OIG: Former EEC commissioner wrongly sent millions to Illinois consulting firm

An investigation by the inspector general has found the former leader of the Department of Early Education and Care unfairly chose a company to work with, IG Jeffrey S. Shapiro’s office said Wednesday.

Samantha Aigner-Treworgy worked with Illinois company Aim and Arrow in her role as Chicago’s Chief of Early Learning before heading the EEC for the Bay State and sending the firm over $2.1 million for strategic planning purposes.

The OIG found that EEC’s procurement of the Aim and Arrow contract violated 801 CMR 21.06, Competitive Procurement Standards, in multiple capacities, and that Aigner-Treworgy conducted the procurement process with “clear preconceived intent” of only selecting them.

The OIG found that EEC did not advertise its RFP for strategic planning services sufficiently and engaged in exclusive communications outside of the RFP process.

“Procurement rules exist to ensure that state contracts are awarded fairly and that all qualified vendors have a fair chance to bid. In this instance, EEC’s process for procuring strategic planning services through a request for proposals (RFP) was not competitive, and there was clear favoritism,” IG Shapiro said in a statement.

Aigner-Treworgy resigned amid the state’s investigation in 2022 after serving as EEC Commissioner since August 2019.

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In 2022, 25 Investigates obtained documents that indicated Aim and Arrow received $2 million from the EEC over two years.

An online review of public records in both Massachusetts and Illinois revealed Commissioner Aigner-Treworgy worked in Illinois education agencies that also contracted with Aim and Arrow founder, M. Elizabeth Cole, before coming to Massachusetts in 2019.

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Investigative reporter and anchor Kerry Kavanaugh examined state data bases and found between November 2019 and November 2021, EEC paid Aim and Arrow $1,804,053 for “Consultant services for departments.” The bulk of the payments - $981,650 – occurred in 2020 when most state agencies and daycares were closed for the pandemic. The first payment to Aim and Arrow was in the amount $329,300.80 in November 2019, state records show. That payment, however, shows up in Fiscal Year 2020 records.

According to its website , Aim and Arrow “builds the capabilities of leaders, teams, organizations, and systems to achieve greater impact.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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