Line Between Medicine, Politics Blurred at Chicago Hospital - ProPublica

In 2013, Roseland Community Hospital was looking for a caller leader. Its erstwhile main enforcement had alienated the Illinois politician and different lawmakers amid a messy combat implicit the hospital’s funding.

The tiny nonprofit installation connected Chicago’s South Side turned to Tim Egan, a longtime infirmary enforcement who had begun to marque a sanction for himself arsenic a governmental operative and fundraiser with an quality to navigate the insular circles of authorities and section government.

Egan ran for alderman of the North Side’s 43rd Ward successful 2007 and 2011, and helium has served arsenic the person of the Cook County Democratic Party’s 2nd Ward committee since 2016, during his clip arsenic caput of the hospital.

In his adjacent to 9 years arsenic Roseland’s president and main executive, Egan’s governmental activities and the hospital’s operations person go progressively entwined: infirmary concern awarded to friends and associates, employees and contractors making donations to Egan’s run funds, astatine slightest 1 fundraiser utilizing the hospital’s sanction connected invitations.

In the runup to the November elections, Egan appeared successful a commercial for Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s reelection campaign that, according to experts successful nonprofit governance, blurred the lines adjacent further betwixt Egan’s stewardship of Roseland and his efforts successful authorities and section politics.

“Susana is simply a elephantine for redeeming the New Roseland Community Hospital,” Egan declared successful the commercialized for Mendoza, a Democrat and longtime state who past period won a 2nd afloat term. As the state’s main fiscal officer, Mendoza pays the state’s bills, including reimbursing hospitals similar Roseland for patients connected Medicare and Medicaid.

Egan this twelvemonth besides co-hosted a Mendoza fundraiser astatine which tickets outgo arsenic overmuch arsenic $5,000.

Tim Egan, president and CEO of Roseland Community Hospital Credit: Courtesy of WTTW/Chicago PBS

Samuel Brunson, a prof and subordinate dean astatine Loyola University Chicago, said Egan’s quality successful the commercialized crossed a line. IRS rules barroom nonprofits from participating successful governmental campaigns.

“That looks to maine similar a beauteous flagrant usurpation of this rule,” said Brunson, who specializes successful nonprofits and the taxation codification and viewed the Mendoza commercialized astatine the petition of WTTW/Chicago PBS and ProPublica.

In the commercial, Egan is identified arsenic Roseland’s president and CEO and stands successful what appears to beryllium a infirmary mounting successful beforehand of 2 radical dressed successful laboratory coats.

“It’s not him saying the infirmary endorses her, but it’s him saying, ‘I americium the CEO of the hospital, I’m speaking successful my capableness arsenic CEO … astir what she did for the infirmary itself,’” Brunson said.

A spokesperson for Egan and the infirmary said successful a connection that Egan’s governmental enactment is not a concealed to Roseland’s leadership, and it has lone helped the infirmary execute its goals successful the community. The spokesperson did not code the question of whether Egan’s quality violated national nonprofit rules.

“Mr. Egan has an fantabulous narration with his committee and keeps committee members afloat apprised of each of Roseland’s large contracts and concern developments, often times to question their proposal and approval,” said the spokesperson, Dennis Culloton. “Similarly, the committee members are updated connected his efforts to found beardown authorities contacts to enactment the ngo of Roseland Community Hospital.”

Rupert Evans, a wellness attraction advisor and the seat of Roseland’s committee of directors, said successful a connection that Egan has done a “tremendous job” successful his relation starring Roseland and that the infirmary committee is “fully aware” of his governmental activities.

“None of his activities extracurricular of his superior duties origin immoderate struggle of involvement for the infirmary and person been afloat disclosed,” said Evans, a erstwhile seat of the wellness medication programme astatine Governors State University.

The astir superior punishment for violating rules barring governmental enactment by nonprofits is termination of an organization’s nonprofit presumption — though that authorisation is seldom levied for this benignant of activity.

The Treasury Department, which oversees the IRS, declined to remark connected the commercial.

A spokesperson for the Mendoza run said the commercialized refers to the comptroller’s enactment getting Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements to cash-strapped hospitals, including to Roseland.

“Roseland Hospital plays a captious relation successful providing healthcare to the underserved communities connected Chicago’s South Side, truthful we asked Tim Egan to attest to the Comptroller’s enactment successful our video spot which ran this fall,” run manager Jack Londrigan said successful a statement. “We would person ne'er asked Tim to bash thing we thought would airs a occupation for him oregon the infirmary arsenic we judge his efforts to prevention and support the lives of Roseland residents are of the utmost importance.”

Longtime infirmary advisor James Orlikoff, a Chicago-based advisor connected governance and enactment issues for the American Hospital Association, said Egan’s quality successful the run commercialized “probably pushed the boundary, if not crossed it.” But helium besides says fixed the “unprecedented fiscal pressure” hospitals are facing, having an experienced governmental relation astatine the helm could beryllium beneficial.

Egan’s quality successful the commercialized follows a trying play for Roseland. ProPublica and WTTW/Chicago PBS reported successful October that national inspectors recovered that, since January 2020, errors oregon neglect had contributed to the deaths of astatine slightest 7 Roseland patients, including 1 who was pregnant.

Those incidents prompted national watchdogs to admonish the infirmary and endanger sanctions unless the installation took corrective measures. Federal records bespeak that Roseland leaders fixed those contiguous information violations. A spokesperson for the infirmary and a apical authoritative determination person said that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to galore of Roseland’s challenges.

A 2021 national whistleblower suit alleges different problems astatine Roseland. Unsealed this period successful national territory tribunal successful Chicago, the ailment claims that Roseland was complicit successful a strategy by a doc who worked astatine the infirmary to measure for millions of dollars successful unnecessary oregon fraudulent COVID-19-related aesculapian care.

Culloton, the spokesperson for Roseland and Egan, said neither Egan nor the infirmary had been progressive successful immoderate improper conduct. The suit is pending.

The run commercialized for Mendoza wasn’t the archetypal clip Egan has utilized his presumption arsenic portion of Mendoza’s campaign. An invitation to a $250-to-$5,000-a-ticket fundraiser successful May astatine the swanky 95th-floor Signature Room of what was erstwhile the John Hancock Center was billed arsenic an accidental to articulation “Roseland Community Hospital President Tim Egan for a healthcare heroes reception successful enactment of Susana Mendoza.”

“That looks a full batch similar an endorsement, and it looks similar an impermissible endorsement,” Brunson said.

Neither Culloton nor Mendoza’s run responded to questions astir the run event.

For a infirmary enforcement similar Egan, specified a determination into authorities whitethorn person pitfalls, particularly if their preferred campaigner loses an election. “Now,” said Brunson, “they’re connected the outs with whoever got the office.”

The committee has signed disconnected connected astatine slightest 1 determination Egan has made that tied the infirmary to a person and governmental associate. In October 2020, the board’s enforcement committee voted unanimously to transportation the absorption of Roseland’s exigency section from the aesculapian radical that had agelong held the declaration to a wholly owned subsidiary company.

That December, that subsidiary of Roseland signed a three-year, $10,000-a-month consulting declaration with P2C Healthcare Consulting, a institution that had registered with the authorities conscionable a period earlier. P2C’s manager, Leonard Cannata, has nary evident acquisition successful wellness attraction management.

Cannata is simply a lawyer and governmental advisor who has worked for astatine slightest 1 of Egan’s governmental campaigns. Several photos posted to the Roseland CEO’s idiosyncratic societal media accounts amusement the 2 smiling arsenic Cannata displays vacation gifts fixed by Egan. In a 2011 endorsement of Cannata’s skills connected LinkedIn, Egan described him arsenic a “detail oriented and determined” professional. “Len is destined to win successful life,” helium added.

Watch the WTTW/Chicago PBS Report

Egan’s spokesperson didn’t reply questions astir the governmental narration betwixt Cannata and Egan, but said the declaration with P2C “significantly lowered the costs to Roseland, including little security costs. This statement was arrived astatine successful collaboration with and with the support of the Roseland Community Hospital Board.”

P2C, according to its contract, is charged with doc recruitment, show metrics, and concern program implementation. In an interior infirmary email obtained by WTTW/Chicago PBS and ProPublica, a infirmary enforcement said P2C was the absorption radical for the exigency department.

Cannata did not respond to requests for comment. Evans, the committee chair, did not respond to questions astir the contract.

In different instance, Roseland signed a declaration with the institution American Medical Lab to tally the hospital’s in-house laboratory for 5 years astatine an yearly outgo of $1.5 million. That woody was signed successful February 2021. That fall, the institution donated $5,000 to 1 of Egan’s governmental funds.

The president of the laboratory institution did not respond to a petition for comment.

Culloton besides did not respond to questions astir the American Medical Lab contract.

Roseland serves a majority-Black assemblage connected Chicago’s acold South Side that has agelong faced segregation and disinvestment. According to the hospital, 86% of the radical surviving successful its work country are Black. In 2020, astir 92% of the radical receiving attraction astatine the infirmary relied connected Medicare oregon Medicaid.

But connected astatine slightest 2 occasions during the autumn of 2020, portion the infirmary provided on-site coronavirus testing, it besides offered clinics successful mostly achromatic Chicago neighborhoods wherever residents had mean incomes acold higher than those of the residents that Roseland is expected to serve. In September and December of 2020, Roseland offered COVID-19 investigating successful the North Side’s 2nd Ward, wherever Egan works arsenic the Democratic committeeperson. One of the investigating events was held successful the city’s upscale Gold Coast neighborhood. It’s not wide however galore specified events Roseland provided.

The Roseland and Egan spokesperson said the investigating clinics served a request successful the community.

“Roseland Community Hospital,” the spokesperson said successful the statement, “makes nary apologies for its effort to assistance the City of Chicago Department of Public Health and different nationalist wellness authorities successful making COVID-19 investigating disposable to arsenic galore radical arsenic possible.”

Meanwhile, Egan’s governmental activities person received contributions from radical and businesses associated with some Roseland and his erstwhile leader Norwegian American Hospital, which is present known arsenic Humboldt Park Health.

Between Egan’s archetypal tally for alderman successful 2007 and this year, governmental funds that helium chairs person received astir $100,000 successful donations, loans and in-kind contributions from infirmary unit and leadership, committee members for some hospitals and their respective charitable foundations, and radical and businesses who person done enactment for the hospitals.

Among those donors is Dr. Tunji Ladipo, erstwhile manager of Roseland’s exigency department. Ladipo, who was listed arsenic a subordinate of Roseland’s committee of directors successful its astir caller disposable taxation filing, donated $14,000 to Egan’s governmental committees betwixt 2016 and July 2022.

Ladipo did not respond to requests for comment.

Enrique Lopez, different of Egan’s donors and governmental allies, has prepared infirmary taxation returns and has audited its fiscal statements. Lopez and his accounting steadfast person fixed much than $7,000 successful donations and in-kind contributions to Egan’s assorted governmental funds; Lopez is treasurer of 1 of those funds.

Angel Chatterton, a elder accounting teacher astatine the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said those kinds of governmental and fiscal ties could marque extracurricular observers question whether the audits conducted by Lopez’s steadfast were swayed by “undue influence” from infirmary leadership.

“Auditors not lone request to beryllium objective, they request to beryllium perceived arsenic nonsubjective arsenic well,” Chatterton said. “That’s astatine the bosom of the credibility of our profession.”

She added that portion the statement whitethorn beryllium wholly aboveboard, “when you’re dealing with immoderate benignant of governmental concern similar this, I would accidental further safeguards request to beryllium enactment into play.”

Culloton, the Egan spokesperson, defended the usage of Lopez’s firm, saying the steadfast was brought successful aft the infirmary had not performed an audit oregon filed immoderate cardinal documents for adjacent to 20 years.

Egan “is grateful for the fantabulous enactment of the hospital’s auditor Mr. Enrique Lopez who holds his steadfast up to the highest standards of professionalism,” Culloton said. “Mr. Egan complies with Roseland Community Hospital Board policies and procedures including those addressing disclosure and imaginable conflicts of interest.”

Lopez did not respond to a petition for comment.