In Normal, Chris Koos endorsed three town council candidates: Andy Byars, Kathleen Lorenz and Karyn Smith. These three candidates also ran in alongside with Democrat-supported Unit 5 school board candidates and these Koos-backed candidates were supporters of the Unit 5 referendum. All three council candidates won seats in this week’s election.
Another slate of candidates: Stan Nord, Karl Sila and Marc Tiritilli – ran as fiscally conservative candidates. None of the three won seats.
Consequently, incumbents Lorenz and Smith were reelected while incumbent Nord lost his seat and will be replaced on the council by Byars.
“[I am] relieved that campaigning is over but I will need to find a replacement cardio activity as I was getting an incredible number of steps in as I walked the neighborhoods to deliver my campaign literature and talk to residents,” said Karyn Smith.
Smith said believes her thoughtful approach regarding council agenda items was appreciated by voters and helped her to her win.
She said she wants to work to provide more affordable housing in Normal. Smith said it may take a lot to get the stars aligned given the need for grant funding, reasonable interest rates, and lower construction costs but she said she hopes to see it happen in the next four years.
After his defeat Nord said, “Thank you to all who supported me. It has been an honor to represent you over the past 4 years. I hope the newly elected/re-elected council persons will remember the underrepresented members in our community.”
After his loss, Tiritilli stated, “I’d like to thank all of my supporters. I was honored to have provided you with a choice. We are privileged to live within a system where everyone has a chance to be heard and the transfer of authority takes place smoothly. I hope you will join me in congratulating the winners of this election. Let us all work together to make Normal’s future the best it can be.”
Sila, whose run was also unsuccessful, said “I didn’t have tens of thousands of dollars to send out multiple post cards from the realtors. I didn’t have the mayor spending a lot of money on video ads and such. All the special interests were backing the status quo to keep that money rolling.”
Andy Byars and Katleen Lorenz received campaign funds from Recall Strategies founder Jonathan Callaway, Recall Startegies is a Chicago-Washington DC lobbying firm that Andy Byars works for. Their clients mainly consist of green energy companies. According Reform for Illinois’ Sunshine Database, Byars had $9,916.10 cash on hand as of March 31, 2023. Lorenz received $6,000 from Jonathan Callaway. Compared to Stan Nord, who ended the election season with $1,278.58 cash on hand as of March 31, 2023.
“I’ll probably be back in two years depending on who else is running because I still think the Town of Normal deserves somebody on the council,” Sila said.
