City manager: Don’t rush to judgment in Coliseum probe

David Hales
Bloomington city manager David Hales says the investigation into U.S. Cellular Coliseum’s operations could take months. (WJBC file photo)

By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington city manager David Hales said there’s no timeline for how long the Illinois State Police investigation into U.S. Cellular Coliseum’s operations could take.

The coliseum’s former management company, Central Illinois Arena Management, is the target of a probe stemming from the 10 years when it ran the Coliseum.

PODCAST: Listen to Scott’s interview with Hales on WJBC.

“We hope no one jumps to conclusions,” Hales said. “Let’s let the investigation work its way through.”

Hales told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin the Coliseum’s accounts are audited every year, but the city dove deeper into the books during the management transition last spring. He added the city has been working diligently over the last couple of years to improve its internal controls, operations and auditing functions.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…