By:  Diane Benjamin

9:00 – Stan pulled the bills for further discussion – particularly paying property taxes.  Pam Reece and attorney Brian Day didn’t have good answers for not filing paperwork to make them exempt.  14:45 Koos ends the conversation.

Next was the contract with the McLean County Regional Planning Commission.  Stan wanted the same conflict of interest statement included  that will later be with the Ecology Action Center contract.  18:00 Koos claims an amendment can not be done because it isn’t on the agenda.  (Actually it can’t be done because Stan proposed it and it affects a Koos buddy – Julie Hile)

These on-line meetings are fun because we get to see what all of the Council members are doing while Stan talks.  Many look disgusted, bored, and uninterested.  Likely they miss the 10 minute meetings they used to have.

The entire meeting went just like the above.  Stan was marginalized whenever Koos, Reece or other Council members saw an opportunity.  The only success for citizens was delaying the water rate increase from July 1st to October 1st.  That was proposed by Karyn Smith, Stan attempted to postpone all the tax increases, of course he failed since the Council will not support anything he says.

1:36:30  Fireworks!

Stan Nord read a prepared comment during Council comments.  Evidently an email was sent to the Council by Pam Reece warning the Council not to talk to citizens about issues coming before the Council.  The email pertained to the proposed micro-brewery in One Normal Plaza.  Keep in mind the Council was asked at a previous meeting to approve a text amendment to the zoning to clear the way for this brewery.  It DID NOT go to the Planning Commission first.  The Council was already involved.

Area residents asked Stan Nord to attend a meeting with those opposed to this project.  The email evidently chastises him for attending and actually listening to the people he represents.  I will FOIA that email.

I listened to Stan’s comments again this morning.  Without the email it was difficult to follow last night.

Stan obviously represents the people, the other Council members pounced on his comments as out of line and divisive.  Mike Matejka, Planning Commission member, was also at the meeting.  Marc Tiritilli was also asked to attend, the email implies he is leading this group for political purposes.  He isn’t, Stan said Marc had 1 hour notice of the meeting.

The Town leaders have now sunk so low they believe any opposition to the “professional staff” is politics.  The real politics is by the Town usurping the “hoops to jump through” every other citizens would have if their names weren’t Julie Hile and Bob Broad – investors in One Normal Plaza and Koos buddies.

This group of citizens also contacted me.  They are meeting again on Thursday, I plan to attend.

1:45:40 – Koos berates Nord for his comments

1:46:13 – Chemberly Cummings lives in the neighborhood but wasn’t asked to attend.  She was highly offended by Stan’s comments.  Kathleen Lorenz followed claiming Nord was causing division, she wasn’t asked to attend either.  Lorenz claims the Planning Commission needs to be given a wide berth to do their job.  Funny how Lorenz thought it was fine for Matejka to attend the meeting but Nord should have been more discreet in his involvement.  1:57:15 Kevin McCarthy sees zero evidence Pam Reece inhibits communication.  1:58:45 Koos talked to Matejka – Koos claims it was about future citizen involvement.  This group wants a public Planning Commission meeting they can attend.  Not a Zoom on-line event where they can be marginalized.

Here’s what Koos and company are missing:  Stan is seen as working for the people, the rest of them put up walls and agree to whatever the “professional staff” says.  It shouldn’t be a surprise that Stan Nord was invited to their meeting while the others weren’t.

Lorenz and McCarthy claimed Pam Reece does not put up barriers for citizens. 

That comment deserves an entire story.

Stay tuned.