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91_HR0638
LRB9113395KBkb
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The Pilsen-Little Village Community Mental
3 Health Center, Inc. provides social and mental health
4 services to the primarily Hispanic community of Pilsen-Little
5 Village and to the Chicago Metropolitan area; and
6 WHEREAS, The Pilsen-Little Village Community Mental
7 Health Center received 91 percent of its grant funding from
8 the State in Fiscal Year 1998, primarily from the Department
9 of Human Services and also from the Departments of Children
10 and Family Services and Public Aid; and
11 WHEREAS, The Pilsen-Little Village Community Mental
12 Health Center is overseen by a 12-person Board of Directors
13 and managed by three executive officers: the Chief Executive
14 Officer, the Chief Program Officer, and the Chief Fiscal
15 Officer; and
16 WHEREAS, The Pilsen-Little Village Community Mental
17 Health Center's corporate by- laws state that the Board of
18 Directors is the governing body of the organization and is
19 empowered to apply for and receive funds, and is accountable
20 for and assures the effective discharge of the planning and
21 management functions of the agency; and
22 WHEREAS, House Resolution 385 directed the Auditor
23 General to conduct of an audit of the Pilsen-Little Village
24 Community Mental Health Center to determine whether funds
25 received by Pilsen have been spent according to applicable
26 State law, regulations, contracts, and grants; and
27 WHEREAS, The Auditor General's audit identified findings
28 that ranged from a lack of supporting documentation, to
29 non-compliance, to unauthorized use of grant funds, as well
30 as the possibility of additional areas of non-compliance; and
31 WHEREAS, The Auditor General's audit recommended that the
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1 Board of Directors increase its oversight of Pilsen
2 operations; and
3 WHEREAS, The Board of Directors has held closed meetings
4 in violation of the Open Meetings Act, and without proper
5 notice to, or attendance of, many of the directors; and
6 WHEREAS, The Pilsen-Little Village Community Mental
7 Health Center is currently the subject of investigations
8 conducted by the Department of State Police, the Attorney
9 General, and the Department of Public Aid; and
10 WHEREAS, In light of the findings of the Auditor General,
11 in light of the current investigations pending, and in light
12 of the Board's unwillingness to comply with open meetings
13 requirements, the House of Representatives is concerned with
14 the suitability of the present Board of Directors to
15 effectively oversee the Pilsen operations and otherwise carry
16 out its governance; therefore, be it
17 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
19 the House of Representatives calls upon the members of the
20 Board of Directors of the Pilsen-Little Village Community
21 Mental Health Center to resign their positions effective
22 immediately; and be it further
23 RESOLVED, That the State consider terminating its
24 contract with the Pilsen-Little Village Community Mental
25 Health Center and transferring its patients to another
26 facility in the Pilsen- Little Village community; and be it
27 further
28 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives calls for the
29 appointment of an independent officer to oversee the
30 operations of the Pilsen-Little Village Community Mental
31 Health Center until such time as the various statewide
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1 investigations are completed; and be it further
2 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be sent
3 to all members of the Board of Directors of the Pilsen-Little
4 Village Community Mental Health Center.