Pardon my disbelief *** UPDATED x1 ***
Thursday, Mar 6, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Lots of time for lawsuits against the House Speaker, but no time to read a pardon? That’s the story from the Blagojevich administration on why he pardoned Chandra Gill so she could become the director of a school that got a million dollar state grant to rebuild fire-ravaged Pilgrim Baptist Church….
[William Quinlan, general counsel to the governor] said he forwarded the recommendation of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board to the governor to pardon [Chandra Gill] without reading Gill’s full petition, in which she stated her connection to the school and made reference to the then-pending $1 million grant.
“I didn’t mean to mislead anyone,” Quinlan said.
The governor’s office later issued a statement saying Blagojevich did not know about Gill’s connection to the school when he approved her pardon and the expungement of her aggravated battery conviction for a 2002 fight with an Urbana police officer.
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s office…
The article in today’s Tribune regarding the Gill pardon misstates the comments Mr. Quinlan made about the pardon process. The full petition was absolutely reviewed by legal counsel when it was submitted to our office and decided upon in January 2007. Mr. Quinlan advised the Tribune reporter that because Ms. Gill’s petition had been returned to the Prisoner Review Board in early 2007 after a decision on the petition had been made, he had reviewed internal memos on the case that are stored in our office — not the full petition — before he was asked about it following yesterday’s press conference on the Illinois Works coalition. The statement in today’s article is patently false and does not in any way reflect the process in which Ms. Gill’s petition was reviewed.
* OK, so let’s back up a minute here.
Gill gets a pardon that wasn’t read. Rev. Jesse Jackson and other African-American leaders were apparently pushing for Gill’s pardon. Her school is apparently helped by the administration with a 501C-3 application so that it can receive the million dollar grant. Details are ignored or overlooked that would preclude the grant from being awarded in the first place…
A provision in Loop Lab School’s state grant contract required the school to affirm it was not “subject to any cease and desist order” before getting the money in March 2007, money it used to acquire and renovate space at 318 W. Adams.
Two months before the school signed off on its $1 million deal with the state, the Illinois Human Rights Commission ordered the school to pay damages to a former kindergarten teacher who complained she was sexually harassed by a school official and then threatened with firing by another — a judgment that Blagojevich’s administration said the school did not disclose.
Besides awarding more than $40,000 to the teacher, the commission ordered that the school “cease and desist from further acts of sexual harassment” and “from further acts of unlawful retaliation.”
Oops.
The million dollars is then used to buy a floor in a Loop building far away from Pilgrim Baptist Church which happened to be developed by a federal mole who was helping the feds investigate Tony Rezko (the grant awarding state agency is run by a former Rezko employee, by the way). The school, whose former students now live quite a distance from its new location, isn’t open for business yet. School officials aren’t talking to the press.
This is the most high profile million dollar grant of Blagojevich’s entire administration and he either royally screwed it up or did something hinky. Either way, it represents a microcosm of the administration. Splashy and controversial announcement, everybody who is anybody is involved, no follow-through or corrupt maneuvering, governor throws his aides under the bus and won’t accept any blame, and it all ends up as a freaking mess which attracts yet another investigation.
By the way, to give you an idea how utterly bizarre this situation is, my intern Kevin knows Chandra Gill. She was a TA of his at the University of Illinois.
- lifer - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:44 am:
Rich this is another example of mismanagement. Did we ever hear if the $2 million for the flu vaccines was ever paid?
- Ron Burgundy - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:47 am:
Pardon my disbelief at the explanation of not reading a pardon he granted. I seem to recall reading stories about people who had been wrongfully convicted who had sought pardons or other types of clemency from this administration so they could be compensated who have been waiting for years without their petitions even being looked at. Yet this one jumps to the front of a non-moving line.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:51 am:
My head hurts trying to follow this. I’m with you — is it incompetence or corruption? Fortunately, I think the paper trail will tell the tale.
I think the administration has struck on a great new p.r. campaign. We’re not corrupt, we’re lazy.
- thinkingofmoving - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:51 am:
I read about this story in the trib this morning. I can’t stop thiking about where Illinois is heading. We, voters of IL, have elected Blago twice, re-elected Daley numerous times, and voted for Chicago officals to every major statewide office. My question is this. Has Illinois peaked as a state? Are we in for a slow decline?
- Macbeth - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:52 am:
All right. Now I realize what everybody else has overlooked.
It’s time to play … (drum roll)
SIX DEGREES OF TONY REZKO.
(Sorta like ‘Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon’ — the idea being that it’s possible to trace any actor back to Kevin Bacon in two movies or less. X starred with Y in Z, then Y starred with Kevin Bacon in ZZ.)
Anyway. That’s it.
SIX DEGREES OF TONY REZKO.
Go ahead. It’s fun, kids.
- Pat Collins - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:52 am:
was a TA of his at the University of Illinois
Should have taken a PLATO section
I am not sure I would have remembered any of my TAs a week after class ended….
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:53 am:
Macbeth, you’re more right than you know. Example.
Pat, perhaps it was because she left a negative impression.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:55 am:
Thinking of moving, have faith. Illinois has thrived because of its natural blessings and the hard work of its people. We’ve survived more devious, and frankly, smarter rascals than we’re dealing with today.
- FedUp2 - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:58 am:
From what I have seen from the signed documents there should be PERJURY charges filed against both individuals who signed the grant application.
It was signed in November yet clemency wasn’t granted until January 2008 & Question #1 asks if any lawsuits have been pending or settled against the school. They answered NO to both these questions and then signed the application form where it cleary states Under Penalty of Perjury the answers above are true and correct….Oh MY!
Has anyone researched as to when and who signed the million dollar check and where it was deposited????
- plutocrat03 - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:58 am:
How many other ‘grants’ that the Governor has issued unilaterally will yield a Rezko connection?
And what about the 400K promised to a non-denominational community center in Skokie?. Where is the money and whose ox was/will be gored to pay for that campaign promise?
Time to call for the Lab School money to be returned.
Can’t wait to see hoe the Gov’s apologists are going to defend this one….
- wordslinger - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:59 am:
How about this for six degrees? Hillary hits Barack for Rezko and the house. Barack hits Hillary for Whitewater. The judge in the Rezko case? Amy St. Eve. The assistant Whitewater prosecutor, who took down Gov. Tucker and the McDougals? Amy St. Eve.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 10:01 am:
Six Degrees of Tony Rezko?
Brilliant!
- Kevin Fanning - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 10:12 am:
Pat, took a Plato section too. lol.
- ExtremelyDumberThanYouThink - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 10:20 am:
Let’s see SlickWillie
1. can’t read the pardon report
2. can’t tell the madman not to file silly lawsuits
3. can’t lock the door after smoking
sounds like a bonehead trifecta to us.
- ExtremelyDumberThanYouThink - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 10:21 am:
I forgot to ask when will someone ask who sold the building to the mole? Or was he a long time owner —-Tee Hee
- central illinois - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 10:25 am:
which state agency issued the grant
- South Side Mike - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 10:27 am:
I really think the newspapers in Illinois should contribute to Blago’s re-election campaign. After all, look at all the the fodder he gives them with this one story:
- separation of church and state (why is the state rebuilding a religious site?)
- insider influence on pardons
- pardon system breakdown (Ron Burgundy is correct)
- Chandra Gill
- Cutting a check to a non-existent school
- Cutting a check to the wrong organization!
- Their purchase of a condo
- Tony Rezko
- And even more that I can’t think of listing.
Why, this one story will keep the Metro sections of the Suntimes and Trib full of features for the next month, easily. Just like for you, Rich, he’s good for their business. Why would they want someone honest or competent as governor instead?
Finally, I have a Chandra Gill connection, too. I worked with her son at an after-school program in Chicago. I think I may now have my 6 Degrees of Tony Rezko!
- Ivote - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 10:45 am:
I see more to this pardon story. . . I think the “we’re not crooked, we’re just lazy and stupid” defense as a prelude to the Blago defense on the highly-anticipated indictments-to-come. “Gee, it was just some lower-level staff who did this(or Rexko, or Kelly), I didn’t know a THING about it. . . I didn’t pay any attention to this. . . everybody in Springfield will tell you I’m kinda dumb and lazy.” Now here’s the REAL question: Do we buy that line of defense? I mean, most people associated with state government since Blago has been Governor are probably of the opinion that indeed he IS lazy and dumb. Might just keep him out of prison! Could it just be that he really IS that lazy and that dumb? Thoughts, anyone??
- OneManBlog - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 11:03 am:
He had time for that pardon but all sorts of other ones have been waiting around for years while he reviews them…
You stay classy Rod.
- Truth - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 11:08 am:
Macbeth:
I think this game is 3 degrees of Tony Rezko. You get back to him a lot quicker in this game.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 11:15 am:
Heck, two degrees would suffice for many. Even one.
- central illinois - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 11:16 am:
please tell me which state agency issued the grant
- OneManBlog - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 11:18 am:
Think you FOIA the stuff from the Illinois Prisoner Review Board and see how many things they have forwarded to the governor and how many he has acted on.
- downstate hack - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 11:20 am:
central illinois
The grant was issued by DCEO.
- WaddaState - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 11:30 am:
Illinois is not led…it is corrupt from within and growing. Tony WretchKo is symbolic of the “art” of politics in Illinois. Somewhere, oh somewhere is there an honest, courageous and persevering public servant to help turn us around?
- Springfield Alum - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 11:35 am:
Maybe someone ought to start giving consideration to the following:
SECTION 14. IMPEACHMENT
The House of Representatives has the sole power to
conduct legislative investigations to determine the existence
of cause for impeachment and, by the vote of a majority of
the members elected, to impeach Executive and Judicial
officers. Impeachments shall be tried by the Senate. When
sitting for that purpose, Senators shall be upon oath, or
affirmation, to do justice according to law. If the Governor
is tried, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall
preside. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence
of two-thirds of the Senators elected. Judgment shall not
extend beyond removal from office and disqualification to
hold any public office of this State. An impeached officer,
whether convicted or acquitted, shall be liable to
prosecution, trial, judgment and punishment according to law.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
- leigh - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 11:51 am:
Hope springs eternal- barely into the new session and the cries for impeachment continue. I have to laugh because otherwise I would cry.
- Leave a light on George - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 12:07 pm:
For just a minute let’s believe Governor Supoenovich and this million dollar fubar was all a misunderstanding, I didn’t know, sorry I didn’t read it ect, ect.
Now take the 19 or 20 state agencies named in the “endemic hiring fraud” supoenas and imagine how many incompetent boobs like the ones in charge of this grant the administation has made responsible for running the public’s business. This million dollar grant is but the tip of the iceberg and is typical of the total lack of understanding and/or commitment to the ethical and efficient operation of state government.
- Miranda - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 12:14 pm:
so, Bill Quinlan forwarded the petition to the guv, who granted it without reading it. What I want to know is how she got her bumped up to the front of the stagnant line and it approved? And who do I need to know to get my father’s petition approved that quickly?????
- hank - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 12:20 pm:
And who do I need to know to get my father’s petition approved that quickly?????
Answer: Jessie Jackson
- Mr. Wizard - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 12:20 pm:
Extremely - According to the press stories, Mr. (FBI mole) Thomas (Barton) “controlled” the building in question, as a real estate developer, but ownership is not listed. Sooooo, who owned the bldg. and got the $1m? Follow the $$……
- Macbeth - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 12:21 pm:
>>And who do I need to know to get my father’s
>> petition approved that quickly?????
>> Answer: Jessie Jackson
Or Tony Rezko.
- Truth - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 12:38 pm:
Seeing the update, I now feel bad for Quinlan. It’s very hard to keep be clear and concise with reporters and keep your story straight when you are making it up as you go along.
- anon - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 12:46 pm:
Isn’t the building on Adams St, the same building as the Obama for President campaign headquarters?
- Leave a light on George - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 12:48 pm:
Update X1 - Yeah right. Mark McGuire’s ” I’m not here to talk about the past.” is a better answer than that. Better to keep you mouth shut than lie. Never know who is listening.
- 2for2 - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 1:10 pm:
The last thing Blago needed was for a journalistic microscope on pardons and state grants. It will be a story a week in perpetuity.
- fed up - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 2:09 pm:
Dear Lisa Madigan,
Please wake up and help the taxpayers of Illinois we are being gouged time after time by gov. Elvis but you ignore it and ignore it. If you refuse to investigate for political reasons you are an accomplice plan and simple. You are the chief law enforcment officer of Illinois start acting like it!!!
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 2:11 pm:
fed up, she is investigating. Tone it down, please.
- Little Egypt - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 2:17 pm:
What is absolutely hysterical is that no matter who Blago does business with now, no matter who gets checks for what, no matter what he promises to whom, he’s still not smart enough to figure out that Fitzgerald is possibly involved in setting up the deal. I am LMAO about this whole thing. Have to instead of getting angry. But just thinking about the whole “mole” thing puts a giant smile on my face. Next thing you know, Blago won’t be able to trust BillQ or the spin sisters. Blago is right, he’s so lonely he could cry. He’s going to be spending a lot of the next 3 years in the timeout chair, totally ostracized from friends, party supporters, social events and, yes, even family (Dick Mell). Couldn’t happen to a more deserving person. And for all y’all who voted for him, you deserve this too.
- Cogito - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 3:06 pm:
Makes that C grade from Pew look pretty good, huh? But as the Gov’s apologist indicated, the grade was unfair because Pew gave too much consideration to political rather than management issues.
Of course Pew didn’t know that in Illinois it was possible to give a cool mil to the wrong entity and not be able to get it back, not verify information in a grant application, allow a not-for-profit to spend it to buy a floor of an office building rather than for specific purposes to be spelled out in the grant, and provide pardons on the fly.
Maybe the current administration should have been given an “Incomplete” instead.
- to: WaddaState..... - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 3:11 pm:
“Somewhere, oh somewhere is there an honest, courageous and persevering public servant to help turn us around?”
State? How about out of 300,000,000 folks in the US we’re likely to end up with ‘Rezko’ Obama vvs. ‘Keating 5′ McCain? Where ARE we headed?
- Hickory - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 3:37 pm:
Our Gov should not have the authority to spend (give) away a million with it being an emergency (life or death). The budget should restrict this kind of giving.
- Bookworm - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 4:17 pm:
Was anyone (legislators, media person(s), prosecutors, auditors, etc.) looking into this “missing” million before Blago’s NIU publicity stunt called attention to his trail of broken promises? Or will that prove to be the thread that started unraveling it all?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 4:21 pm:
Nope. He walked right into it.
- downhereforyears - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 5:59 pm:
Somewhere there is an agency director who authorized the million going where it went. Somebody…check the paper trail and then follow the money. There is no question this administration is incompetent but this one is not a matter of competency…it’s a matter for the US Attorney. Also, does the general counsel to the governor really have a law degree…or just a well connected father. If the story he’s selling is true he should be fired, if it’s not true he should be disbarred.
- fed up - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 7:11 pm:
Rich, has lisa prosecuted any public corruption cases. She is either asleep at the wheel or unwilling.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 7:30 pm:
Fed up, if you will recall, fitzgerald asked that she transfer the blagojevich investigation to him. she did.
- Sweet Polly Purebred - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 7:43 pm:
Looks like the taxpayers of Illinois now own not only the A. Lincoln hotel, but a $1.3 million condo at 318 W. Adams. The kicker in this is that according to the Chicago papers, the school BORROWED $300,000 from the mole in addition to the illegally obtained state money to purchase this condo. I wonder if they used the million as collateral for the loan ??? Could this be the most convoluted way ever imagined to get money back to Rezko in his time of need? PS - Being a mole for the feds in Rezko’s real estate business must pay awfully well for him to be able to basically throw $300,000 to the wind.
- Smitty Irving - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:19 pm:
Four questions. Which state agency issued the “grant contract”? The check? Is this a true “grant” that is exempt from comptetitive bidding? Finally, exactly how did the school’s Tax Identification Number (TIN - the Comptroller requires one for ALL checks) rather than the Pilgrim Baptist Church’s TIN get provided to the issuing agency? Answering those four questions would go a long way to getting to the bottom of this whole business.
- fed up - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:20 pm:
she’s been there 6 years and is lacking in her willingness to go after public corruption cases. Afriad to ruffle feathers that she might need in the future. Rich shes not doing her job. Has she looked at cook co. the city of chicago, Maybe over christmas dinner ask daddy about state workers campaigning on state time. She just unwilling to make any political waves about corruption and corruption is destroying this state.
- RJW - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:30 pm:
fed up:
You really need to understand what you are talking about. The state Attorney General is in an untenable position investigating the government. I would argue it is not a part of that office’s job. The Attorney General is the state’s chief legal officer. It’s kind of hard to one the one hand represent the state and on the other hand prosecute the state. The Attorney General is not a prosecutor.
- sinequanon - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:49 pm:
SMITTY — Which agency provided the contact to the school and will likely issue the contact to the church? DCEO
The check was issued by the Comptroller. A quick check to the AG’s website will give you the Loop Lap School’s TIN which you can then take to the Comptroller’s website to view payments made and contracts issued to the entity. Strange how the regular payments in support of the day care/school stop once the two grant payments are made. The payments are in odd amounts which seem to suggest that an amount was withheld by the Comptroller to satisfy a claim by the state against the school–payroll taxes maybe???
I am not sure what you mean by “true grant exempt from competitive bidding” Can you elaborate?
The school was the intended recipient, so they supplied their TIN–don’t fall for the gov’s lie about a “mistake” by staffers. That grant went where it was intended to go–no administrative error by DCEO. I suspect that some people at DCEO knew it was a “risky” or stinky grant, but it surely would not have been the first or last of that kind.
- sinequanon - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:52 pm:
The AG will investigate fraud against the state, not by the state. Hence their investigation here would be for noncompliance to the state issued grant agreement.
- sinequanon - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 11:02 pm:
If you were the CEO of a publicly held business and you were able to award billions of dollars in company profits in grants instead of returning those profits to your company’s shareholders, wouldn’t you (1) realize that some of the money would be misspent? It is just human nature. Hand someone a check for a million dollars and what do you expect–temptation, greed, etc; (2) understanding fraud and mismanagement will occur be prepared to claw back those funds that are misspent. Does DCEO have a legal office and if so, how many attorneys? If you can count on one hand or may be even two those attorneys, you will know that Blago doesn’t care about recapturing the money from the Loop Lab School or any other grant that went astray.
Due diligence anyone?
Hasn’t the reaction to this grant been just that, a reaction? In this case, it appears the proactive party was the press. DCEO didn’t know this had gone south on them? If so, when and what were they doing about it before this story broke?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 11:14 pm:
==The AG will investigate fraud against the state, not by the state.===
One never knows where an investigation will go after the subpoenas start being distributed. One can often bump into very strange things.
- Sweet Polly Purebred - Friday, Mar 7, 08 @ 12:44 am:
This is not the first grant to “go astray”. DHS has a penchant for sliding 24,999’s out the door. Under 25,000 and no questions asked. String three or four together and you got ALMOST a cool million. Hopefully this “irregularity” will help shine the light on other agencies and their grant histories. As has been mentioned above - more than once, there is little or no follow up on the places/people that get grants.
- Smitty Irving - Friday, Mar 7, 08 @ 5:36 am:
Sinequanon -
As reported by the press, the competitive bidding law requires contracts with non-governmental bodies to be bid, or justified as sole source with sign off from CMS Legal. HOWEVER - “grants” are exempt from this requirement. Quite often grants, either by state legislation or federal grant requirements, limit who can receive a grant, eliminating the need for competitive bidding. Is this one of those cases? If it was to be bid, how did that happen? Basic questions much of the media is missing (early reports implied the Governor’s Office was directly writing checks). And thanks for the answers.
- just sayin - Friday, Mar 7, 08 @ 1:01 pm:
The grant was announced as going to Loop Lab School at the time it was made. The “cut the wrong check” excuse is clearly bunk.
How do I know that? Because that is what it said in the newspaper at the time Rod announced. If the Tribune and Sun Times read their archive, they’d have smarter questions for the Gov.
- Down-Stater - Sunday, Mar 9, 08 @ 10:53 am:
… How do you think the Police Officer, who is now on disability due to Dr Gill’s actions for which she was arrest, feels about this. After all Dr. Gill appealed her conviction the appellate court upheld the conviction. Gotta love politics!