Bloomington Residents Are Already Fighting Back — Are You?
We are organizing concerned residents to educate their neighbors, improve public policy at the local level, and lessen our tax burden. Are you in?
Bloomington's economic burden: By the numbers
After three years of holding steady, Bloomington's city council voted 7-2 to raise your property tax levy by 13.4%, an extra $3 million collected from residents in a single year, brought on by a budget the city itself admits is running a structural deficit.
When the state eliminated its 1% grocery tax to give families relief, Bloomington's city council voted to reinstate the exact same tax locally, rising prices of groceries and tightening the economic squeeze already felt.
McLean County's median property tax bill already runs as high as $4,503, above both the Illinois and national averages, and the county keeps just 10.4 cents of every tax dollar it collects. Residents are paying premium rates for a system where most of the money disappears into someone else's budget.
Illinois homeowners pay one of the highest effective property tax rates of any state in the country, and Bloomington residents aren't spared from it. Every year, Springfield's tax structure reaches into your pocket before your own city even gets a vote on the matter.
What's Driving It
Policy Failures
They Took Back Tax Relief the State Gave You
Illinois repealed the statewide grocery tax specifically to ease the cost of groceries for families. Bloomington's city council responded within weeks by voting to bring the same tax right back at the local level, not because state law required it, but because it was an easy way to patch a budget gap without cutting anything. When your own city government overrides tax relief the state just gave you, that's a choice, not a necessity.
A Big Tax Hike After Years of "We're Fine"
For three straight years, the city held its property tax levy flat, signaling to residents that spending was under control. Then, with no major public warning, the council approved the largest levy increase in years, 13.4% in a single vote. That's not steady governance. That's years of underlying deficit spending catching up all at once, with residents footing the bill for problems that built up quietly.
Springfield Won't Fix What It Broke
Illinois has one of the highest property tax burdens in the country, and lawmakers in Springfield have had years to address it, through shared revenue reform, pension relief, or genuine tax structure changes. Instead, the state has left local governments like Bloomington to fend for themselves, forcing city councils to raise levies and reinstate taxes just to keep basic services running. Bloomington residents are stuck absorbing a problem created at the state level, with no real fix in sight from the people who actually have the power to solve it.
We Need Leaders Like You
Communities like yours need leaders to change children's outcomes. They're protected by driven residents who show up, speak out, and take action.
Education
Learn how the city council functions, how to speak at community events and to board members directly.
Connection
Connect with a growing network of neighbors who share your concerns and are ready to stand together and demand change.
Action
Get practical tools to participate in school board and other city government meetings, submit public comments, and hold local officials accountable.
Support
Ongoing help from experienced community advocates who've successfully driven change across Bloomington and other parts of Illinois.
Are You In?
Submit your information and our team will personally reach out to you.
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