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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The Neighborhood Recovery Initiative is a program
3launched in October of 2010 by Governor Quinn and established
4at the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority from Fiscal Year
52011 to Fiscal Year 2012; and
 
6    WHEREAS, This program was created by the Governor's Office
7without legislative oversight due to the discretion given the
8Governor's Office through lump sum appropriations in the Fiscal
9Year 2011 budget; and
 
10    WHEREAS, In Fiscal Year 2013, after concerns were publicly
11raised about the purpose and the effectiveness of the program,
12the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority was abolished and
13the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative was moved to the Illinois
14Criminal Justice Information Authority; and
 
15    WHEREAS, A performance audit, conducted by the Illinois
16Auditor General, of the $54,550,000 spent in the first 2 years
17of the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative found numerous
18extraordinary "pervasive deficiencies" in the Illinois
19Violence Prevention Authority's planning, implementation, and
20management of the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Media investigations have discovered that State

 

 

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1funds issued through the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative were
2used to hand out flyers promoting "inner peace", to pay people
3to attend yoga classes, and to pay people to walk in a parade
4with Governor Quinn; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The Neighborhood Recovery Initiative process is
6currently being investigated by the Cook County State's
7Attorney's Office and the United States Department of Justice;
8and
 
9    WHEREAS, The Fiscal Year 2013 and Fiscal Year 2014 budgets
10do not contain appropriations to the Neighborhood Recovery
11Initiative, however, both budgets did appropriate general
12revenue funds to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information
13Authority for programs similar to those of the Neighborhood
14Recovery Initiative, such as the community based violence
15prevention program, the After-School program, and the Chicago
16Area Project; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The Illinois House of Representatives approved
18House Resolution 888, on April 17, 2014, directing the Auditor
19General to conduct a performance audit of the State moneys
20provided by or through the Illinois Criminal Justice
21Information Authority to all community based violence
22prevention programs, the After-School program, and the Chicago
23Area Project, under contracts or grant agreements in Fiscal

 

 

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1Year 2013 and Fiscal Year 2014; and
 
2    WHEREAS, House Bill 6097, as passed by the House of
3Representatives on May 27, 2014, contains Fiscal Year 2015
4appropriations for the Illinois Department of Labor, including
5a new lump sum appropriation of $20,000,000 for "grants to
6State and local agencies and community providers for at-risk
7community support programs, after-school programs, and youth
8employment opportunities"; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The Department of Labor does not currently, and
10has not recently, administered grant funds, but especially
11grant funds for "agencies and community providers for at-risk
12community support programs"; and
 
13    WHEREAS, House Bill 6093, as passed by the House of
14Representatives on May 27, 2014, contains Fiscal Year 2015
15appropriations for the Illinois State Board of Education,
16including a new lump sum appropriation for $3,200,000 for
17"targeted initiatives"; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The members of the legislature have a fiduciary
19duty to be good stewards of taxpayers' money and to ensure to
20the best our ability that tax dollars are spent efficiently,
21ethically, and legally; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
2ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Auditor General is
3directed to conduct a performance audit of all State moneys
4provided by or through the Illinois Department of Labor for
5"grants to State and local agencies and community providers for
6at-risk community support programs", or any similar
7expenditure of appropriate funds; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That the Auditor General is directed to conduct a
9performance audit of all State moneys provided by or through
10the Illinois State Board of Education for "targeted
11initiatives", or any similar expenditure of appropriated
12funds; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, These performance audits include, but are not be
14limited to, the following determinations:
 
15    (1) the purposes for which State moneys were provided to
16both the Department of Labor for "grants at State and local
17agencies and community providers for at-risk community support
18programs", and the State Board of Education for "targeted
19initiatives";
 
20    (2) the nature and extent of monitoring by the Department
21of Labor and the State Board of Education of how these State
22funds were utilized and if these funds were fairly and

 

 

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1adequately distributed;
 
2    (3) the actual use of State moneys by the Department of
3Labor and the State Board of Education, including the identity
4of any sub-recipients and the amounts and purposes for
5employment;
 
6    (4) the number of positions paid through the programs by
7organizational unit, job title, function, and salary and
8whether employees completed and filled out appropriate time
9sheets;
 
10    (5) the number of positions supervised or managed by each
11management position and whether any of those employees were
12supervised or managed by more than one management position;
 
13    (6) whether, through a review of available documentation,
14the programs have met or are meeting the purposes for which the
15State moneys were provided, with specific information
16concerning the programs staffing levels, hiring procedures,
17and its compensation of employees; and
 
18    (7) whether the programs are in compliance with the
19applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements
20pertaining to the program's receipt of State moneys; and be it
21further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That the Department of Labor and the State Board
2of Education, and any other State agency or other entity or
3person that may have information relevant to these audits
4cooperate fully and promptly with the Auditor General's Office
5in its audits; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence both audits as
7soon as practical, one year following enactment of these
8appropriated funds, and report its findings and
9recommendations upon completion in accordance with the
10provisions of Section 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act;
11and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
13presented to the Auditor General, the Director of Labor and the
14State Superintendent of Schools.