The state spent almost half a million dollars on a flawed study of Gov. Pat Quinn’s now-defunct anti-violence program — the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative — after officials rejected a more rigorous evaluation that would have been free, auditors say.
The $498,351 study by the University of Illinois at Chicago didn’t even examine whether the program helped reduce violence, according to Auditor General William Holland’s office.
State Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill, said the study leaves taxpayers in the dark about whether the $54.5 million program made an impact in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the Chicago area.
“We don’t know whether this money was flushed down the toilet,†he said.
Trust me it was.
Why do I accuse them of trying to gin up some friendly numbers?
Auditors learned the state turned down an offer by the University of Chicago Crime Lab to conduct a more in-depth study for free.
It might not have turned out the way they wanted it to. It’s what anti-civil rights people do.