Annenberg-Gate

Steve Diamond has been leading the way on the Obama/Ayers/Annenberg Challenge story which has finally been discovered by the AP.  Now he looks at the cover-up of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge archives sought by Stanley Kurtz.

Comments

[Elliott]

Annenberg-Gate

Open this gate, indeed.

[clarice]

Bravo! A nice way to start my return to civilization.

[Rick Ballard]

Welcome back, Clarice. We're trying to determine whether Obama should emphasize his ties to a domestic terrorist or shift to an emphasis on his relationship with the president of the American Maoist Communist Party. Personally, I think he's more attuned to the terrorist Leninist Ayers line but I'm willing to listen to long arguments aligning him with the Maoists. I might be convinced to change my mind.

[hit and run]

Welcome home!

[Terry Gain]

Ah come on guys. The messiah has already explained that Ayers is just some guy in his neighbourhood.

[Terry Gain]

Ah come on guys. The messiah has already explained that Ayers is just some guy in his neighbourhood.

[Terry Gain]

If I apologize for the double post do I then have to apologize for three in a row?

[RichatUF]

Welcome back Clarice.

[MayBee]

Annenberg-Gate

It's not the Bradenberg Gate, but it'll do.

[clarice]

Thanks..I am very very tired but I think as an internationalists who loves his country so much he wants to change it radically, Brocko should emphasize his ties to both Ayers and Klonsky.

On the other thread I say--and I mean it--CAC failed only if one assumes it was designed to improve public education in Chicago. If it was really buying off Daley, Brocko, the leftists and the assorted motley crew that gives Chicago its special sauce, it was a winner.

[kim]

Ho, ho, ho, education is going to end up big in this election. There are a lot of people distressed at the failure of public education, and now some of them have focus for their outrage.
====================================

[clarice]

Thanks, Rich, Hit, Rick--typepad ate my post which was essentially that I think CAC was to buy off Chicago political figures and groups and in that respect it did not fail.

[clarice]

***an internationalist*****

[Soylent Red]

Open this gate, indeed.

Mr. Obamessiah - Tear down this wall!

[RichatUF]

clarice-

More grist for the mill I suppose. The Project probably doesn't want to get a moniker like "The SDS Retirement Program".

Still it is amazing, even for Chicago standards, that a group of political operators and university professors could loot over $100 million in 6 years. That is a level of corruption I'd expect from the UN.

[Sara]

Interesting.

Obama’s punitive liberalism, or why treating success as a form of failure is wrong

[Foo Bar]

TM,

Your last post contains a mistake. Klonsky was not one of the Weathermen, and there doesn't seem to be a basis for calling him a terrorist (a Communist and radical-yes, a terrorist- no).

Please fix. Thanks.

[Foo Bar]

TM,

Your last post contains a mistake. Klonsky was not one of the Weathermen, and there doesn't seem to be a basis for calling him a terrorist (a Communist and radical-yes, a terrorist- no).

Please fix. Thanks.

[kim]

You are parsing the meaning of terrorist; that he was not building bombs does not mean that his means were not terroristic. Mao was heavily into terror, too. Maybe horrorist is more apt.
=======================================

[Pofarmer]

This whole deal has got me wondering who might be holding what over Obama's head. I don't think he's the top alligator in this swamp.

[kim]

Soros is slithering around in the muck, for sure. Thrashing his little tail, angrily.
=============================

[PaulL]

RealClearPolitics has in its electoral college map of the 57 or 58 states that make up this nation, with no leaners, McCain ahead 274 to 264. I think this is the first time McCain has been ahead. He was usually considerably far behind.

[Pofarmer]

Ya know, without going to far out on the conspiracy theorist nutjob limb here. I wonder how many of those "confidential personell records" could be used to cross reference folks who gave sizeable donations to the Obama campaign. It's a sweet setup.

[kim]

No doubt, in distributing that largesse without demanding results, the recipients were reminded to remember the distributors in the future. OK, newsmen, follow the money. OK, Fitz, you want to fight corruption?
==================================

[RichatUF]

Pofarmer-

Here is an article from the AT which might answer in part that question.

[bgates]

Klonsky did hope for eventual violent revolution. Maybe we should call him a "freedom fighter".

He wasn't a Weatherman, though.

We can't be sure to reach everyone who just read TM's earlier post with a correction. Maybe we should advertise. FB, let's start a collection to run something on the networks:
"A prominent conservative blog recently contained the erroneous information that Barack Obama is an associate of two members of the Weathermen terrorist group, and also directed grant money intended to improve public education to a third. This is incorrect. Obama is an associate of two members of the Weathrmen terrorist group, and directed grant money intended to improve public education to a Maoist who once led a group which hoped for the violent overthrow of the American government.

We apologize for any confusion."

[Topsecretk9]

Charities, NGO's and Foundations...How a BBC charity funded the 7/7 bombers

Really, there’s only one thing to type in reaction to this jaw-dropping report on how a BBC charity called “Children in Need” helped fund the 7/7 bombers’ jihad– and how the ninnies dispensing the philanthropic funds didn’t want to ask the (non-needy children) terrorist recipients what they were doing with the money for fear of offending Muslims:

[Topsecretk9]

Now I'm curious about PBS and NPR!

Super curious about NPR.

[JM Hanes]

Clarice! You've been missed! Speaking of buying off Chicago, I note that Daley is scheduled to speak at Obama's convention. Don't guess he's going to be helping with discovery here, in fact.....

[Elroy Jetson]

Clarice, welcome back.
How can the University of Illinois take possession of boxes of documents and then turn around and say that they do not have "title" to them? I thought property rights and control legally changed hands when the goods were donated?
What is the statute in Illinois regarding charitable giving and legal possession?
I am not a lawyer, but from a legal standpoint, the university shouldn't have a leg to stand on if it took the delivery of the documents as a donation.

[Topsecretk9]

How can the University of Illinois take possession of boxes of documents and then turn around and say that they do not have "title" to them?

Not only that, they provided Kurtz with a an outline of the docs to aide in his previously agreed to research visit.

If they are just holding them without authority, then why have they cataloged them to the point of research aide?

[Topsecretk9]

aid, not aide

Diamond at the link asks:

4) How could the University make a detailed "finding aid" available to Dr. Kurtz for a collection that it did not legally possess?

[Pagar]

Good Morning to all! Glad you're back Clarice.

I like the fact that we've gone from the phony Messiah to an alligator. I think that's progress.

Bgates, IMO,your Ad should be spread far and wide thru out this land.Do you mind if it's copied onto others? Wonder what it would take to get it published in a major way?

[Jane]

Geez Clarice I was about to send out the National Guard. Did you have a blast? Did you ride horses? Did you run into Joe and Val?

[centralcal]

So glad to have you back, Clarice!

[Jane]

Tee Hee, via Glenn:

BAD NEWS FOR OBAMA: McCain Makes a Move, Takes 5-Point Lead Over Obama. "Obama loses ground among Dems, women, Catholics & even younger voters." The good news for Obama: It's a Zogby poll . .

LUN

[centralcal]

Hmmmmm - Drudge headlines the 5-point lead, Jane, with a picture of Barry kissing Hillary. Ya think he's making a prediction?

[Oriz Johnson]

OT and possibly in error but I have not noticed Obama wearing an earring before as he is in the photo at Lucianne this morning with his African grandmother. A popinjay yes, a President, no.

[Oriz Johnson]

OT and shame on me. On reflectionit is not an earring, more likely a reflection.

[kim]

Wow, a nine point drop among Democrats from July to August. Please, please, please keep him.
====================

[Jane]

I'm actually afraid he is tanking too early. WE don't want any last minute revival!

[Jane]

OT:

Uh Oh! The plot thickens on Edwards.

LUN

[steveaz]

One raw-spot that the Dem's will want to keep hidden is the list of players behind "Election 2000."

Remember the raft of lawyers sent by Al Gore's then campaign manager, Daley, to cajole little ole Jewish ladies into signing affidavits to the effect that they were "disenfranchised" by the Dem's own butterfly ballot?

If you do, then you'll also recall both that these affidavits were used to justify the Florida Supreme Court's intervention in the election, and that these same affidavits mysteriously "dried-up" in advance of the SCOTUS hearings.

That is, the affidavits' signers didn't stand by their legal statements when it appeared they would be perjuring themselves at the highest court in the land.

The tactics employed by Gore's Daley machine were vandalistic and fraudulent - if not terroristic: a page taken right out of Ayers' playbook. And the Democrat(ic) Party bought into it, you know, to count every vote!

Me thinks the CAC records will touch on this vandalism and more.

[bad]

There is a big question for me regarding the total amount of money involved in the CAC.

The Annenberg grant was $49.2 million and required 2:1 matching funds. TM's link says $60 million in matching funds was raised by 1999.

The project continued for two more years and all $49.2 million was awarded which implies that nearly $100 million in matching funds was raised, bringing the total amount of money involved to nearly $150 million.

[steveaz]

BTW: The excuse given for bottling-up the records is bunk on its face: the donor isn't concerned about "Privacy Issues."

People donate things to libraries in order to gain notoriety for themselves. If the donor had gifted, say, an antique book to the library, the curators (or librarians) would glue a card inside the front cover prominently noting the generous donor's name.

A gift of one committee's historical records are treated no differently. I call "BULL."

[bad]

O/T but if McCain said the following I think the MSM would be all over it as a threat:

"I don't intend to lose this election. John McCain doesn't know what he's up against."

LUN

[sbw]

"I don't intend to lose this election. John McCain doesn't know what he's up against."

We don't know what he's up against, and we've been trying very hard to find out.

[Sue]

OT...last night on H&C, Beckel was arguing for Obama on the Illinois' BAIPA bill. He claimed there was already a bill in place, for 20 years, that protected aborted babies born alive. No one on the right asked Beckel if there was already a bill in place that protected them, then what the hell was that baby doing in a closet, dying? Sometimes I get so angry at conservatives on television for not asking the question that will blow the opponent's argument straight to hell.

[Jane]

I thought the same thing Sue. GMTA

[Gabriel]

Steve Diamond's post saying access to the libraries in the Sandinista's own back yard was more open than that of UIC's library is a shocking truth.

That's downright frightening.

[Gabriel]

Sue: At the time the bill was up for debate in Illinois, the Attorney General at the time, Jim Ryan, wrote a letter stating there was no statute in Illinois State Law to prosecute anyone or any entity in leaving a born alive baby to die in a death room in a hospital.

The Corner has a snippet of AG Jim Ryan's letter.

[MayBee]

"I don't intend to lose this election. John McCain doesn't know what he's up against."

John McCain better lock up his divorce records and make sure all petitions he has are properly signed.

[Ranger]

Last night I skimmed though the report that bad linked to in the previous thread. I did help answer one of my previous questions. The entire theory of school reform that the national AC was operating under called for local community organizations to augment schools teaching efforts. In this regard, CAC's focus on grants to local community organizations seems in line with the overall project. That also hints as how important Obama was to the project. It would seem that he was chosen to chair the operation specificly because he was a former community organizer, and not an educator. That implies that people exspected him to be deeply involved in running the project and using his experience with community organization to maximize the CAC's potential.

It also appears that Obama clearly failed in bridging the gap between the CAC and the Chicago School Board. The reasons for the friction were clear, the CAC and the CBE were operating under diametricly opposed views of school reform. CAC was local, community based and the CBE was focused on centralized standards that the local schools would have to meet. The failure to bridge that gap really does call into question everything Obama claims he can acomplish in bringing people of diverse views together to solve problems.

A couple of other things. The donor claims one of his concerns is the release of sailry information. That indicates that CAC was paying people for their work. Those numbers might be vary large, and a little shocking to voters. Also, the issue with matching funds raises some interesting quesitons. If local donations were required to free up CAC funds, were donations in kind counted? For example, UIC donated office space to CAC for its headquarters. Was that donation then used to free up CAC funds. If so, was the actual donation in kind reasonably valued? Could the CAC leadership have been overvaluing donations in kind to free up more CAC funds?

[Sue]

Jane,

Good morning to you!

Gabriel,

Thanks. I didn't think there was a bill or someone would have been prosecuted for placing a live baby in a room to die. My head was exploding last night. "Are you calling Obama a baby killer?" Well hell yeah, that's what I'm calling him. I don't care if he is the father to several hundred children, he opposed a bill that would provide care for a child born alive. A living, breathing, dying child.

[Danube of Thought]

Clarice! Welcome home, kiddo--you've been sorely missed!

I truly love this from J.R. Dunn at AT:

"It's time to throw my hat in the ring as regards predicting the election results. So here it is: Barack Obama will be defeated. Seriously and convincingly defeated. Not due to racism, not due to the forces of reaction, not even due to Karl Rove sending out mind rays over the national cable system. He will lose for one reason above all, one that has been overlooked in any analysis that I've yet seen. Barack Obama will lose because he is a flake."

If only that Zogby poll were a Rasmussen...

[bio mom]

The presidency is not an affirmative action position. Vote McCain.

Obama does not make a convincing tough guy (don't know what will hit them). He always strikes me as a little boy. A little boy who is also a typical Chicago politician. So much for hope and change.

[Danube of Thought]

LUN for the J.R. Dunn article.

[clarice]

Thanks all. Jane. No horseback riding but a lot of fun anyway.
Why use community organizers? Simple. This obviously cockamamie scheme never was about education. Read my lips while I say it again. It was a buy up.

[clarice]

As to why conservative commentators are so lame--it's so that the rest of us will have to lkeep our brains in gear.It's a low trick to be sure, but--see--it['s working.

[bad]

Ranger

The salary thing is always an issue in an education foundation. Salaries had to be paid or there would be no social security numbers involved.

Who received a salary?

How much was paid in salaries?

Did board members perform "work" for the foundation and get paid? If so, how much?

What percentage of foundation funds went to schools vs percentage paid in salaries?

[sbw]

salaries

So the reason the "donor" wants to keep the Chicago-Annenberg files locked up is the very reason they should be released.

[bad]

Darn!! Posted by mistake.

Were salaries reported as income to IRS or disguised as "grants?"

[Gabriel]

Ranger: The Annenberg report on CAC is more conclusive than that. It specifically says one of the major failures of the CAC was the people running it. They just weren't ready to run a massive program to actually improve anything.

It's an indictment of Obama's "Hope and Dream with me" campaign approach. He says he can do it, but if you examine his past you just won't find very many examples of Obama getting anything done at all.

[kim]

"McCain doesn't know what he's up against", sounds a lot like 'My Daddy can beat up your Daddy'.
===========================

[Rick Ballard]

DoT,

Here's a very decent Battle Ground poll to cheer you up. Celinda Lake (Dem) and the Tarrance Group (Rep) do a really excellent job of combining efforts to provide an accurate picture.

McCain's 1 point lead is statisctically meaningless but the info on the ranking of issues as to their importance indicates that McCain has a rather distinct advantage over Obama. It's a very interesting poll and you have to flip through clear to the end to get to the best issues stuff.

[Ranger]

Well, I think the salaries thing would be embarising for some people, but I suspect there is more going on here.

Take the office space issue. UIC is located in a neighborhood that was kind of rough for a long time (it has been gentrifying over the last few years though). It would be interesting to see if the UIC donated office space was used to justify releasing NAC funds. If so, then lets see how the UIC office space was valued. If it was valued even at average office space prices for Chicago, then it was significantly overvalued. That is classic fraud. I know it happens all the time in these types of deals, but it is still fraud.

[Captain Hate]

The SDS Retirement Program

That says it all. Just a way to fund human garbage like Ayers under the guise of fixing the unfixable, the holy grail for libs.

Having wasted 19.5 years of my life working for an electric utility, Ayers' old man was probably the most back-stabbing SOB in existence since regulated utilities have their own little Politburos of treachery and intrigue. It must have been like having Beria as a father.

Annenberg-Gate also fills in the blank of why Oblammo is running for President now instead of waiting until he has a record of accomplishing, well, anything. It was only a matter of time before somebody smarter than the average journo discovered this and what it will reveal about his relationship with unconvicted commie terrorists.

[Gabriel]

Sue: Obama is not a "baby killer". His vote was stupid and ill conceived, but the bigger problem is that Obama's vote was cast with the notion that he was "protected" by citing constitutionality of the bill. He was using the NARAL defense, but not even NARAL generated the defense to vote against the bill. NARAL stood down. Obama stood UP.

That's awful judgment. At a crucial moment where the gentleman's opposition was to vote present or fail to vote at all, Obama took the revolutionary opposition and voted against the bill.

I cannot believe the Chicago Tribune Editorial page lets Obama slide on this vote. We're talking about botched abortions with living, breathing babies. They're alive. It's time to save them, not time to let time expire their existence for the sake of constitutionality.

It's a deplorable vote, but Obama is not a "baby killer". That language is puerile.

[Gabriel]

"The SDS Retirement Program"

That's a useful moniker. I may want to dress it up a little bit though. It appears CAC may have been more of an SDS Rehabilitation Program that a retirement one. Ayers and Dohrn were in desperate need of legitimacy in established circles. The firms that took the initial risk in their "recovery" process needed a nice "trust fund" to drop them off at.

Ayers is a son of regulated public utility wealth. Dohrn was a scholarship University of Chicago law student that went bezerk in '68. Each had capital risk already deployed to their educational lives.

[bad]

Ayers said the Chicago Challenge has done an "astonishingly good job" in several key areas. For example, it has "raised for public debate systemwide the issues of school size, professionalizing teaching, and the relationships between communities and their schools."

Millions spent on raising public debate. Why not just buy TV ads and billboards?

LUN

[Rick Ballard]

"It was a buy up."

Yup. If folks would like to look at another example of grant money in action, this tax return (via WebofDeception) on dear Rev. Wright's "nonprofit" child care center provides a clear example. $1,247,000 in grants to provide care for 65 kids (43 actually enrolled). At 65 kids, the cost per head is over $19K per year, at 43 kids it rises to $29K. That's taxpayer money - not private money.

TUCC is a better racket than collecting garbage.

[Appalled]

bad & Ranger:

There is some salary data in the 1998 and 1999 tax returns posted by TM. Looking quickly at 98, it appears the compensation cost was about 500K (that includes benefits, employer pd ss), of which, about 100K was going to the executive director, who appears to have been the only paid director. I can't say the number seems unreasonable. (Though the 990-PF does not disclose the number of employees of the organization).

Where I see something interesting is the amount of "other professional fees". In 1998 and 1999, around $800,000 went towards something called "evaluation". That's a big number for such a minimally described "other fee".

If CAF turned out to be a patronage operation (as accused), the evidence will be in the list of folks who received grants. That info is on the returns.

My interest in this is that Obama has done very little as an executive. I'm curious how he performed in that kind of leadership role. It's a little distubing that somebody wants to make that hard to discover.

[Ranger]

Not just "The SDS Retirement Program"
or a rehabilitation program, but a training program. With the CAC's headquarters at the UIC's education school, and under direct control of Ayers, I am sure he was able to use it to fund a lot of young, radical grad students over the years of the program.

[Sue]

Gabriel,

It's a deplorable vote, but Obama is not a "baby killer". That language is puerile.

I used the words you wouldn't?

We're talking about botched abortions with living, breathing babies. They're alive. It's time to save them, not time to let time expire their existence for the sake of constitutionality.

Babies die because of his judgment. I'll use the words I feel appropriate to describe him.

[clarice]

I suppose it never occurred to the sharpies who administer the Annenberg pelf fund (remember the money was made thru loan sharking, etc.) that the best way to improve education in Chicago was to seek the help of those teachers in the public school system who had demonstrated they could actually teach and who knew what they needed to duplicate their successes. Oh, no--the answer was to hire community organizers to work with the bloated corrupt educational establishment.

C'mon--BUY OFF..BUY OFF. But who pushed this boondoggle? Did Daley want it to get these folks on their side? Was it someone or something else. I think just like the Ford Foundation was forced to account a little for it's role in funding the anti-American Durban confab just before 9/11 with tax exempt funds, Annenberg should be on the hot seat.

[Appalled]

Ranger:

The 1998 1999 office expenses for CAC as reported on Form 990-PF seemed reasonable. (I have 2000-2003 available to me through a public database, but did not send to TM as this was after Obama stepped down from the board.)

[clarice]

As for the Univ of Ill--was this a pay off for hiring Ayres in the first place..was it to assure that he and his leftie colleagues could prove their market worth and therefore should be allowed to take over entirely the school of education?

[Ranger]

In 1998 and 1999, around $800,000 went towards something called "evaluation".

Posted by: Appalled | August 20, 2008 at 11:18 AM

And who do you think the evaluators are? Having participated in an NSF education assistance program myself, I can tell you that they are probably graduate students in education. And where would those graduate students come from? Probably the education program at the school where the operation is headquartered, in this case UIC. This just re-enforced the theory that CAC was, in part, a way for Ayers to fund his radical grad students.

[Gabriel]

Presuming Ayers made the calls to use UIC offices instead of leasing some nearby space, members of a board approved those expenditures or lack thereof.

To cover the CAC story you're going to need a half dozen pages of a magazine or Sunday edition of a paper. This looks like an in depth piece that should be covered.

[lonetown]

Were tax deductions involvedin any way? That would suggest the files were indeed turned over.

[bad]

From one of the assessments of why the CAC failed:

The decision to support so many different networks almost certainly created administrative, operational, and evaluative problems. With a staff of only nine, the Chicago Challenge could not effectively oversee the difficult and complex work it funded. The networks and schools were spread all across the city, creating logistical obstacles such as increased travel time.

Clarice, it appears the funds were spread city wide. LUN

[Rick Ballard]

Sue,

Obama's words: "I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby."

You are correct - Obama supports killing babies, in fact it's a moral value which he is passing on to his daughters. Babies are a punishment to be avoided through abortion - even if they manage to take that first breath.

We can run through all the nuanced, thoughtful pitter patter that Obama regurgitates along the path but at the end of the path there's a dead baby - and Obama's perfectly OK with that and has fought legislation to save that baby.

[Appalled]

Staff of nine -- ED makes $100,000.

Looks like the avg comp cost for the rest of the staff was 50K.

Bad -- agree the grants were spread wide (and were not terribly large). There are pages and pages of grants in the 990-PFs for 1998 and 1999.

[Sue]

Rick,

I am only referring to the BAIPA bill.

I have another question. If that baby was far enough along to survive an attempted abortion alive, why was it aborted? Anyway, I'll leave the abortion debate for another thread. This one is interesting in and of itself without me hijacking it.

[clarice]

bad, a plan that surely looks designed for only one thing--pay offs, not change.

Spread the dough.
Grease the palms.
Lube the machine.

RichUF, you're name is in lights. http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/08/the_annenberg_challenge_money.html

Elroy, I think people often donate their papers to libraries with restrictions on what and when certain info in those files can be made public. I wonder if the Annenberg's tax exemption, however, doesn't limit how much they can keep secret.

BTW if your child is looking for a cushy berth--suggest he/she go into foundation administration. Good pay. No responsibility to anyonw but the Bd which is often made up of the senile disinterested widows/offspring of the founders. you get to disburse millions as you wish.

[clarice]

**your name**
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/08/the_annenberg_challenge_money.html>UN like corruption

[bad]

In addition, some key members of the Chicago school-reform community, including the staff of the Chicago Challenge itself, refused interview requests and/or declined to provide materials for this case study.

This assessment was done on the effort of the CAC through 1999.

[Rick Ballard]

Sue,

I understood the BAIPA reference. Your appellation regarding Obama is justified.

Back to the Obama "Systematic Looting Challenge", where he did, in fact, achieve the desired result.

[Gabriel]

CAC would donate the records to UIC for a couple of reasons.

1) It failed. Please review the documents in a publicly accessible way so when you're thinking school reform you don't make the same mistakes.

2) Preserve the materials, transfer costs of inventory to a public institution.

[Ranger]

Clarice,

There already were two clear restrictions on the files. First, all the audits were sealed from public view. Second, the initial meetings that were held about how to organize the project and what direction to follow among the board members were restricted and require written permission from all participants to access.

I think it is time for the RNC to unearth all of the Obama campaigns complaints about how the Clintons were hiding information with proceedural hurdles, and challenge Obama to 'do his magic' of overcoming differences to get this information released to the public. Either he does it, and we get to see what is going on here, or he fails, and it just makes him look even weaker as a leader.

P.S. welcome back... the place just doesn't feel right without you here.

[Sue]

Rick,

Okay.

[Gabriel]

If the CAC did indeed raise 2:1 funds with a 49 million in change seed gift, that's an astounding amount of money for a project with a staff of nine.

There are very successful nonprofit organizations in the United States that operate on budgets of 1 million per year with a staff of nine. Imagine if THEY had 15 million to work with per year?

[clarice]

Thanks, Ranger. Why not post your suggestion which is a good one on the comments to the Annenberg blog I did on AT or submit it under your name as a separate blog item?

[bad]

One of the reasons given for failure of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge:

The city has a long tradition of grassroots organizing and activism dating back to Saul Alinsky, and Alinsky's spirit and organizing methods are still alive in many of the community groups that eventually became involved in this project.

LUN

[Extraneus]

This might be a good time for someone with a camera to have a look at who's going in and out of the Richard J. Daley Library of the University of Illinois at Chicago these days, possibly even after hours. It might take a team of sanitation workers quite a while to comb through "132 boxes, containing 947 file folders, a total of about 70 linear feet of material," after all, and considering the Sandy Berger caper I'd bet this task isn't being left to unrecognizable interns. But what are the chances the 132 boxes are still at the library?

[Porchlight]

If they are just holding them without authority, then why have they cataloged them to the point of research aide?

Exactly Tops. The way it normally works is that the accession details are worked out, including the deed of gift and what portion of the records (if any) would be restricted, before the library takes possession. (In the case of the CAC records Kurtz indicated that 4 of the 947 folders were marked restricted in the finding aid.) Only after legal accession would the collection be arranged and cataloged and a finding aid created. Doing all this before getting the deed of gift is exactly backwards - no one would do it this way.

And, not only was the finding aid created, but at one point it was posted online, or at least part of it was. Here is a Google cache of the UIC collections list from August 9, 2008 - scroll down and you'll see the link to CAC, which now takes you to a broken page:

Chicago Annenberg Challenge Records

It's not clear how much of the finding aid was posted - it may just have been a brief scope note without the folder level description. But it does indicate that these records were at some point available to researchers.

[SWarren]

Adele Simmons, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, expressed confidence that the city's philanthropic community would meet the challenge of providing $50 million in matching funds over the next five years. "Foundations in Chicago, indeed throughout the nation, have recognized the importance of the school reform process in Chicago and have been firm in their support since the beginning. Foundation support for Chicago reform has increased dramatically since 1985 and currently exceeds $10 million per year. I am confident that this support will continue and more than meet the Annenberg Challenge in Chicago. The Donors Forum of Chicago will be the fiscal agent for the grant.

As the fiscal agent, wouldn't this Donors Forum hold the records of who the money went to?

LUN

[Barbara]

"There already were two clear restrictions on the files. First, all the audits were sealed from public view."

This is very odd. While the documents related to the operation of the project may be soley owned by the "donor", it seems that any audits should be available for the public to view.

It would be interesting to know whether there were any public funds, either state or federal, involved in the project. Those funds would be audited and the information would be public. I also wonder if the project had any interaction with the Chicago Board of Education or whatever similar organization governs the city's schools. If so, there certainly should be public records available concerning the City's relationship with the CAC.

[bad]

page 29 of this PDF assessment of the CAC says the primary grantees of the CAC foundation were community organizations and higher education.

LUN

[bad]

page 9 of the link says a researcher attended and kept notes on nearly all of the formal meetings.

Who was the researcher and where are the notes?