A broader definition of constituency

Some lawmakers have given legislative scholarships to students who lived outside their districts.

This appears to violate the state law allowing the scholarships. The only criteria in the 1905 law that allows state legislators to award free university tuition is that the recipient must live within the legislator's district. Records obtained by the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette show lawmakers frequently have ignored the requirement during the past five years.

Some examples:

House Minority Leader Michael Madigan, D-Chicago. Madigan, who represents a district in southwest Chicago, gave an Eastern Illinois University tuition waiver in 1993 to the son of Mary Cesarini of Melrose Park, a suburb west of the city.

Sen. Bruce Farley, D-Chicago. Farley gave EIU tuition waivers in 1989 and 1990 to a Springfield woman who lived more than 200 miles from his district on Chicago's Northwest Side. Farley, who says it's common for legislators to swap and trade tuition waivers, also gave a Western Illinois University scholarship in 1990 to the daughter of Thomas Hughes, a resident of Madigan's district.

Former Rep. Peg Breslin, D-Ottawa, now an appellate judge on the Third District Court of Appeals. Breslin awarded a WIU tuition waiver in 1989 to the son of Kane County Coroner Mary Lou Kearns, who also is the county's Democratic Party chairwoman. Breslin did not represent Kane County at the time.

Gary LaPaille, chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party. LaPaille, a former state senator who represented a district on the Southwest Side of Chicago, gave a WIU tuition waiver in 1993 to the son of James Sheehan, a Democratic precinct committeeman from Palatine. LaPaille's predecessor, former Sen. Frank Savickas, D-Chicago, gave Sheehan's son a tuition waiver in 1992. Neither lawmaker represented Palatine.

Rep. Roger McAuliffe, R-Chicago. McAuliffe awarded WIU tuition waivers in 1989, 1992, 1993 and 1994 to the daughter of Robert Wronski of Chicago. Wronski, a Democrat active in local politics, ran against McAuliffe in 1986. McAuliffe represented Wronski's neighborhood in the 1980s, but did not after new legislative district boundaries were drawn in 1991. Wronski's daughter also received a tuition waiver in fall 1990 from Rep. Myron Kulas, D-Chicago, and in 1994 from Rep. Joe Kotlarz, D-Chicago.

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Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago. Currie gave an EIU tuition waiver in 1989 to the daughter of Michael Driscoll of Rockford. Driscoll's daughter also received tuition waivers in 1993 from Kulas, a Democrat who represented a district on Chicago's Northwest Side at the time, and in 1991 and 1992 from Rep. E.J. "Zeke" Giorgi, D-Rockford.

Former Rep. Penny Pullen, R-Park Ridge. Pullen, who represented a district northwest of Chicago, gave an EIU tuition waiver in 1989 to a student from Kankakee.

Rep. David Phelps, D-Eldorado. Phelps gave EIU tuition waivers in 1990 and spring 1993 to the daughter of Gary and Diane Graves of Savoy. Sen. James Rea, D-Christopher, awarded the same student tuition waivers in 1992 and the fall of 1993. Both lawmakers represent southern Illinois.

Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago. While Cullerton represents areas along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, records show he gave a two-year WIU tuition waiver in 1995 to the son of William Cox of Springfield. Cullerton denied awarding the waiver, but refused to provide access to his own records. Cullerton also awarded a WIU tuition waiver in 1992 to the daughter of Ernest Konie, another resident of Madigan's district near Midway Airport on the city's Southwest Side.

Former Rep. Robert LeFlore, D-Chicago. LeFlore, now deceased, awarded a WIU tuition waiver in 1992 to the daughter of Thomas Hughes, who lives in Madigan's district. In 1993, LeFlore gave an EIU tuition waiver to Matt Brown of Auburn, a town south of Springfield. Brown's father, George Brown, was director of regional offices under former Attorney General Roland Burris. Matt Brown, who now has a state job with the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, also received tuition waivers in 1991 and 1992 from former Rep. Mike Curran, D-Springfield.

Rep. Wyvetter Younge, D-East St. Louis. Younge gave an EIU tuition waiver in 1994 to the son of Susan Ballauer of Chicago. Ballauer's son also received tuition waivers in 1993 from Madigan and in 1995 from Sen. Louis Viverito, D-Burbank, who represent the family's neighborhood.

Former Rep. Al Ronan, D-Chicago. Ronan, now a lobbyist in Springfield, says he frequently traded scholarships with other lawmakers. In 1993, he awarded a WIU tuition waiver to the daughter of Larry Bowen of Mt. Sterling in western Illinois. Bowen's daughter received another tuition waiver in 1994 from former Rep. Bill Edley, D-Macomb. Ronan awarded a two-year WIU tuition waiver in 1993 to the daughter of Robert Pressey of Pittsfield. Ronan also gave an EIU tuition waiver in 1989 to the daughter of Arnold Proefrock of Virden, southwest of Springfield. Proefrock's daughter received tuition waivers in 1990 and 1991 from Rep. Gary Hannig, D-Benld.

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Former Sen. Frank Savickas, D-Chicago. Savickas represented a district on Chicago's Southwest Side. In 1992, he gave a four-year WIU tuition waiver to the daughter of Karen Popejoy of East Peoria.

Former Rep. Frank Giglio, D-Calumet City. Giglio awarded a tuition waiver in 1991 to an EIU student from Pinckneyville, southeast of St. Louis. The student received another tuition waiver in 1992 from former Sen. Ralph Dunn, R-DuQuoin, who was a state senator at the time. Giglio also gave an EIU tuition waiver in 1994 to the daughter of Margaret Matkovich, a resident of Madigan's district.

Former Rep. John Matijevich, D-North Chicago. Matijevich gave an EIU tuition waiver in 1989 to a student from Petersburg, northwest of Springfield. He also gave EIU tuition waivers in 1993 to a woman from Park Ridge, a northwest suburb of Chicago, and to the daughter of Carol Pollo of downstate Gillespie. In 1990, Matijevich gave a WIU tuition waiver to a student from Pittsfield in western Illinois.

Former Rep. James Phelan, D-Chicago. Phelan, who represented a district on Chicago's Southwest Side, gave EIU tuition waivers from 1992 to 1995 to a woman from Melrose Park, a suburb west of the city. Phelan also awarded WIU tuition waivers in fall 1992, fall 1993 and spring 1994 to the daughter of Ernest Konie, a resident of Madigan's district.

Former Rep. Jesse White, D-Chicago. White, the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, gave an EIU tuition waiver in 1990 to the son of Paul Cornell of Mattoon. Rep. Art Turner, D-Chicago, gave Cornell's son a tuition waiver in 1993. Cornell's son also received tuition waivers in 1991 and fall 1994 from Rep. Mike Weaver, R-Ashmore, and in 1992 from Sen. Harry "Babe" Woodyard, R-Chrisman.

Former Rep. Myron Kulas, D-Chicago. Kulas awarded an EIU tuition waiver in 1993 to the son of Carol Gilbert of Springfield. In 1992, he gave an EIU waiver to the son of George Maier of Springfield. Kulas also awarded an EIU tuition waiver in 1993 to the daughter of Michael Driscoll of Rockford.

Former Rep. David Deets, R-Dixon. Deets gave an EIU tuition waiver in 1993 to the son of Mark Rabin of Springfield.

Former Rep. Charles Wayne Goforth, R-Nashville. Goforth represented a district in deep southern Illinois. In 1991, he gave an EIU tuition waiver to the daughter of Gerald Sola of Chicago.

Former Rep. John O'Connell, D-Willow Springs. O'Connell, now a Springfield lobbyist, gave a tuition waiver in 1989 to an EIU student from Springfield.

Former Sen. John A. D'Arco Jr., D-Chicago. D'Arco, who is serving time in prison for a bribery conviction, awarded WIU tuition waivers from 1989 to 1992 to a Springfield woman.

-Michael Hawthorne

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