State Recoups Pittance of Blagojevich's PIlgrim Baptist Church "Mistake"
By Chuck Sudo in News on Apr 22, 2011 2:00PM
While former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is at the Dirksen Federal Building facing a pool of jurors who weren't swayed by his recent charm offensive, another of his blatant panderings to voters has come back to rear its ugly head. Remember the $1 million Blagojevich promised to Pilgrim Baptist Church in 2006 so the legendary church could rebuild? The $1 million that Pilgrim Baptist never received because it went to a school that rented space from the church? It appears as though the state's efforts to reclaim that money only managed to recover $89,687. Yay.
Blagojevich promised the cash to Pilgrim Baptist, one of many blatant plays to potential voters during his 2006 re-election campaign. But the money instead went to the Loop Lab School. Blagojevich called this an "honest mistake." The school run by Chandra Gil, a felon pardoned by Blagojevich at the urging of civic leaders including Rev. Jesse Jackson, bought space in a Loop high-rise in order to receive the funds.
A court-appointed $750,000 sale of the former school space went towards overdue bills and closing out loans, netting the state the aforementioned $89,000. The news also shined a light on Jack Lavin, Gov. Quinn's chief of staff who approved the $1 million when he was head of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity under Blagojevich.