Spring 2023 Consolidated Election
The Illinois Consolidated Election takes place statewide on Tuesday, April 4. Early and mail-in voting began on Thursday, February 23, and continues until Election Day. This election is non-partisan.
Which offices are under consideration?
Voters are being asked to decide on numerous offices and public questions, including the following:
- Bloomington City Council – Alderperson
- Normal Town Council - Trustee
- School and Community College Boards, including District 87 and Unit 5
- Village and City Officials
- Park, Fire, and Library District Officials
- A proposition to Increase the Maximum Annual Tax Rate for Unit 5 School District
Residents of Bloomington can locate a sample ballot on the Bloomington Election Commission website 23CILBLM V5.pdf (bloomingtonelectionsil.gov). The sample ballot for the remainder of McLean County, including the Town of Normal, can be found here: Ballots | McLean County, IL - Official Website (mcleancountyil.gov)
What's at stake?
Decisions made by local government determine the direction of our towns, cities, villages, and schools. Local government’s purview includes streets, infrastructure, public safety, zoning, economic development, services that impact our daily lives, the education of our children, and our finances. Despite the significant impact local government has on our quality of life, voter turnout historically has been very low for local elections in McLean County, and outcomes are determined by a few votes. In the 2019 local election, turnout in Bloomington was less than 10%. Please help determine the future of our community by educating yourself on the issues, candidates, and - most importantly - vote.
Why is a political party talking about a non-partisan election?
We believe the work of local government and educating our children should be non-partisan. We have honorably held non-partisan candidate forums open to all candidates for Bloomington City Council, Normal Town Council, and local school boards to provide a venue for the public to get to know the candidates during this election cycle.
McLean County Republicans have shared beliefs, such as a pro-business, free-market economy, commitment to public safety, personal responsibility, and advancing our Founding Fathers’ principles of freedom, opportunity, and limited government. We support an educational system that encourages parental choice, local control, and prepares students for the opportunities of tomorrow. In both, we expect fiscally responsible decision-making.
It can be difficult in a non-partisan election to differentiate the candidates’ positions on issues that may be of importance to you and your families. We have been asked by our members to recommend candidates who we feel align with these core beliefs. We are responding to their needs by making recommendations.
How Did We Decide?
The MCCOP leadership used many factors to who to support. Candidate priorities and interactions at the non-partisan candidate forums helped inform the process. With incumbents, we also considered voting records on issues such as:
- Supporting property tax and other tax/fee increases
- Reducing freedom of speech with restrictive temporary sign ordinances
- Diverting gas tax dollars away from road repairs in favor of bike trails
- Bowing to the will of spend-spend-spend agendas
City/Town Council Membership Recommendations
Normal Town Council (all candidates at large):
The futures of our cities and towns depend on who sits on the city or town council. Nowhere is this more evident than the Town of Normal. Liberal council members have consistently voted to raise taxes and fees, prioritize bike paths over the roads, throw the people’s money at the railroad underpass project, and 99% of the time back whatever the Mayor or City Manager presents. The past two mayoral races have shown the Town of Normal is divided in half, but the council is highly one-sided. We recommend the following candidates who will represent “We the People” instead of “We the Government”.
- Stan Nord – incumbent: Stan strives to lower taxes, reduce spending, and represent the voice of residents.
- Marc Tiritilli – Marc’s platform includes “better prioritize spending, invest more in infrastructure, address unfunded pensions, and embrace representation in local government.”
- Karl Sila – Karl is a taxpayer advocate who will fight to increase public input, cut wasteful spending, and reduce debt.
Bloomington City Council
The City of Bloomington’s budget has increased from $160M to $290M over the last 10 years, yet the population is about the same. Currently, they’re spending $16M for a water park and $28M for remodeling the library, whose largest category of circulation is video rentals. These projects cost as much as the Coliseum, which continues to drain the city’s finances 20 years later despite the lack of support from residents to build it in the first place. Streets are in major disrepair, the sewer and water infrastructure need significant investments, and yet the council agendas are dominated by new project after project, rubber stamping the staff recommendations with no boundaries as to the cost to the taxpayers. There are only two contested races – Wards 4 and 6. The opposing candidates are far-left liberals running partisan campaigns with funding from outside the county. These two races will determine the future direction of Bloomington. Bloomington needs fiscally responsible common sense council members – not activists.
We recommend the following candidates:
- Donna Boelen – Ward 2 incumbent (uncontested): Donna has demonstrated an analytical approach to decision-making, is pro-business, and supports first responders.
- Steven Nalefski – Ward 4: Steven’s priorities include priority spending on infrastructure, fiscal responsibility, public safety, and listening/responding to the residents of Ward 4.
- Jordan Baker – Ward 6: Jordan’s priorities include public safety, investing in infrastructure, supporting downtown, safe neighborhoods, and efficient municipal services.
- Kent Lee – Ward 8 (uncontested): Kent’s priorities are safety, economic opportunity, and infrastructure.
Public School Board Membership
Unit 5 School Board
Nine candidates have filed for four seats on the Unit 5 school board. The McLean County Republicans support the following conservative candidates who we believe hold values consistent with our own. These candidates have committed to representing the students and the community, not the teachers’ union point of view. If voters elect those representing the union’s view, the public loses its voice. Vote wisely.
- Molly Emery
- Dennis Frank
- Ameé Jada
- Brad Wurth
Their platforms include promoting increased student performance, controlling the significant bloat of administrative roles and related costs, keeping “comprehensive sexual education” and indoctrination out of the classroom, and addressing fiscal challenges.
To learn more about various candidates, listen to what they had to say at the MCGOP-sponsored Non-Partisan School Board Candidate Forum held on February 11, 2023:
- Commentary and video set 1 (credit BLNNEWS)
- Commentary and video set 2 (credit to BLNNEWS)
What difference does it make who sits on a school board?
The long and short of it is the fate of your children! Consider the issues that school board members will make in addition to raising taxes:
- Help Us Get CRT Out of Our Schools. - Critical race theory (CRT), by any other name, teaches American children a divisive, racist, anti-American ideology based on the false idea that everything in life can be reduced to race. This has a growing presence in our schools. One of the current expenditures by the current school board in Unit 5 revolves around "Equity". There is an excellent summary of the Equity Audit that the school district paid for with our tax dollars. Future programs will be based on the results of this audit and impact curriculum and cost of education. You can review the summary here.
- Help Us Get DEI Out of Our Schools. - Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are becoming significant themes in American schools, and the schools of Central Illinois are no different. The practices of DEI promote divisiveness and discord. This must be rooted out, stem and branch, to protect our children from rampant homosexuality, transgenderism, pornography, and who knows what other form of indoctrination.
- Help Us Keep "Comprehensive" Sexual Education Out of Our Schools. - Do our children need to know about every sexual preference, transgenderism, and homosexuality. Do our children need to be told about human sexuality even in primary school? Some would say this is the sexual grooming of children starting as early as kindergarten. Most would say that some teachers have gone too far. If you need to see what we are talking about, view this 4-minute YouTube video.
- Help Us to Promote Increased Student Performance in Our Schools. - So much time is spent on non-essential subject matter and activities that math, science, and reading scores are slipping precipitously despite an ever-increasing infusion of money. There is no better future indicator of future student success than good academics.
- Help Us Control District-wide Administrative Bloat. - The cost to run an average classroom in Unit 5 is about $161,000 per year. Teachers don't get paid anywhere near this amount. Where is all the money going? According to the public record, more than 100 administrators in the Unit 5 school district are being paid over $100,000 per year, with some exceeding $200,000 per year. If you want to know more, follow this link.
- Help Us to Cut Spending. - The problem isn’t funding; it’s spending. While the tax rate for schools has not increased since 2007 (the voters having rejected proposed increases several times since then), the budget of Unit 5 has gone up from $65 million in 2007 to over $200 million today. The Unit 5 School Board has not had a balanced budget for the past 8 to 10 years, even though the district naturally sees an inflation-based tax increase due to higher real estate valuations.
The Unit 5 School Board threatened cuts in educational services at their meeting on January 31st, only paying lip service to administrative cuts - speaking only in generalities and giving no specifics. Proposals for actual cuts included closing Carlock School and reducing or eliminating music, art, and sports across the entire Unit. It has been suggested that the Board has, in effect, threatened to damage our kids' academic and social lives. Those who do so should have no place in running our schools. Is it possible that Unit 5 is sitting on $86,000,000 in reserves? Check this out by viewing this video from the January 31st Unit 5 Board Meeting.
In the long run, the current Unit 5 position is that we will see a reduction in our taxes after existing bonds are paid off in three years. That is as best a wishful thought. The promises made by the current School Board today do not bind future school boards. How will future school boards respond to the claim that our schools are failing our children, as evidenced by the Unit 5 School Report Card?
And don't we love that the school budget continues to grow without any end in sight? Despite the claim that "Nothing is too good for our kids," how much tax is too much? Illinois currently has some of the highest property taxes in the nation. Eventually, the till will run dry.
These are factors voters need to remember as they choose school board members during the April 4 consolidated election (with early voting beginning February 23).
Unit 5 Tax Increase Proposal - Vote NO Again!
Vote NO Again! Coalition - A group of concerned taxpayers stands in opposition to the Unit 5 Tax Increase Proposal for the following reasons:
- The original tax increase proposal was defeated 54 to 46 percent at the November 8th general election. Unit 5 is now rolling out the same proposal with the expectation that fewer voters turning out for the consolidated election and the threat of school closures and discontinuation of services will tip the balance in their favor.
- Unit 5’s arguments are misleading at best. For instance, they purport that the average voter will see only a tiny, temporary tax increase until the existing tax bonds are retired in 3 years. The tax increase is larger than they imply. The owner(s) of an average-priced house in Unit 5 ($204,000) will pay an additional $568/year in school taxes. Owners of a $400,000 house will be an additional $1,136/year. There is no guarantee that the tax rate will drop after the existing promissory notes are paid off.
- The problem isn’t funding; it’s spending. The Unit 5 School Board has seen fit to supplement the traditional curriculum with such things as CRT and DEI (see above). It would only make sense to reduce these excess expenditures before deleting valuable academic services, which include music and art. Also, the number of administrators and supplemental services has grown disproportionately to school populations in recent years. These, too, need to be cut back. If nothing else, a hiring freeze should be put in place and reduce the number of administrators by attrition.
- Though we oppose the tax increase, we support our children and schools. Reducing spending will require the school board to rein in spending. Unit 5 has threatened the cutting of music and art programs and sports. In addition, they are threatening the closure of Carlock School. Perhaps cuts should come from the amount of money spent on administration (say by a hiring freeze), which has grown disproportionately to the number of students in Unit 5 schools – which decreased by 200 this school year.
- The problem is not with teachers and principals; it’s with district-level administration. According to the public record, more than 100 Unit 5 administrators are being paid over $100,000 annually. In addition, the administration has reduced high school class size to an average of about 14 students, far lower than the national average. Claiming that smaller class size makes a difference, the district's student test scores reported on Unit 5's Illinois School Report Card continue to slide downward.
- Also, look at the recent track record on Unit 5 student enrollment versus annual spending over the years (2018-2022) if you think we aren't spending enough on education. Over just five years, enrollment has dropped 7%, whereas spending has increased some 15%. Does this sound fiscally responsible?
Trustee Heartland Community College
McLean County Republicans endorse David Selzer for Trustee of Heartland Community College.
Request Your Mail-in Ballot
Voters must get out during this spring's Consolidated Election to make their voices heard. If you haven't arranged for regular delivery of your mail-in ballot, you will want to request this today. Getting a mail-in ballot is easy to do and provides certain benefits. First, you can review the ballot and the issues at your leisure before casting your vote. Second, you can mail your ballot so you don't forget to vote on election day. The Democrats were very effective in getting out the vote among the members of their party during the November election. Republicans must now do the same. There are two election authorities in McLean County: one for Bloomington and another for the rest of McLean County. Visit the appropriate site to request your mail-in ballot.
County: https://mcleancountyil.gov/votebymail
Bloomington: https://bloomingtonelectionsil.gov/consolidated-election/vote-by-mail/
*** On The Issues ***
Video by the Illinois Republican Party: School Problems & Parental Choice
*** Voter Resources ***
Angels4Freedom (A non-partisan group concerned with local politics)
McLean County Republicans
- Unit 5 Tax Increase Proposal - See Why You Should Vote NO (From November 8 Election)
2020 Illinois Republican Party Platform - (Where the Illinois Republican Party stands on the issues)
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Use the links below to look up your registration, or go straight to the registration button and register.
*** Voting Locations ***
*** Precinct & District Maps ***
McLean County Precinct Maps
Ward Map | City of Bloomington (bloomingtonil.gov)
McLean County Board Districts Map (Countywide)
McLean County Board Districts Map (Bloomington-Normal)
*** Conservative News Sites ***
*** Continuing Education ***
Hillsdale College FREE Online Courses - (conservative)
National Constitution Center - (non-partisan)
(Last updated March 15, 2023)