Follow the money. UNO's kick-backs to Madigan.

Boss Madigan

Dan Mihalopoulos reports in this morning's Sun-Times that UNO has kicked back more than $24,000 to campaign funds controlled by Boss Madigan after receiving millions in charter school construction grants that Madigan greased.

Madigan had given a big boost to the group’s aspirations to be a major operator of charter schools in the city when he helped it get a $98 million state school-construction grant in 2009, without any requirement for competitive bidding on the work, as government agencies typically must do. The state money helped fuel UNO’s rapid growth as the operator of publicly funded schools that offer an alternative to Chicago’s public schools in heavily Latino neighborhoods. 

Funniest part of the story has the billionaire heiress State Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) saying she doesn't know who wrote the provision into her latest bill, sending another $35 million UNO's way. Gee, I don't know. How did that get in there?

 Where are the feds? S-T journalists have already made the case. Is Madigan, UNO, too big to jail?