CHICAGO – What a difference seven years make. In the summer of 2008, then-Vice Chairman of the Illinois Democrat Party Constance Howard was featured at a gathering of Illinois Democrats at the Democratic National Convention in Denver Colorado – the same day Illinois' Senator Barack Obama accepted the party's nomination for president.
This week, former State Rep. Howard – who resigned two years ago when the feds made their charges known – was sentenced to three months in prison for defrauding scholarship funds specifically for black students. The Chicago Democrat pleaded guilty in July 2013 to soliciting $76,700 for scholarships through a charity golf outing and then pocketing about $28,000 for herself.
After serving three months in prison, Rep. Howard will then be assigned to home confinement for an additional three months. She'll be supervised by the courts for a total of two years.
She will also be forced to pay $16,000 to the Chicago Urban League and $12,000 to the Black United Fund.
