Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » Shake this up, please
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax      Advertise Here      About     Exclusive Subscriber Content     Updated Posts    Contact Rich Miller
CapitolFax.com
To subscribe to Capitol Fax, click here.
Shake this up, please

Thursday, Dec 18, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* It’s been abundantly clear for some time now that the state’s grant programs need a complete rethink

A federal jury Wednesday found a Chicago couple guilty on all counts in a state grant scam trial that featured testimony about power, money and sex and saw a high-profile ruling that one of President Barack Obama’s golfing buddies was a hostile witness.

The seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated for about five hours on the fate of Leon and Karin Dingle, who faced conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering charges. Prosecutors contended that the Dingles helped themselves to $3.36 million in state grant funds that were supposed to fight AIDS, flu and cancer in minority communities and misrepresented or concealed where the money went.

During the trial, prosecutors sought to prove money went instead to underwrite luxury cars, a Marina Towers condo, a son’s mortgage, yacht club expenses, and maintenance of vacation homes in Hilton Head, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., two places the Dingles are putting up for sale. Prosecutors will seek to recover money at sentencing April 9. Most counts carry potential 20-year sentences.

Springfield-based U.S. Attorney James Lewis said a central Illinois task force investigation that so far has netted more than a dozen people on state grant abuse “goes on until we come to the end.”

Those millions would’ve been appreciated by groups that actually do great work. But too many grants are handed out to political cronies, and this is just one example of what results.

* More

The Dingles and their co-defendants, who earlier pleaded guilty, stole what amounted to $2 of every $5 they received in grant funds form IDPH from 2004 to 2010, prosecutors said. The scheme involved $11 million of mostly no-bid, upfront-funded grants ostensibly doled out for AIDS- and cancer-awareness campaigns in minority and under-served communities. […]

The case against Dingle, a well-regarded and successful Chicago businessman, and his wife was part of a probe that had drawn four previous guilty pleas. Quinshaunta Golden, the former IDPH chief of staff who controlled the grants, pleaded guilty to bribery, mail fraud and making false statements. She conspired with former agency human resources director Roxanne Jackson to split ill-gotten gains; Jackson pleaded guilty to bribery and tax fraud. They await sentencing.

Lewis would not comment on further indictments in the IDPH case. He noted that Dr. Eric Whitaker, a close friend of Obama’s who served as IDPH director from 2003 to 2007, is not a target of the investigation. Whitaker made the list of government witnesses, and although never summoned, Bass repeatedly invoked his name to establish a landscape of access and influence Dingle allegedly cultivated to breed criminal activity.

       

24 Comments
  1. - Gubment - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 10:36 am:

    There are various layers of oversight and definitions of grants by state agencies. I fume when the bad gets lumped in with the good. We legislate to the lowest denominator in instances like this…

    An organization that abuses a grant will mean those that follow the law and regulations will see more regulations and more paperwork that divert from the purpose of the grant dollars.

    By all means take the politics out, let organizations prove their worth with outcomes and services, not more oversight, boxes to check, etc.


  2. - MrJM - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 10:38 am:

    Yes, but what about the $3 of every $5 that they didn’t steal?

    – MrJM


  3. - Cassidy - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 10:44 am:

    DCEO is reportedly trying to get as many “member initiative” grants out as they possibly can before Rauner takes over and closes that program down.


  4. - Amalia - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 10:45 am:

    the key is oversight. there are supposed to be outcomes and budgets which matter, site visits, regular communications with those who hand out the money. yes, there are bad apples. but there are also lots of grants. and there should be. things should be awarded to good operations outside of government. but the oversight is important. running government, and NGOs, not easy. mistakes are made, but, baby/bathwater.


  5. - Anonymous - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 10:47 am:

    The grant system is the most prone to the “Waste, Fraud, and Abuse”, but I could be wrong. Many contenders here. Unless it has changed, the scoring process was intended to give the appearance of impartiality and fairness, but in the end political greed too often won out. I think it will remain so unless upstanding politicians prevail. I won’t take bets on that


  6. - Cassandra - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 10:54 am:

    It seems to me that I remember that a state legislator had a proposal to improve grant monitoring after one of the recent grant scandals, suggesting that federal guidelines be followed. Not sure what happened to his proposal but I believe it involved using more stringent federal guidelines.

    In any case, yes, Rauner needs to prioritize this issue, as taxpayers remember these scandals when politicians come to them to raise their taxes. And he is going to have to find revenue somewhere-income tax increase extension, service taxes, grt, whatever.

    My liberal friends always tell me that a little misfeasance is just part of the process of getting taxpayer $$$ to people who need it. I’ve never accepted that and I hope Rauner doesn’t either.


  7. - Wordslinger - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 10:55 am:

    Cassidy, “reportedly” where? Where did you read that?


  8. - Norseman - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 11:01 am:

    This grant was tightly run by the COS for now obvious reasons. Member initiatives are a problem because the sponsoring Solon doesn’t want the grantee to be hassled. Hopefully recent legislation will help with that.


  9. - Toure's Latte - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 11:01 am:

    If abusers do significant time and face sufficient penalty, the odds go down others will game the grants for personal gain.


  10. - proudstatetrooper - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 11:04 am:

    I always believed the Auditor Generals role should be expanded to place auditors in each of the largest departments and agencies in the State for overview of grants and spending overall. Too many times money is spent foolishly or not in the best interests of the taxpayer. Someone independent of the agency to say NO or get a couple bids might be the answer to some of these issues. Not that it would have prevented this scam but oversight is necessary before the check is written.


  11. - Sir Reel - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 11:09 am:

    Gubment is right. In Illinois abuse only seems to lead to more red tape ostensibly to prevent future abuse. Legitimate grant programs suffer.

    Then new ways around the red tape are found.

    The cycle continues.


  12. - Michelle Flaherty - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 11:12 am:

    Consider it shook.
    Kotowski, HB2747. Imposes stricter federal review standards for state grants, etc.
    Effective immediately.


  13. - Not it - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 11:41 am:

    Nevermind that the groups would have appreciated the money, the people they serve would have appreciated it more. How my h has the disease spread and infected others because of these corrupt individuals? Shame on them.


  14. - Downstate Illinois - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 11:55 am:

    Worse is that these were front-loaded grants when existing non-profits struggle to pay bills. They are stuck with funding that only comes after they submit bills for reimbursement.

    I’m not against front-loaded grants or grants that come with regularly scheduled funding (such as monthly or quarterly). The state’s actions to back away from such grants has driven non-profits into the ground, and prevented small agencies, both non-profit and local governments, from writing for grants because they don’t have the extra cash to start new projects.


  15. - Team Sleep - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 12:01 pm:

    This is just like the line I tell my older son when one of his pals causes trouble in class and escalates a situation:

    “Sorry, bud, but sometimes it only takes on person to ruin it for everyone.”


  16. - A guy... - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 2:01 pm:

    Just sick.


  17. - Anyone Remember - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 2:21 pm:

    Before we pass anymore legislation, I would humbly request every legislator and CapFax commenter review Barbara Shaw’s NRI testimony, particularly pages 228-237.

    http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lac/nri/Transcripts/10October%208,%202014%20Legislative%20Audit%20Commission%20Meeting%20Transcript.pdf

    New laws + no staff = the same mess that exists in procurement. In my time in Springfield, the only grant monitoring unit that was anywhere near properly staffed was the pre-Blagojevich IDOT Division of Traffic Safety.


  18. - steve schnorf - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 2:42 pm:

    Back in the 70s and early 80s there was a very good monitoring system for mental health, developmental disabilities, and alcohol/drug abuse grants. It disappeared as a result of continuous cuts in staffing


  19. - Rowdy Yates - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 2:56 pm:

    Lenient sentences for white collar crime invites even more of these frauds. Lock Dingle up for 20 years and throw away the key and then you will get more of these thieves to “reconsider” their errant ways. Maybe every state has this amount of political crooks but it just seems that Illinois seems to act as a magnet for these characters. The “risk versus reward ratio” is such in Illinois that it seems like it attracts these political crooks much like a light bulb attracts moths on a mid-summer evening.


  20. - Demoralized - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 4:00 pm:

    ==It disappeared as a result of continuous cuts in staffing==

    And the “that’s not an excuse” people will come out of the woodwork in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1

    It takes people to monitor these things. If you want to give out money you better have people to oversee them. I can tell you from personal experience that most grants I have been associated with are not monitored. Paperwork is reviewed but nobody goes out to see what these people are doing. Why? Nobody to do it. So, if people want to whine about this sort of thing going on that’s fine, but they better be the first people to stand up and support hiring more workers to fix the problem. If they aren’t then they are part of the problem.


  21. - Soccermom - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 4:30 pm:

    This is what happens when you boast of having the lowest number of state employees per capita in the nation. We have outsourced so many fundamental activities — which may not be bad, so long as there is adequate oversight.


  22. - Kakistocracy Kid - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 5:15 pm:

    What about Whitaker’s alledged ignorance of these shinnaggins? “Should have known” comes to mind.


  23. - dr. reason a. goodwin - Thursday, Dec 18, 14 @ 9:36 pm:

    It’s very hard to convince the average taxpayer to embrace keeping the higher income tax rate when this nonsense keeps coming up.


  24. - Arthur Andersen - Friday, Dec 19, 14 @ 12:28 am:

    Schnorf, the old DCCA also had a well-staffed (and proportionally Fed-funded) grant-monitoring office until Blago took office.


Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.


* Reader comments closed for the holidays
* And the winners are…
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Update to previous editions
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup
* Report: Far-right Illinois billionaires may have skirted immigration rules
* Question of the day: Golden Horseshoe Awards (Updated)
* Energy Storage Brings Cheaper Electricity, Greater Reliability
* Open thread
* Isabel’s morning briefing
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today's edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
* Live coverage
* Selected press releases (Live updates)
* Yesterday's stories

Support CapitolFax.com
Visit our advertisers...

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............


Loading


Main Menu
Home
Illinois
YouTube
Pundit rankings
Obama
Subscriber Content
Durbin
Burris
Blagojevich Trial
Advertising
Updated Posts
Polls

Archives
December 2024
November 2024
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004

Blog*Spot Archives
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005

Syndication

RSS Feed 2.0
Comments RSS 2.0




Hosted by MCS SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax Advertise Here Mobile Version Contact Rich Miller