Property Taxes

Eastland Mall’s owners forecast a dire future for the mall Wednesday as they tried to significantly lower their property tax bill, with one of their experts saying he doesn’t think the half-empty mall will ever recover from losing four of its five anchor stores.

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State Farm essentially gave away its former downtown headquarters to spare a costly demolition after trying to sell the historic building for over a year, according to McLean County records.

Thanks to expected modest economic growth, the City of Bloomington will hold property taxes steady again next year.

The City of Bloomington plans to hold the line on property taxes next year, assuming the city sees modest economic growth.

The Normal Town Council on Monday narrowly approved a draft proposal that would keep the property tax levy flat for next year after several members said they could support a one-year hiatus from accelerated payments to fully fund the town’s police and fire pensions by 2040.

Town of Normal staff estimate increased retirement contributions could cost the owner of the typical home an extra $37 in property taxes next year.

District 87 officials believe the two-year trend of a shrinking property tax base will end this year, and that could lead to a slight drop in the tax rate.

The Unit 5 Finance Committee met Wednesday night for preliminary discussions on how to address the district’s growing education fund deficit.

It looks like substitute teachers in Unit 5 will get the pay raise they’ve been asking for.

The Town of Normal has a new plan in place to get more residents’ input on Community Development Block Grant spending.

Bloomington has joined the growing number of U.S. communities using police body cameras.

Bloomington police officers will soon have body cameras as part of their work attire if the city council follows through with plans to buy them on Monday night.

Unit 5 is looking to replace its current student information system with a new platform district officials say will make life easier for students, parents and teachers.

The proposed tax levy for the town of Normal could lower the property tax rate by about 1 percent. Town staff have suggested the dollar value of the levy stay the same from last year at nearly $13 million.

District 87 plans to inch its tax levy upward this year, projecting a rosy outlook for property growth in the community.

Agreements that ended a long-running property tax dispute involving student apartments and Unit 5 schools have left other taxing bodies with lots of questions.