Illinois Republicans say they want to continue a legislative investigation into a mismanaged anti-violence program. But that goes against the wishes of the federal government.
The U.S. Department of Justice asked Illinois State lawmakers to postpone their hearings on a program known as NRI - the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative.
Governor Pat Quinn’s advisors who ran the anti-violence program have been subpoenaed by a legislative committee looking into why it was so poorly managed.
Federal prosecutors have also issued subpoenas related to the program.
Jim Durkin is the top Republican in the Illinois House. He says lawmakers had to go through a similar process to impeach former Governor Rod Blagojevich while the feds investigated him. But they never got a request like this one - to hold off for 90 days.
"I’m still at a loss of why the message came from Washington."
Durkin says he wants the legislative investigation to continue as scheduled next week. But a Democrat on the committee has said lawmakers should honor the Justice Department’s request.