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*** UPDATED x1 *** Justice Deparment: “Substantial risks” to investigation

Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Assistant US Attorney General Peter Kadzik wrote a letter today to the co-chairmen of the Illinois Legislative Audit Commission. Read it here. From the letter…

This confirms our request, during a telephone conversation with you and your staff on July 9, 2014, that the Illinois Legislative Audit Commission refrain from conducting interviews or receiving testimony from any individuals in connection with the State of Illinois program known as the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative for a period of 90 days.

As we explained during the call, there is an ongoing related federal criminal investigation and we believe such interviews and testimony during this time period would pose substantial risks to our investigation. We are not at this time asking the Commission to refrain from disclosure of records gathered in the course of its work.

We appreciate your consideration of this request and your support for our law enforcement efforts.

As you already know, House GOP Leader Jim Durkin and Commission member Rep. Ron Sandack have said they want to proceed regardless of the Department of Justice’s request.

*** UPDATE *** From Leader Durkin’s spokesperson via text…

We believe the Legislative Audit Commission will take this under advisement when they convene on the 16th.

That’s likely the beginning of a major walk-back.

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*** UPDATED x1 *** Sandack reverses himself

Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From the Twitters…

Rep. Sandack: We have a responsibility to fully proceed with the legislative audit next week".

— Blueroomstream (@Blueroomstream) July 10, 2014

* But that’s not how he felt during a May 6th Legislative Audit Commission meeting. Members who claimed that Commission-issued subpoenas could impede other investigations were spouting “nonsense,” Sandack declared…

“I think we ought to get to the bottom of it without interfering with anyone. To the extent that anyone would suggest we’re going to get in the way of the federal government or state government procedures, investigations or criminal investigations, that’s nonsense.

“Anyone who has ever dealt with the federal government that is looking into something they simply say ‘We’ve got it,’ and then you step down. Whether that’s from State’s Attorney Alvarez’s office, the Central District of Illinois investigations. Whether it’s the US Attorney, the Department of Justice or whomever you just get out of their way.

“You stop. You suspend and let them do their thing.

“I suspect if that comes a day we’ll do just that.”

And now, despite a Justice Department request that the Commission stand down for 90 days, Sandack wants this to go full speed ahead.

You don’t suppose there’s any political motivation behind this righteous flip-flop?

Nah, couldn’t be.

*** UPDATE *** Press release…

Reacting to the recent request by the U.S. Justice Department to delay the Illinois General Assembly’s inquiries into Governor Quinn’s scandal plagued anti-violence program, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R, Western Springs) and Rep. Ron Sandack (R, Downers Grove) Thursday indicated their intent to press on with the Legislative Audit Commission hearing next week.

“While we respect the request from the Justice Department and are sensitive to the criminal investigation, we believe the Legislative Audit Commission needs to continue their review of the NRI audit,” said Durkin.

“In my past experience with parallel inquires, rather than being asked to cease the legislative proceedings by investigators, we worked with them on an almost daily basis enabling us to fulfill our statutory obligation as legislators without impeding their efforts,” Durkin added.

The request for a 90-day delay in legislative proceedings came from the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs on Wednesday, making this request different from those dealing with recent legislative actions into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Rep. Derrick Smith.

“Our legislative fact finding mission and the federal probe have two different goals,” said Sandack. “Our primary concern for figuring out the ‘who, what, when, where, why and how’s’ is to prevent a situation like this from happening again and to protect the taxpayers of Illinois.”

Sandack added, “We’re not here to investigate or prosecute, as members of the Illinois House of Representatives and the Legislative Audit Commission we have a job to do. We are here to get the facts and build legislative safeguards against allowing this from happening again and the legislative Audit Commission should proceed with our mission.”

The bi-partisan, bi-cameral Legislative Audit Commission is scheduled to meet next Wednesday and Thursday at the Michael J. Bilandic Building in Chicago to question and hear testimony from seven individuals subpoenaed earlier by a sub-committee of the Audit Commission. At that time, it is expected the commission will take procedural votes to decide whether or not to proceed.

“I am advising the House Republican members of the Audit Commission that they should consider the Justice Department’s request, but still have an obligation to review the audit and should proceed with the hearing next week,” Durkin concluded.

Durkin, a former Cook County prosecutor, served as the ranking Republican on the Illinois House Special Investigative Committee for the Impeachment of Governor Blagojevich and served as the House Manager for the removal of a sitting member prior to becoming House Minority Leader. Sandack, a floor leader for the House Republicans, is a practicing attorney in Downers Grove and Republican Spokesman for the Illinois House Judiciary Committee.

Sorry, but comparing this little dog and pony show to the impeachment of a sitting governor is downright silly.

And if all the Commission is doing is attempting to “build legislative safeguards against allowing this from happening again,” then it can wait.

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*** UPDATED x1 *** Just 90 days?

Thursday, Jul 10, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller

* This was sent out late yesterday by GOP state Sen. Jason Barickman, Legislative Audit Commission Co-Chairman…

Today, the Legislative Affairs office of the Department of Justice – two staff attorneys and an intern in Washington D.C. – requested that no interviews of those connected to Governor Quinn’s Neighborhood Recovery Initiative program be conducted for 90 days.

We do not want to impede their efforts or compromise the integrity of their criminal investigation.

Therefore, I believe it is appropriate for the Legislative Audit Commission to consider the request and its scope.

Why just 90 days? Federal investigations usually drag on for a very long time. And why the Legislative Affairs Office?

Then again, this is Springfield’s US Attorney’s Office, not the one in Chicago we’re used to hearing from, so they may just do things differently.

* Barickman updated this morning on WLS Radio…

“We cannot simply, at our own whim, drop this. We’ve taken legislative action to get to this point, we’ve got a hearing scheduled, we’ve subpoenaed seven witnesses, they’ve lawyered up, they’ve told us they’re going to attend,” Barickman said.

Barickman says he and other members of the commission will vote on the delay request next week.

“We’ll consider why they want us to stand down and what they’ve presented,” Barickman told Bruce and Dan. “And we’ll try to balance that with our own duties, you know we have legislative duties to the people of this state and to our constituents. I think we need to balance those two things in a public hearing, talk about it, and make a decision”.

* Another Republican member of the Legislative Audit Commission, Sen. Bill Brady, said he didn’t think the Commission’s investigation would step on any federal toes…

“I frankly don’t see where our role conflicts with theirs,” Brady said.

Whatever the case, when the feds ask you to step aside, you step aside.

After all, in 90 days, we’ll be in mid-October - right before election day.

…Adding… From a press release…

House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) and State Rep. Ron Sandack (R-Downers’ Grove) will be holding a press conference Thursday, July 10, 2014 at the James R. Thompson Center Blue Room at 2: 30 p.m.

The topic of the press conference is to discuss the latest development with the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative (NRI) and the Legislative Audit Commission.

*** UPDATE *** It looks like Sen. Barickman is attempting to make the Democrats pull the plug. An updated statement…

Following a scathing audit issued by the Illinois Auditor General on Governor Quinn’s Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, the Legislative Audit Commission began its legally required public review of that audit and its findings.

We have had a healthy and spirited debate on the Commission. Ultimately, common sense prevailed and – with bipartisan agreement – the Audit Commission has scheduled a two-day public hearing with seven subpoenaed witnesses next week.

The Legislative Affairs office of the Department of Justice – two staff attorneys and an intern from Washington D.C. – has now requested no interviews of those connected to Governor Quinn’s failed Neighborhood Recovery Initiative program for 90 days.

I believe it is appropriate for the Audit Commission to consider that request at our July 16 meeting. We certainly do not want to impede their criminal investigation of the NRI program. However, we also have legislative duties and obligations that we must fulfill to the people of Illinois and our constituents.

Each member of the Audit Commission – myself included – will have to weigh those competing interests to determine whether we change course on a public review of how more than $55 million in taxpayers’ money was spent.

However, to be clear, the Audit Commission has already taken legal action. Seven witnesses have been subpoenaed and are compelled by law to attend next week’s hearings. We’ve taken legislative action.

This legislative action cannot – and should not – be undone with the sweep of a hand or a backdoor meeting. Only legislative action can rescind those efforts.

Unless Legislative Audit Commission takes new legislative action to change course, then I presume the Audit Commission will proceed with the plan laid out through its bipartisan, transparent process.

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