Few answers for lawmakers on mistaken Blagojevich grant

SPRINGFIELD -- An Illinois House committee grilled a Blagojevich administration aide for 90 minutes today about a botched $1 million grant to a private school, but got little information.

Deputy Gov. Louanner Peters said she didn't know many answers to questions about the money and couldn't tell the State Government Administration Committee who did.

"I would not have any idea who in the governor's office would have the most answers," Peters said.

The hearing was called to look into the grant Gov. Rod Blagojevich called a "bureaucratic mistake." The Democrat promised the money in 2006 to help rebuild the historic Pilgrim Baptist Church, which was gutted by a fire in Chicago.

Apparently concerned about constitutional church-state separation requirements, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity instead gave the money to the Loop Lab School in Chicago, one of the church's tenants. Neither Pilgrim nor any of its services got any money.

Blagojevich said last month aides identified people responsible for the grant who no longer work for the state, but whose departures were unrelated to the grant.

Peters would not identify them Wednesday and said she could not answer many questions because DCEO is investigating how it happened.

Committee Chairman Jack Franks, a Woodstock Democrat who called the hearing, said he sent questions in advance and invited to the meeting the governor and staffers who know the most about the grant, as well as DCEO officials.

"People make mistakes," Franks said after the hearing. "But when you don't answer the questions and don't own up to them, then it makes me wonder, what are they hiding?"

The school used the money to buy a downtown Chicago business condo. But it got the money despite not disclosing that a state agency had punished it for sexual harassment of a staff member. Its politically connected administrator, Chandra Gill, got a hastily arranged felony conviction pardon from Blagojevich, who has issued only 67 out of 1,600 requests in five years in office.

The school has a federal lien against it for $29,000 in unpaid Social Security and unemployment taxes. Also, the state withheld $953 in unpaid taxes when it issued the grant.

The school still hasn't reopened, and it bought the condo from a business associate of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a Blagojevich fundraiser and friend currently on trial in federal court in Chicago for fraud. The grant came from DCEO, headed by Jack Lavin, a former Rezko employee.

Peters did not answer questions after the hearing. "Walk fast," a Blagojevich spokeswoman told her as reporters followed her down the Capitol hall.

Another administration spokeswoman later said Franks' intent was to "continue attacks on the governor's office, not to inform the committee." Franks said he wanted to publicly raise questions about the incident to get answers for taxpayers.

A message left on Gill's cell phone was not returned, nor was one left at the school, whose answering machine message said the school will reopen this fall.

Peters couldn't say how long DCEO's review would take.

"You're telling us now you're doing due diligence on the grant," Franks said. "I want to know why you didn't do due diligence before the grant."

Peters repeatedly likened the grant to so-called "member initiatives," lump sums for pet projects that legislators often put into the state budget. But those still need General Assembly approval and Blagojevich vetoed $150 million of those projects from this year's budget to save money.

"He cut $20,000 to fix a roof in Hopkins Park, in one of the poorest parts of the state," said Rep. Lisa Dugan, D-Bradley, "and the governor said it was wasteful spending."

Blagojevich has promised he will find another $1 million to give to Pilgrim Baptist Church.