Governor Blagojevich is in hot water over what he deems a "bureaucratic" mistake which gave a school $1 million dollars intended for a historic, burned-down church. In the midst of his re-election campaign, Blago pledged to give $1 million to Pilgrim Baptist Church, which was destroyed by a January 2006 fire. At the time, the Loop Lab School was renting space in the church and now, Elmira Mayes, leader of the school, is contradicting Blago's claim of a mistake, saying he personally promised her money for the school.
Mayes said the governor visited the fire site and talked with her as she was sifting through debris from her burned-out school, which had rented space from the church. She did not recall the governor's exact words but "he told me he would help build the school and give $1 million."The school has sent relocated to a new condo across the street from the Sears Towers but has yet to reopen. Spokesmen for the governor insist there was confusion about the church's relationship to the school, but Chandra Gill, a relative of Mayes' who is now running the school, disagrees. "He knew she wasn't the preacher. We are grateful and thankful. We did everything we were supposed to do with the million dollars. It was a great investment."
