Category: Koos

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

File Witness Slips Now! Hearing is 11:00 tomorrow

By: Diane Benjamin You need to file 2. Then SHARE! This link is to file against Chung’s 2nd amendment to HB 3337: https://my.ilga.gov/WitnessSlip/Create/148499?committeeHearingId=20041&LegislationId=148499&LegislationDocumentId=186620 This link is to file against Chung’s 3rd amendment to HB 3337: https://my.ilga.gov/WitnessSlip/Create/148499?committeeHearingId=20041&LegislationId=148499&LegislationDocumentId=186917 Review this story if you need help: https://blnnews.com/2023/03/20/do-this-right-now-witness-slip/ Opponent – Record of Appearance Only .

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

What Happened with the Chung bill:

By: Diane Benjamin There wasn’t a hearing on HB 3337 yesterday because Sharon Chung filed an amendment to the bill. That means it has to go back to the Rules Committee before being heard at the Counties and Townships Committee. The amendment was a stall tactic, it didn’t change anything. Maybe she saw the Witness […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal needs a PSCRB

By: Diane Benjamin Thankfully Bloomington’s Monday meeting was short. Most of it was the annual report of the Public Safety and Community Relations Board. The Board only had 3 cases to review for the entire year. In one case the Board made a policy recommendation the police did adopt but in all three cases the […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Citizens vrs Rights Deniers: the Visual

By: Diane Benjamin HB 3337 is a bill the Town of Normal wants so they can claim a permanent right to deny citizens a voice in government. Kevin McCarthy testified at the first hearing and claimed to represent Normal. The Council never voted, so McCarthy really represented Chris Koos. This bill would not be necessary […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Fire Works in Normal Part 2

By: Diane Benjamin 6 people spoke during Public Comment last night. Of course they had to wait until the end of the meeting because the Town of Normal wants to make sure the plebs don’t interfere at the beginning. Luckily the agenda was short so they weren’t sitting around for hours waiting to speak. The […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Fire Works in Normal last night

By: Diane Benjamin This is going to take more than one story. I have to start with proof Chemberly Harris isn’t intelligent enough to be a Trustee. The Town did vote to end the Use tax when purchasing a vehicle. The tax is .0075 of the net selling price. Obviously this wasn’t about saving taxpayer […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Do This Right Now: Witness Slip!

By: Diane Benjamin More on this story: https://blnnews.com/2023/03/11/sharon-chung-screws-normal-taxpayers/ The language of this bill was modified so it has to go back to the Counties and Townships Committee. That will at 4:30 tomorrow. If you see this bill for the sham it is, please file a Witness slip as an opponent: Use this link: https://my.ilga.gov/WitnessSlip/Create/148499?committeeHearingId=20004&LegislationId=148499&LegislationDocumentId=186620 Fill […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal Tonight

By: Diane Benjamin https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4597 PDF page 36: Normal is handing out your money to promote Uptown. More interesting is this paragraph claims Trail East and Trail West are still going to happen. Unless they aren’t telling citizens, nothing is happening with either. The latest developer backed out last November: https://blnnews.com/2023/02/22/proof-normals-staff-runs-the-town/ PDF page 66: The Council […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal’s latest fleece

By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up to this story: https://blnnews.com/2023/03/07/normal-buy-local-is-immaterial/ At the March 6, 2023 Council meeting the Water Director, John Burkhart, wanted to start buying parts from a company in Washington Il instead of the local supplier they have used for decades. Here’s the problem: Normal doesn’t stock a lot of parts because they claim they […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Fly on the Wall: Pam Reece

Does the Normal Town Council know they are Reece’s boss? Does Reece know she works for them? Does Reece know she can’t dictate the speech of Trustees? Does Reece know she can’t bar your representatives from representing? Is Reece preventing NPD from investigating electioneering? Is she barring release of findings? Will the results be buried […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Responsible Cities PAC: The list of who NOT to vote for

By: Diane Benjamin Everyone endorsed by this PAC have an agenda. That agenda isn’t doing what’s right for taxpayers, it’s doing what THEY want done regardless of your opinion. Did you want a $30 million pedestrian underpass in Normal? I hope you are noticing what electing progressives means. They work for government, not you. Dave […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

2 lawyers donated their time to Normal?

By: Diane Benjamin At court the day Judge Fellheimer ruled for Normal four lawyers were there representing the Town. One was the Town attorney (Brian Day) and one was Michael Kasper. One other lawyer said nothing but the 4th lawyer did a lot of talking. I don’t believe the 3rd and 4th lawyer worked for […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal not only stabbed taxpayers, they billed you!

By: Diane Benjamin More on this story: https://blnnews.com/2023/03/11/sharon-chung-screws-normal-taxpayers/. Normal declared war on it’s citizens and uses their money to take them out! The above story shows the people who supported Chung’s bill to legalize Normal’s illegal operation. Since you knew nothing about this bill you couldn’t object. The only reason we know about it now […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Sharon Chung SCREWS Normal taxpayers

By: Diane Benjamin Two types of people run for office. One runs for power and forcing other to submit to their vision, the other wants to serve and preserve freedom and liberty for future generations. Every Trustee in Normal does the bidding of staff and Koos except one. That one is despised for representing the […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Andy Byars: Not Right For Normal

By: Diane Benjamin Cat Peterson from Cities 92.9 simply asked Andy Byars a question. Here’s what happened next: https://www.cities929.com/2023/03/09/39240/ Summary of the story: Lobbyist in Illinois are required to register with Springfield BEFORE lobbying. They are required to take training before being listed as “compliant”. Cat found the State lobbyist website – it showed Andy […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal’s flip-flop

By: Diane Benjamin Below is a screen shot from the Town of Normal website: It wasn’t that long ago Normal was against scooters. Times change, especially when Rivian is thinking of building E-scooters. Another WGLT story: https://www.wglt.org/show/wglts-sound-ideas/2019-01-31/e-scooter-pilot-project-under-review-in-normal Maybe Mayor Bike Shop will start selling them! Congrats Normal! You too can be Washington DC (excessive crime […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal still discussing eliminating the USE TAX + more

By: Diane Benjamin Two things in the budget you won’t know unless you watched last night. Chemberly Harris is getting $19,000 for her Youth On A Mission. Pam Reece has a $750,000 slush fund. Of course it’s for contingencies (wasn’t needed for the previous 2 years). https://www.normalil.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21181/Town-of-Normal-2022-23-to-2027-28-Five-Year-Operating-and-Capital-Investment-Budget PDF page 121 Nothing aggravates citizens more than […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal: Buy Local is immaterial

By: Diane Benjamin The entire meeting was a little over an hour. I suggest citizens who plan to vote watch a few meetings instead of believing campaign literature. Of course no one showed up to speak at the Public Hearing on the budget. Many of the Trustees congratulated themselves on its greatness however. Spending on […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

UPDATE: Ceremonial Public Hearing tonight: Kathleen Lorenz

By: Diane Benjamin The budget isn’t called Proposed Budget, but it is on line as a 5 years budget. Good luck reading it: https://www.normalil.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21181/Town-of-Normal-2022-23-to-2027-28-Five-Year-Operating-and-Capital-Investment-Budget Tonight – a whole 5 minutes is devoted to a Public Hearing about the Proposed budget. Even though the announcement below claims the budget is on line it isn’t. Kathleen was […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Seen on Facebook: Cody Hendricks

By: Diane Benjamin Hendricks is running in Ward 6 against Jordan Baker. Ask Hendricks if he’s a closet socialist: Socialist former mayoral candidate Jackie Gunderson supports Hendricks: It appears Vicki Tilton and Tari Renner do too: (talking about campaign group) Willing to cheat to win? Just Funny – Green Top didn’t solve the food desert. […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

CIRA is back to wanting County money

By: Diane Benjamin The Peoria Journal Star reported on a study that claims Illinois is the WORST state for taxes: https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/state/2023/02/23/illinois-is-the-worst-for-taxes-study-says/69931709007/ The exodus from Illinois will continue when it is MUCH cheaper to move than stay in Illinois. Since every other level of government wants more money, CIRA is joining the party. See this story […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

3 things you need to know

By: Diane Benjamin 1) Biological males are using female restrooms at Normal Community. The rights of females are immaterial. Cancel culture cancelled the right to privacy for females. 2) Refer back to this story: https://blnnews.com/2023/02/22/proof-normals-staff-runs-the-town/ Remember all those “community” meetings Normal had to hear what people wanted to see in Uptown South? The email Mercy […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Uptown South Comedy!

By: Diane Benjamin Normal is building a pedestrian and bike underpass that will likely cost $30 million by the time it’s done. Vehicles will continue to sit behind trains blocking College and Linden because the underpass isn’t for vehicles. Linden won’t be 4 lanes anymore in the Uptown South plan, it is going on a […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Responsible Cities PAC isn’t

By: Diane Benjamin Only contributions to candidates or political action committees over $1000 are required to be immediately reported. Other contributions are reported quarterly. That means you won’t know who contributed to either until after the April 4th election since reports won’t be filed before then. Reports are available on Illinois Sunshine for contributions that […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Proof Normal’s staff runs the Town

By: Diane Benjamin The email below proves the Town staff knows the Council will pass whatever is brought to them. All but one Trustee doesn’t make independent votes on what is best for the citizens, they vote for “progress” as defined by staff. Just last Monday Doug Farr presented the Uptown South project as he […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal: Do what we want, not what makes sense

By: Diane Benjamin Want to pay for a new police station? Want to pay for a new library? Both are in the Uptown South plan. Did you know bikers will have to dismount to use the new underpass? Evidently it will be too dangerous to ride the path created for bikers and walkers to connect […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Andy Byars confirms he’s a Koos puppet

By: Diane Benjamin If you have ever watched a Normal Town Council meeting it’s obvious Karyn Smith will support anything on the agenda. Kathleen Lorenz supports 99% of what’s on the agenda. Andy Byars was interviewed by Kevin Phares on his show Speechless 2/19/23: https://www.cities929.com/speechles/ Jump to 59:00. Andy Byars wants you to vote for […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Violating Municipal Code is fine, I bet both think it applies to you however.

By: Diane Benjamin Both Bloomington and Normal are meeting on a Federal Holiday Monday: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/#url=2023 Bloomington Committee of the Whole: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/cityblm/30b941a9-75a9-11ed-9024-0050569183fa-791fe512-602c-4d20-98c8-ecdbbed39134-1676574142.pdf Normal starts at 6:00 instead of 7:00: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4575 Bloomington municipal code: https://ecode360.com/34402891 Normal municipal code: https://www.normalil.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7697/Chapter-03—Council-Meetings-and-Ordinances?bidId= Next time either tries to hold you accountable for violations of Municipal Code, ask them why violations are […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Uptown South, since Uptown was such a success

By: Diane Benjamin The Uptown TIF district was started in 2003. Since then it has collected $22,889,578. Bonds totalling $80,600,00 were issued to collect that $22,889,578. That doesn’t include interest which adds many more millions because only interest was paid on the bonds for many years. Add at least 50% to that number. TWO developers […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Koos is upset trains are blocking his crossings

By: Diane Benjamin https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2023-02-09/railroad-caused-traffic-jam-irritates-mayor-of-normal Some stories write themselves! Chris Koos is upset about freight trains blocking crossings in Normal. Fort Jesse, College, and Linden are frequently blocked. Koss thinks he can demand shorter freight trains. He is of course oblivious to business practices that make transportation cheaper with volume. (How does he stay in business?) […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Council votes against High Haven location

By: Diane Benjamin The Normal Town Council lives in luxury, visit the Council chambers and observe the rest of Town Hall. They want to be a Smart City, they have software to spy on what people say on line about them, and they have license plate readers. If the Town loves high tech so much, […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Buying Andy Byars

By: Diane Benjamin Andy Byars, Normal Town Council candidate, is a registered lobbyist for Recall Strategies Inc. That company is all in on Green Energy and lobbying local governments to build more. Below are the Recall Strategies lobbyists listed on the Secretary of State website: https://apps.ilsos.gov/lobbyistsearch/lobbyistsearch Now look at who is trying to BUY Andy […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Paging Andy Byars:

By: Diane Benjamin Have some fun, click here: https://evtown.org/ Know who owns that website? I hope you noticed the wind turbines, it isn’t just about EV’s. The Town of Normal owns it – the phone number goes to Planning. Take another trip here: https://apps.ilsos.gov/lobbyistsearch/lobbyistsearch That link should show a registered lobbyist named RECALL STRATEGIES, LLC […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Normal: You dodged a revealing bullet

By: Diane Benjamin Rachael Lund spent a lot of time collecting signatures to run for Normal Town Council. Then she withdrew because she is leaving the area. She saved me the trouble of posting stories like this one again: https://blnnews.com/2020/10/30/who-is-the-real-rachel-lund/ Lund is obviously far left. Not many signatures are needed to run for Bloomington Council. […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Update: Remember the Executive Session Stan Nord wasn’t allowed to attend by phone?

Update: PDF page 87 got fixed. Everything else still applies however: By: Diane Benjamin Review this story for details: https://blnnews.com/2022/09/09/village-of-normal-discriminates-against-stan-nord/ And this story: https://blnnews.com/2022/09/20/breaking-news-the-truth-about-stan-nord-and-the-executive-session/ Below is the original notice of this meeting – it was held on a Friday, not after a regular meeting like usual. https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4416 Jump to the documents for Monday’s meeting: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4557 […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Want to know why the Electoral Board Disbanded?

By: Diane Benjamin Normal assembled an Electoral Board, brought in Michael Kasper as their attorney, held a hearing, issued a continuance to allow time for Tom Devore to submit his response, and then NEVER meet again. That meeting was never adjourned. I FOIA’d communication between the Electoral Board and participants. You will never know the […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

State Farm vrs Rivian

By: Diane Benjamin I received a tip a few days ago about layoffs at State Farm. Employees were blindsighted in another department, not claims. It doesn’t matter how long they have been with the company, State Farm is picking who stays and who goes by skillsets. Retaining jobs in McLean County hasn’t been mentioned much […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Tri-Valley Debt – Paying over 37% Interest!

By: Diane Benjamin At last Tuesday’s meeting a representative from Stifel Public Finance made presentation. As reported yesterday this presentation was to inform the board about the status of bonds, when some would be paid off, and clear the way for new bonds for another building project. If I hadn’t been at the meeting to […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Who got signatures?

By: Diane Benjamin The easiest way to tell who supports which candidates for local office is to look at who collected signatures for them. You can see what each filed here: https://www.normalil.gov/114/Municipal-Elections Kathleen Lorenz: Chris Koos, Kevin McCarthy, and Sonja Reece Karyn Smith: Sonja Reece, Kevin MCarthy Andy Byars: John McIntyre (Byars says he’s republican), […]

Written by Diane Benjamin - editor

Kathleen Lorenz-re-appears on Cities 92.9

By: Diane Benjamin Kathleen thinks her, Karyn Smith, and Andy Byars are the positive candidates. Of course she implies the other 3 aren’t. I am positive these 3 will raise taxes and fees, vote for more bike paths, throw your money to the underpass when it goes way over budget, pretend government creates markets, and […]