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SPRINGFIELD Republican lawmakers say theyre pleased to see a federal probe of Gov. Pat Quinns controversial anti-violence program.

State officials confirmed Thursday that the Justice Department has requested information about the Democratic governors Neighborhood Recovery Initiative in response to claims of abuse and corruption.

People want to know their tax dollars are being spent right, said state Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill. Thats from a policy standpoint. If theres any criminal activity, we want to root that out, too.

The program was set up to combat crime in Chicagos most dangerous neighborhoods, but it came under scrutiny after Auditor General William Holland slammed the program for mismanagement of its funds.

A March report detailed some of the programs failings and described the effort as hastily implemented. Recently, claims have circulated that the program was set up to benefit Quinns political allies.

Shortly after that report was issued, Reis joined with several Republican lawmakers to call for a federal investigation of the program.

Im happy that its moving forward, because we felt from the beginning that this wasnt right, he said.

State Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, was part of that effort, co-signing a March 6 letter to the U.S. Attorney's office in Springfield and Chicago.

Here weve seen that there are massive gaps of information and I think its absolutely appropriate that the U.S. government step in and take a look, Barickman said. I think the audit report shows evidence of a high number of questionable actions that warrants law enforcement action.

TJ.Fowler@lee.net /217-557-9650

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Republican lawmakers praise feds' investigation