By Heart of Illinois ABC
NORMAL – The two candidates vying to be elected mayor of Normal next month offered their different interpretations about the challenges facing the town.
The April 6 election is a rematch between incumbent Mayor Chris Koos, who’s led Normal for 18 years, and Marc Tiritilli, who lost to Koos by just 11 votes in 2017.
Koos said he has the experience necessary to guide the town through the COVID-19 pandemic, while Tiritilli said Koos’ handling of the pandemic for the past year divided the community because of his executive orders.
“This has led to uncertainty in the community. It upset residents and businesses alike because of the way we were going about these things. We’re using executive orders that don’t necessarily carry the force of the law. There’s ambiguity and uncertainty, and that just made the problem even worse,” Tiritilli said.
He said “preferential” incentives to spur economic development took tax revenue away from the Unit 5 school district, some major roads are in the worst shape ever, and property taxes are so high that Rivian Automotive workers can’t afford to live in Normal.
Koos said Tiritilli has a negative view on just about everything.
“If you look at the real estate market in Bloomington-Normal right now, it is on fire,” said Koos.
“The notion that Rivian employees can’t live in Normal is a false statement,” Koos also said.
Koos is a U.S. Army Veteran who served in Vietnam, and owns a bicycle shop in Normal. Tiritilli said he’s a problem-solving engineer who teaches physics at Illinois Wesleyan University.
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