Government Corruption in McLean County: Board Chairman Alleged of Fraud
By: Shane Radliff
January 8th, 2015
My main goal for Liberty Under Attack has always been to recruit other Champions of Liberty in my locale. That goal has led to me to write two anthologies, based off of my experiences here in McLean County, whether it be in higher level indoctrination or within the belly of the beast known as the State. I will almost always seize the opportunity to write about a relevant news story that could be of interest to those who I associate with on Fascistbook.
A few days ago, I checked the stat counter for the LUA website, and my article Adventures in Illinois Higher Education, Part 1: Draconian Legislation at the County Board Meeting, was linked into an article on a news outfit known as Bloomington News Nobody Reports. The article was discussing whether or not Matt Sorenson is in jail and also included a long discussion about the corruption rampant within McLean County.
The commenter that linked to my article had this to say:
“The McLean Co web site is still not compliant with the Freedom of Information Act, in spite of numerous emails I’ve sent to at least three members of the board.”
“Then, there’s the issue of mental health that is so emotionally charged that one dare not approach the controversial subject of government waste. A quick review of the Country’s [sic] approach to this will reveal the emperor has no clothes. They continue to throw money down the drain in the name of addressing mental health issues.”
The commenter concludes their thoughts by saying:
“Keep in mind, Bloomington and Normal passed a sales tax increase in part to hand over more money for mental health to the county. There is absolutely no accountability for this whatsoever on any level of government.”
For those who missed it, I attended a McLean County Board Meeting on May 19th, 2015 (Audio of Meeting). As with the rest of the Adventures in Illinois Law (AIL) series, I wrote a report on my experiences, with a concurrent article analyzing the Mental Health Action Plan and the burden it would place on the already “taxed-to-death” tax serfs. I concluded the reports on the Board Meeting with an article on October 1st, discussing the sales tax increase in Bloomington/Normal, yet no one seemed to give a damn when I wrote it.
That is, until the “less cuddly” version of government made its appearance, in the form of a Federal indictment alleging Matt Sorenson, the McLean County Board Chairman, of wire fraud. The indictment was filed on January 4th, 2016 in the United States District Court in the Northern District of Illinois, accusing Sorenson and Navdeep Arora of violating Title 18 USC § 1343, which prohibits wire fraud. If found guilty, they could serve up to 20 years in prison, and considering this is a felony offense, they could be fined up to $250,000, or twice the total gain or total loss the offense resulted in. Obviously, as convicted felons, they would be legally prohibited from possessing firearms.
The indictment alleges that Arora and Sorenson used two companies, “Gabriel Solutions” and “Andy’s BCB”, to fraudulently bill their employers, McKinsey & Company, Inc. and State Farm. It also includes a forfeiture allegation, which will require the defendants to turn over:
“…Any and all right, title, and interest they may have in any property, real and personal, that constitutes and is derived, directly or indirectly, from proceeds traceable to the commission of the offense, namely, a total of at least $900,000…” – Page 13 [Emphasis added]
Sorenson, is scheduled to appear on January 11th, but whether he was arrested or not, is unsure. Arora appeared in the U.S. District Court in New York on January 4th, following his arrest at JFK International Airport.
That being said, there was something peculiar that I noticed regarding the indictment. It was without signatures from the United States Attorney and the Foreperson. To try to make sense of this, I contacted Gary Hunt from the Outpost of Freedom blog. Gary mentioned that this was the first time he has seen a court document with a “red” header. Typically it’s blue (link provides an example), which leads him to believe that this is a strictly a copy of the document, with the signatures left out intentionally. He affirmed that the actual court copy would have to have at least the US Attorney’s signature, or they wouldn’t have made an arrest (the Foreperson’s name is almost always redacted).
From my experiences at the McLean County Board Meeting, and my understanding of government in general, regardless of the jurisdiction, I am not surprised in the least bit by this development. Politicians do not believe in the non-aggression principle or self-ownership, which both deem fraud to be immoral because it is initiatory force that violates property rights.
Even though a lot of the commenters in the aforementioned article were saying things like “It’s time to clean house,” and “I’m tempted to run against him, but cleaning up this mess is not a one man job,” I’m just happy that at least some people are recognizing the fact that all levels of government are prone to rampant corruption, and that it is not exclusive to the District of Criminals.
I sincerely hope the interest in my AIL series increases due to this. Although, I would be even more satisfied if the citizens of McLean County participated in strategic withdrawal and cancelled their voter registration altogether. At this point, that seems unrealistic, but everyone has their own path to Liberty. That path is not always appealing or consistent, but all anyone who espouses Liberty can truly do, is plant the seed, and hope the Tree of Liberty flourishes.
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