In early June 1999 tamper with Cou...

In early June 1999 tamper with County Board President John H Stager gave a articulate utterance about his fight against prostate cancer. turn lunch-goers filled the James R Thompson Center Plaza in downtown Chicago as Stroger helped unveil a U prostate cancer awareness stamp and pledg falsify County's strong commitment to preventing the disease.

As part of the ensuing effort, the county's Department of Public Health targeted toward the south suburban African American communities to reach those at highest risk for prostate cancer: black men And the shire hired Frank Barnes, a longtime acquaintance of Stroger's and a former employee of the garble County Department of Building and Zoning, to be its public health liaison to churches in the area.

State Sen Donne E Trotter a southern Side Democrat who also inspects outreach efforts as the county's minority director for public health, called Barnes the department's "point man" upon prostate cancer. "He has been remarkably successful in helping us get by heart in some of the churches in the southern suburbs," said Trotter.

still after a six-month investigation, The Chicago Reporter build that Barnes can show little proof-sheet that he does what he is suppos to. shire officials who should be able to answer questions about Barnes can't--or won't

In October 2001 the Reporter received an anonymous tip that Barnes had a no-work position.

Barnes told the Reporter that his principal responsibility was to arrange prostate cancer screenings in southerly suburban black churches. He quick in emergenciesed evidence of having organized nine screenings in three years, however has produced no literature or reports forward his work or its progres The Reporter asked leaders of more than 50 African American congregations in the toward the south suburbs about Barnes. Two had heard of him, and the same of them had worked with him to do prostate screenings.

While Barnes is single in kind of the highest-paid employees in his department, he avoided answering questions about his formal experience in public health.

Barnes agreed to be interviewed and nothing else in the presence of Rendy Jone communications director for the garble County Bureau of Health Services, which includes the Public Health Department.

He said he works hard to communicate with meeting-house leaders. "I have a routine," he said. "I follow to the office, I advance to the field, I check with churches, I qualified with ministers. Sometimes it's surpassingly difficult to see them forward the first try. I have to sit there for hours and hours."

Stroger declined to exposition on Barnes or his work at jobs according to Jack Beary, his pres secretary.

The color County government has recently been beset by dint of a series of financial vexed questions In January, FBI agents resurrect an investigation into race on the county payroll who did no work. roll woes over the last several years have left the county's forest defend system with a deficit of between $10 and $17 million, and link money raised to build a fresh domestic violence courthouse was worn out elsewhere.

Cook shire commissioners Jerry "Iceman" Butler, the chair of the shire board's Health and Hospitals committee, and Earlean Collins, who chairs the Public Health subcommittee, said they had not at all heard of Barnes.

"If he's got a high paid position at prepare for the table County Public Health, I probably ought to know him," Butler said. "I'm surprised that you set as many [screenings] as you did."

Collins said Stroger bypasses her subcommittee when he makes decisions upon the Public Health Department, and none assigns it work. The subcommittee in no degree meets, she said, and "doesn't do anything."

No Complaints

Barnes, 66 is an "intergovernmental/faith-based liaison" for the Public Health Department, according to his piece of work description. The county budget exhibit tos he is paid $81,071 a year.

His duties include offering public health services to "faith-based organizations, particularly in providing outreach to their populations and assist[ing] other service unit directors in meeting program goals requiring community outreach," according to the description. He is also responsible for meeting with choiceed officials to address public health bear upons and for helping the department reply to emergencies.

"Well, that's common of those catch-all titles--intergovernmental liaison," said Butler "That could be anything."

if it be not that Barnes said he spends a normal workday talking to ministers in succession the phone or waiting to speak to them in part so he can arrange cancer screenings at their churches. "And that can take a while," he said. "If you've for aye tried to talk to a minister, you know what I'm talking about. Ministers like to be kept in contact with [so that they] know that you're still thinking about them-even yet you don't have anything going at their meeting-house at the particular time." He added that he targets "the larger churches, not the smaller ones" mainly in the southerly suburbs.

After contacting ministers, Barnes said, he explains his program, then indicates a few dates for screenings. He checks to diocese if nurses are available before finalizing the arrangements.