By: Diane Benjamin
I’m up to page 202 of 924 in my latest FOIA!
The comment below was submitted on-line to the Normal Town Council. I don’t know who Victoria is but I bet many of you will agree with her comments. (It likely aggravated some Trustees ♥)
Looking forward to the next election when some of the crooks on the council are eliminated and with any luck their feelings will be hurt as they are unappreciated.
Amen!
I fear we’re going to be seeing a lot of state and local governments trying to play this pandemic for all it’s worth. Illinois has been in the tank for a long time and getting worse under this governor who has promised people the moon and stars and everything in-between. Long before Covid 19 ever surfaced, I wondered how we could afford what he’s promising. Now, he’s got an excuse when Illinois really does collapse. Blame it all on the pandemic and not have to take responsibility for the financial mismanagement of the state before.
On the local level, expect tax increases for pensions that continue to be underfunded and go on with no reform from state law makers in sight. This problem is only going to get worse with the financial markets being what they are right now. It’s time for the town of Normal to tighten their belt, but past experience will prove that means another tax increase in on the way.
I agree with Victoria’s fiscal view. The mayor and council have repeatedly drilled to me that it takes 4 of them do anything. (Except for right now. The mayor can say anything is related to the pandemic and create any ordinance/law by himself.) My platform has always been “Lower Taxes, Reduce Spending and Represent Your Voice”. My view is consistently in the minority and often outright ignored. If the citizens want to see the town change, contact the mayor and other council members. Communicate your expectation of them and the direction and spending habits of YOUR TOWN. If they disagree, or won’t even listen, remember them and vote them out. In local government, it is not about who is right or wrong, or the loudest voice. It is simple majority rule. The bar to make change happen in Normal is very low. The bar is only 4 people. Change is easy to attain if citizens start communicating regularly with their council members. Everyone’s contact info is posted on the Town’s website.
Change *Should* be easy to attain as Stan describes. But there’s a Huge underlying assumption there that is unfortunately false. Council members are presumed to work for the people, but most seemingly work for ‘the plan’.
We have had numerous citizens communicate about Trail East (‘the mural’), Connect Transit, the new fire station, property tax increases, and spending priorities in general, and all have been essentially ignored. For most of the current council, it seems the only time to effectively communicate with them is when voting. Hopefully after some more turnover, we can get more responsive government.
The actions of all our so called leaders will come back to bite them in the butts. November is an election cycle. Ticked off voters will express their opinions at the ballot boxes. For the ones who are not up for reelection, there is the recall route. It is great that this person has the brains to figure this out. I wonder if she would consider running for next courcil seat?