By: Diane Benjamin
Sen Dave Koehler is doing Normal’s bidding in the Illinois Senate by sponsoring HB 3337. This is the Chung bill ONLY for Normal that exempts them from complying with Municipal Code for Incorporated Towns and allows them to continue operating with a City Manager instead of a Supervisor. An elected Clerk would prevent FOIA problems since the Clerk wouldn’t be risking their job to produce documents required by law. The current one isn’t independent.
Normal doesn’t want citizens to have rights.
At least in the Senate the bill is being heard by the Local Government Committee, in the House it wasn’t. A hearing is scheduled for April 26th.
You can file a Witness Slip here even though the House committee ignored the overwhelming opposition: https://my.ilga.gov/WitnessSlip/Create/148499?committeeHearingId=20229&LegislationId=148499&LegislationDocumentId=185069
It would likely be even more effective to contact the Democrat members of this committee and tell them this bill only applies to Normal and it takes away your rights to representation required by Municipal Code.
If this bill is not rejected in committee it will prove Democrats so not believe in “democracy”. See the members here: https://ilga.gov/senate/committees/members.asp?CommitteeID=2906&GA=103
If you search each name a State contact form will allow you to contact each by email. Start with non-committee member Dave Koehler: https://senatordavekoehler.com/constituent-services/contact-us
He was elected to represent you, not government. He is FAILING at the job – sound familiar?
This state, county and localities are taking “community policing” and data exploitation and legal networks to a very risky extreme. Consumers and citizens beware. Til people start speaking up the politicians are clueless and think the whole digital and “fintech” and transformation deceit is a common goal. Technocrats in every county and state dept, univeristy and public school is at risk. (and small/large organizations you trust historically.
This is NOT what our land should be fighting for or fought against. Its not about security or safety or the kids for saving the children… Wake up folks.
Surveillance capitalizm..at its worst.
This bill eliminates the rights of only voters in Normal. It kills the ability for Normal residents to get wards/districts by first petitioning to incorporate as a village then a subsequent petition for districts. Keeping at-large elections and keeping the Clerk appointed by the manager are the effects of this bill.
This legislation was represented to the state as an official town policy request with no council resolution ever being passed. They are lying to the state and are exceeding their authority. This is being done “under the color of law” which is Illegal, but since the parties doing it are Democrats the laws don’t apply.
Also the 2 court cases the Town claims this bill codifies is a B.S claim. The judge in the first case said Normal is an Incorporated Town. The second judge said the state statue saying the clerk, supervisor, and treasurer shall be elected doesn’t apply to Normal because the statue did not say Home Rule. This bill is different than what either of the judges were considering.
It solidifies another example that the wannabe King Koos can do whatever he wants with no repercussions. Those who endorse it are setting up for more tyranny and are not honoring their Oath of Office.
Are you saying that Normal citizens have rights? That in itself surprises me!
Clerk Schmerk. While yes, precluding us from electing our clerk is a bad thing, that’s a bad thing that we’ve had for decades, perhaps forever.
This bill allows for the Mayor to declare himself dictator by effectively dissolving the elected town council. They deny that it does that or that that is their intent, but there was an earlier version of the bill that specified that the council would be elected; if there was no intent to potentially dissolve the elected council, then why change from the earlier less oppressive wording?