In last year’s federal budget, Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky introduced and then withdrew what appears to have been a multi-million dollar earmark for the Save-A-Life Foundation (SALF), a now-defunct nonprofit that claims to have provided first aid training for nearly two million students, many of them in the Chicago Public Schools.

Problem #1: Three years earlier, SALF had been the subject of a series of hard-hitting ABC7 Chicago investigative reports that raised serious questions about every aspect of the organization: its founder, its operations, and its funding.

Problem #2: The Chicago Public Schools can’t or won’t produce records that support SALF’s claims.

Problem #3: Rep. Schakowsky won’t answer easy questions like these:  What was the dollar amount of her intended earmark for SALF? Why was she funding a non-profit that years before had been the subject of four scorching ABC7 exposes? What’s her relationship with the charity’s founder/president Carol J. Spizzirri, a convicted shoplifter who obtained millions in federal and state funds over the years? Does Rep. Schakowsky think SALF should be investigated in order to determine if those millions were properly spend?

The Progressive Politician

Jan Schakowsky’s district is north of Chicago and includes Evanston, Skokie, and west to Des Plaines. She’s the Democrat’s Chief Deputy Whip in the House and serves on the Steering and Policy Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee, and chairs the House Select Committee on Intelligence’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. A member of the Democratic Progressive Caucus, she’s considered one of the most liberal members in Congress.

The Discredited Foundation

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In March 2000 the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) organization of Massachusetts held its 10 Year Anniversary GLSEN/Boston conference at Tufts University. This conference was fully supported by the Massachusetts Department of Education, the Safe Schools Program, the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, and some of the presenters even received federal money. During the 2000 conference, workshop leaders led a “youth only, ages 14-21″ session that offered lessons in “fisting” a dangerous sexual practice. During another workshop an activist asked 14 year-old students, “Spit or swallow?… Is it rude?” The unbelievable audio clip is posted here. Barack Obama’s “Safe Schools Czar” Kevin Jennings is the founder of GLSEN. He was paid $273,573.96 as its executive director in 2007. Jennings was the keynote speaker at the 2000 GLSEN conference.

Photo: This kit for fisting was distributed by Planned Parenthood at Fistgate II. (Mass News)

Unfortunately for GLSEN, undercover journalists with Mass Resistance recorded these outrageous sessions. The audio was later leaked to a local radio station. This created such an uproar that GLSEN leaders were forced to apologize for their disgusting behavior.

Thanks to Soros-linked Media Matters we now know that GLSEN director, and current Obama Safe Schools Czar, Kevin Jennings was confronted on the vile content discussed at the children’s conference.

“Like the Parents Rights Coalition and the Department of Education, GLSEN is also troubled by some of the content that came up during this workshop,” said Kevin Jennings, national executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

He said people who run workshops in the future will get clearer guidelines, though Jennings said the network’s annual conference at Tufts University should not be judged on the 30-student seminar “What They Didn’t Tell You About Queer Sex and Sexuality in Health Class.”

“We need to make our expectations and guidelines to outside facilitators much more clear,” said Jennings. “Because we are surprised and troubled by some of the accounts we’ve heard.”

But despite Media Matters’ claims, Kevin Jennings and his GLSEN organization did nothing to clean up their act. In fact in 2001 activists handed out “fisting kits” to the children and teachers who attended the GLSEN conference.

That’s correct. Fisting kits.

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