McKee Denies Wrongdoing in Award
of ILO Group Contract

The governor says Attorney General Peter Neronha should have recused himself

File photo. Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee said he has done nothing wrong.
File photo. Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee said he has done nothing wrong.
Ian Donnis/The Public’s Radio
Share
File photo. Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee said he has done nothing wrong.
File photo. Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee said he has done nothing wrong.
Ian Donnis/The Public’s Radio
McKee Denies Wrongdoing in Award
of ILO Group Contract
Copy

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee on Oct. 31 denied any wrongdoing in connection with the award of a lucrative contract to a politically connected firm, and he said Attorney General Peter Neronha should have recused himself from the case because of his support for McKee rival Helena Foulkes.

McKee spoke with reporters a day after Neronha released a host of documents about his investigation into the $5.2 million contract awarded to a new firm, the ILO Group, to help Rhode Island schools reopen amid the pandemic.

Neronha said he found that McKee directed the contract to the ILO Group in a manipulated process, although he said the evidence was too cloudy and contradictory to justify a criminal charge.

Speaking with reporters during a Statehouse news conference, McKee said the absence of charges — from federal investigators as well as Neronha — underscores that he did nothing wrong.

The governor said the attorney general “made unfounded and incorrect allegations that I violated procurement laws, even though he fully admits that it is outside the scope of his office. Let me set the record straight. My office followed procurement law at that time.”

This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.

Mayor Brett Smiley discusses how his administration is tackling the city’s biggest issues — from the housing shortage and SNAP crisis to community trust in police — as he looks ahead to a 2026 re-election bid
USDA says it will not send out food stamp money in November due to the federal shutdown. Now, Rhode Islanders are grappling with how to make ends meet
Federal cuts to Medicaid could leave up to 50,000 Rhode Islanders without health insurance, straining the state’s already limited primary care system and putting communities like Central Falls - where half the population relies on Medicaid - at particular risk, according to Dr. Michael Fine
Gov. Dan McKee says the state will shift $6 million from other federal programs to help feed Rhode Islanders as SNAP benefits run out — while Attorney General Peter Neronha joins a multistate lawsuit against the Trump administration to restore funding
The R/V Endeavor, which spent the last 49 years operating out of URI’s Narragansett Bay Campus, was retired last month. Possibly took a tour of the vessel before it’s decommissioned