[Updated and bumped up for obvious reasons.]
* The Tribune has a story in Sunday’s edition about its thorough investigation of apparently bogus after-school grants. The $20,000 grants are noncompetitive and are essentially awarded by Senate Democrats. One in particular…
Powerful Senate Democrats quietly gave out the money to hand-picked nonprofits, schools, businesses and churches. The lawmakers funneled the money through the Illinois State Board of Education, which rubber-stamped the choices.
But a Tribune investigation found that nearly half of the 48 groups that got money this past school year were running dubious programs, or declined to show how they spent the money. About a dozen of the grants went to established programs with a history of tutoring or mentoring school-age children.
All of the questionable projects share the same sponsor: West Side Sen. Rickey Hendon (D-Chicago), who awarded many grants to campaign workers and donors, the investigation found.
* If the Tribune story is accurate, many of these grants were just cash payouts…
In his application, Tate promised to tutor 12 to 20 children five days a week. But during a June visit to Revival Fellowship Church of God in Christ, where Tate says he runs his tutoring sessions, no one was there except the pastor, Rev. John Jackson. He said Tate paid him $1,500 to rent space in May and June, but he could not explain why no one was there that day.
The Tribune stopped by the following week and found three families sitting in the church hall waiting for Tate. Two youngsters played on unplugged computers while three others ran around the room.
* And here’s the sidebar…
Hendon pointed out that former U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.)—who later went to federal prison for mail fraud—earned praise for “bringing home the money” when he was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. “Well, I’m the West Side chairman of the Ways and Means Committee,” Hendon said. […]
Two years ago, the state demanded partial repayment of a $275,000 grant awarded, at Hendon’s request, to a non-profit that promised job training for homeless men. The state said the group improperly gave nearly half the grant to a board member, who couldn’t document how he spent the money. That board member had close ties to Hendon.
In 2002, the Illinois attorney general’s office sued a woman, alleging she misspent the $175,000 state grant she was supposed to use for a job-training program for low-income mothers. A Cook County judge ordered her to pay back the grant, a portion of which Hendon helped her secure.
In 1998, the state demanded a West Side redevelopment group return nearly half of the $500,000 grant Hendon helped arrange. The senator had asked the company to subcontract part of the work to another redevelopment firm where his then-wife served as executive director, records show.
* Meanwhile, Bernie had quite the story yesterday…
What a coup it seemed to be for the Christian County Democratic Party to get a visit from Gov. Rod Blagojevich for a county party fundraiser back on April 9.
Well, the coup ended up being Blagojevich’s, and some troubling questions arise from that event.
It turns out that, one week after the event, on April 16, the Christian County Democrats donated $25,000 to Blagojevich. The county party had raised only $32,580 in the six-month period, ending June 30, that included the event, and the party left itself with just $3,212 in cash on hand at the end of June.
Then on May 2, less than four weeks after the fundraiser, Jack Mazzotti, a pharmacist and chairman of Christian County Democrats, was named to the Mid-Illinois Medical District Commission.
Hmm. Where have I seen that $25,000 figure before? Oh, yeah, that’s right. A cynic (and maybe even the federales) might think that $25,000 was the standard price for a state board or commission seat.
There’s more. Much more. So go read the whole thing.