Amidst
the latest news, a look
back at Governor
Blagojevich's
appointee
Chicago Sun Times
Thursday,
January 18,
2007, FINAL
EDITION, News,
Page 25
Vegas probe casts
doubt on county deal:
Stroger backs off on
hospital collection firm
Note: This
article is from the print edition of one
of Chicago's two major city newspapers,
here in the
state capital; highlighting/links
on this
page have been added for reference only... We do not necessarily
endorse the content of external web pages.
By STEVE
PATTERSON
THE CHICAGO SUN TIMES
A wide-ranging hospital fraud
investigation in Nevada has Cook County Board President Todd
Stroger
reconsidering his plans to help balance the county's budget on a
private firm's promise to bring up to $125 million a year to the
county's ailing health system.
An investigation in Las Vegas showed the hospital lost millions on the
deal, but ACS Consulting -- which offers billing and collection
services -- is the same firm Stroger said in his budget speech Tuesday
would help save Cook County from its budget crisis.
A contract has not yet been signed here, but negotiations have been
going on since the County Board gave approval last year. That
approval
came after former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris lobbied the
board on ACS' behalf.
Stroger spokesman Steve
Mayberry said Stroger inherited the ACS contract situation when he took
office and is now reviewing all issues. He still expects some firm to
help the county collect $43 million in hospital bills this year.
Burris
declined to talk about the $60,000 he was paid
to help ACS get
the contract.
An ACS spokesman said though collection efforts are identical, the
Nevada contract was handled by a different arm of the company than the
one for Cook County and that the controversy there shouldn't impact
things here.
Nevada court documents show ACS won its contract there last year after
flying Thomas to the Virgin Islands, so he could review ACS billings at
a hospital there.
But the investigation goes even deeper, with accusations of kickbacks
and do-nothing contracts for politically connected firms in Chicago.
Court documents show that among the companies being investigated is
Crystal Communications, with links to Orlando Jones, the influential
godson of former board President John Stroger. The
company is in the
same Loop office as Jones' firm. Jones said he simply leases the
company office space and is not involved in its operations.
Crystal Communications' owner, Marty Pollock, wasn't available
Wednesday, according to the receptionist he shares with Jones.
Steve
Patterson is
a reporter
for the Chicago
Sun Times,
and can be
reached at spatterson@suntimes.com.
Note from webmaster:
Tragically, Orlando Jones took
his own life
in September 2007.
FAIR
USE NOTICE: This newspaper article by investigative
reporter Steve Patterson,
published less than two years ago in the Chicago Sun Times,
is provided for non-profit and educational
purposes, in accordance with Section
107 of
the U.S. Copyright Act.
