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School’s $1 million grant to be probed

In the midst of approving a $1 million state grant to officials for a school burned out of the Pilgrim Baptist Church, Gov. Rod Blagojevich granted a pardon and ordered that the criminal record of one of the school’s officers be expunged, according to state records examined by the Tribune.

The pardon last year is the latest twist in a controversial grant that the governor promised would help programs affiliated with the church, but instead went to a private school, which bought a Loop office condo.

Now, a state legislator has scheduled hearings to investigate the grant, and the governor’s office says it is looking into whether the school is viable.

Adding an extra layer of complexity, both the property seller and the state-granting agency have connections to Antoin “Tony” Rezko, the politically connected entrepreneur currently embroiled in a showcase federal trial on charges of influence-peddling with the Blagojevich administration.

The head of the state grant-giving agency previously worked for Rezko, and the owner of the building where the school is moving was a Rezko business associate.

“This is crazy on a number of levels,” said Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock), chairman of the committee that will hold hearings on the grant. “I think [the governor] was so hell-bent on the press pop and being the white knight that they did no due diligence, and the money was squandered. “

The Jan. 23, 2007, expungement letter for Chandra N. Gill, director of the Loop Lab School and niece of founder Elmira Mayes, was uncovered Tuesday in the Champaign County Circuit Court. Gill, a Chicago civil rights activist, had attended the University of Illinois and in 2003 was convicted for aggravated battery for a fight with a police officer that took place there the year before (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text). Her lawyer said she was a chaperon on a high school trip and got involved in an altercation between another chaperon and a police officer.

Gill and other officials for the Loop Lab School could not be reached for comment. Gill unsuccessfully appealed the case, but her felony conviction was expunged while she was represented pro bono by a Chicago attorney brought in at the request of Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.

Jackson said that he thought the conviction was unfair and that Gill needed it expunged so she could work as a school administrator.

“It was just insane. So this is not raucous behavior or stealing,” Jackson said. On Tuesday, Illinois lawmakers said they will hold hearings next month into why the governor’s office directed the grant so the family-controlled school could buy a new location in the Loop. The building housing its new $1.3 million space is itself in receivership and mired in renovation disputes. The school has not yet opened.

“We’re reviewing the school’s compliance with the grant agreement,” Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said. “If they’re not operational by the next school year, then we’ll look into options for recovering state funds.” She added that Gill’s pardon was “completely unrelated” to the school’s grant.

In her petition for a pardon, however, Gill noted that she had applied for the $1 million grant but feared she wouldn’t be able to run the school with a felony record.

In October 2006, a month before receiving the first money from the grant, the 25-year-old school first registered as a charitable organization with the Illinois attorney general’s office, office spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler said.

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dyjackson@tribune.com

awiehle@tribune.com