BRIEFLY
Edited by Rodd Whelpley
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Auditor's report uncovers numerous irregularities
Pilsen-Little Village
chief executive resigns
A hard-hitting report by the state auditor general and
an investigation by the state attorney general led to
the resignation last month of the CEO of a mental health
center on Chicago's South Side.
Albert Vazquez, founder and head of the Pilsen-Little Village Community
Mental Health Center, resigned after the auditor general found the center improperly used grant money, filed questionable travel and business expense reports, and
made a campaign contribution that violated tax laws.
The center received 91 percent of its grant funding from the state in fiscal 1998.
Attorney General Jim Ryan launched his own investigation last January into the
center's real estate dealings with the Alliance for the Development of Latino Communities, according to a spokesperson in the attorney general's office. Vazquez had
check signing authority for the alliance when the center leased and bought numerous properties from the development and property management firm, according to
the auditor's report.
Auditor General William Holland's report lists nine major problems with the
center's financial statements in the two years it studied, including payment of
$57,000 in property taxes, though it was exempt from such taxes. The center also
donated $800 to Chicago Democratic state Sen. Miguel del Valle's campaign. The
center's status as a not-for-profit prohibits it from making political contributions.
The audit was ordered by a resolution from the Illinois House. The sponsor was
Rep. Edward Acevedo, a Chicago Democrat.
In fiscal 1998, the 30-year-old center had a budget of $4 million and served
2,500 patients. It has agreed to abide by the 16 recommendations the auditor made
to address the irregularities. Burney Simpson
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From the audit report
Here are highlights from Auditor
General William Holland's management audit of the Pilsen-Little Village
Community Mental Health Center in
Chicago.
• Pilsen overcharged state-funded
programs $108,000 because all
sources of program funds were
not consistently allocated as
administrative overhead.
• Pilsen provided 97 employee
bonuses totaling $20,951,
which were not reported on the
employees' W-2 forms.
• Pilsen issued the CEO a $15,000
interest-free loan in December
1996 that was processed as a pay
advance.
• Over a two-year period, $11,383
in questionable travel expenditures were identified.
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National cemetery opens
Lincoln never slept there
By the time the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery was dedicated early
this month it had already generated its share of controversy. Why? Because,
given its name, some worried it wouldn't be clear to tourists that the 16th
president is not buried there.
When the idea was first proposed, U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood and others fought
against naming the Joliet-area cemetery after Lincoln because it might con fuse visitors. But the federal Department of Veterans Affairs has promised to minimize any possible misunderstandings.
Located adjacent to the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, the 982-acre
Lincoln cemetery is one of the largest in the country. It will serve more than
one million veterans who live within 75 miles of the site.
For the record, Abraham Lincoln, the president who established the first
national cemetery in 1862, is buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield.
Beveriey Scobell
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QUOTABLE
" This technology got
a little bit ahead of the politics. "
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan
Glickman, as quoted in The New York
Times, responding to rising concerns among
consumers about the safety of genetically
altered foods. He could have been
responding to the concerns of farmers who
spent the spring plant ing seeds designed to
boost yields and resist pests and spent the
summer watching grain markets wither.
Scientists say there's no evidence genetically
engineered crops are unsafe. But European
nations aren't buying. Japanese beer
companies will use only traditionally grown
grains. And Decatur-based Archer Daniels
Midland Co. wants bioengineered corn and
beans separated at the elevator. The politics
Glickman referred to could crop up this
fall now that Congress has returned from
summer recess.
8 / October 1999 Illinois Issues
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1999 ISAT results
ISAT results show many students
aren't making the grade
"Yes. this test is a wake-up call to the entire school community.'" State Board of
Kducation Superintendent Glenn W. "Max'" McGee said of the statewide results
of the Illinois Standards Achievement Test, which was administered last school
year to students in 3rd. 5th. 6th and 10th grades.
In a recent speech on the results, McGee said he finds "especially troubling" the
percentage of students not meeting standards in 3rd grade reading. Thirty-nine
percent of third-graders scored below the "meets standards" level.
The state board will work with local schools to make sure each has a curriculum
that covers the state's learning standards, on which the test is based, McGee says.
Additionally, the state will provide teacher Training on educational research. These
are the first results using an ISAT test that has been redesigned to test students on
standards that were adopted in 1997.
Parents are scheduled to receive individual scores by the end of this month.
Maureen t-oertscli McKmney
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The Shawnee
Horses have been
banned from some areas
The Shawnee National Forest has
closed 40 areas to horses and mountain
bikes due to damage caused by erosion
and excessive use.
The U.S. Forest Service had designated
80 sections as "natural areas." containing
cither threatened or endangered
plant species (See Illinois Issuer, June,
page 16), In 1997. the service limited the
use of half of those, while continuing to
monitor the remaining areas. However,
in September, park experts determined
that closing remaining areas could not
wait any longer.
According to spokeswoman Monica
Ross, of Shawnee's approximately
287.000 acres, the 80 restricted areas
comprise about 5 percent of the park.
Individually, most of the (racts are
approximately one-half acre in size and
don't present a major problem for visitors
to bypass. "I don't sec that it should
have an impact: 95 percent of the forest
is still open," Ross says.
The forest service is working to develop
restricted horse riding within two of
the designated natural areas. Ross says
that the comment period allowing users
to respond to proposed actions has ended
and the service will address the issue
as soon as it receives additional monitoring
reports from its experts.
Josh Bluhm
Education champion
will hang up his gloves
State Sen. Arthur Berman of
Chicago isn't running lor re-election.
Bennan. the longest-serving Democratin
the General Assembly, has
fought forequitable school Funding
and education reforms throughout his
tenure in both legislative chambers.
he was elected to the louse in 1969.
before moving across the Rotunda to
the Senate in 1976. Berman was a
chief architect of the 1988 Chicago
school reforms that created local
school councils. "Every child is
entitled to a quality education." he
says. "Whoever succeeds me should
put this as their No. 1 priority"
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Illinois Issues October 1999 / 9
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Y2K countdown
The systems that control the state's
most essential Functions are 93 percent
ready to deal with any year 2000 computer bug. according to the latest state Y2K
report.
Essential functions are 93% ready as of August 31 according to the
Illinois Technology Office.
The state classified 84 state functions
as essential, meaning they can't be interrupted for more than a day. These functions include operation of the state's
mainframe computers and telecommunications services and emergency response services from various state agencies.
For more information, go to
www.state.il.us/y2k.
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WEBSOURCE
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It's Wright on the Web
New books give insights into the life
and work of architect Frank Lloyd
Wright (see page 32). But before you
order from one of those on-line superstores, you might want to check some
Web sites.
A good place to start your tour of
Wright's designs is at www.wright
plus.org. This is the site for the Frank
Lloyd Wright home and studio
foundation in Oak Park. If you can
tear yourself way from your computer,
check out the news and events section
for Wright-related tours and lectures.
For more information on Wright
and his work. go to Broadacre All Write Site at www.geocities.com/soho/
1469/flw.html. The -Building Guide"
links to pages listing more than 450
buildings designed by Wright.
Beverley Scobell
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GOVERNOR'S ACTION
It was thumbs up
for most legislation
Gov. George Rytm signed 645 of the 729
measures lawmaker", sent his way last spring
Though he was agreeable for the most part,
Ryan vetoed 50 bills outright and suggested
changes in another 34.
Lawmakers, who are scheduled to return
to Springfield next month for their fall
session, will get another crack at the bills the
govenwr declined to sign, including one to
allow poor families who receive public
assistance to keep more of the child support
collected for them (a measure he vetoed
outright) and another critics argue would
neuter a state hoard that reviews generic
drugs (an idea he wants to modify).
Still, Ryan and lawmakers saw eye-to-eye
on a number of policy questions.
HMOs
•Patients enrolled in managed care
programs as defined by the new law will
get more say in their medical services.
The governor signed a bipartisan
legislative agreement overhauling regulations governing Health Maintenance
Organizations- Under the changes,
patients can seek emergency care without
prior approval from their HMOs. They
also can appeal treatmeni decisions or
tile grievances with an independent
review board. And. under certain
conditions, they can visit specialists who
are not part of their plans. Further,
HMOs can't prohibit health care
providers from telling patients about all
treatment options.
Lawmakers have debated managed
care for years. These reforms were
approved after Democrats dropped a
controversial provision allowing patients
to sue their HMOs.
TIFs
•Ryan pledged lllinoisans won't see
any more golf courses built with the help
of the state's lax increment Financing law.
The law was designed to help communities redevelop blighted areas. When a
municipality designates an area as a TlF
district, developers' incremental property
tax increases on real estate in that area go
into a special fund. Those dollars typically help developers subsidize a portion of
their investment in the district, giving
them an incentive to move into otherwise
less financially attractive areas.
About 285 of the state's municipalities
have established more than 600 TIF districts, which have been available since 1977. Yet some local governments have
abused the system by defining "blight"
loosely, or by establishing districts in
areas that would have been redeveloped
anyway. Some critics complain there lias
been little oversight of TIFs. Others
argue they drain tax dollars from local
services, most notably schools.
Ryan signed two measures aimed at
ending some problems with TIFs. The
changes are designed to strengthen oversight of the program and tighten eligibility standards for rededevelopment projects.
They also allow reimbursement to school
districts for costs related to increasing
enrollments resulting from TIFs.
College
•Parents could benefit from a new
state-sponsored college savings program.
Under the plan signed by the governor, contributions to a savings pool will be
invested by the stale treasurer. The funds
can be withdrawn to cover costs of a college education, including tuition and
fees, at public or private schools, junior
colleges, graduate schools and some
vocational schools.
Children
• Parents who refuse to pay child
support could face felony charges.
Under the measure signed by the
governor, deadbeats could face felony
charges if they leave the state to evade
payments of more than $10,000 or
payments that are more than six
months overdue.
Ryan also signed a measure requiring
elementary and secondary schools to
develop and distribute safety plans.
Under that measure, teachers will have to
be trained in anti-violence and conflict
resolution programs.
And he signed legislation making it a
misdemeanor crime to pierce the body of
anyone under the age of 18 without
consent from a parent or guardian. Ears
are exempt. Noses and navels aren't.
For additional information on hills
the governor signed, see Illinois Issues
(September, pages 8 and 10). Next month,
an a preview to the fall session, we'll examine
some of the measures Ryan vetoed.
Peggy Boyer Long
10 / October 1999 Illinois Issues
REPORT
The trouble with TIFs
Chicago's Tax Increment Financing
redevelopment plans are failing to
generate money for new projects in
their districts, according to a report
from the Neighborhood Capital
Budget Group. Still, industrial TIF
projects generate $6 in private money
for every $1 in public dollars, and
property values grew faster in TIF
districts than the citywide average, the
report found.
Establishing a TIF district allows a
municipality to freeze the tax rate for
up to 23 years in a blighted area. Once
a TIF is created, the city can use other
incentives, such as subsidies or
improvements in the infrastructure, to
lure developers. Any new tax revenues
generated during the life of the TIF are
channeled back into the district.
Chicago has 75 TIF districts that
cover about 13,000 acres. Last month,
Governing magazine described Chicago
as "the TIF capital of America." In a
story titled "The Town that Loves to
TIF," Eli Lehrer reported that since
1997 Chicago has created one new
district every three weeks.
The Neighborhood Capital Budget
Group's The Chicago TIF Encyclopedia, issued in August, contends TIF
money has gone to fund chain stores
moving into an area, not to revitalize
existing neighborhood businesses.
Infrastructure improvements, according to the report, have benefited the
downtown business center, to the tune
of $158 million, while neighborhood
infrastructure projects have seen only
$14 million. Job creation has been
spotty, too, according to the report,
with only 3,194 new jobs resulting
from the TIFs, and more than half of
those are low-wage retail work.
The encyclopedia also made recommendations for improving the TIF
process. It suggests the city put more
money into TIFs upfront, foster
industrial development and require
businesses that receive TIF subsidies to make binding commitments on the
number of jobs to be created.
The Capital Budget Group is a
10-year-old coalition of 200 community organizations that examines the
city's spending on infrastructure and
development plans.
But Becky Carroll with the city's
department of planning and development disputes many claims in the
group's report. She points to the city's
own calculations on TIFs through the
end of last year. According to that
analysis, TIFs have created and
retained more than 28,000 jobs in
Chicago. And, says Carroll, Chicago
TIFs do not favor new businesses over
established ones. "For every business
we bring in," she says, "we help one
that already exists." She also points to
three new initiatives for homeowners
and businesses in TIF districts, pilot
programs that Mayor Richard M.
Daley put in place this past year.
Burney Simpson
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To be or not to be?
Governor backs up
on tollway issue
A major change could be in the
works at the state's toll highway agency.
Then again, maybe not.
After calling for the elimination of
tolls on the 274-mile system last month,
Gov. George Ryan backed up and
asked the transportation department to
study funding alternatives for the tolls,
which will earn about $373 million this
year. Ryan has said "no" on raising the
state gas tax.
The governor's request followed a
statement by Art Philip, chair of the
Illinois State Toll Highway Authority,
that a toll hike would be necessary to
fund a road rebuilding program.
Including three road additions called
for by the General Assembly, costs
could be as much as $8 billion, according to an authority spokesman.
The authority also owes $888 million
on bonds it sold to fund projects. The
toll roads are located in the six-county
Chicago metropolitan area.
Burney Simpson
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Illinois Issues October 1999 / 11