This post was made by The Illuminated Life Foundation
On the night of Wednesday, July 1st Todd Ledbetter was beaten to near death by the bench he slept on near West Side Park on State St. in Champaign, Illinois. He passed soon after midnight on the 2nd. Let's look back on his life and see who he was so we can honor his memory a little better.
History
Todd grew up in Carlock, IL and worked in an automobile repair shop, but after two divorces and losing his children he slipped into Alcoholism. He served time for armed robbery in Champaign and has been arrested in McLean County three times on misdemeanor charges including trespassing at a Jimmy Johns and stealing a two dollar and fifty cent can of wine from a Thornton’s gas station.
While living in Bloomington, Illinois Todd said “When I first got out of prison, I went from down from 30 beers to 20 beers to 10 beers because I was trying to get out from under what was hindering me from being that one hundred percent Todd that I used to be,” but he continued to drinking making it where he couldn't stay at the city's homeless shelter and wasn't allowed at most down town businesses. Then came "BenchGate"
BenchGate
After people tried chasing him out of the city they finally put out a plan to run him off. On Saturday, July 2nd 2016 in Bloomington, Illinois someone covered the bench he slept on in tar so when he laid on it, the tar ruined his clothes. Many named the incident BenchGate. The city eventually removed it and he slept on the ground. After this he went and mostly stayed in Champaign, Illinois.
Living In Champaign
Todd Ledbetter was a frequent visitor to C-U At Home a homeless shelter in Champaign also known as "The Phoenix". He refused most of the help offered to him though he helped others as much as possible. His friends even claiming he'd give away his last dollar just to help someone. His close friend Janeta Toppel held on to the money nice people would give to him when he sat on the sidewalk at West side park. She only had this to say about his simple desires. “All the man wanted was a house and — these are his words — a new puppy dog, that's all he wanted.”
However, Wednesday evening Toppel and Ledbetter got into an argument so he tucked his $200 away before he settled down on the bench he's been sleeping on since he moved to Champaign two years ago. That night, three people approached Ledbetter and started hitting him. A friend who was sleeping across the street, who asked not to be named, said he heard a crack as Ledbetter’s head was slammed. That person ran to Toppel, who was watching a movie on the friend’s phone. They used that phone and called the police. Sadly though, he didn't make it. “If he would have given me the money, he’d still be alive,” Toppel said. “I might be dead, but he’d be alive.”
After Death
His bench has become a memorial for him as people who knew him are mourning his death. I feel as if it's more than friends though, It's the community. A fundraiser has been started by someone to raise money to cover his burial and other expenses as well. It's already raised $15,760.
With this blog post we're trying to raise $90 to buy him a plaque for the bench he slept on. You could help by sending money to our Venmo or GoFundMe
This post was made by The Illuminated Life Foundation
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