No special meeting posted, a demolition permit will likely be issued very soon. Planning to vote now?
By: Diane Benjamin
Chris Koos seems to have forgotten he does not have overwhelming support from the citizens of Normal: (2017 election results)
12 more votes would have ended the Koos reign of debt and development terror.
The only factor effecting what happens in Normal is the Comprehensive Plan. If what citizens want doesn’t fit the Plan, their opinions are discarded. All Koos needs is your money. He knows most citizens don’t vote and therefore he doesn’t care about your opinions. Koos proved that again when he did not allow candidate Karyn Smith to speak at the last meeting. She wanted to talk about the buildings and mural but wasn’t allowed since not taking a vote wasn’t on the agenda.
In the future people wanting to speak need to say they want to talk about an agenda item.
Citizens deserve video of Koos forcibly removing speakers who dare to break the rules.
Citizens were ignored when the NE Fire Station was approved against the wishes of area homeowners. The Town failed to even investigate moving it across the street. The numerous citizens who contacted their government were ignored. Obviously it isn’t their government since they don’t fit the Plan.
Now Koos and company are playing chicken. They don’t want to revisit tearing down the 3 historic building in Uptown. How convenient to have an ordinance so the Trustees never have to vote to reverse the decision of the Historic Preservation Commission. That commission is composed of citizens appointed by Koos. Their recommendations can be buried in history by just ignoring it for 30 days. The 30 days is up on Friday and then the demolition permit will be issued.
The Town could still meet on Friday.
An agenda needs to be posted by 7:00 pm tonight.
The Trustees should at least have the guts to vote.
Chris Koos thinks the only reason more than 1000 people joined a Facebook group to save the mural and buildings is because this is an election year. He thinks the same about the almost 3900 who signed a petition to save the mural.
Koos: You made it an elections issue by continually usurping the will of the people. Kathleen Lorenz and RC McBride should be voted out as a consequence to “The Plan” is all that matters.
Do citizens know the historic buildings north of the undeveloped main floor of 1 Normal Circle will be the next to go? The destruction of historic downtown Normal will be complete – it is the PLAN. Your opinions won’t matter there either.
Since the only major businesses planning to move into the Trail East building are currently located in Bloomington, this project will add nothing to the area except debt and destruction of history. The only possible explanation for proceeding is payback for Bloomington pulling out of Metro Zone.
If a meeting isn’t called for today, Koos will have made it perfectly clear he doesn’t care what people think. Of course, he could call a meeting with a fixed vote to make his two lackeys up for election appear to be listening. I doubt he will even do that.
Are the citizens of Normal finally mad enough to actually vote?
The voter turnout in 2015 when McBride and Lorenz were elected was only 11.9%: Source
The voter turnout in 2017 when Koos narrowly won was only 18.23%: Source
The opinions of citizens are immaterial because of these numbers. Ignoring local politics makes fleecing you easy.
I GUESS it’s an EVEN score then, kind of, since the citizens think KOOS is a joke too!
Said it before–CAN’T fix stupid.
UPTOWN needs to hire a good photographer to take pictures of ALL of UPTOWN as it is, since it will ALL soon be a ghost town, and the ONLY remembrance of it will be “mud pits” left where buildings were to be built, unoccupied buildings that are NEW and a HUGE pile of debt!
Koos doesn’t care at all. He just got back from gallivanting around in DC, sucking up to all the politicians he could for the underpass project. My sources inside the Town told me that there’s been one instance where he became legitimately angry at how many people signed the petition to save the mural and stated that he didn’t care about it and the wall was coming down regardless. I guess he found it hard to believe that people might actually want to keep an Uptown staple… I feel like the work the Town put in to see what it would take to save the mural was just for show. I don’t think anyone in the Town is actually considering spending the money to save it. Koos needs to go, and he can take McBride with him.
Don’t find your “sources” hard to believe. I know a person that was in a closed door meeting with him about three years ago when he actually told people in the room when discussing another issue that he didn’t care what the citizens thought.
3900 signatures from seriously concerned local citizens is inconsequential if they’re against something Koos wants. (Destroying the last remnants of downtown Normal)
3100 signatures primarily from virtue-signaling students was an overwhelming mandate since it supported something Koos wanted. (A horribly flawed recycling ordinance.)
The appropriate response is bunch of four letter words. Remember them and tell everyone who’ll listen: Stan, Nord, Karl, Sila, and the most important one, VOTE!
Destroying historical buildings? Wheres the county historian? Oh that’s right, that would be Greg Koos, the brother of the socialist dictator King Koos! Like two rotten peas in a pod, good for nothings.
I once had a phone conversation with Greg Koos about the historic building in downtown bloomington, the old bank. He is a party line guy. Even though the building has major historic significance he was all for tearing it down all in the name of progress, so this issue is no difference. Follow the leader and tow the line is the progressive way
This so fun to watch! Koos’ public image is taking a beating. The story won’t go away. You can tell that he’s used to getting his way based on how he deals with setbacks and deferring opinions. Koos has not and will not stop with his plans to expand Uptown. No true economic measurements or financials (thanks, Diane!), citizen objections, or rational thinking will change his mind. He’s wanted to do this all along. Uptown will be his legacy…and history will not judge Koos kindly. On a side note, isn’t it odd how folks seemed to be okay (or at least passive) when it comes to the enormous debt spending, but when the Town threatened to tear down a mural on the side of a brick building, people came out of the woodwork? Either way, glad to see we finally have some voices challenging King Koos.
The debt is why Marc almost won and why Koos and council were upset with him for telling people.
Most kings view serfs as jokes. King Koos doesn’t care, his mind is made up, his vassals on the council will do whatever he says. Done deal.
Since there weren’t any declared write-ins, it could really be 6 votes. If 6 people flipped, there is a new mayor with MT beating CK 3,120-3,119. I don’t think Koos runs again, as I think he knows a defeat is coming. Things are not better off here. Taxes/fees are going up. Occupancy at the boondoggles is down.
The key numbers to focus on: outstanding debt; increasing property tax %s, money paid to Portillos, stores/businesses leaving town, vacancies at the boondoggles.
Koos doesnt think citizens are a joke , far from it. He considers taxpayers a nuisance and a bore. He feels that they should pay their tithe to the King and keep their mouths shut!