By: Diane Benjamin On September 30th a Joint meeting of the County Board, Normal Council, and the Bloomington City Council was held. This was an official meeting which was required to comply with the Open Meetings Act. Public Comment was held at the beginning of the meeting. Marc Tiritilli was the only speaker. His topic […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s Normal Town Council meeting lasted over 2 1/2 hours, it will take more than one story. Chris Koos declared again last night that he was holding a “business meeting”. Since the Town of Normal produces nothing and only has money they steal from taxpayers, he isn’t holding a “business meeting”. […]
Connect Transit is the best example of a government agency throwing away tax dollars. In the near future they will want more of your money to throw away. Marc Tiritilli posted the below to Facebook. Keep in mind he requested an appointment to the Connect Transit Board to fill the year long empty seat representing […]
By: Diane Benjamin Mayor Koos started this discussion on Facebook in a group called: News Happening in Bloomington Normal McLean Co Area and All Over This group has 34,727 members! Have popcorn ready before reading! I copied most of the comments, note most of the people on the page didn’t appreciate his juvenile post. Koos […]
By: Diane Benjamin At least they are in Normal! Remember how Mayor Koos shut down Stan Nord over expenses because bills listed have already been paid? Auditors make sure the numbers are in the right columns and the required footnotes and disclosures are included in financial statements. The don’t look for fraud and they certainly […]
By: Diane Benjamin We already knew the Connect Transit Working Group was not formed to fix problems. Koos and company can’t allow mere mortals to upset their transportation plans to force all plebes on buses. Marc Tiritilli proved the group was a setup from the beginning – it was only created to pacify those not […]
By: Diane Benjamin I read more of the massive FOIA request I received from the Town of Normal concerning the failure of Chris Koos to appoint a representative to the Connect Transit Board. In addition to the FIVE people listed in this story: https://blnnews.com/2019/06/26/koos-fib/ I found a few more forwarded to Koos by Judy Buchanan […]
By: Diane Benjamin As reported yesterday, at Monday’s Normal Town Council meeting Marc Tiritilli asked Mayor Koos about the vacant seat representing Normal on the Connect Transit Board. Marc claimed he asked for the appointment 5 weeks ago, the seat is still empty at a time it needs filled. Many citizens are not happy with […]
By: Diane Benjamin Chris Koos buddy Dave Shields is livid he got beat in the last election. See 12:50. He decided to tear into Stan Nord for “lying” at Public Comment. Hey Dave – you said New York leads the states in out migration. According to this link New York is 4th, New Jersey is […]
By: Diane Benjamin Chris Koos didn’t get the lesson from two years ago when he only defeated Marc Tiritilli by 11 votes. Last night the voters in Normal sent a baseball bat to the head message: We demand a new direction! Two of the top three winners took on the Koos and company agenda, Stan […]
By: Diane Benjamin Some angry citizens of Normal appeared at Public Comment asking the Trustees to at least investigate moving the proposed fire station to a different corner. Staff had spent too much time to backtrack, they voted to proceed with “the plan” as presented anyway. Kathleen Lorenz and Scott Preston voted against it. One […]
The first public comment speaker was Karyn Smith (not Karen) – also a candidate for Normal Town Council. Other than her comments last night I don’t know anything else about her – yet. By: Diane Benjamin When Chris Koos began public comment he made clear he would time limit the speakers so they could get […]
by: Diane Benjamin Scott Preston was absent Nobody pulled the $127,000 to cover the Children’s Discovery Museum spending. Bury it and move on. This was by far the most read story of the week: https://blnnews.com/2018/12/15/oops-more-on-normal-for-monday/ Three people spoke at public comment. The first was Andy Shirk of Beer Nuts, he was in favor of the […]
By: Diane Benjamin At the last meeting of the Normal Town Council citizens showed up to protest the latest development plan for Uptown: https://blnnews.com/2018/10/16/normal-citizens-showed-up-no-minds-changed/ Two speakers decried the plan to destroy more historic buildings. The Council didn’t care and passed the plan anyway. There is now a petition on-line to save the mural: https://www.change.org/p/town-of-normal-city-council-save-the-mural-save-our-money It […]
By: Diane Benjamin The majority of the meeting was spent talking about TIF districts. The City of Bloomington currently has two: Empire Corridor which is a massive area along Empire street, and Downtown Southwest. The City is trying to get approval from the other taxing bodies for two more: The old Junior High building area […]
By: Diane Benjamin I attended the District 87 School Board meeting last night. Evidently not many people speak at Public Comment because they have NO Public Comment rules. Public Comment is at the end of the meeting and anyone who wants to speak can with no time limits. (Refreshing!) Two students spoke in support of […]
By: Diane Benjamin This BHS and student walkout story is getting more serious. __________________________________ If you missed the previous stories, catch up: https://blnnews.com/2018/03/30/district-87-hiding/ https://blnnews.com/2018/03/22/remember-the-student-walk-out-bhs/ __________________________________ 1) From the District 87 website about FOIA requests: https://www.district87.org/Page/309 Note: they want to charge .15 cents for FOIA requests after the first 50 pages. The email below is in response […]
By: Diane Benjamin The School Board and Administration aren’t talking. Mark has too much class. Received by FOIA – from one of his students. I’ve got LOTS more, including a cover sheet where the FOIA officer misspelled Marc’s last name in numerous places. If you aren’t disgusted after reading, what does it take? Maybe look […]
By: Diane Benjamin Ever feel like people you elect to a local office, like alderman and trustees, don’t represent you? How about School Board members? Who do they work for? In District 87 the people you elect to represent you don’t work for you. From the District 87 website: Click to access filedownload.ashx Does the […]
By: Diane Benjamin During public comment many first time speakers almost begged the Council to save the historic buildings at 104, 106, and 108 Beaufort Street. From the Council discussion, that is not going to happen. City Manager Peterson claimed all they were doing was picking a developer. Oh they will see what they can […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal must be feeling heat. Maybe it’s because Chris Koos came REALLY close to getting knocked off by Marc Tiritilli. Maybe it’s because Normal raised property taxes eleven years in a row. Maybe it’s because the only way a building was going to get built across from City Hall […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal is pretending pension expenses are mandated by the State and they can’t afford them without raising Property Taxes. Somehow the Police and Fire pensions have been seriously underfunded for years. IMRF retirements have been funded above the 80% level since 2013, think Mark Peterson’s retirement, while in 2016 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Years ago I heard the developer of the Marriott felt he pulled off a legal robbery of the Town of Normal taxpayers courtesy of the hayseed Council hell-bent on a downtown hotel. The rich continued to get richer last night courtesy of the Normal Town Council. Two citizens spoke during public comment. […]
Note: A reader commented on the ISU student – Wes Ward (not Wood) By: Diane Benjamin I tried to watch the video of Monday’s Normal Town Council, but never made it past Public Comment. Marc Tiritilli is still the voice of reason and fiscal responsibility. I dare you to watch his comments without standing and […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last week I wrote about the review of signatures of some voters in Normal: https://blnnews.com/2017/05/06/normals-vote-recount/ The McLean County Clerk has the signatures on file for the purpose matching the voter with that signature on election day. Since voter ID isn’t required, it’s quite easy for anyone to pick the name of a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since I didn’t understand what was happening with the Normal mayoral recount, yesterday I dropped in at the County Clerk’s office to check it out. In case you live under a rock, the election was won by Chris Koos with only 11 votes separating him and Marc Tiritilli. As the picture shows, […]
By: Diane Benjamin The government gods in Normal are upset a lowly citizen challenged them. LONG time (too long) Council member Jeff Fritzen doesn’t want people looking at the facts, he wants to explain them himself. I heard a news report saying Fritzen thinks trust in government has been broken without cause. That what every […]
By: Diane Benjamin It’s ELECTION DAY! If the only race you want to vote is MAYOR: only vote Mayor. You aren’t required to vote in every race. Yes, you can same day register! Today is the day to send your message to City Hall. Either spending and taxes will continue to increase or you can […]
By: Diane Benjamin Chris Koos was on WJBC this morning. Hear the interview HERE Did you know that Uptown is NEVER going to be finished? Yep, Koos said that. He is running for a 4th term because he isn’t done with his vision. Bloomington-Normal will be paying for a new sports facility if Koos and […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday Marc Tiritilli was interviewed on WJBC: https://audioboom.com/posts/5751341-marc-tiritilli-candidate-for-normal-mayor-3-27-17 Listen to the next mayor of Normal. Besides the massive debt, the Portillos debacle and Koos’s stand against allowing the public to speak freely is enough to throw him out of office. Tonight: The final debate between Tari Renner and Kevin Lower. ISU’s University […]
By: Diane Benjamin Unemployment numbers for January 2017 are now available on the Illinois Department of Employment Security website: http://www.ides.illinois.gov/LMI/Pages/Current_Monthly_Unemployment_Rates.aspx Unemployment is on the way up in Bloomington-Normal. The first column is Jan-17 – then Dec-16 the Jan-16. Of course the closing of Mitsubishi has hurt the local economy, but local governments still hasn’t figured […]
Note: The meeting video is missing! I will change the link when it’s available. Video is back, maybe Koos didn’t like Marc Tiritilli on the opening screen! By: Diane Benjamin The Normal Town Council met last night to approve the budget and talk about Metro Zone. The ruling proletariat is feeling the election heat. They […]
By: Diane Benjamin Charlie Schlenker did a great job moderating the forum last night between Chris Koos and Marc Tiritilli. Listen to the one hour broadcast HERE Both the Pantagraph and WGLT coverage called Tiritilli a District 87 teacher. Both failed to mention he teaches PHYSICS. Marc obviously needs exceptional intelligence for that job and […]
By: Diane Benjamin There is an easy fix for the relationship now spinning out of control between Bloomington and Normal: Dump Both Mayors Tari Renner and Chris Koos will never have enough of your money to achieve their versions of Utopia. Bloomington stole Dick’s Sporting Goods and Kroger’s from Normal by handing taxpayer money to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last December I wrote about Normal”s Public Comment policy: https://blnnews.com/2016/12/06/normals-illegal-public-comment-policy/ At least two citizens of Normal filed Requests for Review with Lisa Madigan’s Public Access office asking her to rule on their policy. I asked one of them if I could print both what the Town of Normal claimed and his response. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Chris Koos has been mayor of Normal since 2003. Voters claim to want term limits – isn’t 14 years enough time to enact one? More reasons exist to dump Koos though. At the end of FY 2016, the Town was $99,974,191 in debt! Almost $100 MILLION! The population reported to the State […]
Normal resident Craig Stimpert is hosting an Open House so you can meet Marc Tiritilli: February 18th from 10 – 11:30 5 Crestwood Court – between School and Fell Streets, near Calvary Baptist Church Come and meet Marc, ask questions, leave whenever you want. Marc is an exceptional candidate you NEED to meet! If you […]
By: Diane Benjamin At the last Normal Town Council meeting property taxes were raised. There was the obligatory gnashing of teeth before the ENTIRE Council voted yes, they are all wonderful actors pretending pensions funding isn’t their fault. Blame the State, blame under performing markets, never Uptown! The video is available here: http://normal.org/779/Council-Videos The entire […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 22, 2016 Marc Tiritilli to run for Mayor of Normal Normal—Marc Tiritilli is pleased to announce his candidacy for Mayor of Normal in the election on April 4, 2017. He has gathered the required signatures and is eagerly moving on to the heart of the campaign. Tiritilli said he is basing […]
By: Diane Benjamin The video from last night’s Normal Council meeting is now available. People speaking during public comment are not required by law to give their address! Chris Koos told them they did, 3 speakers complied. Don’t comply in the future – it’s intimidation. No representatives from the Police and Fire unions showed up […]
