Chris Koos runs as incumbent candidate in race for Normal Mayor

NORMAL, Ill. – Chris Koos is the incumbent candidate in Normal’s upcoming mayoral election, an office he has held since 2003. 

During his time as mayor, Koos oversaw the redevelopment of uptown Normal and the construction of the Amtrak station, among many other things. In a WGLT mayoral forum earlier this month, Koos went head-to-head with the two candidates running against him, town council members Kathleen Lorenz and Chemberly Harris.

In his statements and responses, Koos repeatedly stressed the importance of his experience as the incumbent.

“This current federal administration has been fraught with unpredictability, and we need an experienced leader to navigate us through the next four years,” Koos said. ”I have guided Normal through tough times before, and I’m ready to do it again.”

A prominent issue discussed was the housing crisis, which all three candidates came under fire for given their positions on the council. Koos stressed the national scale of the housing crisis and the difficulty of solving it.

“It’s going to take some time, this is not an easy issue to solve,” Koos said. “Anyone who thinks there’s a quick solution to this doesn’t understand it properly; it’s very much a  structural problem.”

A message that all of the candidates stressed was the necessity of local political engagement.

“The election on April 1 isn’t just about picking who sits on the chair in city hall,” Koos said. “It’s about protecting and advancing the progress we’ve made as a community, and there’s a lot at stake.”

ISU students can vote in local elections if they register with a Normal address. The mayoral election is on April 1 with early voting already in progress.