Facts can
be painful inconveniences for arrogant men. And karma can be cruel to bullies
and brutes. Take Bartlett Trustee Greg Martin, for example, who’s been caught
illegally running a business out of his home from 1998 until last month. After
leading the self-righteous attack on former Village President Mike Kelly for
paying his property taxes late, Martin now finds himself in a hypocrite’s hell.
Leading the
pack of dogs bent on destroying a good man last fall, Martin lashed out
unrelentingly. Suggesting that he was the moral standard-bearer for the Village
Board, Martin boiled with phony outrage and denounced Mike Kelly:
“You know what? You should lead by example.”
“I was always taught to lead by example, and we have to
be above board.”
“But we have
a standard. We’re not one of the other towns in Chicagoland where things just
get whitewashed. We have an image…and if something is not going right we have
to address it. We have to fix it.
All well
and good, Mr. Martin. But on December 6, when former village trustee Jerry
Faber asked you about why you ran your business illegally until your political
coup put you under the spotlight, you just smirked and shook your head (see
video “Airdo seizes power…” in the left column).
Now, after
another month of silence, additional scrutiny has finally prompted you to offer
an explanation, a pathetic and incredible explanation: “I didn’t know all the
ins and outs of Bartlett.”
Oh, it’s
that simple? Well, never mind then. After all, how could we expect you to know
anything when you admit to looking into the issue only after your hypocrisy was
exposed. Now you tell us (and expect us to believe) that you had no idea you
needed a license to run your business in Bartlett.
But as we
said at the start, facts can be inconvenient to the arrogant, and we think
you’re lying. Here’s why…
During your
campaign and immediately after your election to the village board, you said
your first order of business would be to remove all the “red tape” you believed
prevented new businesses from coming to Bartlett. You said that “we need to
make it easier to come in here and start a business.”
To believe
you are honest, we’d have to believe:
1) Despite your best efforts, you were
ignorant of the law, from the day you started your business in1998 right up to
and until your campaign and election in spring of 2011;
2) Then, you became
very knowledgeable about and critical of Bartlett business ordinances during
and immediately after your campaign (but were apparently just too busy to
comply with those laws you didn’t like); and,
3) Finally, once you were village
trustee, you somehow forgot what you’d learned, causing you to innocently
remain in violation of those laws until last month.
Or were you
referring to some other “red tape” and just missed the inconvenient bit about
your own responsibilities? But that’s also hard to believe. Here’s why…
The
Bartlett village code is very straightforward and readily available online. We
checked it out ourselves. We clicked once on “BUSINESS AND LICENSE
REGULATIONS,” and clicked once more on “LICENSE REQUIRED; FEES; SPECIAL
REGULATIONS.” And Voila! Just two clicks, and the very first sentence reads:
“No person shall engage in or conduct the usual operations of any…businesses,
trades, or occupations…without first obtaining a license therefor and paying
the annual license fee….” Hard to miss—especially by an honest, competent,
diligent, and law-abiding business owner.
But back to
you, Mr. Martin, and another interesting thing you said while attacking Mike
Kelly. Quoting you, we now have to ask: “Did someone tell you not to pay the
taxes? Were you contesting them or something? Was there another reason? ‘Cause
it looks likes it’s happened more than once.” Very good questions Mr. Martin.
What about it? What about your noncompliance every day of every year from 1998
until the end of 2011, when you finally got caught?
Sorry to do
this, but we must quote you even further, Mr. Martin, again from the night you
publicly humiliated Mike Kelly: “Oh, and by the way, if it happened to me, then
you guys can call me out because there is a standard here.”
We’re
calling you out Mr. Martin. You don’t meet the standard. You’re a hypocrite and
a disgrace to the Village of Bartlett.
Resign.
