Feds Probe Tuition Waivers Awarded By State Sen. Annazette Collins

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signs a bill on Wednesday, July 11, 2012, in Chicago, ending the policy of letting lawmakers hand out college scholarships, a practice that has produced repeated accusations of misconduct. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

Chicago Sun-Times:

SPRINGFIELD — The U.S. attorney’s office has opened a criminal investigation into a series of legislative scholarships awarded by state Sen. Annazette Collins — marking an expansion of a federal probe into the scandal-tainted tuition-waiver program.

The Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday obtained a copy of a June 1 federal subpoena issued by then-U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office that seeks an array of records regarding the waivers the West Side Democrat handed out during an 11-year career as a state representative and senator.

The query follows Sun-Times reports in March about a series of questionably legal waivers Collins gave to five students who listed her former home as their official residence even though some had driver’s licenses or voter registrations linked to addresses outside her district. State law requires that legislative scholarship recipients reside in the awarding lawmaker’s district.

Read the whole story at Chicago Sun-Times