviously Hales is the source of Alderman Buragas’s information, her email sounds just like him. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington is so “blessed” to be run by people who have no interest in good government. All they want is money, more money, and control. The video failed to capture the beginning of the meeting. I wonder if that was so Tari shuffling the comment cards wasn’t shown. Public Comment was over […]
By: Diane Benjamin A LOT more information on pensions spiking is coming. Citizens deserve better than Bloomington throwing away $1.2 Million when it could have been avoided. This won’t be the last post, but I have to lay out what I know slowly so you can understand the facts. First, let’s review. For DECADES employees […]
By: Diane Benjamin It should be more than obvious the City calls the Pantagraph to do a story when they know they are in trouble. Today there were 2 printed about spiking pensions. Gee, I wonder if citizens are upset?!? Taxes are about to be raised because you exist only to be abused by government, […]
By: Diane Benjamin I emailed with the reporter of the Chicago Tribune story today. Without him, you never would have known the City was allowing you to be ripped off. Joe Mahr gave me a little more history of spiking. The law disallowing employees to spike their salary in the final 3 months of employment […]
