By: Diane Benjamin
On November 2nd Normal held a Strategic Planning Session. It was a Friday at 10:00 am in the Executive Board Room at City Hall. http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3105
Did any citizens know about or attend this meeting? Did the press report on it?
Keep in mind, Trustee RC McBride is the General Manager of WGLT radio. Yes, make the news and then report it. Brilliant, except WGLT did two stories on November 2nd about Normal, both had to do with the upcoming meeting on December 5th. No mention of the 10:00 am meeting. On November 6th they did do a story that mentions a retreat, but the only information in it is Koos wants to re-hire a communications person to counter all the “horrible” misinformation on social media. I have never heard the “rumor” he talks about, I wonder where he saw it? http://www.wglt.org/post/koos-normal-needs-dispel-horrible-misinformation
What I do know: Normal paid for somebody to stay overnight at the Marriott – probably a consultant:
http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3118
This bill was paid on November 19th, since Normal also holds staff retreats, it may or may not be connected:
http://www.normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3118
The minutes from this meeting have not been brought to the Council for approval. The agenda was not posted as an Executive Session (planning isn’t an exemption anyway), so Normal is subject to the law in the Open Meetings Act:
The minutes should be approved at the December 3rd meeting. They are not included in the packet, therefore they will be in violation of the Open Meetings Act by not acting on the minutes.
Why is McBride’s media hiding this meeting?
Monday night will be the THIRD meeting since the retreat. Normal has no exemption under the law for not making the minutes public.
Of course, we know laws don’t matter. Government officials are exempt – laws only apply to you.
Maybe Koos can do a Rumor vs Fact story. That page hasn’t been updated in close to a year. http://www.normal.org/1378/Rumor-vs-Fact
Koos could avoid problems by being transparent. The retreat could have been mentioned and the public invited. Posting minutes as required by law would promote trust too. Right now it looks like Normal doesn’t care what people think. Tell RC McBride thanks for being part of the Fake News problem. Oh, he thinks you will reelect him in April. Voting for him proves truth doesn’t matter.
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Why do they call them a “trustee” when ya can’t actually trust any of that lot further than you can physically throw one of them? (Another rumor Koos?)
Koos and Renner are not representitives to the people, they’re bureaucrats that take they’re marching orders from other sources. They hand pick perspective council people that will adhere to their ideals of which coincide with the corrupted lame stream media like ideals.
Koos is SO far out there he ought to be assigned a “Messier number” seriously, If ANYBODY in the private sector was sent out of town, to a JOB related convention, and then marched in a GAY PRIDE PARADE, they would be fired so fast, it would make light waves look scampering turtles! Him AND McPride do as they please, when they please, and how they please. And if you think for one minute that they are actually going to represent the citizens or present REAL news, you’re gravely mistaken.. It’s SAD that they get people who SHOULD be honest AND transparent on the council to go along with their games!
What’s funny about all this is that the “misinformation” that Koos is referring to is not coming from conservatives, it’s coming from the left who are totally against Koos the Council and their Uptown corporate welfare recipients. Koos and his Council actually make them look conservative.
Crooks…each and everyone of them.
The other factor that we NEVER hear about but that I know goes on is all of the little restaurant rendezvouses and the little “private house parties” those are the places that their hair brained schemes are first hatched and nurtured, then they spring them on people already neatly packaged and ready to roll – all they “need” is the money and they just well, take it, one way or another, with little if any opposition because they operate in a bubble of their own design.
After April the soccer complex will be back
Oh I’m sure you are right because their thoughts will turn to nice green empty patches of ground and what could be more wholesome than kids playing soccer without keeping score…all heavily supervised of course, and they will find a way to insure that their pristine fields are never trod upon by the unwashed urchins playing pick up games that could be played on any flat space of land – oh wait, you don’t see kids playing ANY sort of “pick-up” games around here anymore – never mind…