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Former state Rep. Jeanne Ives, the founder of the policy
advocacy group Breakthrough Ideas, said J.B. Pritzker gave the
money to Black Lives Matter (BLM) Lake County, even though its
leader has pleaded guilty to felony battery charges multiple
times.
Clyde McLemore made news just months ago in December 2022 for
apparently being charged with felony bail jumping in Wisconsin.
That charge stems from his previous arrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin
in August where he was “charged with felony battery to a police
officer and disorderly conduct."
Ives said this is going on despite a bipartisan bill that was
passed while she was in office called the Grant Transparency
Act.
“People want to get a handle on where this money was going and
you see things like this pop up and you gotta wonder if any of
those laws are followed at all,” Ives told The Center Square.
It's not the first time the group received taxpayer funds. The
first grant came in 2021, when Pritzker gave BLM Lake County
$300,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funds. He gave them the
money at the same time McLemore was out on bond for battery of a
police officer.
Ives said an investigation shows that there is no physical
presence of BLM in Waukegan even though the group was required
to open an office. Court records indicate that the building
manager filed a commercial eviction notice with the court
against McLemore and Black Lives Matter of Lake County on Jan.
3, 2022.
Former Gov. Pat Quinn funded anti-violence programs that
spiraled out of control. An audit of one of his Neighborhood
Recovery Initiatives' lead group, the Woodlawn Organization,
uncovered a lack of accounting and record keeping and
“questionable decisions.” The group received $1.2 million before
the state pulled the plug.
“Taxpayers should be appalled that BLM Lake County was given
$300,000 in the latest budget,” Ives said. “No taxpayer money
should go to any Black Lives Matter group, a Marxist
organization connected to violent riots across the country.”
A request for comment from the governor’s office went
unanswered.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in
Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of
experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.
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