More Damning Evidence Surfaces in the Hiring of Edgar County Airport Manager –

The email leaves questions, but gets the point across. If this damning evidence is true, my question is – who in the hec did the background and recommended him, and who reviewed and approved the recommendation? Where are the checks and balances? Again, if this damning evidence is true, has he signed any FAA or any other official documents since taking the position, which would falsely state his credentials? If so, I see more than a termination looming in his future. If he is what you say he is, Edgar County in now on notice and on the hook for the liability of anything that goes wrong under his watch. Where is the State’s Attorney on this matter? He IS the county’s attorney, correct?

Wow! Great story, I’m impressed and inspired as usual, thank you. Obviously this guy is a fraud and should be investigated, fired and replaced with the other more qualified original candidate for this job. Keep up the good work!

I attended the Edgar County board meeting this AM 3/11/2015 and all of the above was presented to the board. This is a very interesting group of facts about Jerry Griffin, the now manager at the Edgar County Airport. I have not personally seen his resume but I would suspect that about the only item on his resume that he might possibly have answered correctly would be his age??? At the close of the meeting the board went to closed session to discuss, along with other items, personnel. If at this moment Mr. Griffin is still employed by the airport I would find this totally unbelievable. I attended the Edgar County Airport Advisory board meeting Monday night 3/9/2015. It had to be postponed because they did not have a quorum.
We were visiting in the office for a bit before leaving and I was leaning on the counter staring at a sign that stated “All pilots please register”. I have been a pilot for MANY years and have visited MANY airports. Most airports have a register and If there was a register, I always registered. The registers are interesting to me because you put down the type of plane you are flying. This register had a Stearman. I have several hours in a Stearman so this brings back memories. There were thirteen pilots registered and I thought that there were more pilots registered for about half a month than I thought there might be—— this was till I noticed the dates. The first listing was August 2, 2014, again unbelievable! Thirteen pilots stopped in in the past 7 1/2 months. A beautiful airport, 3 employees, seven or so airplanes stored, no pilots qualified to legally give any type of service—- something is horribly wrong here!!

Great work. The Board should convene special session and terminate him immediately and take any steps needed to preserve taxpayer resources so the are no longer improperly wasted on him. I hope they check with legal counsel to see if a lawsuit could be useful.

Front page of tomorrow’s Beacon News should read that the Airport manager has been terminated…….. We’ll see if that comes to pass.

John,
Of course the retired Chief Warrant Officer – with training, discipline and leadership skills, not to mention a pilot’s license – was not hired. He undoubtedly would do the right thing, would not be intimidated, and could not be manipulated to hold the hands of those who typically oversee such skullduggery at the airport. Now, after this unfolds, perhaps the CWO should file suit? This story is getting more interesting. Let’s look at other relationships with the manager. Who would be in a position to benefit besides, the possible crash pilot you mentioned?

On the surface it would certainly seem that the motivation for hiring Mr. Griffin was not in obtaining the most qualified person for the job. The red flags that have gone up since his hiring are inexcusable.

Let’s begin, when you have what would appear to be two seemingly well qualified applicants for the same position. Wouldn’t you appoint someone to follow up with the stated references and work history on their application’s and resume’s? That would seem to be prudent since the position being filled is responsible for people’s lives. I mean it would sure seem reasonable to expect that at the very least so a responsible decision can be made for the best qualified person.

Then you have the fact that there are at least two aircraft incidents (ie: crashes) at the airport during Mr Griffin’s short tenure. Thank God these two have not resulted in any loss of life. And yet the employer does nothing to verify qualifications? Interesting to say the least. Well Edgar County airport your certainly on notice now. It would seem that the risk of having this person in charge of our airport puts all of us at risk. I am sure the insurance carrier issued coverages to you based on some small part on the persons qualifications which you represented to them to be in charge of airport operations. Do you think they will cover you from this point forward in the event of a loss? It is irresponsible for the board to put the county at risk over this.

As for you Mr. Griffin. Sir, you lied, you can spin it any way you want. The end result is the same. You should resign. Or your employer should dismiss you immediately if you do not. Of course this is just my humble opinion based on the facts provided.

Perhaps..
It is my understanding there were two applicants applying for the airport manager’s position. Jerry was one of them. The other was the veteran that had distinguished himself in the United States Army as a helicopter test pilot and ultimately retired from the Army as a Warrant Officer 3. That is/was no small accomplishment. I believe, He currently manages several employees and a department at a large hardware/lumber store in Terre Haute, Indiana.

There is no question but what Jerry fabricated, slanted, deceived and misled Edgar County in presenting his credentials. All of which are reasons for an immediate dismissal. You must however, keep in mind the county board went along with it and they are unlikely to dismiss him for reasons stated below.
You may choose to believe the county board didn’t know that Jerry’s credentials and statements were false, that they choose to take everything he said at face value and simply did not check out anything he submitted in his application. You may also choose to believe the county board was unable to hear those speaking out against Jerry’s performance, past, and all of the “inaccuracies” found in his documents month after month. All of that could be true, but there may be more to it than that.

The warrant officer and the honorably discharged veteran: responded to the airport managers opening with honest and verifiable submittals and he did not lie. So why is it that, Jerry Griffin, an Indiana resident with flawed credentials, is so much the favored son over our Illinois veteran and why didn’t they hire this warrant officer and why didn’t the county board fix this long ago?

Part of the answer may be in the history of “Chris and Jimmy’s Airport”; a nick name given to the Edgar County Airport back then. It is my understanding, the warrant officer and Chris Patrick were mutually eligible for one county board seat. Initially the support of the Republican party was promised to the warrant officer, but then Chris Patrick entered the race and some say, after some kind of bullying, that support was withdrawn in favor of Chris. So it was, the Chair Person of the Airport Advisory board, Chris Patrick was now in the race for a county board seat and clearly in opposition to our veteran warrant officer. Chris prevailed and as hard as it is for some to believe, he became the chairperson for the county board on his first day…even though Chris did not have any county board experience.

Then came Chris Patrick’s conflict of interest issues on the county board. Most remember, that IDOT withheld all funding to the county for a short while because of those conflicts. Then most remember, that Mark Isaf created some sort of deal, whereby it would be OK to deny the voters of his district their representation in the county board and on highway funding issues because of Chris’s conflict of interest.
That “Mark Isaf” agreement was an illegal agreement. Voting rights and the representation of an elected official cannot be abridged by fellow board members…that’s the law and that very issue would become the center piece of a civil suit filed by several voters from Chris Patrick’s district: all against Chris Patrick and his conflict of interest. Our warrant officer was one of the many in that law suit.

In order to make a long story short: It has been suggested, the selection committee was not allowed to select our veteran because 1) he opposed Chris Patrick and 2) because he was among the many in a civil suit filed against Chris Patrick…regardless of the suit’s merit. Neither of those reasons had anything to do with his lack of qualifications or the great work or contributions he would have provided to the county.

So there you have it, another possibility…and one explanation that I choose to believe..

Rob, John and Anyone with Direct Knowledge:
Does the FAA, or IDOT Div. of Aeronautics (DOA) have a minimum standards requirement for airport managers? Have there been any false statements, etc. submitted in his paperwork / applications, any other signed / official documentation to the FAA, IDOT DOA, insurance companies, investigators, aircraft incident reports, certifying instruction sign-offs, to any entity re his credentials, or statements related to the aircraft incidents to the FAA or IDOT DOA, or to insurance company or other official entities (including his written application to Edgar County)? And, just as important, and equally culpable (civilly AND criminally) – has anyone accepted, forwarded, submitted on the manager’s behalf – any of the above documents, knowing or should have known same to contain false statements ? Does the airport insurance, any of the pending / future grants, any sign-offs he must perform as manager require specific credentials? Any of the above have a penalty or consequence (to the manager OR to the county) for false information or failure to meet standards of any document(s) ? Does the CWO3 have any recourse under the Veteran’s Preference Act ? (Not that he would want to work there, now, but enjoy some form of relief via the Act) END/RCS

OK – sorry, yes I see, according to the above article, he is alleged to have signed the application knowing it contained false information. Is a copy of his app or credentials automatically forwarded to IDOT DOA ? If so, by whom? Does the Board, on behalf of the Edgar County Airport and any new Manager hire, have to submit paperwork to IDOT DOA or FAA regarding the manager’s credentials? If so, did you say they knew or should have known said paperwork contained false information? See where I’m going with that? Also, you said, “He claimed it happened before he was manager, but according to fuel purchases it happened after he was the manager.” I’m sure the FAA, etc., has rules that require reports be completed for aircraft incidents / crashes by both the airport and by the pilot – and require notification to FAA and IDOT DOA within a specific time frame. Were those reports completed? When? Were they truthful? There are penalties (administrative + criminal) for filing a false report and / or providing false information and the same for those who knowingly assist (under the Accountability clause).
You also said there was a meeting. Were false statements made in the meeting? These are simply questions to be explored / FOIAed, etc.