Everything Is Going Down, But The Word Of God……It seems that Charles Jenkins naked photo getting leaked to me was the least of his worries, but it might have been the very thing to shed light on the pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church and some of his back door dealings. Not so sure just how all of this will play out, but it is serious prayer time now. The said part about all of this is that a man that will lie and have an affair for eight years is capable of anything. Thanks to the member of my Obnoxious Street Committee for bringing the in-depth story in the Crusader. Read the results of their investigation below:
A Crusader investigation has uncovered a questionable financial background of a prominent South Side minister who is scheduled to open a charter school in Chatham this fall and who is a key political ally of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The Rev. Charles Jenkins, pastor of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, on Easter Sunday admitted to his congregation that he had an eight-year extramarital affair, according to several members of his congregation. He has been reticent however, to divulge his personal financial discretions to his congregation, reportedly.
The Crusader discovered two foreclosure suits filed in Cook County against Jenkins and his wife Tara in 2011 and two federal tax liens filed against Jenkins in the amount of $40,912 in 2004 and again for $41,431 in 2011.
Earlier this month the FBI raided 19 campuses of Concept Schools in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Concept is based in suburban Des Plaines and is in direct partnership with Jenkins for a Chatham charter school to be opened this fall, which will be located at the old Ultra Sheen plant at 8522 S. Lafayette.
Court records indicate Jenkins and his wife Tara Jenkins took out a mortgage on a South Loop condominium at 1235 S. Prairie on July 20, 2006 with an original debt owed of $467,875. There was no mortgage payment on the property from Aug. 1, 2010 through June 24, 2011, according to the suit. The principal due on the mortgage was $485,811 at the time the suit was filed, according to the plaintiff’s attorney Marc D. Engel. The mortgage company was Countrywide Home Loans. According to the Cook County Assessor’s Office, the current market value of the property is $405,620.
The couple also took out a mortgage on another condominium at 222 N. Columbus in Millennium Park. The original debt owed on that property was $373,520 according to the suit. At the time of the filing, the Jenkinses reportedly owed $402,326 on the unit, which is listed in the suit as unit #3009. The 2013 market value from the assessor’s office listed the property at $267,120.
The Jenkinses however, never resided at either of those properties, according to housing records. The couple lived in a property owned by Fellowship in Heritage Place, a gated community in Avalon Park, located at 1133 E. 83rd St. before moving to their current address of 26 E. 14th Pl. Records at the assessor’s office shows the 5,800 square foot townhouse features five bedrooms and four bathrooms, has an estimated market value of $800,360, and has been assessed at $80,360. In 2013, the couple paid $14,361 in property taxes on the townhouse and on Feb. 14, 2014 paid $7,850 in the first installment on this year’s tax.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Public Schools said they are aware of the FBI raid on Concept campuses. Joel Hood said CPS is “monitoring the situation closely,” while officials with Concept declined comment. According to news reports, the Cleveland office of the FBI is leading the investigation. It is part of an ongoing white-collar crime matter, according to the FBI office in Cleveland, but no other information was given to the Crusader at press time.
Officials at the Ohio Department of Education said they were contacted by the owner of Concept, who said the investigation involves how federal grant money is being spent on E-rate technology grants. Jenkins’ proposed school will focus on the academic disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The Crusader spoke with Ald. Howard Brookins at the June 25 council meeting regarding Jenkins’ moral character and personal finances as it relates to his ability to run a charter school. Brookins has pushed for the school in his ward and said he is a staunch supporter of Jenkins. He said he was unaware of the tax and foreclosure filings against Jenkins, but said it did not change his opinion on the project itself, or Jenkins ability to lead. He did however say he found the FBI raid of Concept “disturbing.”
“No one has questioned the ability of that school and the educators to educate kids. There was a lot of research done by Pastor Jenkins and myself as they look for a concept to get the Legacy Project off the ground,” Brookins said.
But the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has serious concerns about both Jenkins and Concept. Jackson Potter of CTU said Jenkins judgment is clouded because he stands to make a half million dollars in leasing fees in the first year alone in the deal with Concept. He added anytime there is an FBI investigation people should be concerned.
“Concept has a tendency to stretch the limits of what would be considered ethical or proper,” Potter said. “Rev. Jenkins should have known full well the background of this group before he subjected countless children in the community to these egregious behaviors. CPS’s own criteria for determining whether or not to support a charter would make these guys primary candidates for releasing their support from the operator.”
Brookins said he will fight CTU and any other entity that tries to stop the Legacy Project because it is important to the community.
“It would be devastating to my community,” Brookins said. “This is bigger than just the Concept charter school. It also has to do with medical facilities, restaurants, worship service, theatre…it’s a 250,000 sq. ft. development and this is one of the lynchpins to that development, which means hundreds of jobs to my community. I would do anything I can to fight against any temporary stoppage of this project.”
Brookins added he is not concerned about the foreclosure suits or federal tax liens. He said there are many people with tax problems but that does not mean they cannot be good leaders.
Potter said Concept has a “checkered” past when it comes to hiring from the communities they serve. He said they bring in people from overseas on an H-1B travel visa to work in the schools. A foreign national who is in the United States on H-1B visa status with an employer is permitted to work with that employer and remain in the United States for the length of period of his or her approved status.
“They bring in people from their network that are not necessarily qualified to teach in the positions for which they are hired,” Potter claimed. “So we don’t think in a historic community in the Black-belt of Chicago that this is an appropriate match based on their record of abuse and failure to fulfill promises along these lines.”
CTU has said they are planning to go to the Board of Education and ask them to suspend or revoke the charter license for Concept in light of the FBI investigation. The Crusader asked Mayor Emanuel if he was concerned about the raid and CTU’s plan.
“This is something that will be handled by the CPS board,” said Emanuel before abruptly leaving his press conference. The link between Jenkins and Emanuel is solid. Jenkins did the invocation at Emanuel’s swearing in ceremony in 2011. Emanuel also appointed Jenkins to the City Colleges of Chicago Board and Jenkins is a board member of the private group New Schools for Chicago, which helps fund new charter schools.
Attempts to reach Jenkins at his home and office for comment were unsuccessful.
About Obnoxious
No comments