‘My priority will always be the people of Normal’: Mayoral candidates for Normal lay out plans for governance

WGLT hosted the Normal mayoral debate between Incumbent Chris Koos and challenger Marc Tirtilli Tuesday evening. The debate was streamed on WGLT Facebook.  

In the opening statements, both candidates made the case as to why the people of Normal should vote for them. With a more problem-solving mindset, Tiritilli believes the town deserves someone who has better priorities to get the job done. 

Koos, who has been mayor since 2003, believes Normal deserves a leader with “experience, leadership, and proven dedication” to guide the community through the good and bad times. 

“My priority will always be the people of Normal,” Koos said.

Both candidates talked about the significance and impact COVID-19 has had on the community. 

“[It] is affecting the health of our community, it’s affecting the social interactions in our community, and it’s affecting the economy,” Koos said. “There are a lot of people who have lost jobs or are underemployed in this time; it has been truly, truly upsetting to our community as a whole. ”

Koos discussed his approach in keeping the public safe and helping the community throughout the pandemic. 

“We have distributed dollars that came from the federal government and the state government to help people who are underemployed or unemployed with their rent, we have instituted no-shut-off rules for water, we have eliminated late frees for water, we set up payment plans for people that are having a hard time with that; we’re working with our residents to help them get through this COVID situation,” Koos said. 

He said while there is light at the end of the tunnel, it takes the cooperation of everybody in the community to help move forward. 

“[We need to] let people know there’s light at the end of the tunnel, but we’re not out yet, so we still have to socially distance, we still have to mask–we can’t let this virus spike again in our community and set us back,” Koos said. 

Tiritilli said that COVID-19 is the most prominent issue for the government. He believes the notion of division holds a higher degree of significance. 

“[The issue of division] subsumes all of the other issues, and in fact, some of the methods that Mayor Koos has gone about addressing COVID have exacerbated the problem,” Tiritilli said.

He said Koos’s actions have caused spikes in COVID-19 cases and have resulted in ambiguity and uncertainty in the community.

In questions related to Illinois State University and Normal, Koos made it clear that students, regardless of how long they are living in Normal, are considered citizens of the community and have a significant impact on the community. Whether it’s through supporting small businesses or affecting policy decisions in relation to COVID-19, the Redbird community plays a compatible role around the community. 

“What’s good for Illinois State University is good for Normal, and what’s good for Normal is good for Illinois State University,” Koos said.

Tiritilli mention that since ISU students make up roughly 40% of the town’s population and while it’s important to keep a good relationship and support the university, the Town of Normal also needs to invest more up-keep for the long-term residents.

He said that the town does not need to be underwriting ISU projects, such as when the town funded ISU’s scoreboard or when the city took responsibility over cracking down on parties and singling out students. Tiritilli said ISU has all the resources to be covering their needs and expenses.

“This is all the more reason to me that we need to take care of what we’d call the “townies” here because these students are here using a lot of the resources–they do bring resources in–but when it comes to things like property taxes and roads, that’s really falling on the long-term residents in this community, and so we need to be mindful of them in that regard,” Tiritilli said.

Koos rebutted Tiritilli’s response and reassured the public and Tiritilli of the fact that students are contributing members of the Normal community.

“It’s an old, antiquated notion that students do not pay taxes that support the roads or property taxes. Of course, they do. Student apartment developers and the people that they rent from don’t forego property tax in their business calculations. Students drive cars, they buy gas, they buy groceries in this town, and they recreate in this town,” Koos said.

Koos also laid out a comprehensive plan of complete, compact and connected which honors all community members along with giving them the same opportunities and treating them like everyone else. 

“Part of our comprehensive plan in this community, the lotto of it is, complete, compact, and connected [in] honoring all residents in our community,” Koos said. “Treating them the same–giving them the same opportunity as anyone else in our community, and welcoming people of diverse races, sexual preferences [to our] community.” 

As an educator, Tritilli says his background has given him experience with diverse individuals. He said he has a sign on his door that reads, “free help for all” and believes it is the sort of mindset government ought to have in ensuring equality. 

“That’s the mindset that we need to have in government. We need to make sure that people have equal access, that they have equal opportunities. And the way that we do that, again, is through equal representation,” Tiritilli said.

Both candidates want what is best for Normal and believe they each have certain skills to be the leader community members and the Town needs. 

Early voting the municipal election on April 6 has begun in McLean County. For more information regarding early voting times and locations can be found on the McLean County government website.