Normal Trustee Incumbents Kathleen Lorenz, Karyn Smith and Stan Nord are being challenged by Andy Byars, Mark Tiritilli, Karl Sila and Rachel Lund in the April 4th elections. The top three vote getters will win the three Normal Trustee seats up for election this cycle.
Local elections are nonpartisan, however, for the record, incumbents Lorenz and Nord are Republicans while Smith is a Democrat. Challengers Byars and Sila are Republicans, Lund is a Democrat and Tiritilli is an Independent.
Kathleen Lorenz has been a Normal councilmember Since 2015 and was reelected in 2019. Previous to serving on the council she served 10 Years on the Normal Planning and Zoning Commission. Lorenz has also served on the Bloomington-Normal Sports Commission, Illinois Heart and Lung Foundation, and Association for Women in Communication.
Lorenz holds the position of Executive Director for Leadership Illinois, a state-wide not-for-profit professional women’s educational network. She was granted a BS in Industrial Engineering at Purdue University and a MBA from Illinois State University (ISU).
Karyn Smith was elected to the Normal council on April 2, 2019. She is actively involved with Special Olympics. She also served as treasurer on Frank McCloskey’s 1982 campaign for Congress.
Smith graduated from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. She is an educator at both ISU and Olivet College with over ten years as an instructor of both Financial and Managerial Accounting. Smith spent many years in the accounting industry before crossing over to teaching.
Stan Nord was elected to Normal Town Council on April 2, 2019. He is a long-time member of Trinity Lutheran Church and has served as a Cub Scout den leader.
Nord was granted a degree in Risk Management and Finance from Illinois Wesleyan University. He has successfully started several local small businesses. Nord has worked in information technology (IT) in the Chicagoland area where he spent part of his career with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Previous to that he worked in the finance and insurance industry.
Andy Byars graduated from ISU. He is Director of Midwest Operations for Recall Strategies, a grassroots public affairs organization focused on renewable energy. He has Served on the Normal Planning Commission and as Vice Chair at Large for the McLean County Republicans. Byars was a field manager for former Governor Bruce Rauner.
Byars responded to questions we sent to all candidates saying, “I’m running for council to work on the economic issues important to families and businesses in Normal right now. I think Normal has a lot of momentum with Rivian and other exciting companies moving to town and we have a lot of opportunities to continue to grow and ensure a high quality of life for Normal residents.”
Mark Tiritilli ran for Mayor of Normal in 2017 and 2021. During his 2021 run Tiritilli spoke out against projects like Uptown 2.0 saying the project would be a $100 million dollar investment and that Normal couldn’t afford it. He also spoke highly of Stan Nord saying Nord was doing what he told people he would do, listening to them and trying to represent them.
Tiritilli is a graduate of ISU with a BS in Mathematics. He is an Instructor and Instrument Specialist at Illinois Wesleyan University. Previous to that he taught Physics at Bloomington High School, Mastery Charter Schools in Pennsylvania and Tremont High School.
Karl Sila ran for Normal Trustee in 2019 and 2021. During the 21 campaign he expressed his belief that Mayor Chris Koos and City Administrator Pam Reece dominate the council. Sila protested Covid shutdowns in 20 at Koos’ bicycle shop and pointed out during his campaign that Mayor Koos’ reaction to the protest was to put up a sign making light of the situation.
Sila was granted a BS degree in Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering at the University of Illinois. He is employed as a Systems Analyst at ISU. Previously he worked at State Farm, Business Driven Solutions in Chicago and Software Spectrum in Chicago.
Rachel Lund ran for County Board in District 5 in 2020. Currently she is Vice Chair of the Normal Planning Commission. Recently she worked as a Regional Cordinator for JB for Governor. Lund said during her 20 campaign she felt a change in mindset was needed on the board and was running as part of an attempt to elect a new generation of leadership.
Lund was granted both a BS degree in Engineering Physics and a MS degree in Human Factors and Systems from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She has worked as a Senior UX Researcher with State Farm and as a Human Systems Integration Engineer for the Naval Surface Warfare Center.
