By: Diane Benjamin
Chris Koos and has band of merry fleecers will continue to increase funding to Connect Transit. They adore empty buses and the $1,000,000 a month the feds and state poor into McLean County to keep it running. They love electric buses and solar panels. They love transfer stations that give their union buddies work.
What about the cost to you?
(Besides higher taxes going to Connect)
Close up:
This corner by Portillos has been fixed numerous times because the huge empty buses can’t make the turn! This time it looks like the bus went 3 feet off the road.
The taxpayers of Normal will get the bill for fixing this again. The pavement and curb is destroyed again. Chris Koos doesn’t care what it costs, Connect Transit can take as much of your money as they need to keep pretending they are needed here. Don’t forget the current Council (except Stan) thought leaving a seat on the Connect Transit Board for more than a year was fine.
I might as well throw in the Portillos fiasco, also courtesy of Koos: https://blnnews.com/2020/09/07/correcting-the-portillos-myth-one-last-time/
Koos wants you to believe he is responsible for Rivian being here. He has too many fails for that to be close to true. Koos has a long line of scams he has fallen for, Portillos is just one. One Uptown Circle with Normal renting an entire floor while the first floor is STILL empty is another. Keep in mind Amazon and Ford threw money at Rivian, prior to that Rivian didn’t meet the incentive goals. Koos had nothing to do with the massive investments.
Rivian is here because an empty plant and incentives made it feasible. Koos just opened your wallet to make it happen.
I have observed multiple buses make this turn, very tight turn for a bus driver. Someone should re-route the bus so they do not have to go this way.
That would be smart, maybe that’s why it hasn’t been done.
Connect Transit should be replaced with something like this.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb44JX29Ub8&feature=youtu.be
Difference between a red state and a blue one
During COVID shutdowns I ate lunch many times in the Portillo’s parking lot. I would regularly see the Connect Transit buses pass by this very spot. They cant make the corner and hop the curb. That section must be a main passage for the buses since it is not uncommon to see three buses on Landmark Dr. at the same time. All empty or 1 or 2 riders as usual. The spokesman for Connect was on the radio last year and when pressed about seeing empty buses he said that is expected because the pick up and drop off so often. Dumbest excuse I have ever heard.
There are numerous “turns” like this in the twin cities, poor street planning and bad bus routing!
As for business acumen, IF Koos was in the private sector I doubt he’d make money on a garage sale..
He is in the private sector, but he made taxpayers pay for paths his customers can use.