|
 |
|
|
|
Click photo to enlarge |
|
Harold
Washington Cultural Center, 4701 S. Martin Luther King
Jr. Drive. |
|
Audit: Cultural Center falls short in duties
Report states Tillman, attorney stonewalled city’s investigation
By
Kate Hawley
The city’s Office of Budget and Management has found
that the Harold Washington Cultural Center failed to
live up to several provisions of a grant agreement,
placing its already uncertain future in further
jeopardy.
In August, the office completed an audit of a $1-million
grant the center received from the Chicago Empowerment
Zone. The funds were awarded in 2004, the same year the
center opened in a $19.5-million facility at 4701 S.
Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
The new building, spearheaded by former 3rd Ward Ald.
Dorothy Tillman and funded with city, state and federal
dollars, was supposed to burnish Bronzeville’s African
American heritage with a packed calendar of cultural
events and performances.
But an award-winning series in the Outlook, published in
December 2006, revealed that Tillman used the center to
hand out plush jobs to her friends and family, even as
it racked up steep deficits.
These days, the building is shuttered and dark most of
the time. The audit, completed in August and obtained by
the Outlook through the Freedom of Information Act,
reveals that the center held just a tiny fraction of the
events it was supposed to.
According to the document, titled “Agreed-Upon
Procedures Engagement,” the grant requires 239 days of
events, performances and activities per year. By that
score, the center has a dismal record: 22 days of events
in 2005, 35 days of events in 2006 and 28 days of events
in 2007. It has held just five days of events so far in
2008.
The center fared better when it came to educational
activities, but far fewer of those were required - just
eight per year. The center held nine in 2005, 31 in
2006, 23 in 2007 and five so far in 2008.
In addition, the center failed to file monthly reports
with the Office of Budget and Management and didn’t
provide adequate proof that required internships ever
took place, the audit found.
Thomas E. Johnson, the attorney for the center and
Tobacco Road Inc. the nonprofit that runs the center,
insisted on being involved with every aspect of the
audit — “a very unusual step,” according to the audit’s
authors. He did not immediately respond to a call
seeking comment on Monday.
The accounting firm Ragland & Associates, LLC, hired by
the budget office to conduct the audit, wanted to begin
looking into the center’s operations in September 2007.
Johnson stalled and threw up so many roadblocks that
they weren’t able to gain access to the center’s board
and management until a meeting on July 23, 2008,
according to the document. “At the meeting with
management and the board member every question we
directed to them was intercepted by Attorney Johnson, so
in effect we interviewed him,” it reads.
The auditors attempted to look into the center’s fiscal
management and cash disbursements, but Johnson blocked
them, the document shows: “We were not provided with any
accounting procedures or internal accounting control
manuals, nor were they implied or expressed verbally by
management.”
Jimalita Tillman, the center’s executive director and
Dorothy Tillman’s daughter, “was silent on this matter,”
the report notes.
Also in attendance at the meeting were Janie Bennett, a
board member, and Dorothy Tillman herself — a fact that
puzzled the audit’s authors. “The purpose of Dorothy
Tillman’s presence was unknown as she is not a board
member, a part of management or other legal
representative or TRI/HWCC,” they wrote.
While they let her stay “out of respect” for her “long
term service to the city and her former office as
alderman,” they appeared to regret it. “She became a
nuisance and interrupted our inquiry of management on
several occasions, attempted to interrogate our staff,
hurled accusations that we leaked the meeting to the
media and our firm was somehow connected to the current
3rd Ward alderman and was out to get her,” they wrote.
It was not immediately clear what the audit’s findings
portend for the Harold Washington Cultural Center. Lisa
Schrader, a spokeswoman for the Office of Budget and
Management, did not immediately return a call seeking
comment Monday.
Wendy Abrams, a former spokeswoman for the office, told
the Outlook in April that when completed the audit would
determine whether Tobacco Road has met the terms of its
“legal, mortgage and funding agreements, and any other
obligations.”
If the Harold Washington Cultural Center fails to meet
the grant’s requirements, the city could force Tobacco
Road to repay the money, foreclose on the property or
take ownership of it, she said.
Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), who unseated Tillman in 2007,
said Tobacco Road has until Oct. 15 to respond to the
audit’s findings. She was unsure exactly how the audit
will progress from that point but said her office will
be pursuing the matter in the next week. “This
definitely requires further action,” she said.
She called the Harold Washington Cultural Center a
“white elephant on an important corner” and decried its
lack of programming and opportunities for young people.
Bad management of the center’s finances is a big part of
its problems, she argued, saying, “This is all in the
context of poor fiscal oversight.”
k.hawley@hpherald.com |
 |
|
|
|
Click photo to enlarge |
|
New teenage
author
Mom Karyn Pettigrew (L) listens as her 13-year-old
daughter Cameron talks about her first published book of
poetry “Mermaids, Silver Wands and Toucans” during
Saturday’s first annual “Read In” for youngsters at
Little Black Pearl workshop on 47th and Greenwood. |
|
Roundy’s Supermarkets planning move south
By Kate Hawley
Roundy’s Supermarkets has signed a letter of intent to
open a store at the southwest corner of 39th and State
streets, as part of a major mixed-use development that
hasn’t yet broken ground.
The project, called Metropolis, is a venture by
developer Capri Capital Partners LLC. In May 2007, the
company announced plans to build 300,000 square feet of
retail and 150 residential units in a pair of striking
glass-and-steel buildings designed by renowned
architecture firm Skidmore Owings and Merrill.
“Roundy’s has committed to the developer that they are
going to move there,” said Peter Scales, a spokesman for
the city’s Department of Planning and Development. A
letter of intent typically paves the way for a formal,
binding lease agreement.
The Milwaukee-based Roundy’s announced a plan earlier
this year to open between 15 to 25 stores in Chicago in
the next few years. “As we have been expanding in
Chicago, we’ve been looking at different locations that
are ripe for grocery stores,” said Vivian King, a
company spokeswoman. “This just gives us an opportunity
to serve an underserved area.”
In June, Capri Capital Managing Partner Steven Lane told
the Outlook that the developer was also in “advanced
discussions” with a bank and a drug store.
The virtual freeze on credit stemming from recent
turmoil in the financial industry raises questions about
how a high-profile project like Metropolis is being
financed - and whether it will be able to progress at a
time when much of the development in the immediate area
has hit a standstill.
According to Scales, the city may subsidize part of the
project through tax increment financing (TIF), but the
terms aren’t set since the development is still in the
planning stages. “We are working with a developer that
has not made an application for TIF assistance yet,” he
said.
Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), whose ward includes the
Metropolis site, issued a written statement that read,
“There are still details to be settled, but we are
hopeful that Roundy’s will open a grocery store in the
3rd Ward. This store will be a valuable addition to our
community. We look forward to announcing further
developments in the coming weeks.”
Another developer focusing on Bronzeville acknowledged
that financing new projects is difficult but said the
letter of intent from Roundy’s was good news for a
neighborhood where there are too few grocery stores.
“Credit conditions are very tight right now,” said Craig
Huffman, co-founder and managing partner of Ascendance
Partners LLC adding, “It’s very exciting to have a
grocery store interested, whether it takes a year or 10
years.
k.hawley@hpherald.com |
|
|
Bronzeville development hits a wall
NK-O CCC meeting also covers 41st St. improvements, parks
By Kate Hawley
New construction in the Bronzeville community was
already proceeding at a slower pace due to a downturn in
the real estate market. It skidded to a virtual halt
after the financial industry’s flameout in recent weeks,
a city official told the North Kenwood-Oakland
Conservation Community Council last Thursday.
“As you know, the real estate market has tanked,” said
James Wilson, who oversees the 4th Ward for the
Department of Planning and Development. “We are
reevaluating everything that came through this council
and passed.”
The mayor-appointed council oversees development
projects that involve city-owned property from 36th to
47th streets and Cottage Grove Avenue to the lake.
One of the largest developments slated for the area is
hanging on, Wilson reported. Developer Mahogany Chicago
47 LLC hasn’t dropped its plan to build The Shops and
Lofts at 47 at the southwest corner of Cottage Grove
Avenue and 47th Street, he said.
Mahogany was planning 161 residential units and about
100,000 square feet of commercial or retail space there.
The company is now looking at ways to reconfigure the
project - possibly shifting the type and number of
residential units, as well as the amount of space
devoted to retail and commercial uses, Wilson said.
“That project hit a wall, but it’s not dead,” he added.
“The developers are still optimistic.” But if the
project does go forward, it would be a ways down the
road. “It will be mid 2010 before they even start to
market it,” Wilson said.
The developers were hoping to break ground in fall 2009,
Bernita Johnson-Gabriel, executive director of the Quad
Communities Development Corp., told the Outlook in June.
Anyone planning to build in the neighborhood should
proceed with caution, said Shirley Newsome, the
council’s chair. “We don’t want any developers starting,
then losing their financing halfway through.”
Also at the meeting, officials from the Chicago Park
District and architects with Cordogan, Clark &
Associates Inc. showed the final design for a new bridge
to span Lake Shore Drive at 41st Street. The serpentine
structure has long ramps that run parallel to the drive.
An earlier rendering showed one of the ramps cutting
through a new park at the Lake Park Crescent housing
development, but that idea was discarded after community
feedback, said Joseph Bornstein of the Park District.
Funding hasn’t yet been secured for that project, but
the new 41st Street Beach will open in the next several
weeks, according to Bornstein. And a new beach house has
been funded and will be up and running in 2010, he said.
Complaints about two other parks dominated much of the
rest of the meeting. Art Richardson of the Chicago Park
District fielded questions from neighbors of Mandrake
Park, 900 E. Pershing Road, and an as as-yet unnamed
park at the northeast corner of Lake Park Avenue and
41st Street. Graffiti, noise, public urination and
broken glass were among the neighbors’ concerns.
Lewis Jordan, CEO of the Chicago Housing Authority, was
on the agenda for the meeting, but did not attend.
k.hawley@hpherald.com |
Weekly Outlook - the week
starting October 10, 2008
Weekly Outlook
Wednesday, Oct. 8
Asthma education
class, 10 a.m.-noon, Provident Hospital, 500 E. 51st St.
Admission is free. Contact Ms. L. Walker at 312-572-2309.
Meet Paralympian
Paul Moran, 5 p.m., Hall Library, 4801 S. Michigan Ave. The
“Star Reading Program” features Moran, a member of the U.S.
Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Team, reading to children and
highlighting the values represented by the Chicago 2016 star
logo. For more information, call 312-747-2541.
Soule Café with
guest artists, 7 p.m., Negro League Café, 401 E. 43rd St.
Call 773-536-7000.
Music at the
Velvet Lounge, 8:30 p.m., 63 E. Cermak Rd. For more
information, call 312-791-9050.
Live music, 8
p.m., Checkerboard Lounge, 5201 S. Harper Ave. Cover charge
is $10. Contact 773-684-1472.
Open mic
Wednesdays with host Lil’ Rel, 8:30 p.m., Jokes and Notes,
4641 S. King Dr. Call 773-373-3390. Tickets are $5.
Thursday,
Oct. 9
Precious
Beginnings, pregnancy centering group with nurse-midwives,
9-11 a.m and 1-3 p.m., Provident Hospital, 500 E. 51st St.
Call 312-590-8476.
Smoking
cessation clinic, 9-11 a.m., Provident Hospital, 500 E. 51st
St. Admission is free. Contact Ms. L. Walker at
312-572-2309.
Preschool story
time, 10:30 a.m., Blackstone Library. This program will be
designed around a theme and will include picture books,
action activities or flannel board stories. Children must be
accompanied by an adult. Registration required. Call
312-747-0511 for more information.
Anti-aging and
vitality: fitness classes, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Mercy Hospital,
2525 S. Michigan Ave., room 204. Admission is free. Call
773-509-6842.
Right at Home:
Parent-Baby Drop In, 10:30 a.m.-noon, Chicago Childcare
Society Townhouse, 5459 S. University Ave. $5 per family or
as able. Contact Katie Cadell at 773-256-2426.
After Work
Networking and Steppin’ Affair, 5:30-11 p.m., The Marmon
Grand, 2230 S. Michigan Ave. Free admission. For questions,
call 312-225-8100 or Ken Bedford at 312-608-6358.
Music Box
Thursdays with DJ Emmanuel and DJ Reg, 6 p.m., Negro League
Café, 301 E. 43rd St. No cover. Call 773-536-7000.
Tony Sculfield’s
Poetry and Variety Night, 8:30 p.m., Jokes and Notes, 4641
S. King Dr. Tickets are $10. Call 773-373-3390.
Music at 9:30
p.m. at the Velvet Lounge, 63 E. Cermak Rd. For more
information, call 312-791-9050.
Friday, Oct.
10
Asthma education
program, 10-11 a.m., Provident Hospital, 500 E. 51st St.
Admission is free. Contact Ms. L. Walker at 312-572-2309.
Free Jazz
Fridays, 8-11 p.m., Mellow Yellow, 1508 E. 53rd St. Two
drink minimum. For more information, call 667-2000.
Saturday,
Oct. 11
Graphic design
and photography classes, 1-4 p.m., South Side Community Art
Center, 3831 S. Michigan Ave. Call 773-373-1026.
Live music, 8
p.m., Checkerboard Lounge, 5201 S. Harper Ave. Cover charge
is $10. Contact 773-684-1472.
Live jazz, 9:30
p.m., Velvet Lounge, 67 E. Cermak Rd. Call 312-791-9050.
Sunday, Oct.
12
Blu 47 Gospel
Brunch, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Blue 47, 4655 S. King Dr.,
773-536-6000.
Bronzeville
Community Market, fruit and vegetables on sale, plus live
entertainment and health activities, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., every
Sunday through Oct. 26, 4400-4500 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
DuSable Museum
of African American History, 12-5 p.m., 740 E. 56th Pl.
Admission is free on Sundays. Call 773-947-0600.
Jazz, 7:30-11:30
p.m., Checkerboard Lounge, 5201 S. Harper Ave. General
admission is $10, $5 for students with IDs. Contact
684-1472.
Live music, 9
p.m.-midnight, 67 E. Cermak Rd., Velvet Lounge. Call
312-791-9050 for more information.
Monday, Oct.
13
Fall Toddler
Time, 10:30 a.m., Blackstone Library. Call 312-747-0511 to
register.
Live music, 8:30
p.m., Velvet Lounge, 67 E. Cermak Rd. Call 312-791-9050.
Tuesday, Oct.
14
Meet Olympian
Diane Simpson, 10:30 a.m., Chicago Bee Library, 3647 S.
State St. The “Star Reading Program” features Diane Simpson,
a member of the US Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics Team, reading
to children and highlighting the values represented by the
Chicago 2016 star logo. For more information, call
312-747-6872.
Fall Toddler
Time, 10:30 a.m., Blackstone Library, for children 18-35
months. Call 312-747-0511 to register.
Weight loss
clinic and “biggest loser” contest. Personal coaching and 12
weeks of nutrition classes. Contribute $29, and biggest
weight losers win first, second and third prizes. The more
students, the larger the pot/winnings. 4014 S. Drexel Blvd,
suite 3R. To register for free ongoing class, call Desiree
Peerman at 847-219-3121.
Jazz jam
sessions, 8 p.m., Negro League Cafe, 301 E. 43rd St. Call
773-536-7000.
Wednesday,
Oct. 15
Soule Café with
guest artists, 7 p.m., Negro League Café, 401 E. 43rd St.
Call 773-536-7000.
Open Mic
Wednesdays with host Lil’ Rel, 8:30 p.m., Jokes and Notes,
4641 S. King Dr. Call 773-373-3390. Tickets are $5.
Live music, 8:30
p.m., Velvet Lounge, 67 E. Cermak Rd. Call 312-791-9050.
MEETINGS
Wednesday
CAPS police beat
213, 6:30 p.m., St., Monumental Baptist Church, 729 E.
Oakwood Blvd.
Thursday
Pershing East
LSC, 5:30 p.m., 3113 S. Rhodes Ave., 773-536-2399
CAPS police beat
232/233, 6:30 p.m., Coppin A.M.E. Church, 5627 S. Michigan
Ave.
Saturday
Rainbow/PUSH
weekly forum, 10 a.m., 930 E. 50th St.
Tuesday
Dyett LSC, 6
p.m., 555 E. 51st St., 535-1825
Beasely Academic
LSC, 6 p.m., 5255 S. State St., 535-1230
Jackie Robinson
LSC, 6 p.m., 4225 S. Lake Park Ave., 535-1777
Wednesday
Price LSC, 6
p.m., 4351 S. Drexel Blvd., 535-1300
CAPS police beat 211, 6:30
p.m., St. Bee Library, 3647 S. State St.
The Weekly Outlook covers community
events occurring from Wednesday, the date of this issue,
through the following Wednesday. The deadline for event
information is noon, Thursday before Wednesday publication.
Address details of local events to: Calendar editor,
Lakefront Outlook, 1435 E. Hyde Park Blvd., Chicago, IL
60615 |
PG.