Bloomington-Normal unions hosted a candidates night Monday to hear from many of the candidates who will be on the April 1 ballot.
The Bloomington & Normal Trades & Labor Assembly and the Livingston & McLean Counties Building & Construction Trades Council hosted the event. Candidates for Bloomington and Normal mayor, Bloomington City Council's contested wards, Heartland Community College trustee and Normal Township supervisor were invited to speak.
Six were endorsed.
All candidates were asked about how they could support the effort to reform or undo the Tier 2 pension system. The benefits structure for employees entering the government workforce after 2010, known as Tier 2, has raised concerns about its compliance with Social Security and fairness to public employees. All candidates for mayor expressed support for local labor leaders continuing efforts to change the Tier 2 system.
“If there are two people doing the job and one's on a Tier 1 pension, one's on a Tier 2 pension, those pensions should be the same. They shouldn't be separate. They're doing the same work, they have the same rights, and we need to look at that,” said Chris Koos, mayor of Normal.
“People used to get into ... public service because you knew that the benefits would be good and they would be there,” said Mboka Mwilambwe, mayor of Bloomington. “But if you know you're reducing those benefits, then it's just not worthwhile, and people start to look at other things. So we need to definitely take a look at that.”
A pair of candidates — Normal mayoral candidate Kathleen Lorenz and Bloomington mayoral candidate Dan Brady — were asked about their voting records.
Lorenz was asked about voting against the $14.9 million property tax levy, an increase of about 5%, that passed 4-3 last month. Prior to that vote, Lorenz said she wanted to give “some relief for our taxpayers” and preferred a flat or nearly flat tax levy.
“By me voting against that I was not short-changing pensions one penny,” said Lorenz. “I was saying that we did not need an unjustified $700,000 that I could not stand here in front of you and tell you what that would have been for.”
Brady was asked about his AFL-CIO ratings from his time as a state representative, which hovered around the 30% to 40% range, according to VoteSmart.
“On the votes that labor came to me and said, these are major votes where we need your help, like the gas tax, I voted for it,” said Brady. “I was the only Republican, one of the nine Republicans in the House that did that, and I voted for a gas tax, which cost me two opponents in the next couple Republican primaries. But I did that because labor came and asked me.”
Cody Hendricks is the other mayoral candidate in Bloomington seeking to replace the incumbent Mboka Mwilambwe. Hendricks was asked about the downtown streetscape plan.
“It’s what I ran for for city council, it's why I'm running for mayor, because I have a lot of fear that while people may say that they are in support of it, I think that behind closed doors, they're going to say that they're not in support of it,” said Hendricks.
Another topic discussed were union concerns about renovations at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center property in Uptown Normal. Union leaders have filed a complaint alleging a series of violations related to pay and other workplace standards. Labor groups have protested the contractor’s use of out-of-state workers for a project there.
“It is a very interesting scenario. I will put that out there,” said Chemberly Harris, candidate for Normal mayor. “And what's making that interesting is the fact that Marriott itself is still considered private, if you will.”
Candidates for other races also expressed support for union labor.
“Preventing public employees from making their own decisions is not how we keep good employees,” said Abby Scott, a candidate for Ward 9 of the Bloomington City Council. Ward 9 includes northeast Bloomington.
Scott’s opponent, Roger Bedeker, was invited but did not attend. The same was true for Bloomington Ward 1 candidate Ben Zimmerman, Normal Township supervisor candidate Chad Berck and Heartland Community College board candidate David Selzer.
Of the 12 candidates to attend, union delegates endorsed six. For Bloomington they endorsed Cody Hendricks for mayor, Jenna Kearns for Ward 1 and Abby Scott for Ward 9. Krystle Able was endorsed for Normal Township supervisor. Laurie Bergner and Thomas Whitt were endorsed for the Heartland Community College board.
The unions did not endorse in the Normal mayoral race. Koos won their endorsement ahead of the 2021 election.
“Local politics greatly impacts our members,” Livingston & McLean Counties Building & Trades President Mike Raikes, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 197’s business manager, said in a statement. “Our local elected officials make decisions that can create construction projects that keep our members employed, so we are very anxious to know their attitudes.”
