NORMAL – Voters in Normal’s April 4 election will find themselves needing to select three Town Council members from a field of six candidates – three incumbents and three challengers, — and all with their own perspectives on being Council members, because they have either been experiencing the position first hand or been witness to how the incumbents have handled the job and want to unseat them.

Andy Byars: Currently a member of the Normal Planning Commission, Andy Byars is seeking a first term on Normal Town Council. As a result of being on NPC, Byars explained he has been dealing with “planning-based issues the Town is facing. The chief reason I have gotten into this race is because I think there is a chief need good leaders who are willing to step up and see that Normal keep growing and moving forward.” As a result of being on NPC, Byars has taken an interest in seeing Normal addresses housing issues.

He said that growth is likely to continue and wants to participate to see to it Normal continues making such forward progress. In wanting to run for a Council seat, Byars said, “I’m kind of hoping to bring a next generation’s leadership.” He said the Town has had good leaders in the past which have gotten Normal to its current condition. He said he hopes the Town’s next generation will not just welcome businesses like Rivian Automotive into town but also welcome new businesses looking for a community they can make an investment with. He said he also wants Normal “to continue to grow and grow in a responsible way.”

One of the biggest issues he said Normal faces now is housing. Byars said the Town’s job creation has brought people here but moving here isn’t always possible due to housing issues. “If someone wants to live here, they should absolutely have the opportunity to do so,” Byars said. To that end, he believes the Town needs to sustain economic growth which would, in turn, help housing increase in Town.

Kathleen Lorenz: First elected in 2015, Kathleen Lorenz is seeking her third term because she said she “continues to have passion” for serving the community as a Council member. “I care a lot about this town and over the eight years I have been on Council, I’ve accumulated a lot of experience and knowledge, and I want to continue to share that knowledge.” She said her passion, concern, and care for this Town” is what he campaign is all about. In terms of goals she has in mind to accomplish should she win another term, Lorenz said she would “like to be a strong advocate our businesses just as I am an advocate for our residents.” To her, that means responding to residents’ emails and phone calls when she receives them, as well as touching base with businesses, particularly small business owners.

Lorenz said the support of her family played one role in her decision to try for another term on the Town Council dais, adding. “Honestly, the other driver for my doing this are the people of the community who are happy that I am running again as a reasonable-minded candidate – somebody who looks at the issues from all sides and someone they can count on to study the facts and be balanced in their approach.” She said in her doing in-person campaigning, residents she has talked to have told her they appreciate what residents told her was her “balanced approach” when it comes to looking at issues which the Council addresses during their meetings.

Stan Nord: First elected in 2019, Stan Nord is seeking his second term so he can continue to represent citizens who feel unrepresented, adding he often receives comments from people who appreciate the work he has done. He said among his goals should he win a second term on the Council would be “to finally get compromise on something going forward” with fellow Council members.

Although he had no specific issue in mind, Nord said he would look forward to “a true compromise” with Council members, and not situations where he said he’s “conceding all the time. He would not give a specific circumstance where he would welcome compromise with his other Council members. He defined a “true compromise” as a situation where other Council members “give up something” to attain it. Up to now, he said, it has been “just me conceding all the time.”

He said at a recent Council meeting, he tried to get Council members to reduce slightly the amount of property tax charged to residents when it came before Council. Council members didn’t act on Nord’s recommendation. He added he did get compromise with his fellow Council members on the same subject in 2019, however, but Council members voted at the next Council session to raise property taxes.

Karl Sila: Seeking his first term on Normal Town Council, Karl Sila said he believes Council members are “actively avoiding public input” and are trying to direct what citizens bring to the Council’s attention. He said this even though there is a sign-up sheet residents must fill out outside Council Chambers before every Council meeting which is retrieved before meetings by Town Clerk Angie Huonaker. For potentially long Council sessions, he said he would like to see public comment take place at the beginning of Council sessions rather than just prior to adjournment.

He said Council agendas are released “at the absolute last minute so people don’t have time to review it.” Sila said agenda items list more pros for passing a resolution than cons for voting it down depending on the item. “They never list the negatives,” he said. Council agendas come out late on the Thursday before scheduled Council meetings. This campaign wouldn’t be his first to try to enter public life. He has sought election to the Council previously in 2019 and 2022, and before that sought to obtain a seat on Normal Library Board in 2013.

Karyn Smith: Also seeking a second term on the Normal Town Council, Karyn Smith was first elected in 2019, explaining her primary reason for wanting to run again is she wants to continue advocating for residents with disabilities and other residents she feels “may feel marginalized and aren’t often represented in decisions” made by the Town. She added “there’s still so much to be done” she feels she can do to help people with disabilities. She said she also wants residents who have concerns to be able to reach out to her. She expressed concerned that people with disabilities within the community continue to have representation and residents associated within the LGBTQ+ community also need proper representation when it comes to Town government matters.

“I really want to see some affordable housing go up in the Town of Normal,” Smyth said, mentioning a goal she would like to take on should she get another term if reelected. “We have housing projects that are coming to us,” she explained adding that people on limited incomes aren’t often able to afford living within some of the new housing. She said she wants to see housing that gives people with lower incomes “be able to live where they want to and still get the kind of support that they need to be as independent as possible.”

Marc Tiritilli: Following two attempts to run for Mayor in 2017 and 2021 ending in losses to incumbent Chris Koos, Marc Tiritilli is opting this year to try to win a Town Council seat in the April 4 election. He said he’s decided to try for one of seats because “there are a lot of views in the community that aren’t represented on the Council.” He said the last two elections indicate to him the Town seems evenly divided on the direction residents want to see the Town move, but he said he believes there isn’t much diversity in terms of Council opinions.

Tiritilli said many Council votes “tend to be 6-1 on a lot of issues” with Nord being the one casting the solo votes. He added he and Nord appear to have similar political philosophy in terms of items like “trying to keep tax burden as light as possible” for residents.

Tiritilli’s description of Normal Town Council is that “it tends to be 6-1 voting, or a super majority. There’s no compromise going on. I don’t think it’s healthy for our government. I’m looking to provide more of a balance and stick up for the people whose voices aren’t being heard right now.”

NORMAL – With an unanimous vote, Normal Town Council members approved passage of an ordinance which eliminates the Town’s vehicle use tax. Eliminating this tax reduces the tax burden on Town of Normal residents while at the same time doesn’t create a negative impact on the Town budget. Removing the tax will cause the Town to lose an estimated $360,000 in Fiscal Year 2023-24 and approximately $480,000 in future fiscal years. Town Staff will edit Normal’s Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget to reflect this decrease.

In addition to cars, the tax was also applied to purchases of motorcycles, boats, trailers and recreational vehicles, and will be gone starting July 1. The tax is classified as a “one-time use tax.” The tax rate is .75 percent and is assessed on the purchase price of an item minus any trade-in value, if it applies, according to the Town Staff report provided Council members. Local dealerships within 60 miles of Normal are asked to collect the tax when an item is purchased and send what is due to the Town for processing by the Town.

Council Member Karyn Smith said eliminating this tax removes a burden on Town staff to collect it from vehicle dealerships who often forget to submit what’s due from them to the Town. She explained the community the car or boat purchaser lives in determines which community, Normal or Bloomington, is entitled to receive the tax dollars owed as a result of the purchase. She added the Town has been able to take in $20.3 million in State sales tax dollars, a figure she said is double what it was in 2015. “In my mind, this is an opportunity to cut a tax that’s not really a major component of our revenue stream, and provide some relief for citizens who are making a car or recreational boat purchase,” Smith added. “This is a win-win for us.”

Council Member Scott Preston added the tax which was eliminated “was one that was, particularly, unpopular,” particularly when the Town sends notices to car owners indicating they owe tax dollars to the Town.

Council Member Kathleen Lorenz asked if Normal should expect complications with the City of Bloomington since Bloomington will continue to collect the tax. City Manager Pam Reece explained the City Managers and Finance Directors of both communities have discussed the change Normal is making. “Bloomington is comfortable with our transition plan in terms of the Town collecting it for a while, and transitioning to Bloomington so they can do their own collecting by fall,” Reece explained. She said Normal has always given Bloomington its share of the tax when a Normal resident makes a vehicle purchase and Normal has paid Bloomington when a purchase by a Bloomington resident takes place in Normal.

With the tax disappearing, that also means the Town will see some income disappear. The Town calculates it will lose roughly $360,000 in fiscal 2023-24 followed by losing roughly $480,000 in future fiscal years, according to the report on the matter provided to Council members by Town Director of Finance Andrew Huhn.

While the tax will be gone in Normal, the City of Bloomington will still expect vehicle buyers to pay it.

Public Comments: Ron Ulmer addressed Council members stating During the public comment portion of the meeting, three residents spoke concerning a pending bill that State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, filed in February. Collectively, the residents referred to the town as a “tyrannical government.” There was a hearing on the matter March 9 in Springfield which Council Member Kevin McCarthy attended to represent the Town.

Normal and its critics had been involved in a legal battle over whether to designate Normal as either a town or a village, and thus determine which public offices the Town’s citizens needed to elect. Town attorney Town Corporation Counsel Brian Day explained at the meeting 11th Circuit Judge Mark Fellheimer ruled in the case and now the legislation seeks to classify that ruling in state law.

A lawsuit concerning the matter centered on whether Town Clerk Angie Huonaker was required to vertify candidates’ petitions for the offices of Town Collector and Town Supervisor. Those two offices are not part of Normal’s government structure. The position of Town Clerk is one that is currently appointed, not elected. When Judge Fellheimer ruled for the Town, dismissing the case.

Vicki Rowe brought what she has seen as electioneering in Unit 5 School District buildings to Council members’ attention. There is nothing the Town would be able to do about electioneering on School District property. Rowe added electioneering on Unit 5 properties is also prohibited. She said she experienced the electioneering at an event held at Normal Community West High School, adding, “it should never have happened.”

Mary Carlisle addressed Council members regarding her concerns about the Town’s sewer system. Referring to Town officials, she said, “Instead of upgrading and replacing a failed and several years old sanitary sewer system, they have chosen to spend money where it’s neither needed nor wanted.” She said the Town doesn’t need “fancy buildings, yet we are stuck with them anyway.” She didn’t specify what buildings she was talking about. She said money spent on the buildings “should have gone to replacing this old sanitary sewer system.”

Liquor Commission Approves Annual Action: In an annual motion, Normal Town Council members, acting in their capacity as Normal Liquor Commission, recommended approval of 15 different classes of liquor licenses for varying forms of liquor ranging from packaged liquor to liquor by the drink to hotels to brewpubs to catering to annual tasting to pari-mutuel betting parlors within the Town. In total, Commissioners approved 77 licenses good for the next year for those businesses.

Omnibus Agenda Items Approved By Council included:

• Approval of minutes of the public hearing of Mar. 6, 2023.

• Approval of minutes from the regular Council meeting of March 6, 2023.

• Report to receive and file Town of Normal expenditures for payment as of March 15, 2023.

• A resolution re-establishing the Moratz façade improvement grant program.

• A resolution waiving the formal bidding process and authorizing an extension of a contract with CivicPlus for website services in the amount of $33,406.

• A resolution authorizing the purchase of eight cardiac monitor/defibulators from Zoll Medical Corp. pursuant to the National Purchasing Partners-Public Safety GPO contract in the amount of $371,256.20.

• A resolution accepting a proposal from Presidio Networked Solutions Group, LLC (Presidio) for the purchase of storage infrastructure for the total amount of $366,485.55.

• A resolution accepting a proposal from Scientel Solutions, LLC for the purchase of network infrastructure for the total amount of $712,727 including an annual managed services cost of $68,933.

BLOOMINGTON – After 99 years of productions of the “American Passion Play,” this year’s productions will be its last, according to the production’s director and one of two men who has portrayed Jesus Christ for years in previous productions.

John Capasso is one of two directors for the productions which began March 10 and will run for three more consecutive Saturdays through April 1 at Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, 600 N. East Street. Paul Veselack and Nathan Bassett take turns portraying Jesus for four productions each of which runs for 3 ½ hours. Veselack performed on March 11 and will reprise the role again for the show’s April 1 finale. Nathan Bassett will portray Jesus for the shows on March 18 and March 25.

The productions take place Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, 600 N. East Street. Single tickets are $25 per person and can be purchased by visiting the website americanpassionplay.org. The remaining performances will be held on Saturdays on March 18, March 25, and April 1 each beginning at 1p.m.

Capasso said there were only three performances that 1,400 people attended. In its final season, this year, there will be four performances and roughly 2,600 people have purchased tickets for the final season.

Capasso said the entire first half of the play depicts the ministry of Jesus, including things such as Jesus raising people from the dead. “A lot of plays don’t have that,” Capasso said about the local production of the play. The second half depicts the Passion felt for Jesus, what is celebrated at Easter. Capasso said many local productions just show the passion. Because of that, he said, “We feel our production is unique, our script is unique.”

Capasso, who through last year’s performances portrayed Jesus as well as shared directorial duties, said the production formally began in 1924, but admitted there “were some experimental productions for some years before that, starting in around 1915 that Delmar Darrah put together with a vision of an “American Passion Play” for residents of the City of Bloomington. Productions were done in what is now Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, which when productions were started was the building known as the Scottish Rite Temple, headquarters for Bloomington’s branch of the Masonic Order.

Among the reasons for ceasing the production was, Capasso said, “over the years, we’ve lost audiences, quite frankly,” explaining that in previous years, the play would be done “12 or 13 times a season, and last year, we were down to three” which Capasso said were not well attended. Losing cast and crew members in addition to dwindling audiences led members of the board of seven trustees who oversee the play, members of American Passion Play, Inc., which organizes the production, to call a halt to future productions after this season.

He said the play was written to have a cast of 300 people perform in it but, Capasso admits, “we’ve barely been able to generate 110, 120 people.” As the number of performers dwindled, he said, there were cast members doing multiple parts as years went by. This year being the last year for the performance, Capasso said, a number of local actors who had been in past performances returned for one last season swelling the number of performers for this season to 150 people.

Capasso said he thinks the production will be helpful to young people going through their Catechism

In previous years, Capasso said, there would be 12 or 13 productions done to sellout crowds. But with time, he said, the audiences began tapering off “to the point that, last year, we were down to three performances, and they were not well attended.”

Capasso said when the production began in 1930, the audiences coming to see the production numbered 23,000 people during one springtime to see the play paying $1.50 each to see the play. About those folks who came at that time, Capasso said, “These were folks who had average household income of $1,400, and they laid down a buck and a half and traveled for miles, from everywhere in the Midwest to come and see that play.” Last year, Capasso said, the total number of audience members for all three productions numbered 1,400 people. A formal announcement that 2023 would be the final year of Bloomington’s production was made last fall.

Capasso said the production organizers have pondered concerning “The deeper question of ‘why aren’t people coming to see it anymore?’” He said the organizers have found some which include “it’s an amateur production, it was written not so much to be a drama but more of a pageant, and so the characters were statuesque Biblical characters, stilted….it’s all in the King James English, Renaissance English using ‘thou’ and ‘thine.’ So, perhaps, finally, it hasn’t stood the test of time.” Capasso said organizers did try to tweak the language a little bit but, he said finding someone to retool the entire script in terms of language was not possible.

Capasso said there are 33 Passion Play productions in the United States and “hundreds around the world.” He said the ones done now “would be technological marvels with light shows and be like a rock concert.” Bloomington’s production, he said, didn’t have the budget for it nor did it have the expertise to accomplish such a production. “The play has just kind of lost ground to that type of media,” Capasso admitted.

Capasso said he retired performing in the role of Jesus at the end of last season, shifting his attention to strictly directing. He said that shift has helped him prepare to deal with the production’s ultimate final curtain more so, he said, than had he still been performing. “I have found that directing doesn’t put me nearly as close to the play as being in it did. So I think the performers will feel a great sense of loss when that curtain goes down.”

CHAMPAIGN –Call it the ultimate goal for guys on a high school basketball team who made it to State, to play on Lou Henson Court at State Farm Center. That goal: To win and become State Champs, to be forever kept in record books.

But after Saturday’s Illinois High School Association Class 2A Championship Game at State Farm Arena here, Bloomington Central Catholic High School’s boys’ basketball team will be in record books, but just not in the order they planned after losing to Chicago DePaul College Prep, 65-41. BCC finishes the season with a

Chicago DePaul College Prep point guard Makai Kvamme and BCC junior center Colin Hayes set the pace for the contest by quickly exchanging scores soon after tipoff, tying the game at 2-all. But DePaul College Prep (23-12) quickly followed with a basket from junior guard Payton Kamin followed right behind by a free throw from senior guard Maurice Thomas, who had been fouled by a BCC player. Thomas’ successful free throw gave the Rams a 5-2 lead, and was followed by a layup from sophomore Jonas Johnson, pushing the Rams further ahead, 7-2, prompting Central Catholic Head Coach Jason Welch to call timeout with 5:36 left in the opening quarter.

Coming out of the timeout, a jump shot from senior guard Chase Fisher closed in on the Rams lead, allowing BCC (26-12) to be behind by three, 7-4. A jumper from Thomas followed pushing the Rams up, 9-4, but two straight unanswered BCC buckets from Fisher and junior guard Cole Certa shrank the Saints’ deficit to one, 9-8, with a minute left in the opening quarter. But a trey from Thomas with 45 seconds left in the opening quarter extended the Rams lead to four, 12-8, as the horn sounded.

The second quarter opened with DePaul College Prep (24-12) extending their lead with back-to-back buckets – one from junior guard P.J. Chambers and one from Thomas, doubling the Rams’ lead to 16-8 prompting BCC’s Welch to call timeout with 6:28 remaining until halftime. The Rams came out of the timeout adding a basket from McElroy pushing the Rams up, 18-8. A trey and a deuce from Certa put BCC within five, 18-13, and was quickly followed by another Johnson basket, putting BCC within seven, 20-13, prompting Welch to again call time with 2:46 until intermission.

Thomas hit a trey and Certa hit a trey as well for BCC, cutting the Rams lead to seven, 23-16, until Thomas repeated the gesture and was followed by a layup from junior guard P. J. Chambers with 6.6 seconds left in the half. At that point, BCC’s Welch called timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Saints junior forward Charlie Graham hit a trey at the buzzer reducing Chicago DePaul College Prep’s lead to nine, 28-19, for when the second half began.

But BCC struggled as the third quarter opened, as DePaul College Prep opened the quarter with a 7-0 run highlighted by a trey from sophomore point guard Makai Kvamme’s trey at the five minute mark. Eller would hit a deuce for Central Catholic with 3:21 left in the quarter but DePaul College Prep finished out the quarter by outscoring BCC 7-3, the Purple Raiders’ only offense being a trey from Certa with 1:18 left in the quarter. When the horn sounded ending the quarter, DePaul College Prep led 42-24.

A deuce from BCC senior guard Rye Pritz opened up the fourth quarter but was quickly followed by two fouls committed by BCC resulting in four free throws from Thomas giving DePaul College Prep a 20 point lead, 46-26 with 6:42 left in the third quarter.

A trey from Eller with 6:09 left in the contest reduced DePaul College Prep’s lead to 16 before Thomas’ next basket increased his team’s lead, 49-31, with 6:20 remaining. Certa managed two treys as part of an 8-0 run for BCC. That prompted Chicago DePaul College Prep Head Coach Tom Kleinschmidt to call time with 5:52 remaining. Coming out of the timeout, a trey from Certa was the only real firepower BCC managed while DePaul College Prep closed out the contest on free throws from Kramme, Kamin, and Thomas who went a combined 10-for-14 from the free throw line.

“It feels special to bring a trophy to our school, our school community and to those around our community,” Kleinschmidt said. Kleinschmidt added he wanted his players to make sure his players were mindful of not letting three BCC players – Certa, senior guard Chase Fisher, and Eller – out of their sight during the course of the game.

Thomas led Chicago DePaul College Prep’s scoring with 21 points. He was followed in double-figures by Chambers and McElroy who each pocketed 11, followed by Kamin who scored 10. Certa was BCC’s lone double-point scorer, with 18 points.

Welch began by telling reporters, “At the end of the day, our guys are hurting, and that means they cared. I’m really proud for our school,” he added, explaining that leading up to getting to the State Tournament game, “we had a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of passion around our hallways.”

Welch said his team “played great people all year long,” and he convinced his team getting through the season was equivalent to “studying for a test. We took the test in the post-season. Tip your hat to DePaul Prep. They were better than us and that happens sometimes. It wasn’t the outcome we wanted but at the end of the day, our program is in real good shape.”

About his players, Welch said, “They worked their tails off,” adding he said he knew his players “are hurting” from the loss they sustained.

“We really wanted this one,” Certa said during the postgame press conference. “It was, like, a goal.”

NORMAL – For young people, the idea of giving a speech as part of being able to complete a set of required tasks in order to achieve a specific goal can potentially feel like a daunting task. And yet, for Jack Bruemmer of Bloomington, a member of Boy Scout Troop 920 of Bloomington, he delivered his speech with a calm indicating he was in control of, not just his knowledge of the subject he spoke of but also any nervousness he may have had delivering the speech to around 25 people.

Currently, Scouts need 22 merit badges to achieve becoming a Eagle Scout, and to his credit, Jack exceeded that minimum by earning 30 merit badges. Among the leadership responsibilities Jack has demonstrated while in the troop are patrol leader and senior patrol leader, historian, and webmaster. Having received the award here, Jack’s name goes to a State-level Scouting evaluation for judging. Should Jack win at Scouting State-level, his name would be placed in a national Scouting competition.

The 18-year-old was poised as he delivered one of the final tasks toward receiving his Scout designation – to deliver a speech centering on an aspect of the American Revolution. He delivered his speech at a dinner March 7 at St. Luke Union Church in Bloomington. Undaunted by the task, the young man told the dinner gathering of about two dozen people the story of Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben who was instrumental in transforming American military quarters from being disorganized and undisciplined to becoming streamlined and more efficient militarily.

Jack told of how von Steuben meeting up with Benjamin Franklin in Paris in 1777 led to von Steuben winding up at Valley Forge where he trained soldiers, training that included taught use of bayonets, guns, and the Prussian specialty of artillery. For his efforts, Jack explained, General George Washington put von Steuben in the position of Inspector General overseeing the Continental Army.

Jack also explained von Steuben can be credited with how military camp life evolved, as before he arrived, camps were places where diseases were easily spread and there was a great deal of infighting. Jack’s speech included the fact von Steuben saw to it specified latrines were dug and that medical and cooking equipment areas were separated from one another to prevent disease.

Jack, son of Kevin and Katherine Bruemmer of Bloomington, and member of Boy Scout Troop 920 based in Bloomington, is also older brother to two sisters, Eliza who is in high school and Josie who is in junior high school. He started his scouting venture participating in Cub Scouts for five years before moving on to Boy Scouts for another eight years. He completed his review to become an Eagle Scout in June.

Jack then read a composition he wrote based on research he did concerning an American General during the American Revolution concerning Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. von Steuben had been un the Prussian Army during the Seven Years War. Afterward, thanks to a chance encounter with Benjamin Franklin in Paris in 1777 led to Franklin hiring von Steuben to train American soldiers who were camped at Valley Forge.

Jack’s essay included the fact that prior to von Steuben arriving at the camp, it laid open the potential for diseases to spread until he instituted digging dedicated latrines, separating equipment for use either as for cooking or for medical purposes, and cleaning of horse stables. He also had a hand in instituting discipline of soldiers. In instituting discipline, he helped put a stop to disloyalty and soldiers talking back to superior officers.

Jack explained although von Steuben spoke Old Prussian, adding, “he was able to streamline weapon training for guns, bayonets and artillery. For these efforts, General George Washington gave von Steuben the position of Inspector General of the Continental Army.”

A 2022 graduate of Bloomington Central Catholic High School, Jack’s interests included theatre and being a member of both the math-based honor society, Mu Alpha Theta, and BCC’s Chess Club. When Jack isn’t active with Scouting interests, his hobbies include playing piano, and singing in his church’s choir.