That little * isn’t enough to hide the cozy Madigan – UNO relationship.
Madigan in his UNO attire.
The Chicago Sun-Times has a blistering report this morning, documenting the cozy relationship between Illinois Democratic Party Chairman and House Speaker Mike Madigan and the United Neighborhood Organization.
UNO, one of the largest charter school operators in the city, is now involved in a funding scandal involving $98 million dollars in state grants.
It has led to several UNO resignations and no-bid contracts going to family and friends of UNO’s leaders.
Juan Rangel, head of UNO, is thisclose to Mayor Emanuel. He was co-chair of his election committee
The Sun-Times story exposes the financial relationship between Rangel, UNO and Speaker Madigan.
With support from Springfield and City Hall, UNO has grown in less than a decade from what was primarily a Latino activist organization into one of the largest charter-school operators in the city. In 2005, it had one school. Now, it has 13 locations with about 6,500 students.
UNO’s close ties to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whose campaign he co-chaired, and former Mayor Richard M. Daley are well known. But Madigan quietly has provided the group with perhaps its most valuable assistance.
Madigan introduced the amendment that yielded the $98 million grant to UNO in
If they insist on closing our schools, we’ll shut down the city.
