From the Tribune

Governor to Loop Lab School: Give state its $1 million back
Grant to private school that has not yet opened raised eyebrows
By Todd Lighty | Chicago Tribune reporter
    September 25, 2008
Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration said Wednesday that it has taken the first formal steps toward recovering a $1 million grant given to a politically connected private school that has yet to open its doors.
The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity wrote to officials at the Loop Lab School and told them they were in violation of their grant agreement.
The agency's lawyer, William O'Donaghue, wrote in a letter that the school failed to produce necessary records relating to prospective students and teachers, and failed to show it has the "financial resources needed to operate."
"We have been working with them now for approximately five months, and we have not been able to resolve the issues," said Ashley Cross, an agency spokeswoman.
The state gave $1 million to the family-run school to rebuild after a 2006 fire destroyed the Pilgrim Baptist Church, where the school had held classes. Blagojevich said the money really was intended to help the church but that a "bureaucratic mistake" wrongly sent the money to the school.
But school officials have said Blagojevich himself promised the money to them, and have publicly thanked the governor for his kindness.
The school used the money to buy the second floor in a downtown office building near the Sears Tower and renovate the space for classrooms.
Cross said Loop Lab School can appeal the action through a civil hearing.