NORMAL, Ill. (WMBD) — Congressman Eric Sorensen visited the Twin Cities on Friday to learn more about the needs of two communities in the 17th Congressional District.
Sorensen was accompanied by Normal Mayor Chris Koos in a tour around Uptown Normal.
Koos said Uptown Normal is vibrant, but needs a new stormwater system.
“When we developed the stormwater system here in the early 2000s, it was more than adequate. But we’re getting 150-year rains every year. It’s an issue we need to deal with. It’s a climate change issue,” he said.
Sorensen said he wants to understand how money should be spent.
“We have flooding that is happening here in Uptown Normal too often, and it happens with these high precipitation events that are happening as our world warms. This right here is evidence that we’re already going to spend money because of what we’re doing to our environment,” he said.
A former meteorologist, Sorensen added it is smarter to invest ahead of time, instead of trying to keep up with environmental changes.
“It’s do the right thing today, or push it off until tomorrow, and try to innovate through it. But my dad always told me, everything in the future is going to cost more than it does today, and that’s why we make the investment today,” he said.
Afterwards, Sorensen toured downtown Bloomington, where he was accompanied by Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe.
