By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader More on this story: https://blnnews.com/2023/08/16/has-work-started-on-west-college-and-the-underpass/ Nothing is happening at the underpass site: Work is being done instead the Children’s Discovery Museum instead:
By: Diane Benjamin West College was despicable when the Normal Town Council approved a plan to fix it clear back in 2020: https://blnnews.com/2020/06/23/normal-on-fixing-west-college/ According to the Community Investment Plan the Town first had to extend sewer lines to the West side of Rivian Motorway. That work should have been completed in FY 2023 which ended […]
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 […]
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?) […]
By: Diane Benjamin Two topics were discussed during Normal’s 5:00 pm Work Session: the Underpass lighting and north side aesthetics plus this one: Funding a Housing Navigator Bloomington heard the details awhile back and hasn’t voted, Monday it was Normal’s turn. It was stated by Kathleen Lorenz that Bloomington-Normal is currently short 4300 places to […]
By: Diane Benjamin Today seems like the perfect time to post this email again, note Pam Reece didn’t send this to the Council: The underpass isn’t $23 million anymore, it is at least $27 million. (to save 50 feet) Worse, if all the shiny bells and whistles can’t be afforded during initial construction those can […]
By: Diane Benjamin See original story: https://blnnews.com/2022/05/09/no-surprise-normal-needs-6-million-more-to-build-the-underpass/ Monday packet: https://www.normalil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4398 PDF page 62: Either people all across the country are funding Normal’s amenities or money is being printed so Normal can have an underpass vehicles can’t use. Brilliant. Oh, the Subway inside the Amtrak station closed, another Uptown success story. Remember what Normal did when […]
By: Diane Benjamin Correction: this was his hearing the last time he was appointed. No hearings are scheduled yet for his current appointment. If he isn’t confirmed by the end of this Congress this year the process starts over. If you were wondering about Chris Koos’ appointment to the Amtrak Board, hearings are scheduled for […]
By: Diane Benjamin Remember when Kathleen Lorenz made an impassioned plea for the Council to communicate better? https://blnnews.com/2022/05/03/kathleen-now-hears-what-we-hear-when-watching-meetings/ That happened on May 3, 2022. (Two weeks ago!) Evidently she didn’t mean it. When I posted the story about Normal requesting another $6 million for the underpass, Stan Nord emailed the Council asking what they knew. […]
By: Diane Benjamin If you don’t know inflation is caused by the printing of money the Feds handed out across the country, see if Heartland offers a basic economics course. (Too much money chasing too few goods) Both Bloomington and Normal are meeting on Monday. Bloomington is holding a Committee of the Whole Meeting to […]
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 Community Meeting on the Future Uptown Connector / Underpass Project PLEASE TAKE NOTICE a public meeting on the future Uptown Connector/Underpass Project will be held at Normal City Hall, Room 409, 11 Uptown Circle, Normal, McLean County, Illinois at 5 p.m., prevailing time, on the 16th day of February, 2022. The meeting […]
By: Diane Benjamin Your property taxes were raised last night with the consent of the two Republicans on the Normal Town Council. The rate was kept the same (for now) but with rising property values the Town will collect over $300,000 more than last year. The vote last night was sold as “statutory”, another vote […]
By: Diane Benjamin I hope the people around Lexington weren’t told their taxes would go down if a wind farm is built. They won’t, the letter below proves plans are already being made to spend the additional $1.3 million in new taxes. I wonder if the writers know that wind farm money decreases over time. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Follow up to this story: Received by FOIA, total $2,670.75. Wait for him to be appointed Project Manager for the underpass. This is tiny compared to what he will get.
By: Diane Benjamin While Bloomington is trying to pay cash for purchases instead of borrowing for capital expenses, Normal is running in the opposite direction. The Town of Normal stockpiles money in reserves, the applicable fund for this discussion is Vehicle and Equipment reserves. Obviously citizens in Normal are paying higher taxes so the Town […]
By: Diane Benjamin Most of what you need to know about the passage of accepting all the grant money is in the underpass vote. Koos, McCarthy, Smith, and Cummings were enthusiastic Yes votes. Nord voted No, Preston and Lorenz squeaked out Yes votes after uncomfortable pauses. Watch just the vote here: What else you need […]
By: Diane Benjamin https://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4034 Another parking deck loss: Chalk up another 2nd floor rent payment while the first floor of One Uptown Circle is still empty: On the agenda: Uptown floods, the underpass will flood too. The bobbleheads will approve anyway: There is more, why blow the surprise now?
By: Diane Benjamin Last weekend’s flooding proved local governments care more about building new than maintaining the infrastructure they already have. Anybody think the underpass Normal is desperate to build won’t flood? Think it won’t get icy in the winter? How will Amtrak passengers get to the other side if either happens? Probably the same […]
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 Underpass work session: So far Normal has authorized spending $1.5 million on Phase 1 of the underpass. Chris Koos stated it can not be stopped now because of all the staff time, grants received, and other agencies involved that wouldn’t like Normal backing out now. It almost sounded like Wayne Aldrich (Director […]
By: Diane Benjamin Keep in mind many of Normal’s professional staff don’t live in Normal: https://blnnews.com/2020/12/14/guess-where-town-of-normal-employees-dont-live/ They have no reason to keep taxes low, make the roads drivable, or the water drinkable. The Council will be meeting at 5:15 to hear the status of the underpass project. Public opinion is immaterial. The fanciest properties will […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington’s meeting last night will have to wait until tomorrow! Would you drink this? This is water from S. Coolidge in Normal, if the homeowner didn’t have a filter system this is what it would look like. The owner claims his neighbors are too afraid to complain. I hear that frequently from […]
By: Diane Benjamin The comments submitted on the underpass project were received by FOIA. https://blnnews.com/2021/04/16/hey-normal/ The comments were overwhelmingly negative with a few submitted in support by the usually Koos allies. The only difference between going ahead with the underpass and the Coliseum, both not supported by residents, is Koos and company got the entire […]
By: Diane Benjamin h/t a reader The below was received by FOIA. Other documents state a new library is still on the table after the underpass is built. Many Koos voters think the only thing that matters is progress, progress to what is never defined. They think projects like this, funded completely with tax dollars, […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Normal Town Council meeting was thankfully much shorter than usual, but the attacks on Stan Nord continued unabated. Start with Koos’ secret appointments to Boards and Commission. He has stated in the past appointments can’t be discussed because they are “personnel”. They are volunteers that don’t get paid, they work for […]
By: Diane Benjamin The City of Bloomington will be holding a Committee of the Whole meeting to hear the plans for O’Neil park. http://bloomingtonil.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1106&Inline=True The proposed budget for next year has $10,000,000 allocated. Remember when Renner and company wanted a water park? My sources say the neighborhood defeated turning their area into a destination. They […]
The best pictured I’ve seen on line was posted by Belle Pierpont. The caption says it was taken from her window. All of the crossings from Ft. Jesse to University were closed according to the Normal Police Department at 8:30 this morning. This underpass is also closed. Several cars parked at student housing were damaged […]
By: Diane Benjamin One of the first actions by the new Council installed May 1st should be reviewing actions taken by previous Council that staff is still implementing. The biggest one is building the underpass. Previous Councils have voted to investigate and possibly design, but not to build it. Since the Town has a $13 […]
By: Diane Benjamin Long before Rivian received major investments, the Town of Normal put deposits down on TWO Rivian vehicles. https://blnnews.com/2018/12/21/merry-christmas-rivian/ Buying one could be considered supporting a Normal business, but why two VERY expensive luxury vehicles? The Council has not approved purchasing any at this point. We have no idea who would drive them […]
By: Diane Benjamin New Front Page on the Town of Normal website: https://www.normal.org/ See the top right hand corner. Clicking there will take you to a short survey. Hint: Stop building vanity projects with taxpayer money and NONE OF THE ABOVE are not potential answers. Koos and company are rushing to find the money to […]
By: Diane Benjamin http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3660 The Town of Normal is going together with the County, Bloomington, and BNWRD to fund hazardous waste collection days through the Ecology Action Center. PDF page 61: This is common sense since citizens expect nobody associated with the Town to profit off this contract. Too bad it didn’t apply to this: […]
By: Diane Benjamin On November 5, 2018 the Town of Normal bought property at the corner of Hershey and Sheppard for a fire station. Remember, the residents in the area didn’t want it located there – the Town ignored their petition. The purchase price was $450,000 for 1.69 acres (according to GIS): http://normal.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3107 Monday night […]
By: Diane Benjamin Need proof Normal’s spending is to provide union jobs? Keep reading. When the private sector isn’t providing jobs, government is the only alternative. Mike Matejka is the Governmental Affairs Director, Great Plains Laborers District Council representing LiUNA locals in central Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. Why is Mike Matejka arranging official […]
By: Diane Benjamin Sometimes I can put puzzle pieces together on my own, sometimes I can’t. It takes you readers filling in the missing pieces! Many have, it is much appreciated. The underpass has MANY puzzle pieces! Frequently I forget what I have written and what has happened at Council meetings – I am a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Surprise surprise! Normal had an agreement with IDOT to build an overhead passenger walkway at their expense: The source for the above is the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by former City Manager Mark Peterson and officials from the State of Illinois and Union Pacific Railroad: 12.6.16_MOU Your elected officials decided a […]
By: Diane Benjamin Glen Ellyn also got a federal grant. While Normal received $13 million, they got $14.4 million. The grant is for reconstructing their Metra station and a pedestrian tunnel: What’s the price tag? $20,000,000 Source: http://www.dailyherald.com/glen-ellyn-to-celebrate-144m-grant-for-metra-station-project What is the price tag for Normal’s underpass (only)? $22,000,000 Glenn Ellyn’s tunnel will have ramps to […]
By: Diane Benjamin At Monday’s Council meeting at was announced they think the formerly $24,000,000 underpass can be built for $22,000,000. This Uptown vanity won’t allow a single car to avoid sitting at a crossing waiting for a train to pass. It won’t stop people from crossing the tracks on foot at other crossings. Compare […]
By: Diane Benjamin There are two types of people in government: Those who think their position demands they “make progress” Those who think their job is to create an environment so people can create their own “progress”. One uses your money for their vision, the other allows you to create your own vision. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Normal held two meetings last night. The first one was a Work Session pertaining to the underpass. Public Comment was first: 7:30 Sonja Reece explained why the underpass is essential. One item she noted was buses from Chicago bringing field trip kids from Chicago need a way to get the kids across […]
