CNN Senior Investigative Producer Scott Zamost and Investigative Correspondent Drew Griffin reveal that money spent on a $54.5 million anti-violence program in Chicago paid for teens to hand out fliers, go to museums, yoga class and march in a parade with the governor. The program was announced the month before Quinn was elected.

Welcome to IRE's roundup of the weekend’s many enterprise stories from around the country. We’ll highlight the document digging, field work and data
analysis that made their way into centerpieces in print, broadcast and online from coast to coast.

Did we miss some? Let us know.  Send us an email at web@ire.org or tweet to @IRE_NICAR. We’ll add it to the list and spread the word.

Uncounted Casualties
The Austin American-Statesman
Scores of recent Texas war veterans have died of overdoses, suicide and vehicle crashes, a six-month Statesman investigation finds.

Majority of third-strike inmates ...

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The project was conducted in partnership with the nonprofit watchdog group GuideStar. Scripps developed a searchable database allowing readers to search performance of nonprofit groups in their state and county.

"An investigation by Haiti Grassroots Watch (HGW) in the Upper Turgeau region of Port-au-Prince discovered that about 100 “transitional shelters” ­­– often called “T-Shelters” –were donated to earthquake victims and built in places where, prior to the 2010 catastrophe, there were trees, bushes, or at the very least, no houses."

"Today, thanks to the donations of the 12-by-18 square meter wooden shacks, an illegal slum has grown, and the slopes above Port-au-Prince are even more denuded."

"Taxpayers in Colorado's largest school districts have spent more than $5.8 million during the past five years to subsidize the activities of local teachers unions.

The expenses resulted from years of agreements that require tax money to pay for everything from full-time union leaders' salaries and benefits to providing leave for some teachers to attend union conferences, a Denver Post analysis of the 20 largest school districts with collective-bargaining contracts found."

Two women who worked for the Department of Workforce Services conspired to create a list of undocumented immigrants who were receiving state assistance. Leah Carson was reluctant at first but was eventually convinced by her co-worker, Teresa Bassett to help create the list. Bassett's intent was to hand the list over to immigration officials. The women were caught and fired after the list was released. Carson stepped forward to work with investigators and admitted her mistakes. Bassett has been less willing to cooperate.

This report by The News Leader reveals that the Valley Community Services Board offered top dollar to a job candidate with no mental health experience. The board was facing a $1.8 million budget gap, though still wanted to pay $162,000 to hire an executive director. The proposed salary is just slightly less than "the head of the state's biggest community services board," as revealed through a Freedom of Information Act request. The VCSB chairwoman, who is married to Waynesboro Mayor Frank Lucente, recommended the new executive director. The community of Waynesboro also "contributes to Valley CSB's ... Read more ...

The Tennessean's three-part series on gangs reveals a growing problem across the state, particularly in suburbia and small towns. Law enforcement is overwhelmed and schools are ripe recruiting grounds in what's part of a national trend of gangs expanding their influence to areas outside the urban core to sell drugs. The newspaper gained access to gangs, taking readers inside their world, while providing the most complete public accounting to date of gang activity across the state. Included in the online presentation is an interactive map of known gangs that operate in each of Tennessee's 95 counties. Relying ... Read more ...

San Diego's First 5, a social service program focused on early childhood development, is under scrutiny for the disproportionate allocation of grant money to organizations linked to its advisers. "The county's First 5 Commission has awarded at least $67 million in the past three years to nonprofits and other groups that employ people who serve on its top advisory committee, according to an analysis by The San Diego Union-Tribune. The share of early childhood grants given to groups with ties to insiders has grown over the years, from 37.1 percent three years ago to 59.6 percent ... Read more ...

The last three decades have seen the Seminole Tribe of Florida ascend from extreme poverty to substantial wealth thanks to their lucrative Indian gaming endeavors. A South Florida Sun-Sentinel investigation found that, while this wealth is shared throughout the tribe, a "a handful of tribal leaders have especially benefited, steering millions of the tribe's money and business to themselves, their families and their friends." As a sovereign nation, the Seminole's are not obligated to open their records, but the Sun-Sentinel obtained thousands of pages of documents and conducted extensive interviews providing a rare glimpse inside the tribe.