By: Diane Benjamin Kathy Michael got the referendum court date moved to this Friday because early voting starts September 29th. (before any debates happen!) It will happen over Zoom so we can’t pack the court. Morning Giggles from League of Women Voters: The LWV decided as expected. When they picked Normal’s former City Manager as […]
By: Diane Benjamin Patrick Dullard thinks he has the right to stand against 2200 people who signed petitions to put the Districts referendum on the ballot. Of course he’s just a stooge Koos buddy. We have proof at least two “professional staff” people have been assisting him. Oh what a tangled web they weave . […]
By: Diane Benjamin The entire meeting video is over 3 hours, most of that was spent off camera in Executive Session. 3 videos you need to see, 2 are Public Comment the third is City Manager Tim Gleason. The first Public Comment was a lady who owns rental property. She didn’t receive rent because Pritzker […]
By: Diane Benjamin Packet for tonight: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/5a26b16f-a62d-11ec-8a90-0050569183fa-d854eb82-3702-4140-9de6-ac3a8e3f379d-1662676309.pdf Public Comment and Recognitions might take longer than the actual business part of the meeting. Everything is on the Consent Agenda and won’t be discussed unless an alderman pulls it. The longest part of the meeting won’t be public: I doubt releasing the minutes of Executive Sessions from […]
By: Diane Benjamin Notice a problem (or two)? Problem 1 The Normal Election Commission (board) is now immaterial since they issued their ruling on August 30th against the 2200 citizens who signed petitions. The Circuit Court is now in charge of deciding whether the referendum is on the ballot or not. Problem 2 Mark Peterson? […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember this story? https://blnnews.com/2020/10/19/is-koos-profiting-from-lockdowns/ Does Amtrak want a director that openly taunts people who don’t agree with him? Yesterday Koos proved yet again he doesn’t tolerate people who disagree with him: https://blnnews.com/2022/09/09/village-of-normal-discriminates-against-stan-nord/ Mayor Chris Koos was one of the votes to not allow Trustee Stan Nord to participate in the Executive Session […]
By: Diane Benjamin Pam Reece knew Stan Nord had a prior commitment today, she scheduled the meeting anyway. He asked to participate remotely. Guess what happened! Chris Koos was there. Kevin McCarthy was there. Kathleen Lorenz was there. Karyn Smith was there. Scott Preston was there. Chemberly Harris was there. These clowns voted to NOT […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://www.illinoissunshine.org/committees/34779/ How much money does her opponent Scott Preston have? https://www.illinoissunshine.org/committees/25061/ Chung is well know for supporting criminals during her time on the McLean County Board. So who is supporting this police hater? The same people trying to get Amendment 1 passed by calling it a Worker’s Rights Amendment. It’s really a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Of course Bloomington could have held this retreat in a place that could be live streamed, they chose not to. The only way to know what happens is to attend. Some items in #4 should be public discussions, that’s why they aren’t.
By: Diane Benjamin Executive Sessions (secret meetings) are usually held after a regular Council meeting. Normal called a special meeting for today with no Council meeting: Even though there isn’t a law that says Council members can’t talk about what is going on after this meeting they probably won’t. They like secrets. Whatever is going […]
By: Diane Benjamin The only way to have free and fair elections is to vote in-person with a voter ID on a paper ballot. That is why none of the above happens in Illinois. One thing the left knows is the only thing that matters is winning elections, the right just plans to fight harder […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last time Chris Koos was nominated to the Amtrak Board he didn’t get a hearing. https://www.congress.gov/nomination/116th-congress/1915 The seat he is nominated for has been vacant for years, this time it only took 4 months to get a hearing: If Koos ever gets a vote in the Senate he won’t be quitting his […]
By: Diane Benjamin East Moline is wants to make streetscape changes to their downtown. See this report: https://il-eastmoline.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/6947/Appendix-D—Benefit-Cost-Analysis-RAISE-2022 See this graphic from page 5: First, the report was issued on April 14, 2022 but they used 2020 dollars. That would be pre-40 year high inflation. See anything else that screams: People are stupid so we […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you have been dying to hear Kathleen Lorenz talk about raising her kids, just hit play below. She droned on for 10 minutes about her fears of letting them ride bicycles all the way through her fears of letting them drive. Lorenz wanted the residents worried about their property values and […]
By: Diane Benjamin This agenda item made last night’s Normal Town Council meeting last almost 3 hours: Ordinance Rezoning Property in the Town of Normal (4.14 Acres in the Wintergreen Subdivision) This is Jason Barickman’s company (Fairlawn Capital) plan to build houses that will most likely be rentals. The more than 100 houses will be […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) Notice who is missing from this lawsuit: Village of Normal isn’t party to the referendum appeal! 2) Remember Normal’s use of MICA to purchase insurance and paying far money that Bloomington does? Remember staff doing the accounting for vendor MICA? https://blnnews.com/2022/07/22/more-on-normals-mica-problem/ Well, just like CIRBN employees are no longer Village employees, […]
By: Diane Benjamin The citizens of Illinois saw truth by defeating a progressive income tax. Citizens now need to defeat Amendment 1 that only hands power to government unions. Note: The Constitutional Amendment that needs passed is a fix the pension system in Illinois. Pension debt is easily over $300 BILLION. Defined benefit programs will […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve seen a copy of what David Shestokas filed Friday with the Circuit Court. I could review the court cases Normal listed to support their position, but that would be tedious on a holiday weekend. Let’s just say Shestokas rips their ruling to shreds. Can we agree what Koos and company wrote […]
Zoom meeting put on by the State Board of Elections Tuesday, 9/6, and/or it’s recorded so one can “attend” anytime. We will be hosting a webinar on running for office in 2023 on Tuesday, September 6 at 11am. The meeting will also be recorded for those who are unable to attend. We will go over […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since I was in (unrepresented) west Normal yesterday I drove west on College to see the Normal fire hydrants installed next to Bloomington’s for myself: The current Council (minus one) believes everything they are told. This project was sold as “critical” in the marathon one day budget discussion. The Council was also […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday I was invited to home of a disabled veteran where a non-profit group called Central Illinois Housing Network was making much needed repairs: https://www.cihnvetsneedhousing.org/ Pictured are Starr and Bill Goptop and their son Nick. This group is a registered 501(c)3. They help veterans that wouldn’t be able to make needed home […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal ignores their taxpayers as evidenced by their ridiculous Public Comment policy meant to discourage citizens from speaking. It’s long past time for some non-violent civil disobedience. Sign up for Public Comment for an agenda item and then talk about Village abuse instead. Video of Koos cutting off citizens while speaking is […]
By Diane Benjamin h/t a reader (a different reader than the one who usually sends pics) Common sense would say if a road can’t handle large buses without driving over curbs and sidewalks the route should be changed to eliminate the problem. Since there is no “common sense” associated with Connect Transit, the corner by […]
