School That Got $1 Million From Blago Sued By Madigan

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Apr 4, 2009 6:45PM

The saga of the Loop Lab School continues as state attorney general Lisa Madigan has sued the school looking to recoup the $1 million the school seemed to receive from then-governor Rod Blagojevich by mistake. During his re-election campaign, Blagojevich promised $1 million to Pilgrim Baptist Church to help the historic church rebuild after it was destroyed by a fire in January 2006. However, it seems Blago made that personal promise to Elmira Mayes, who was then leading the Loop Lab School which had been renting space at the church at the time of the fire. Much confusion ensued and the Loop Lab School kept the money and used it in May 2007 to purchase space across from the Sears Willis Tower. Things got even more complicated when it was revealed that the current school's leader, Chandra Gill, was the recipient of a Blago pardon.

The school recently sold the condo space, banking $950,000 and Madigan wants some court oversight and third-party investigation into the school's assets. Madigan also claims the school did not file a 2007 annual report with her charitable trusts division, causing the school to lose its not-for-profit designation. [CBS 2]