Activists Defend Controversial Anti-Violence Program NRI
(CBS) -- Activists are defending a controversial anti-violence program, launched by Governor Quinn, saying despite recent criticism, the program has done more good than bad.
WBBM's Regine Schlesinger reports critics have raised questions about the finances and management of the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative. The latest allegation, by the Sun Times, charges that seven percent of more than $2 million allocated for the West Garfield Park neighborhood, apparently went into the pocket of circuit court clerk Dorothy Brown's husband.
Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina's Church which has worked with the NRI, says he's outraged by all the criticism of the program and believes it will have a chilling effect on any other initiatives for at-risk kids. He says the critics ignore all the good the NRI has done and the lives it's saved in Chicago's most violent neighborhoods.