By: Diane Benjamin This information was received by FOIA, I didn’t submit the FOIA. Start here. Normal held an Open House in February to show off the Underpass plans. Staff created a SLIDE SHOW for the event. One item was originally in the presentation but was then deleted. See this email: It now isn’t $23 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Every time Normal wants something big they recruit local elites for Public Comment to praise the project. Last Monday was no exception. Former mayor Paul Harmon spoke both at the beginning of the meeting and the end. Patrick Hoban, the President and CEO of the local Economic Development Council was first up. […]
By: Diane Benjamin The data below was FOIA’d by Doug Fansler from the Town of Normal. Guess who is paying to charge Electric Vehicles? That would be the taxpayers of Normal, State of Illinois (ISU), and Heartland College district taxpayers. Maybe after paying way more for an EV than a gas powered vehicle free electricity […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4265 Chris Koos is back to traveling at taxpayer expense: The agenda is pretty slim, taxpayers will get an update on your last Sales Tax rate increase: PDF page 44: The Council will be holding an Executive Session (Secret meeting) to discuss personnel issues. This has to be about specific employees, not […]
By: Diane Benjamin See the packet here: https://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4254 The weirdest thing on the agenda is Normal buying a house at 316 N. Glenn for $12,500. Besides being in Chris Koos’ neighborhood, the house is appraised for tax purposes at $22,119. That is 1/3 of the actual value. Property taxes haven’t been paid, over $9,600 of […]
By: Diane Benjamin WalletHub is out with a new report as of 3/7/2022. It shows Illinois is #1 with an effective State and Local tax rate of 15.01%. The lowest overall tax state is Alaska – 5.84%. Click below and page down. https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-to-be-a-taxpayer/2416 Keep clicking down and you will see this: This proves why people […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember how Chris Koos frequently states payments can’t be discussed because they were all approved in the budget they spent ONE DAY discussing? He even changed the Agenda item from “approve” to “report to receive and file”. I FOIA’d Normal for a list of all organizations their employees are members of. Normal […]
By: Diane Benjamin 1) The “professional staff” in the Town of Normal cancelled National Fitness Campaign after the Council voted to proceed. Your representatives passed it but are not allowed to un-pass it after learning the vote was under fraudulent circumstances. Staff decided all on their own. 2) Governor Pritzker issued illegal executive orders for […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember last year when the trails in Normal were plowed before the streets? https://blnnews.com/2021/02/18/fly-on-the-wall-trail-snow-removed-before-streets/ I remember staff saying Parks and Rec had special equipment just for snow removal on the trail that can’t be used on the roads. Trust is earned, does the Town of Normal earn yours? That special equipment must […]
By: Diane Benjamin Water rates go up 2% every year without a Council vote. That isn’t enough money for the Town however. 1:08:15 – Chris Koos tells Stan Nord to quit bringing up past Council actions. This story is for you Mr. Mayor because past Council actions are why the Town wants to increase water […]
By: Diane Benjamin Follow-up to this story: https://blnnews.com/2022/01/25/illegal-meeting-normal/ Introduction to the Open Meetings Act Law: (5 ILCS 120/1)(from Ch. 102, par. 41) Sec. 1. Policy. It is the public policy of this State that public bodies exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business and that the people have a right to be informed as to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Zimmerman ran unsuccessfully for the Normal Town council last year. He was the chair of the Normal Planning Commission too. His term was scheduled to expire on March 31, 2023, the below is from last summer: AJ is no longer the Chairperson, in fact he isn’t on the Planning Commission now: According […]
By: Diane Benjamin This story was posted yesterday: https://www.buckys5thquarter.com/2021/12/29/22856964/does-your-college-town-suck-illinois-state-university-redbirds-normal Yes, the title is: Does your college town suck? Illinois State University It might be a biased story because the writer appears to be comparing Illinois to Wisconsin. He must not know about Rivian, it isn’t mentioned in the story. It is an interesting read though. […]
By: Diane Benjamin There is a Facebook Group called: Save the Uptown Mural and Historic Buildings On November 29th this story was posted to the group: Against Master Developers The best lines in the story are at the end: Master planner-based developments, with their large, centralized buildings, inhibit the growth of local businesses and reduce […]
By: Diane Benjamin I heard a rumor about fire hydrants not working at this apartment fire, so I FOIA’d documents. I will label that rumor untrue, one hydrant broke during the fire and could not be turned off, but that is the only reference to a broken hydrant I found. Keep in mind it was […]
By: Diane Benjamin I hope the Normal citizens who never confront Koos and his bobbleheads were watching last night’s meeting. Passion shut down Chris Koos, Kevin McCarthy couldn’t even get a Point of Order recognized. More on that one later. Last night I posted a screen shot showing how many citizens showed up, many: https://blnnews.com/2021/10/04/koos-and-crew-not-having-fun-tonight/ […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember the Financial Trends and Conditions Report? Chris Koos stated he always has it handy. Kathleen Lorenz has stated she can’t wait until it gets published every September. Want to know why the roads never get fixed? https://www.normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/19250/2021-Financial-Trend See PDF paged 30. Last Fiscal Year Normal spent the same percent of the […]
By: Diane Benjamin It’s really sad when government thinks they have the right to force people to comply based on a façade of fear. Is Reece just trying to get more Pritzker money? Want to know why Pritzker hasn’t allowed the legislature to make laws concerning COVID? He doesn’t want Illinois to find out the […]
By: Diane Benjamin A reader FOIA’d the Town of Normal over their “sympathy flowers” policy. The Normal taxpayers are paying for arrangements to be sent in sympathy to people Normal chooses to send them to. Picking Winners and Losers Normal? Are the people paying the bills ever told who flowers or plants are sent to? […]
By: Diane Benjamin 3 seconds that will be a story later this week. Keep in mind the Town of Normal is sponsoring the Chemberly Cummings indoctrination of your kids: https://blnnews.com/2021/09/10/chemberlys-activist-training/
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a citizen of Normal The video below starts where Chris Koos is introducing Julie Hile at 2:20:30. He instructs her that she has 3 minutes to speak. Hile starts talking at 2:20:48, she finishes at 2:25:30. Chris Koos: That’s way over 3 minutes. You didn’t stop her, therefore YOU have changed […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4067 On bills paid tonight that no one is allowed to question, PDF page 13: FYI: Real sympathy is using your money not taxpayer dollars they worked hard to earn. I hope an office collection was taken to reimburse the people who really paid, or the card sent said from: Citizens of […]
By: Diane Benjamin Yesterday around 3:30 I tried to call two communications people at the Town of Normal. Both were out of the office. Friday’s must be get out early day. I wanted to know if masks are required at the Sweetcorn Circus. Pritzker’s latest attack on freedom to breath doesn’t go into effect until […]
By: Diane Benjamin Doug Fansler recently filed a FOIA request with the Town of Normal concerning their EV charging stations: Can you please provide details of usage of Town owned charging stations like those in the parking garage (Tesla and all others? If there is a report, please share that with me. Otherwise I would […]
By: Diane Benjamin All Illinois government salaries and pensions can be found from this link: https://www.openthebooks.com/illinois/#School%20District Every time a unit of government hires additional staff or provides lavish salaries, the pension costs go up. They know it doesn’t matter because YOU will be forced to pay by law. Your “public servants”. This one is interesting, […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember this story? https://blnnews.com/2021/06/28/normal-underpass-over-sewers/ Instead of fixing problems – or even responding to citizens with problems – Normal plans to use storm water funds to build the underpass. Is every sewer separated from storm water in the Town of Normal? It is required to prevent backup sewage problems in heavy rains. If […]
East Washington is getting water, sewer, and road. $4.3 million, its going to be closed for quite awhile. By: Diane Benjamin 1) A citizens of Normal wants to know how many hours of staff time has been invested in the Underpass project. The Town of Normal claims they don’t keep track. At the last council […]
By: Diane Benjamin Below is an email I received as part of a FOIA from Normal. Note it is entirely redacted: I’m not sure why Normal had a copy since they aren’t listed. I noticed it was written to a City of Bloomington employee, so I FOIA’d Bloomington for this email. See if you notice […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader Not just any police officer, according to her Linked-In account: Her name is Amanda Street. Type it into Public Access and the name switches to her maiden name: https://publicaccess.mcleancountyil.gov/PubAC_Desc_Charges.aspx Charges were filed April 2, 2021. She was also charged with improper lane usage and disobeying a stop sign. This […]
By: Diane Benjamin After every Council meeting Stan Nord does a video on Facebook to explain what happened. Of course the Town hates the videos because they don’t control what he says. He mentioned the 11/5 indoor dining meeting from this story in his December 21st video: https://blnnews.com/2020/12/30/normal-you-cant-eat-inside-but-we-can/ Obviously the gang met in person and […]
By: Diane Benjamin Many of the locally elected aldermen and trustees are inflicted with the same disease. They believe everything they are told instead of looking at facts for themselves. They weren’t elected to represent government staff, they should be representing the people. There were two glaring examples during the Town of Normal meeting last […]
By: Diane Benjamin Tari Renner tested positive for COVID. He stated himself Monday night he had symptoms for 13 days. So far reports to me have him going to a local restaurant and a grocery story WITH symptoms. Don’t forget his dancing antics without a mask too. What are citizens going to tolerate? Is the […]
By: Diane Benjamin See previous story: https://blnnews.com/2020/12/02/normal-shut-down-a-local-business/ I FOIA’d the Body Cam video listed in the Police Incident Report, it didn’t take long to get a response: Evidently: Since no arrests were made (because no crime was committed), they won’t release the video. If the police show up at your business, ask for the warrant. […]
By: Diane Benjamin I received a FOIA yesterday from the Town of Normal. This isn’t the only communication you need to see, but I will start here. I didn’t redact the senders information because she deserves praise for writing it. Her thoughts represent many.
By: Diane Benjamin A reader sent this story: https://ussanews.com/News1/2020/10/11/these-are-the-us-cities-where-workers-make-the-most-relative-to-their-cost-of-living/ The story goes in numerous directions, but it starts with the fact that people who are capable of working remotely are leaving large metro areas. Why live in a shoebox in New York City when you can live for a lot less anywhere else in the […]
By: Diane Benjamin See the previous story: https://blnnews.com/2020/09/28/see-if-you-can-spot-anything-strange/ That story shows the largest purchasers of Bloomington water. I see three locations in Normal that are getting water from the City of Bloomington: Rivian, Bromenn, and Firestone. All three have been buying water from Bloomington for a LONG time, Mitsubishi before Rivian. So why does Normal […]
By: Diane Benjamin Since Chris Koos has been dictating to citizens without any input from your elected officials, didn’t you already think the Town of Normal employees were required to wear masks at work? Evidently not. Remember why the shutdown happened? It was to keep the hospitals from being overwhelmed. It was never to keep […]
By: Diane Benjamin As reported in this story – Normal will reject a bid for a bike share program tonight: https://blnnews.com/2020/07/31/normal-could-have-a-10-minute-meeting-monday/ The previous contract was a 3 year deal with Zagster. I think it is safe to assume this contract wasn’t a revenue cash cow for Zagster because they didn’t bother to bid this time. […]
The Open Meetings Act applicable section was amended effective 1/1/2013. That’s more than 7 years ago! _____________________ By: Diane Benjamin The Town of Normal under the current leadership prefers to make up their own laws. The most obvious example is their illegal public comment policy. Here’s another one: http://normal.org/DocumentCenter/View/7697/Chapter-03—Council-Meetings-and-Ordinances?bidId= What does the Open Meetings Act […]
By: Diane Benjamin One Normal Plaza is a tranquil park like setting. It is the site of the Soldiers and Sailors Home were many kids grew up. If you haven’t driven through the area, please do. Everything about this should be preserved for future generations. The Town of Normal staff have proposed zoning changes allowing […]
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