Director: Quinn anti-violence program mostly sound

CHICAGO (AP) — The former agency head overseeing Gov. Pat Quinn’s troubled anti-violence program gave state lawmakers a contrasting picture Wednesday, saying the 2010 initiative largely worked, creating jobs and opportunities during a violent time for the Chicago area.

Former Illinois Violence Prevention Authority Executive Director Barbara Shaw spoke publicly for the first time about the now-defunct program, spending hours detailing how it was run, while the GOP seized on 2010 emails from Quinn’s former chief of staff released to the commission mentioning the program in the context of the 2010 election. Questions over the program have dogged Quinn’s current re-election bid against Republican Bruce Rauner.