Illinois State Senators Call for Hearings on KidCare Enrollment Contract With Rainbow/PUSH Coalition

Illinois state Senate Republicans on March 6 pushed for hearings to investigate a "controversial" $763,000 no-bid state contract awarded to the Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition to enroll children in KidCare, a state health insurance program for children, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The state Public Aid Department signed the agreement last summer, but did not establish procedures for monitoring the number of children that the organization enrolled. State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger (R), chair of the state Senate Appropriations Committee, said that he would call on Jackson and Public Aid Department officials to "justify the deal." While other community organizations receive $50 for every child that they enroll in KidCare, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition received a "set amount" of funding, regardless of the number of children the organization brings into the program. Rauschenberger said, "I don't think you can let a $750,000 contract pass without asking for some accountability. ... The idea was to really have a measurable outcome, not to spend hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars on a soft public relations campaign." The Sun-Times reports that Jackson and Public Aid Department officials have "indicated their willingness to testify" if asked. Jackson said, "We have nothing to hide. We will honor it." He added that he personally does not "get a dime" from the contract (McKinney/Novak, Chicago Sun-Times, 3/7).