Feds Ask For 90-day Delay In Lawmaker Probe Of Quinn Grants
From the Chicago Tribune
Federal authorities investigating Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s $54.5 million anti-violence grant program on Wednesday asked state lawmakers doing their own probe to hold off 90 days — a request that’s likely to be granted.
In the short term, the move takes the air out of a potentially explosive legislative hearing scheduled for next week in which several former Quinn aides who ran or worked on the program had been summoned to testify. In the long term, a delay means the issue would continue to be in the spotlight as the governor prepares to ask voters for another term on Nov. 4. The 90-day window would expire during the closing weeks of Quinn’s campaign against Republican challenger Bruce Rauner.
The request made by the U.S. Department of Justice came days after the Tribune revealed that a federal grand jury in Springfield had subpoenaed emails of some of the same key former Quinn administration officials that lawmakers had asked to testify at next week’s hearing about a program hobbled by a quick launch, poor oversight and questionable spending.
Quinn launched his Neighborhood Recovery Initiative four years ago as he faced a tough election battle. It was a decision that drew cries then and now from Republicans that it was a “slush fund” to gin up Democratic votes in Chicago and the south suburbs. Quinn has denied politics was the motive, saying a spate of high-profile crime made it necessary to take action.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Tribune
Federal authorities investigating Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s $54.5 million anti-violence grant program on Wednesday asked state lawmakers doing their own probe to hold off 90 days — a request that’s likely to be granted.
In the short term, the move takes the air out of a potentially explosive legislative hearing scheduled for next week in which several former Quinn aides who ran or worked on the program had been summoned to testify. In the long term, a delay means the issue would continue to be in the spotlight as the governor prepares to ask voters for another term on Nov. 4. The 90-day window would expire during the closing weeks of Quinn’s campaign against Republican challenger Bruce Rauner.
The request made by the U.S. Department of Justice came days after the Tribune revealed that a federal grand jury in Springfield had subpoenaed emails of some of the same key former Quinn administration officials that lawmakers had asked to testify at next week’s hearing about a program hobbled by a quick launch, poor oversight and questionable spending.
Quinn launched his Neighborhood Recovery Initiative four years ago as he faced a tough election battle. It was a decision that drew cries then and now from Republicans that it was a “slush fund” to gin up Democratic votes in Chicago and the south suburbs. Quinn has denied politics was the motive, saying a spate of high-profile crime made it necessary to take action.
Read more in our daily News Update...