Chicago Sun-Times

Work is stopped on UNO high school after state halts funding

Wed, 01 May 2013 02:22:32 -0500

Construction was halted Tuesday on a new, state-funded charter high school being built on the Southwest Side for the state’s largest charter-school operator, the politically influential United Neighborhood Organization, after the project’s general contractor said UNO has fallen behind in its payments for the work. The move came five days after Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration suspended funding to UNO following Chicago Sun-Times reports on insider deals.

State cuts off money to UNO charter schools over insider deals

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:21:25 -0500

Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration has cut off funding to the state’s largest charter-school operator, the politically influential United Neighborhood Organization, over insider deals it says violated the terms of a $98 million state grant, according to a letter obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. The deals involved millions of dollars in state funds that went to companies owned by two brothers of a high-ranking UNO executive, Miguel d’Escoto.

More money from clout-heavy Hispanic group UNO went to insider

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:07:28 -0500

THE WATCHDOGS: Weeks after Federico “Fred” d’Escoto stepped down from the board of the United Neighborhood Organization, his company, d’Escoto Inc., got its first check from the influential charter-school operator toward what now totals $1.8 million in state-funded payments.

Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board investigating judge who’s hearing Daley nephew case

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:43:43 -0500

THE WATCHDOGS: The McHenry County judge presiding over the manslaughter case of former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s nephew is now the subject of a judicial ethics investigation over her divorce from a man who continues to live with her seven years later while owing his former law clients hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Koschman special prosecutor bills come to $1 million

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:43:43 -0500

More than $1 million — that’s the final tally for the special prosecutor’s investigation that led to a manslaughter charge against former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s nephew Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko after the Chicago Police Department and Cook County state’s attorney’s office twice declined to charge him in the 2004 death of David Koschman.

Police union boss on payroll of big Rahm Emanuel campaign donor

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:04:08 -0500

THE WATCHDOGS: One of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s biggest campaign contributors has the president of the Fraternal Order of Police on his company’s payroll — a relationship that has come to light as Emanuel and the union try to negotiate a new contract for 10,400 Chicago cops.

City Hall’s tab for private lawyers nearly $22 million last year

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:16:10 -0500

THE WATCHDOGS: City Hall paid private attorneys $21.9 million last year — about $420,000 a week — to handle disputes ranging from police brutality lawsuits to an alderman’s fight over a hot dog stand’s name. More than half of those legal bills went toward defending the Chicago Police Department, city records show. The city’s tab for outside lawyers has risen sharply since 1998, when it came to a then-record $7.2 million.

Cook County gave $38 million jail deal despite contractor’s false claim

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:28:30 -0500

THE WATCHDOGS: A politically connected business venture won a three-year, $38.4 million county contract to supply meals to the Cook County Jail after one of its partners wrongly claimed disadvantaged minority status. Cook County officials gave the contract to CBM Premier Management LLC even though its pricetag was $2.1 million higher than the losing proposal, from longtime jail contractor Aramark Correctional Services LLC. The winning bidder includes Airport Restaurant Management Inc., whose owner Timothy Rand has been a big campaign contributor to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and other politicians.

State investigating $98 million grant for UNO charter schools

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:27:38 -0500

Gov. Pat Quinn’s executive inspector general has opened an investigation into the politically influential United Neighborhood Organization’s use of a $98 million state grant for new charter schools, after a report in the Chicago Sun-Times that UNO gave millions of dollars in contracts for the schools to companies with ties to the organization’s top officials.

Legal powerhouses Ed Genson, Terry Gillespie end law partnership

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:34:00 -0500

In the annals of Chicago law firms, there’s probably no better known name than Genson & Gillespie. The pair, legendary for their work in state and federal court, are no longer partners.

Clout milk company stays on under new Cook County Jail deal

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:06:54 -0500

For years, McMahon Food Corp. delivered milk to the Cook County Jail as a subcontractor for Aramark Correctional Services LLC. Aramark lost its contract to provide food to the jail last summer. But McMahon Food, a Little Village dairy supplier with deep ties to Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th) and other public officials, is still delivering the jail’s milk, working for the company that beat out Aramark for the jail contract.

‘Lost’ files in Daley nephew case ‘removed,’ then mysteriously returned

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 06:04:00 -0500

THE WATCHDOGS: Key documents from a manslaughter case involving a nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley that vanished from the Chicago Police Department and then mysteriously reappeared weren’t lost or misplaced — they were “removed” without authorization, apparently by someone in the department. That’s according to a newly obtained report made by the police lieutenant who said he found the missing records.

3 relatives of UNO boss on payroll of charter school operator

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:47:08 -0500

THE WATCHDOGS: The embattled head of one of the largest charter school operators in Chicago, the politically influential United Neighborhood Organization, has three relatives on his payroll, records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times show.

City of Chicago hit with $57.8 million tab in parking garage snafu

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:25:31 -0500

Chicago taxpayers have been hit with a $57.8 million ruling in favor of the private company that runs four city-owned, downtown parking garages — stuck with that bill because former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s administration mistakenly allowed a competing garage to open nearby, according to documents obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Ex-city inspector general hired in Berrios nepotism case

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 06:07:27 -0500

THE WATCHDOGS: For two years, Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios has insisted in the face of nepotism allegations that county ethics rules don’t apply to his office. Now, county ethics officials have hired former City Hall Inspector General David Hoffman to go to court and prove him wrong.

City Hall’s $57.8 million folly: Clout firms profit on parking-garage fight, taxpayers on the hook

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:06:25 -0500

One deal. Three Daleys. Any way you do the math, it adds up to one costly mess for Chicago taxpayers, even as firms tied to two family members of former Mayor Richard M. Daley profit. An arbitration decision made public last week puts Chicago taxpayers on the hook for $57.8 million to the private company that runs four city-owned parking garages downtown.

UNO charter schools to allow teachers to join a union

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 06:08:35 -0500

One of the largest charter school operators in Chicago, the politically influential United Neighborhood Organization, has agreed to allow teachers at its schools join a union. The move represents a sharp change in stance for UNO CEO Juan Rangel, who strongly criticized the Chicago Teachers Union for going on strike last year.

Arrest warrant issued for heir to steel company on gun charges

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 07:38:35 -0500

A judge issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Chicago steel-company heir James B. Finkl on misdemeanor gun charges in a case that had fallen into limbo for nearly three years, until a report in the Chicago Sun-Times prompted a new look at the case.