Bill Text: IL SR1258 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Directs the Auditor General to conduct a performance audit of all State moneys provided by or through the Illinois Department of Labor for "grants to State and local agencies and community providers for at-risk community support programs", or any similar expenditure of appropriate funds. Also directs the Auditor General to conduct a performance audit of all State moneys provided by or through the Illinois State Board of Education for "targeted initiatives", or any similar expenditure of appropriated funds.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2015-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SR1258 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-SR1258-Introduced.html

---

SR1258 LRB098 21347 GRL 60370 r
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Neighborhood Recovery Initiative is a program
launched in October of 2010 by Governor Quinn and established
at the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority from Fiscal Year
2011 to Fiscal Year 2012; and
WHEREAS, This program was created by the Governor's Office
without legislative oversight due to the discretion given the
Governor's Office through lump sum appropriations in the Fiscal
Year 2011 budget; and
WHEREAS, In Fiscal Year 2013, after concerns were publicly
raised about the purpose and the effectiveness of the program,
the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority was abolished and
the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative was moved to the Illinois
Criminal Justice Information Authority; and
WHEREAS, A performance audit, conducted by the Illinois
Auditor General, of the $54,550,000 spent in the first 2 years
of the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative found numerous
extraordinary "pervasive deficiencies" in the Illinois
Violence Prevention Authority's planning, implementation, and
management of the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative; and
WHEREAS, Media investigations have discovered that State

SR1258 - 2 - LRB098 21347 GRL 60370 r
funds issued through the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative were
used to hand out flyers promoting "inner peace", to pay people
to attend yoga classes, and to pay people to walk in a parade
with Governor Quinn; and
WHEREAS, The Neighborhood Recovery Initiative process is
currently being investigated by the Cook County State's
Attorney's Office and the United States Department of Justice;
and
WHEREAS, The Fiscal Year 2013 and Fiscal Year 2014 budgets
do not contain appropriations to the Neighborhood Recovery
Initiative, however, both budgets did appropriate general
revenue funds to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information
Authority for programs similar to those of the Neighborhood
Recovery Initiative, such as the community based violence
prevention program, the After-School program, and the Chicago
Area Project; and
WHEREAS, The Illinois House of Representatives approved
House Resolution 888, on April 17, 2014, directing the Auditor
General to conduct a performance audit of the State moneys
provided by or through the Illinois Criminal Justice
Information Authority to all community based violence
prevention programs, the After-School program, and the Chicago
Area Project, under contracts or grant agreements in Fiscal

SR1258 - 3 - LRB098 21347 GRL 60370 r
Year 2013 and Fiscal Year 2014; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 6097, as passed by the House of
Representatives on May 27, 2014, contains Fiscal Year 2015
appropriations for the Illinois Department of Labor, including
a new lump sum appropriation of $20,000,000 for "grants to
State and local agencies and community providers for at-risk
community support programs, after-school programs, and youth
employment opportunities"; and
WHEREAS, The Department of Labor does not currently, and
has not recently, administered grant funds, but especially
grant funds for "agencies and community providers for at-risk
community support programs"; and
WHEREAS, House Bill 6093, as passed by the House of
Representatives on May 27, 2014, contains Fiscal Year 2015
appropriations for the Illinois State Board of Education,
including a new lump sum appropriation for $3,200,000 for
"targeted initiatives"; and
WHEREAS, The members of the legislature have a fiduciary
duty to be good stewards of taxpayers' money and to ensure to
the best our ability that tax dollars are spent efficiently,
ethically, and legally; therefore, be it

SR1258 - 4 - LRB098 21347 GRL 60370 r
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Auditor General is
directed to conduct a performance audit of all State moneys
provided by or through the Illinois Department of Labor for
"grants to State and local agencies and community providers for
at-risk community support programs", or any similar
expenditure of appropriate funds; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Auditor General is directed to conduct a
performance audit of all State moneys provided by or through
the Illinois State Board of Education for "targeted
initiatives", or any similar expenditure of appropriated
funds; and be it further
RESOLVED, These performance audits include, but are not be
limited to, the following determinations:
(1) the purposes for which State moneys were provided to
both the Department of Labor for "grants at State and local
agencies and community providers for at-risk community support
programs", and the State Board of Education for "targeted
initiatives";
(2) the nature and extent of monitoring by the Department
of Labor and the State Board of Education of how these State
funds were utilized and if these funds were fairly and

SR1258 - 5 - LRB098 21347 GRL 60370 r
adequately distributed;
(3) the actual use of State moneys by the Department of
Labor and the State Board of Education, including the identity
of any sub-recipients and the amounts and purposes for
employment;
(4) the number of positions paid through the programs by
organizational unit, job title, function, and salary and
whether employees completed and filled out appropriate time
sheets;
(5) the number of positions supervised or managed by each
management position and whether any of those employees were
supervised or managed by more than one management position;
(6) whether, through a review of available documentation,
the programs have met or are meeting the purposes for which the
State moneys were provided, with specific information
concerning the programs staffing levels, hiring procedures,
and its compensation of employees; and
(7) whether the programs are in compliance with the
applicable laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements
pertaining to the program's receipt of State moneys; and be it
further

SR1258 - 6 - LRB098 21347 GRL 60370 r
RESOLVED, That the Department of Labor and the State Board
of Education, and any other State agency or other entity or
person that may have information relevant to these audits
cooperate fully and promptly with the Auditor General's Office
in its audits; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence both audits as
soon as practical, one year following enactment of these
appropriated funds, and report its findings and
recommendations upon completion in accordance with the
provisions of Section 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to the Auditor General, the Director of Labor and the
State Superintendent of Schools.