Barickman: NRI Probe May Only Get 5th Amendment Answers

(Bloomington, IL) -- The lead Republican looking into Governor Pat Quinn's scandal-laden anti-violence program knows he may not get many answers about who made what decisions. Senator Jason Barickman says there's a good chance Barb Shaw and the others will plead the fifth when they come to testify. But, if that happens, Barickman says it just means he and the other panel members will have to dig deeper to get the information they're looking for. That includes sifting through emails and calling in more people to testify. The program is under fire after an audit revealed it was "hastily" implemented and that there's no clear record of where all the money went. Republicans are calling on Governor Quinn to testify before a legislative panel and give details about his anti-violence program. They say week after week they find new scandals connected to the failed program, which a state auditor says was launched too soon. Quinn says he put an end to scandalous activity once he found out about it, but the GOP says that far from true. They point to findings that show money was doled out to agencies that already had red flags, and some of the money went to a prisoner reentry program that never even existed. Lawmakers seem to be playing a game of volley when it comes to who will and won't be required to give details about Governor Quinn's anti-violence program. A Democratic co-chairman of the legislative panel looking into the program originally shot down subpoenas for the former head of DCEO and Quinn's former C-O-O. But he changed his mind yesterday. State Rep Frank Mautino says he decided to go ahead and support the subpoenas after having a conversation with the GOP co-chair.