FIPHD Grant Issues – Ford County Wake Up!

FORD CO. (ECWd) –

This cancer just won’t stop growing, and considering it’s a health department where it is rooted, you would think they would understand the ramifications of failing to act to solve the problem.

By all indications, some within the Ford County side are having a hard time accepting the fact there is a problem.  Well you better strap in because some more facts are coming and it’s not pretty!  In fact, if it’s not compelling enough for public officials to act on then maybe they should resign themselves.

Julie Clark, a person that carries the title of Tobacco Coordinator, Director of Planning & Corporate Development, and Chief FOIA Officer for the FIPHD, and drew more than $51,000.00 in pay in 2012, where she was able to do so working from her home office located in Maryville, Illinois, over 225 miles away from Watseka, Illinois.

Who is Julie Clark?  Who is Strictly Business?

Strictly Business Inc.  – FEIN: 36-4079831 –(2004-2011)

• Julie Clark – Officer

For months it appeared the only thing anyone wanted to talk about as it relates to Doug Corbett and his wrong doing, was the solar panel scandal which all records prove was done in violation of the law, yet no one is holding him accountable to that insider trading deal.

Our sources shared more info than we could process but we continued to plow through it the best we could, even though direct attempts at delaying our FOIA requests where sought out and even refused.

“if we put Brumleve or the watchdogs in that category, we can charge up front and can delay 21 days.”

PROOF

You see, the truth is Mr. Corbett is not complying with the law, and recognizing our right to records.  He is seeking any venue possible to delay our requests because he knows each and every time we have been spot on in our reporting and he knows his days are numbered!   His attempt at charging us hundreds of dollars for grant paperwork backfired, and I am confident that was done in an attempt to keep us from getting the truth out to the public.

These road blocks are what led to the filing of a civil law suit for violation of the FOI Act.  After the last hearing, of which Mr. Corbett and Julie Clark had yet to comply with providing the requested records, they were directed by their legal counsel to comply.  That little fact supports that they are in violation of the law.  The bigger question, why such resistance to turning over Grant paperwork?

I think this one Grant might be the very answer, however, rest assured we have found numerous other issues but none as telling as this one!

In 2011 the FIPHD applied for a Tobacco Grant for the FY 2012, found here.  That grant spells out a recommendation that the Lead staff person have at least an undergraduate degree in Health Education, and or be a certified Health Education Specialist and have two years experience in tobacco prevention and control.

Julie Clark is the Tobacco Coordinator and by all indications the Lead staff person.  I submitted this FOIA seeking to confirm the recommended education requirements were being met.  The response to that FOIA confirmed what I suspected, the Lead Staff person does not meet the educational recommendations set by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Mr. Corbett, being the great Administrator you are, can you tell the good people of Iroquois county why your Lead staff person, Tobacco Coordinator Julie Clark doesn’t have ANY of the recommended educational certifications?   Note that the grant outlines the wording “have at least an undergraduate degree in Health Education….!)

What part of “at least” doesn’t he understand?  Instead, the person doing the work is a high school graduate and according to our research holds no degrees of any kind.  Now before Mr. Bowen gets upset and implies I am attacking a person for only having a High School degree, relax as even I have one!  My point is the fact an Administrator is not doing his job and ensuring the best people are doing the work being funded with our tax dollars.

There’s More!

If you had to guess how many smoking violations Julie Clark issued in 2012 what would that number be?   Go ahead, right down a number of citations one person making over $50K, while working from home 225 miles away, wrote as part of the Tobacco Enforcement part of the Grant, which netted the county not one penny of revenue, which is the real effort behind these types of grants in my opinion.

Smoking Citations in Ford and Iroquois County in all 2012?

The Answer…..12, of which they were all issued in a two day period!

• 9 citations issued on 5/7/2012(1 day of work)
• 3 citations issued on 11/8/2012 (1 day of work)

Yes, this grant has a focus on getting people to stop smoking and that is all fine and dandy, however, I don’t believe anyone can honestly support an Administrator that has a Lead Staff person who is the two county Tobacco Coordinator that in just 2 days wrote 12 citations and nothing else for the whole year!

And yes, there’s still more!

Remember that business name Strictly Business owned by Julie Clark.  They were the contractor for the smoking Grant for 2011!   What is going to make this so interesting is I had already received a FOIA back in April of this year for all the contracts since 2000 for Strictly Business.

Guess What? 

No contract was enclosed in that package for 2010 or 2011, yet that is the application time frame for the 2011 Grant and in that Grant paperwork attachment it reflects Strictly Business is the Contractor.  Don’t miss the mileage claim on that report either!  1200 miles?  Is that because she lives 225 miles one way from her employment?

Does anyone else find it odd that Ms. Clark, the FOIA officer failed to provide the 2010 smoking grant contract she had with the FIPHD.  Let’s not forget she failed to file her required economic disclosure statement as well, covered here. 

Does anyone else find it odd that no one knows about any bid announcement that offered the rest of the public a chance to provide those services?  I filed a FOIA last week for that bid announcement as well as a copy of the contract referenced in the Smoking Grant paperwork.  If I get a copy of the contract, then it’s evidence that Ms. Clark failed to provide the requested documents in my April FOIA.

Maybe now people will understand why I filed a civil law suit to obtain ALL the grant records!  It is clear there has been an orchestrated effort to withhold information and it’s high time people realize one thing about me and my work.

I will not be denied my constitutional rights to address my government and its actions! 

I will dig and expose the cancer that is growing in our nation as well as our back yards of local government and as God is my witness, I will take my last breath fighting this sickness of self serving public employees and officials who are the tumor’s of our society.

Mr. Corbett has failed to do his job on more fronts than anyone can write about in one article but rest assured, this is yet another example of Mr. Corbett handing inside deals to his friends and the friends of his harem.  It violates our laws and the most basic principals of right and wrong.

I pray to God the people in Ford County read this and show up to the county board meeting Monday night and speak out and demand justice.