GOP Lawmaker To Seek Subpoenas of Quinn Anti-Violence Program
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Republican state Sen. Jason Barickman says he'll ask a legislative commission that helps review use of public funds for subpoena powers to investigate Gov. Pat Quinn's troubled anti-violence program.
The program is already the subject of Cook County and federal probes.
Barickman says he'll formally seek subpoena power during Tuesday's meeting of the Legislative Audit Commission in Springfield. Approval requires a majority vote of the commission that reviews state audits.
Barickman says taxpayer dollars were "squandered" for a "political slush fund" for Quinn's Neighborhood Recovery Initiative Program.
Quinn's administration disagrees with those claims. Quinn says he identified problems and disbanded the agency that ran the program.
State auditors say there were pervasive problems, including mismanagement. Federal prosecutors have asked for information about the program. Cook County prosecutors have subpoenaed records.
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