Public commenter says DeKalb’s $100,000 ARPA payment tied to Project Hope lacks state charity registration

DeKalb — During public participation at the March 24 DeKalb City Council meeting, a resident raised questions about a $100,000 American Rescue Plan Act payment the city authorized in January 2023 and the identity and registration status of the recipient organization.

Mr. Charbot (identified on the meeting roster as a public commenter) told the council that the January 2023 ordinance authorized “distribution of American Rescue Plan Act 2021 funds to New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in the amount of $100,000 from fund 110,” but that city records later showed the funds were changed to an entity named Project Hope. He said the ordinance text named the church, not “Project Hope Inc.,” and that Project Hope does not appear in the Illinois Attorney General’s charitable database.

“Details and names are important,” Mr. Charbot said on the record. He told council members the Promise Community Center project had not begun construction and that minutes from a November 28, 2022 council meeting stated the community center would be completed within three years — a timeline that would place completion in November 2025.

Mr. Charbot urged the council to “trust, but verify,” and said the city did not appear to have verified Project Hope’s registration with the state before disbursing ARPA funds. He also provided the Illinois Attorney General’s public phone number as a resource for checking charity registration.

The council did not take action on the comment during the meeting; Mr. Charbot said he had emailed council members and had not received a reply. The city manager and other staff did not provide a detailed response on the record during the public-comment slot. The agenda item that authorized ARPA funds to New Hope Missionary Baptist Church was cited in the comment; the ordinance text and city accounting records should be consulted for the official payee and any amendment recorded by the city.

What was said on the record is limited to the public comment: the ordinance referenced New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, city documents later showed Project Hope as the recipient, and the commenter reported that Project Hope is not listed in the Illinois Attorney General’s charitable organization database. The Illinois Attorney General’s office maintains a public registry for charities; Mr. Charbot named Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office as the agency to check.

Council members did not vote or direct staff on the record to investigate during the meeting. If the council or staff decide to follow up, the appropriate next steps would be to check the ordinance language, the city’s payment and contract records, and the Illinois Attorney General charitable organization registry for the named entities and any filings or registrations. The article does not assert wrongdoing; it reports the concerns voiced by a public commenter and notes records the council may consult to verify those concerns.