SR1258 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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 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 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

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 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

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.