Grand Jury Looks Into State Grants Sponsored By Hendon

By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 29, 2010 1:00PM

By now, we all know that State Senator Rickey Hendon is something of a loose cannon, saying whatever is on his mind, whether it's throwing around words like "idiotic," "homophobic," and "racist" to describe GOP Gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady or declaring himself "the Black Sarah Palin" in announcing his candidacy for Mayor, which won't get him the "consensus black candidate" nod (more on that later).
One can only wonder what Hendon is calling a grand jury today after they subpoenaed records for dozens of state grants doled out to West side job training, after-school and other social service programs, some of which were sponsored by Hendon.

Federal investigators are seeking records from state agencies regarding more than 50 individuals and 40 organizations. The Tribune reports that several of the programs being reviewed are related to after-school programs funded by grants sponsored by Hendon. A 2008 Tribune investigation showed that the programs awarded grants sponsored by Hendon were of a dubious nature and declined to show how the money was spent. These included a computer skills course where two homeless children toyed with the keyboards to unplugged computers, waiting for a "tutor;" and another tutoring program advertised in a padlocked West Side church. Yet another program was funded to teach children how to influence their destiny by using their birth date and name

A half-dozen names on the subpoenas match names of donors to Hendon's campaign, including his former campaign chairman, Verdell Trice, and Hendon's sister and current chairman of his political fund, Shebeta Carter.