Aug. 4—BLOOMINGTON — Legislation establishing a new governing authority and an expanded tax base for Central Illinois Regional Airport was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday.
The new law establishes the Central Illinois Regional Airport Authority and dissolves all previously existing airport authorities. CIRA has been owned and operated by the Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority, which was established in 1964.
But instead of restricting the airport's tax base to Bloomington-Normal like in the previous governing body, the new airport authority's tax base would stretch to McLean County's corporate limits. The result would be lower tax bills for Bloomington-Normal property owners, but a new tax for others in the county, according to CIRA Board Chairman Alan Sender.
Rural mayors of McLean County have opposed the bill, saying the addition of a new taxing body would make it more difficult in the future to request additional tax revenue for essential services such as infrastructure in their own communities.
Although officials have said they have no plans to increase the airport's levy, the new airport authority would have the power to do so.
Bloomington's and Normal's mayors will make two appointments each to the seven-person airport board. The remaining three will be made by the McLean County Board chairman.
Of the three County Board appointees, two must be from communities with fewer than 5,000 residents and one must come from unincorporated areas.
Airports in Peoria, Crawford and DuPage counties already have tax bases that cover their whole counties.
The expansion of CIRA's tax base had been proposed about 10 years after the airport was in danger of losing annual federal funding. Efforts to expand the airport authority's taxing power also stalled in 2017.
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