By: Diane Benjamin
Just a reminder: Chemberly Cummings wants to make laws in Springfield to control you, but she refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance. She put the red sign over her camera. She hates America and is unfit for ANY office. She did not get her internet connection fixed, the quality is still awful when she speaks.
Public comment was over 20 minutes of Koos buddies supporting the Bike Master Plan. If you didn’t look at the plan, running bike lanes out to Rivian has high priority. It is around 2 miles and will serve very few people, many more neighborhoods could be connected to the trail if that money was spent where people actually live. With this Council it won’t be.
So you don’t forget: The Normal Public Comment policy is still illegal. You can only talk about things on the agenda.
Hypocrisy at it’s best:
See 27:59. Stan Nord has been attacked numerous times for daring to ask about a payment. Koos changed the agenda item from “approving” to “filing” bills. Chris Koos has yelled at Stan. During the last TWO Council meetings McCarthy and Lorenz took turns explaining everything paid was already approved in the budget, therefore bills can’t be discussed.
Last night Kathleen Lorenz pulled bills to ask questions! You can’t make this up folks!
More hypocrisy: Chris Koos made an appointment to the Planning Commission. His appointments are only announced AFTER the Council votes. Citizens aren’t allowed to have any input on people appointed to serve them.
Koos appointed a guy who the voters rejected for the Town Council: RC McBride. He was on the Council for 4 years – until the people said we don’t want you anymore. Re-elect Koos? The guy who doesn’t care what you think? FYI: Stan was the only No vote.
Almost everything was pulled from the Omnibus Agenda, way too much bloviating to stay awake. If you didn’t watch you didn’t miss anything.
The only item of interest pulled was the One Normal Plaza text amendments. Just the facts one more time:
- the “professional staff” dreamed up the plan
- the Council is named as the applicant on the plan
- the Council accepted the plan and sent it to the Planning Commission
- the Planning Commission started the hearing process by Zoom
- the area citizens merely want “alcohol” removed from the plan
- the area citizens want an in-person meeting, not 100+ people on Zoom
- several Council members claimed last night they can’t change their plan
- Pam Reece claimed the Public Hearing has already convened, language can be changed but it isn’t expedient
We are expected to believe it’s too difficult now to change their own plan!
This is about alcohol sales in the park. The ONLY person who has mentioned she would enjoy drinking in the park is another Koos buddy: Julie Hile.
Council: You aren’t fooling anyone. The citizens aren’t going away. You can play your little games as long as you want. You will all be replaced just like RC McBride.
I do know the Council received over 100 emails from citizens that don’t care about the rest of the plan. They just don’t want alcohol allowed where kids play games, go to school, and attend daycare.
The Planning Commission, now with Koos buddy RC McBride as a member, could ignore the citizens and not change the plan. This Council will continue to ignore citizens as proven by this one fact: They refuse to change their application.
1:12:00 Kevin McCarthy thinks this process is open and transparent. He doesn’t want the Council to change anything, he wants the public to show up and tell them what they want. Hey Kevin: They can’t – you aren’t meeting in person.
1:13:00 McCarthy claims it would be disingenuous to change the plan now. He also claimed again the Open Meetings Act did not allow them to attend the citizens meeting. He is misguided. The Council was asked to LISTEN, not talk. Koos decided to talk anyway which meant other Council members could not attend. LISTENING is too difficult evidently. Not removing alcohol from the proposal is wasting everyone’s time.
Keep listening after the above. McCarthy claims people are trying to subvert the process. Gee, I wonder who he is talking about. The issue got delayed until meetings can be held in person, I doubt it will be delayed until Phase 5 however.
The text amendment could have proceeded to the Planning Commission with alcohol removed. They refused. Obviously this is only about alcohol.
The presentation of the Bike Master Plan was only exciting for a minority of citizens who showed up at the planning meetings. Possibly many millions will be spent implementing a Quality of Life plan while your taxes are raised to pay pensions. Priorities of Normal are spending on what you can see, not spending for essential functions of government. You could end up with beautiful paths right before bankruptcy is declared.
2:08:10 Kevin McCarthy claimed the Bike Master Plan is the resident’s plan even though a consultant made the presentation. The Town has a long history of listening only to the people who support THEIR plans. They didn’t care about:
- the citizens who simply wanted the new east side fire station moved across the street
- the citizens who wanted the building with the mural saved
- the citizen opposed to the increased gas tax
- the citizens opposed to raising property taxes year after year
- the citizens who rejected RC McBride
This list is endless. Based on experience, the One Normal Plaza changes will be passed by the Planning Commission with alcohol. The Council will then pass it as presented.
The current Council will then be wiped out next April.
I think it is time for the citizens of Normal to gather at City Hall for a protest against this brazen abuse of power and this total disregard for the free speech rights of the voters.
Except they aren’t there!
Maybe the media would cover it?
Ha
” Several Council members claimed last night they can’t change their plan. ” Interesting. While working on the plan the usual claim is that it’s just a plan. When in reality as per their comments it’s a plan in stone. Demonrats. Decieve to achieve. It’s what they do.
Do not know why bikers need a plan, the ones I see pretty much do what they want when they. My llatest experience was having to wait for two bikers while they crossed the street when they had a red light and we had a green left turn. Most all bikers do a rolling stop through stop signs and red lights, it seems their bikes are too big for them and if they stop they cannot put their feet on the pavement.
Get Outlook for iOS ________________________________
Do not know why bikers need a plan, the ones I see pretty much do what they want when they. My latest experience was having to wait for two bikers while they crossed the street when they had a red light and we had a green left turn. Most all bikers do a rolling stop through stop signs and red lights, it seems their bikes are too big for them and if they stop they cannot put their feet on the pavement.
I see more bikers by my house in the country than I ever see in town.
Is Julie Hile the woman who was detained by the ISU police for alledged DUI? The one who kept asking the officer, “do you know who I am?”
No, Hile is the consultant who also serves on CT board. She’s pro government creates prosperity, just hand over more money
That was Judy Valente
I certainly hope the next mayor will terminate all these buddy-buddy appointments and return common sense, financial accountability, and decency to town government.
He will!
Might I suggest the next mayor make public some of the backroom deal-making? A document dump of sorts, perhaps. After all, it’s public information (or should be anyway).
Not to mention nepotism…
If you’ve ever been disgusted with government, replacing Koos or a Koos buddy wannabe would make huge waves in the town of Normal. It would be epic! The good people of Normal need to get out and vote and bring their good friends with them. The bad people need to be out numbered.
Normal seems to be on a good trajectory if good people will actually take the time to vote – there will be good candidates on the ballot.
Where are the good people in Bloomington? Unit 5? Heartland College district? Other towns, boards, etc? Bloomington and Normal might be the most troublesome, but few other government entities are know for responsible finances and policies.
Things will only get better if You get involved!
Plan A: Support good candidates!
Plan B: Recruit good candidates!
Plan C: BECOME good candidates!
And don’t make ‘perfect’ the enemy of good – All that is required is to do a decent job working For the people instead of Against them!
People are literally losing their livelihoods, watching their business or employer’s business crumble. Meanwhile, Koos & Co. are earmarking precious taxpayer dollars and Town resources for bike paths that less than 1% of residents use, but that all taxpayers will be forced to pay for. Is he actively trying to lose re-election? Or can he just not help himself?
Left out clueless
I am not for or against the Trail East building, but I know that the Staff delayed or killed it by ruling against the will of the people. The large number of electronic signatures gathered quickly showed staff and the Council that the taxpayers wanted to save the wall. The Staff chose to fight moving the wall and probably spent more than the estimated cost of $100,000 in internal and external resources fighting the moving the wall. The current Council and Staff consistently rules against the will of the lowly taxpayers who the ruling class despises.
Trail East has not been killed. It is still moving forward. The Town Manager has given the council multiple status updates on the progress. Please contact the Town Manager for the most current status on Trail East, then share the update with the other taxpayers in Normal.
Also the public should be aware that there are council members who did not recognize the petition to save the mural as valid citizen input. WGLT was recording the public work session where this petition discussion occurred. Citizen input, unfortunately, does not matter to the Town of Normal as it should.
When I was a kid, 70 some years ago, cities would sell license plates for bikes, did you things, raised revenue and registration in case the bike was stolen.
This was in Ohio.
Bike lanes on highway are dangerous.