ATA Held Hostage - - - Week 3

Who has the money? A lawsuit is pending to make IL pay what it owes to lottery winners.

Illinois Lottery winners, including a Homer Glen resident, on Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit against the lottery for stopping payouts of cash prizes because the legislature and governor have failed to agree on a 2015-16 state budget.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago by Rhonda Rasche, who's awaiting a $50,000 payout, and Danny Chasteen, who won $250,000, and seeks class-action status and the halt of lottery ticket sales.

"How the heck can they do this, and they're still selling tickets?" said Rasche, of Homer Glen, who won on a $3 scratch-off ticket that she bought July 28 at the Circle K store at the Shell gas station at 143rd Street and Bell Road. "If I was the one selling raffle tickets and I didn't pay, I would be sued or in jail or both."

Will any be left for Sparta?

(quoted from Chicago Tribune)

 

And yet they keep shooting there

 

By they I presume you mean Americantrapshooter.com members also.

I saw several guns with this sites decal on the barrel and if you can remember what you read here you would recall several posters talking about being at the Grand.

 

How fast is the $2.1 million Hall Of Fame Building filling up? Are the items out of the storage lockers and in the building? Who is the daily custodian that is guarding those or is it left to the police at Sparta?

 

They have a mural of Dysinger at the entrance.

 

I bought more than my fair share of Illinois State Lottery tickets and never in my wildest dreams would I of thought they were connected to the State budget ... Those who are effected by the State not paying should file suit (Federally) and demand payment and never buy another ticket ... Problem is if you get an Attorney involved then you are going to pay dearly to get whatever percentage is left after they get the cases on the court dockets, that additional expense would not be fair to the winners ... Wonder if that money got legs and walked away also ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

I heard the HOF was still full of hot air. Brad

 

If all of us fell asleep until Jan. 1 16', I doubt if anything would have changed.

If they can't pay the lottery winners, funding the WRSC is probably the least of their worries.


Regards....Gerald

 

Gerald,

I am afraid you are right !

You are so right too Brad, and it's sad but true.

 

Straight talk from KFVS TV in Illinois


SPARTA, IL (KFVS) -
One of the largest shooting events in the world could leave Sparta, Illinois if the state shutters the venue due to the Illinois budget deadlock.
The 1,600 acres World Shooting Complex will close October 1 because the state hasn't appropriated funds to it. That is striking fears with leaders of the Amateur Trapshooting Association and organizers of the Grand American Trapshooting Tournament, the largest event of its' kind in the world.
The Grand American draws more than 16,000 people to Sparta including more than 4,600 competitors each year. Executive Director of the ATA Lynn Gipson said the Grand American has to happen whether it's in Sparta or somewhere else. He said if the ATA leaves, it likely will not return to Sparta.

“In the next few months if nothing’s resolved, if the budgets still out there – We’re going to have to start looking at other locations," Gispon said. "We don’t want to do that, we want to stay here [in Sparta] but we have to have a Grand American somewhere. We owe it to our membership.”

Now I am calling BS. Gipson now acts as tho he is taking the high road. He is the honest fellow now.
His statement is in conflict with itself.

"We don’t want to do that, we want to stay here [in Sparta] but we have to have a Grand American somewhere. We owe it to our membership.”

1. If he cared about the membership and was completely honest he would not have said to the media and the org that "we have this going in a fantastic direction."

2. If they really cared about the org they would not have put the org in this situation.

3. They should have been looking for a new place lonnnng ago.

4. If they cared about the org they would not have wasted $2.1 million on a cheap pole building. Those funds included ATA monies. It is now owned by the State of Illinois.

Word out of the City of Sparta is they grew tired of the ATA BS and lies long ago.

Am I the only person that thinks there should be an official investigation into this crap?

 

I would think the health of the ATA would be more important than having a grand. The biggest mistake made with Sparta was that the EC made all rules and decisions based on what can we do to make the grand go, not what is best for the members, which is what IS owed to the membership in my opinion. For the last 10 years proving that Sparta wasn't a big Sport Killing Mistake has driven the EC, they wanted to prove how smart they were and how dumb all the shooters who told them we won't go and then didn't.

Build it and they will come. Remember that. Illinois will make up for Ohio and Pa shooters, remember that. To bad Trump isn't an ATA shooter I'd like to hear his take on the EC and Sparta. Brad

 

I doubt seriously that the city of Sparta has much say so when it comes to the WSRC as they might like to think they do, in reality its the State of Illinois who is in control ... I have to believe its the State of Illinois who got sick and tired of the BS and projected numbers that get tossed around by all of those concerned and involved ... Lynn (the Talking Head ) Gipson is projecting and claiming numbers that will never be seen let alone ever be seen again in Sparta, Ill ... The figure of 16,000 people (attendees) is at least twice the number of people they have had or can ever expect in Sparta, let alone 4,600 competitors ... If the ATA is not or has not been looking at other locations by now it will be hectic/chaos at best to see another grand anyplace next year ... There are only a few clubs that could possibly pull it off, if they wait to much longer to figure out what they (ATA) are going to do they might just as well forget it and put a nail in the wall ... The ATA should of thought of what they owed the membership before they ignored them and relocated to Sparta after being forewarned prior to committing to the move ... Now, they talk loyalty, transparency, and all about the members when the Members are the ones who did not matter before, which was proved by their actions ... I guess they figured out the new HOF building is not going to draw much of a crowd either from the looks of things ... If they do or are forced to move out of Sparta, the 3 or 4 shooters they picked up will probably never be seen or heard from again ...

"Am I the only person that thinks there should be an official investigation into this crap?" (FG)

I think there are a lot of people who feel something is not quite Kosher and that an investigation would be in order ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

An investigation would be interesting at the very least but based on the past and somewhat looking ahead I doubt that an investigation would be convened, in other words I doubt anyone would have the balls to appoint any person/(s) to carry out such an investigation. Who would they report to, who would have the authority to carry out any recommendations that would/should be made. I still feel that the EC have their heads in the sand (polite version) and are hoping the problem will just go away and they will continue to move ahead in a fantastic direction.

 

The ATA will likely still function without Sparta. Very few shooters attend today's Grand in Sparta and the rest will continue supporting Satellite Grands and State shoots. The Grand hasn't been so grand in ten years so it won't be missed!

 

Dawg is right about a few things.

If we are not registering targets to go to "the" grand then we are registering targets to go to a venue. If that is the case then why have a national org? As Dawg says we have not been doing that for 10 years.

I disagree with Dawg using the words...

For what org?

 

No

Trapshooting will function without Sparta. Only 1 of 6 shooters in PA and OH shoot registered now.

 

I counted 57 shooters from PA shooting one event-the Clay target Championship. It's pretty obvious we're not going!

 

Entrance to the bathroom maybe.

 

I fell for the build it,and they will come. There is no reason for having the grand in Sparta. Ive been going to southern IL since 2004,I moved down there full time in jan of 2012. The past month I moved out of that area. There are no jobs unless you are a nurse or a prison guard. I lived in perry county. Over 52 percent of the people living there was on some kind of public aid. Look at the coal mines closing in southern IL. Look at the people that have never been over 20 miles from there home.

 

Does anyone know if any events are scheduled for the Sparta complex yet this fall? Like skeet, trap, league, sporting clays events or kids shoot and such. If there are they will have to pull the trigger on what they're doing long before the ATA. Doug do you have any idea on what's happening? Brad

 

The web site from the WSRC has event's scheduled until the end of Dec , 2015 ... The site schedule showed 112 days where the facility was being used so it was not being utilized to any degree ... Still nothing on the States web site about Budget, Lottery winners or funding for the WSRC ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

Thanks wpt. Do you think the Hostage will escape or be killed? Brad

 

After a lot of thought, and careful consideration, one can only come to one conclusion on this topic:

 

Can the trapshooters escape ATA and HOF mismanagement with Illinois coming down the tracks?


Is the hostage going to die?



Where is Underdog when you need him?

 

Otherwise known as the EC and BOD conference room.
With all the crap they put out, instead of Men's Room, it should read
Brain Trust or maybe Think Tank?

 

You guys don't have to shoot ATA or any other type registered shooting. just saying....

 

Doesn't mean, they won't constantly bitch about it.

 

Duff---how many shooters have we lost since you started shooting registered?
We had more than twice what we have when I started.

 

W61
Duffkjs says he has been shooting for almost a year already.

 

Brad....silence means the hostages escaped or died?

 

The over all big picture is not looking real good for the "Hostage" , it appears the State of Illinois has more problems than the WSRC on its plate with the State Lottery obviously having misplaced a few dollars that should of been used for paying off the lottery winners ... How in the H E L L can that much money be involved and or be misplaced and what does the funding for the WSRC have to do with Lottery winners getting paid or vice versa ..? The Illinois State Lottery does not pay out all of the money taken in on sales of lottery tickets so there should be a considerable (overage) amount of money in the States Lottery account unless some gross mismanagement was/is happening ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

Hi, we're from the government and we are here to help.

 

If we believe what we read on the internet, which I believe we all do (Ha ha), we have to assume that the place will stay open, and they will be able to fill the THOF museum as planned in November. With events scheduled through the end of the year this should be an overwhelming reason to keep going forward.

 

Family guy, nice dolls. Age representative of the ATA membership too. Did you buy them or are they a trap shooting trophy you won. Brad

 

FG, Your dollies made me laugh...

Blagovitch on the left, and Rauner on the right telling the head of the THOF... "Sign that lease" !

Sorry, but I couldn't help myself..

 

TTT week 3