Tag: openthebooks.com

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Tri-Valley data:

By: Diane Benjamin The information below comes from 2 websites: Illinois School Report Card: https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/district.aspx?source=studentcharacteristics&source2=enrollment&Districtid=17064003026 Open the Books: https://www.openthebooks.com/members/employer-detail/?Id=71090&tab=1&Year_C=2021 Both have tons of other information not detailed below! Quick lesson on using OpenTheBooks.com Click on Menu – LEFT SIDE – below the scrolling reports. Choose Illinois – Data is available for all levels of government. […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Unit 5: BIG raises

By: Diane Benjamin Unit 5 has another Community Engagement meeting tonight! 6-7:30 at Parkside. See the other two meetings in this story: https://blnnews.com/2022/05/18/middle-of-the-road-college-at-veterans-pkwy/ Maybe somebody will ask them to explain this: Remember Superintendent Kristen Weikle claiming on video nobody got 7+% raises between 2019 and 2020? https://blnnews.com/2022/05/07/unit-5-word-salad/ OpenTheBooks.com showed total salaries increased 7.9%. Since their […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Unit 5 union tax return

By: Diane Benjamin Unlike District 87’s handwritten return, Unit 5’s Teachers Union paid a CPA firm to do theirs. I have a 2020 return for them: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/371245404/04_2021_prefixes_37-38%2F371245404_202006_990EO_2021042217989367 First thing to notice is they don’t take in near as much money from members as District 87 (2006: $187,804): Note the last line above: $319,389 on hand […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Thugs on the other side of the bars

By: Diane Benjamin Last week I received a tip concerning chaos that happened at DAT bar in Lexington. The Lexington police gave me the following this morning: (Don’t quit reading!) Adam Deal, age 38 of Pontiac, IL.  Deal was arrested for Aggravated Battery.  The McLean County State Attorney’s also charge him with Mob Action.  Bond […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

History Friday (local)

By: Diane Benjamin Figure out LIMITED Government yet? I remember posting about limited government years ago and getting comments like “you don’t want police and fire”. Obviously that isn’t what LIMITED Government means. Government uses your money for their folly because they can. You would have much more money in your pocket if government only […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

The $100,000+ Club

Open The Books has a new interactive map for Illinois which allows users to see Illinois Educators either receiving a salary or pension in excess of $100,000.  Click below to see it.  Keep in mind the pensions go up 3% every year, Pritzker refuses to put a Constitutional Amendment on the ballot to change it.  […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Pension Funding

By:  Diane Benjamin “One of the best-funded pension plans in the country is the nearly 90 percent funded Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, which has long had the ability to enforce payments into the plan.” IMRF funding isn’t a problem.  That’s why pension spiking penalties were enacted, the fund couldn’t afford to pay pensions for employees […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal’s compenstion

By:  Diane Benjamin The people forced to pay Normal’s employees – TAXPAYERS – have a right to know how much they are paying. If Normal posts employee compensation anywhere on their website, it is well hidden.  Luckily, OpenTheBooks.com has the 2016 salaries.  Benefits and the cost of pensions are NOT included. See all the salaries […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Bloomington Pensions

By:  Diane Benjamin Citizens need to know why there is no money for government to do their job without constantly raising taxes. Retired employee PENSIONS, in addition to Social Security and Medicare, and spiked pensions are the problem. Below are just some of the Monthly pensions payments retired City employees are currently receiving.  Note, it […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Retiring rich – taxpayers pay

This story was originally published FEBRUARY 5, 2015.  The City of Bloomington continues to allow pension spiking! By:  Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington allows ALL employees to accumulate sick days and get paid for them when they retire – up to 1800 hours.  It doesn’t matter their salary might have been much lower when […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Local School Spending Reports

Courtesy of  Open The Books.  Most other districts are available at:  http://www.openthebooks.com/search/documents/?PensionCode=1853 The State of Illinois is going to try to transfer teacher pension payments to local districts.  Then what? District 87  http://www.openthebooks.com/file.aspx?AssetPath=ZC3qJRVoHAKKqfRvuR1E64DeD6vqVg18GDALGsi0AxXK7kbTpPnS6SiX4%2fDIMgpDqM6X2ctrjXhDBJ25CJwyL4lkgbAq0LPcgtany1h%2b3omaycfe5yZoOgvq%2b5QjoTAg%2fOOvJj36GkFGQML826VsBQ%3d%3d . Unit 5  http://www.openthebooks.com/file.aspx?AssetPath=ZC3qJRVoHAKKqfRvuR1E64DeD6vqVg18GDALGsi0AxWX6JXqZYrCXYF6RzMq4WvdUEfZgyi8lWfTUxjwfJfiITtTZKVXcZv3hBxFA4dvK2xKwkDxuKMJ2Mh7mfMzV5AnDllz%2f0UYhT%2f%2fr2yWoKNitQ%3d%3d . Tri-Valley  http://www.openthebooks.com/file.aspx?AssetPath=ZC3qJRVoHAKKqfRvuR1E64DeD6vqVg18GDALGsi0AxUyhguDW4CQAau2csZbtn%2fDpnj21Ti%2ffm7kQIHg7AaagwjphFurF7EXrJzOQ93qUA%2bJCpubgoHXMY4mthxEjRZK%2bJ6WYuRtYVlHjJ91P93bjQ%3d%3d .  Olympia  http://www.openthebooks.com/file.aspx?AssetPath=ZC3qJRVoHAKKqfRvuR1E64DeD6vqVg18GDALGsi0AxVY9P9%2bJizBFDSAhEFM1tHNJRbCrT9QlB1d8lhUhkEXMaq4%2bKMtPuSbzReEdLVOCJeQ7LmpeuGQska6YStgedvB . . . .  

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Veterans Admin – What Open the Books found

Is it an employment farm, or a medical system? Open The Books Investigation: Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System   Phoenix, AZ | May 15, 2014 Salary data at OpenTheBooks.com shows clear evidence that the   bureaucracy served the bureaucracy, not veterans… “Our nation’s veterans need access to health care and doctors, not interior decorators and […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Open the Books sued Illinois – and WON!

FORCING OPEN THE ILLINOIS STATE CHECKBOOK All public payments since 1996 soon online “We sued because the Comptroller refused to show citizens the state checkbook and the Attorney General refused to do anything about it.” State Capitol Press Conference  January 8, 2013 For The Good of Illinois, Inc v. State of Illinois, Office of Comptroller […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Obama’s sequester cuts

Proof Obama wants America mad at the GOP for cutting his spending, even though it wasn’t real cuts – just a cut to how much spending increases in the future: 1)  White House tours ended:  http://news.yahoo.com/white-house-tours-end-today-112207290.html 2) Education for Active duty military ended:  http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/08/the-sequestration-cuts-education-benefits-for-active-duty-military-personnel.html 3) Border Patrol Agents cut:  http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/02/28/budget-cuts-to-hit-border-patrol-ranks-in-perfect-storm/ Are the American people stupid […]