Air Force Gen. Darren W. McDew assumes command of the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) during a ceremony at Scott Air Force Base, Aug. 26. Gen. McDew has been serving as the commander of Air Mobility Command at Scott AFB. McDew succeeds Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, now the 10th vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. USTRANSCOM manages all global air, land and sea transportation for the U.S. Department of Defense and the commander reports directly to the secretary of defense.

Appellate court okays class action suit against county for tax auction scheme

The Illinois Fifth District Court of Appeals has effectively approved a class action law suit, filed in the wake of a Madison County tax-auction bid-rigging scheme.

The civil suit comes following criminal cases in which former county treasurer Fred Bathon and three political contributors plead guilty and received prison sentences.

According to information filed as part of the criminal and civil actions, Bathon, from 2005-08,  provided front-row seating at tax auctions to his political supporters, allowing them to easily bid on tax-delinquent properties, while the bids of others at the auctions often were often drowned out by those at the front of the room.

At county property tax auctions, bidders compete to pay outstanding bills. Successful bidders receive a lien and eventually can take possession of a property if the owner doesn’t pay back the tax plus interest. Bids are based on amount of interests bidders are willing to accept.

Because of the noncompetitive atmosphere of the Madison County auction, property owners often ended up paying state-maximum 18 percent interest rates to reclaim their properties, according to the suit.

Property owners now contend that cost them a total of more than $2 million in unnecessary payments.

Restitution was not provided to property owners in 2013 criminal cases, as the judge ruled it was too  difficult to determine the amount of damages appropriate for victims.

Named as defendants in the civil action are Madison County, former treasurer Bathon, the three political supporters who pleaded guilty in the criminal cases, five other area real estate lien buyers, and auctioneer Jim Foley.

The civil suit was certified for class action status in June. The appeals last week turned back a request by defendants’ attorneys for review of that certification.

Following the appellate court action, current Madison County Treasurer Kurt Prenzler called for the county to settle with plaintiffs and then recover funds from Bathon and the other defendants.

However, Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons issued a statement warning that could result in county taxpayers picking up the entire cost of compensating plaintiffs.

FBI investigating East St. Louis towing fees

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Aug 25, issued a summons to East St. Louis City Treasurer Charlotte Moore, ordering her to appear before a federal grand jury and turn over records on city towing fees.

The FBI investigation comes following the release of a “cash management review” by the St. Louis accounting firm of Brown, Smith & Wallace, which found East St. Louis failed to keep proper financial records – noting in particular records related to towing services. The review also found the city failed to fully collect business taxes and follow required banking safeguards during 2014.

The summons requests all city records related to towing fees from Sept. 1, 2012, to the present; all receipts for towing fees; any statements or reports generated in relation to towing fees; and all correspondence or emails related to towing fees or towing policies.

The financial review covered the first year of independent financial operations by the city, following the disbanding of the state Financial Advisory Authority disbanded in December 2013. The state authority oversaw East St. Louis financial operations for roughly a decade and ultimately provided a multimillion dollar subsidy to the city.

Moore is slated to appear Sept. 22 in at the U.S. District Court building in East St. Louis.  She told reporters last week she “plans to cooperate fully” with the summons.

On the same day the summons was issued, the East St. Louis Police Department was visited by a team of FBI agents, reportedly offering assistance with investigative procedures. Additional FBI agents are expected to begin working regularly at East St. Louis City Hall.  New City Manager Alvin Parks, the city’s former mayor, told the Belleville News-Democrat the FBI has previously offered assistance to the city police department.

East St. Louis to cut personnel

New East St. Louis City Manager Alvin Parks last week announced seven employees will be laid of beginning Sept. 10 as a cost-cutting measure. Cut from the city payroll, on a temporary but indefinite basis, will be the city’s deputy liquor commissioner, director of external affairs, external communications manager, human resources assistant, regulatory affair director, a full-time telecommunicator, and an administration assistant in the city’s police department. Parks said the city is also hoping to cut expenses for cell phone use, gasoline, and landscaping. East St. Louis faces a $5.7 million deficit in its 2016 budget, according to Mayor Emeka Jackson-Hicks.

Cooling tower collapses at Wood River refinery

No injuries were reported after a cooling tower collapsed at the Phillips 66 refinery in Wood River on Aug. 25. The loss of cooling capacity forced the plan to shut down one gasoline-making unit and reduce production at a second. Company officials hoped to have the plant operating a full capacity                                  again within days. The incident resulted in no damage to property outside the plant, according to the company.

The Wood River incident marked the second major problem in a month at a major Midwestern petroleum refinery. The shutdown of a crude oil unit at a BP plant in Indiana, earlier last month, for unanticipated repairs resulted in a decline in gasoline supply. That helped to keep pump prices across the Midwest higher than in other areas of the nation. The PB plant was restored to service on about Aug. 25.

A Phillips 66 spokesperson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the Wood River refinery continued to meet commitments to its customers following the tower collapse. In addition to gasoline, the Wood River plant produces diesel and jet fuel. It is a major supplier to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and O’Hare International Airport in Chicago,

State regulators approve BJC-Memorial partnership

The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board, Aug 25, approved a “strategic partnership” that would allow BJC HealthCare and Memorial Group to jointly operate Memorial Hospital in Belleville and the new Memorial Hospital East in Shiloh. Under the arrangement, BJC and Memorial would create a new not-for-profit entity, Memorial Regional Health Services, Inc., (MRHS) to run both hospitals. The two parent organizations would have equal representation on the MRHS board.

Approval came on an 8-1 vote. No letters of opposition were filed, according to a board staff person.

Officials with St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville objected to, what they termed, a lack of details regarding the new BJC-Memorial partnership. They also expressed concern that the partnership would result in an outflow of Metro-East patients to BJC facilities in St. Louis, which could ultimately result in reduced access to care here.

The new partnership must still be approved by the Federal Trade Commission.

Investment adviser faces new charges

Former  investment adviser Kenneth J. Lee, convicted in 2006 of misusing client money and income tax evasion, was charged again Aug. 21 with illegally avoiding payment of restitution to clients.  Federal prosecutors say Lee used a complicated series of transactions to hide assets – including $300,000 in cash, $863,000 in PayPal transactions, and his Glen Carbon home – which should have been used to help compensate victims or pay back taxes. Indictments issued in East St. Louis Federal Court last week charge Lee with conspiracy, contempt of court, mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, trafficking in counterfeit goods, bank fraud and making false statements to investigators.  He is currently serving a six-month sentence, handed down in March, for violating terms of his supervised release from a 41-month sentence he received in 2006.

AWOL Scott airman gets 25 years in court-martial

Air Force Tech. Sgt. David Lawrence Helm was sentenced to 25 years of confinement by a Scott Air Force Base military court, Aug 24, after pleading guilty to four charges including child rape and desertion.  Helms went AWOL from Scott AFB in May while facing child sex charges. He was arrested June 5 in Reno, Nev., where he told a state trooper he was attempting to complete a “bucket list” of recreational activities before facing imprisonment.

Helm was sentenced under the terms of a plea bargain, with prosecutors agreeing to drop some of the charges against him. In addition to his sentence, Helm will also be dishonorably discharged and forfeit all pay and allowances.

— Metro East news briefs —