From the Sun-Times:

Auditor may probe $1M state gave school
SPRINGFIELD | Lawmakers demand answers on funds meant for church
April 14, 2008
BY DAVE MCKINNEY Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Chief
SPRINGFIELD -- The state's top auditor soon may be sicced on Gov. Blagojevich's administration to figure out how a politically connected private school mistakenly got $1 million from the state in one of the governor's biggest, most inexplicable financial miscues.
The idea of seeking a full House vote to direct Auditor General William Holland to probe the Loop Lab School deal has gained bipartisan traction since a top Blagojevich aide, Deputy Gov. Louanner Peters, stymied a legislative panel's inquiry into the matter two weeks ago.
Peters failed to provide records and did not answer dozens of questions about the school grant, prompting key members of the House State Government Administration Committee to accuse her of "stonewalling" on what the governor himself called a "bureaucratic mix-up."
"I'm prepared to go the next step and ask for a full audit of this if they're not willing to provide documents they have to provide to the Legislature," said Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock), the committee's chairman. "Should they turn down the auditor general, they could be answering the federal government's questions."
Not yet open
In early March, the Sun-Times disclosed that Blagojevich had failed to deliver on a 2006 promise he made to steer $1 million to fire-ravaged Pilgrim Baptist Church on the South Side to help it rebuild.
Instead, the money went to the private school, whose operator has ties to the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Loop Lab School, which leased space from the church but had no other affiliation, used the money to buy space downtown but has yet to open.
"The auditor general has stronger powers than we have to get access to material," said Rep. Robert Pritchard (Hinckley), the ranking Republican on the committee who favors Holland's involvement.
"He'd certainly bring an objective third party into this so no one could say it's Madigan's chamber that's doing this, that it's partisan or whatever," Pritchard said, referring to House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Performance defended
A Blagojevich spokesman declined comment on questions about the possible move for a state audit but defended Peters' performance before Franks' committee, noting an ongoing review of the Loop Lab School grant by the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
"As you know, there's an ongoing investigation into the grant, which is why Deputy Gov. Peters was not able to get into the details. Rep. Franks was provided all the documents we are able to release," Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said in an e-mail statement.