a*****g
发帖数: 19398 | 1 FBI raids Concept Schools in Illinois, 2 other states
By Dan Mihalopoulos
From The Chicago Sun-Times, Tuesday, June 10, 2014. See
http://politics.suntimes.com/article/chicago/fbi-raids-concept-
ois-2-other-states/tue-06102014-557pm
The FBI and two other federal agencies conducted raids in Illinois and two o
ther states at charter schools run by Des Plaines-based Concept Schools, FBI
officials said Tuesday
Search warrants were executed at 19 Concept schools in connection with an "o
ngoing white-collar crime matter," said Vicki Anderson, a special agent in t
he Cleveland FBI office that's leading the probe.
The U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Communications Commission a
lso were involved in the June 4 raids, but officials said the warrants remai
n under seal, and they wouldn't give any details about the investigation.
The raids targeted Concept schools in Illinois - where Concept has three sch
ools in Chicago and one in Peoria - as well as in Indiana and Ohio.
A Concept spokesman said federal education officials had conducted an audit
recently.
But the FBI's Anderson said, "What we did was not part of any audit."
Concept was founded by Turkish immigrants and has ties to Turkish-American g
roups that have hosted Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and other stat
e lawmakers on trips to their homeland in recent years, the Chicago Sun-Time
s reported in December. In 2012, Madigan visited Concept's Chicago Math and
Science Academy at 7212 N. Clark St., and praised the school in a video post
ed on YouTube.
After its efforts last year to open two new taxpayer-funded charter schools
in Chicago were rejected by Chicago Public Schools officials, Concept appeal
ed to the Illinois State Charter School Commission, which overrode CPS and a
llowed Concept to open Horizon Science Academy McKinley Park at 2845 W. Pers
hing Rd. and Horizon Science Academy Belmont at 5035 W. North Ave.
CPS officials were more receptive to Concept earlier this year, approving wh
at will be the chain's fourth and fifth schools in Chicago, in Chatham and S
outh Chicago.
----------------------------------------
SIDEBAR PHOTO: Salim Ucan, vice president of Concept Schools, speaks during
the opening general session of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools conf
erence in December in Chicago. | Michael R. Schmidt/Sun-Times Media
----------------------------------------
SIDEBAR: Chicago Public Schools (CPS) says no to Concept Schools, but state
commission says yes
*********************************************** |
|
