Inquiry Into Quinn Program Marked By No-Shows
From the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
A politically tinged inquiry today into a troubled anti-violence program initiated by Gov. Patrick J. Quinn largely revolved around one particular question: What exactly does a subpoena require?
That question was considered by the state Legislative Audit Commission — a 12-member bipartisan panel of House and Senate members — as only one of seven witnesses called to appear actually showed up to today’s meeting. It’s the first of two hearings this week that are part of the group’s ongoing effort to dig deeper into how the program went wrong.
Amidst concerns about interfering with a federal criminal investigation, Republican legislators argued that witnesses connected to the program were disobeying subpoenas that commanded them to appear at the hearing and produce relevant documents.
Democrats on the panel countered that the witnesses were within their purview to stay home and hold off on bringing forth any documents, especially after the U.S. attorney’s office in Springfield on Tuesday requested legislators delay their examination.
The election-year controversy comes on the heels of an auditor general report earlier this year that knocked the governor’s program for excessive mismanagement.
Only one of the seven witnesses who was subpoenaed by the Legislative Audit Commission — former alderman and Quinn adviser Billy Ocasio — appeared in person at the panel’s hearing in the Bilandic Building.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
A politically tinged inquiry today into a troubled anti-violence program initiated by Gov. Patrick J. Quinn largely revolved around one particular question: What exactly does a subpoena require?
That question was considered by the state Legislative Audit Commission — a 12-member bipartisan panel of House and Senate members — as only one of seven witnesses called to appear actually showed up to today’s meeting. It’s the first of two hearings this week that are part of the group’s ongoing effort to dig deeper into how the program went wrong.
Amidst concerns about interfering with a federal criminal investigation, Republican legislators argued that witnesses connected to the program were disobeying subpoenas that commanded them to appear at the hearing and produce relevant documents.
Democrats on the panel countered that the witnesses were within their purview to stay home and hold off on bringing forth any documents, especially after the U.S. attorney’s office in Springfield on Tuesday requested legislators delay their examination.
The election-year controversy comes on the heels of an auditor general report earlier this year that knocked the governor’s program for excessive mismanagement.
Only one of the seven witnesses who was subpoenaed by the Legislative Audit Commission — former alderman and Quinn adviser Billy Ocasio — appeared in person at the panel’s hearing in the Bilandic Building.
Read more in our daily News Update...