By: Diane Benjamin
I can’t possibly follow everything going on in Bloomington-Normal, that’s why tips from readers are vital! I would have missed this story is a reader hadn’t sent it to me:
John Butler of CIAM wants his records sealed. Maybe the IRS is after him, maybe he just wants to make sure citizens never know the truth.
The taxpayers of Bloomington got some money back, they NEVER got justice. Former City Manager David Hales was never held accountable or forced to testify as to why he did nothing to stop the obvious theft of money at the Coliseum. The Council members who also sat by and let it happen were never held accountable either.
In the story John Butler continues to claim he didn’t know his employees were stealing from him. He now wants his records sealed so facts are buried. His request is an outrage that should not be allowed.
The citizens of Bloomington were robbed by Butler’s plea agreement. They were never allowed to hear the facts. $450,000 doesn’t make up for the loss of faith in elected and appointed officials. The Coliseum was a disaster from the moment it was passed against the wishes of voters. I will never stop reminding you who voted for it:
Butler threw 2 former employees under the bus: Concessions general manager Paul Grazer and former concessions finance chief Jay Laesch.
Both of them pled guilty to felonies while Butler pled to a misdemeanor. It was a despicable end to a huge abuse of taxpayers.
Where are Paul Grazer and Jay Laesch? They aren’t outraged enough to speak out? John Butler blames them for everything and he expects to waltz away an innocent man. That can not be allowed, it’s bad enough he isn’t a felon and jailed.
According to the article Butler’s request is scheduled to be heard on December 17th. The State’s Attorney’s office needs to fight hard against sealing the documents. They allowed the plea deal in exchange for $450,000 repaid.
The doesn’t cover what John Butler and CIAM did the citizens of Bloomington.
Update: Evidently people don’t care about corruption. Less than 1% of readers bothered to sign the petition, so I pulled it.
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The fact that Butler was able to negotiate a guilty plea to a misdemeanor (as opposed to a felony) and that the City did not pursue legal action in civil court suggests there may be some things that certain folks would like to remain out of sight.
Anyone that lived in BN long enough knew Butler hung out with some of BN’s biggest scumbags. They all used their influence to get cushy jobs whether it be with local government, ISU, the local media or SF. All his buddies and female friends reminded you of something out of Billionaire Boys Club. Speaking of tips, it has been reported that Rivian will lose close to 1.28 Billion this quarter due to production of its new truck line. For those interested, plenty of sources to find out what’s really going on at the self-proclaimed new leader in EV transportation.
Plant had a fire today, battery? Just asking!
Very good. You must have ESP. All I know IMHO, Scaringe has been a BS artist since he started this whole thing.