Alderman shuts down fund
Conceding that he’s behind on paperwork, Ward 6 Ald. Cory Jobe says that he’s shutting down a fund intended to finance community improvement projects in his ward.
The Ward 6 Revitalization and Rehabilitation Fund, launched in 2011, has helped pay for such things as a sign on South Sixth Street welcoming travelers to Springfield and improvement projects to private residences. The fund, unique among Springfield aldermen, has also given grants to neighborhood associations.
But the fund in 2014 was stripped of its nonprofit status by the Internal Revenue Service for failure to file disclosure reports showing how much money has been collected and how it has been spent. Despite the fund’s loss of federal nonprofit status, it was billed as such more than a year after the IRS revoked tax-exempt status.
“The Ward 6 Fund is a 501C3 organization,” states a flier posted on Jobe’s Facebook last August to promote a block party.
Charities that solicit donations in Illinois are supposed to register with the state attorney general’s office. The Ward 6 fund has not done so, and the attorney general is trying to determine whether registration is required.
“We’ve reached out to them and they will be sending us additional information,” said Annie Thompson, spokeswoman for attorney general Lisa Madigan.
In addition, the Illinois Secretary of State in 2013 dissolved the fund for failure to file required annual reports. Jobe on June 22 filed paperwork with the secretary of state to reestablish the fund’s corporate status. Nonetheless, the alderman says that he plans to dissolve the fund.
“There’s just not a lot of interest,” Jobe said.
“If I don’t drive the bus on the Ward 6 fund, nothing gets done.”
Jobe acknowledged that the fund has never filed a Form 990 with the IRS. Such forms, which are the equivalent of tax returns, are public documents required of charities so that the public can know how money has been handled. He said that he is working with an accountant and a lawyer to get the documents prepared and filed.
Jobe said that the fund has about $2,300 in the bank and hasn’t raised money since 2014. Over the years, between $30,000 and $32,000 has been donated to the fund, Jobe said. In addition, thousands of dollars of in-kind goods and services have been donated, he said.
Jobe blamed himself for the fund’s failure to comply with state and federal filing requirements aimed at ensuring financial accountability.
“That falls squarely on my shoulders,” Jobe said. “I’m not blaming anyone else.”
In the case of the secretary of state, Jobe said that he wasn’t aware that the fund had been dissolved for failure to file reports.
“To be quite honest with you, I didn’t even know we were not in standing with the secretary of state until you brought this up,” Jobe said.
According to documents filed last week with the secretary of state, Jen Dillman is on the board of directors for the ward fund. Dillman acknowledged being on the board years ago, but says that she hasn’t had any recent involvement with the fund. She said that she didn’t know that she is listed as being a current board member.
“I haven’t been to a board meeting or reviewed emails or done anything,” Dillman said. “I think the last time I’ve done anything was in 2013.”
In addition to not filing required paperwork, Jobe also has not contributed $25,000 to the ward fund from his campaign account, as he promised he would do in 2014, when he announced that he would run for reelection as alderman instead of the mayor’s office. When he formed the fund, Jobe said that he would donate half of his aldermanic salary to the fund. The alderman said that he hasn’t done that since mounting his reelection campaign.
Instead of transferring $25,000 from his campaign fund to the ward fund, Jobe said that he will donate between $2,500 and $3,000 to each of eight neighborhood organizations in his ward directly from his campaign account. He said he expects to do that by the end of October.
“I’m not an elected official who goes back on his word,” Jobe said.
Contact Bruce Rushton at [email protected].
