Fifth District state Senator Annazette Collins’ loss may be Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins’ gain.

Residency issues plaguing Collins have caused top Democratic leaders, including Secretary of State Jesse White, to jump ship and throw support behind Van Pelt-Watkins who is challenging Collins in the March 2012 Democratic Primary election. Van Pelt-Watkins also ran unsuccessful in last year’s mayoral race, where she garnered less than two percent of the vote.

Collins is seeking to retain her seat since being appointed in March 2011 to replace former state Sen. Rickey Hendon. Hendon abruptly resigned office in February after serving the district since 1993. White, the 27th Ward’s Democratic committeeman, nominated Collins to replace Hendon last year.

Public records listed on the Cook County Assessor’s website shows that Collins has received a homeowner’s exemption on a Hyde Park condo since 2006, the furthest back that online records go. The condo is located at 6127 S. Woodlawn Ave., well outside Collins’ West Side district.

A homeowner’s exemption is levied on property for which individuals claim as their principal place of residence. Voting and campaign records list a Warren Boulevard address for Collins. The exemption, Collins says, was given in error.

Collins said she has owned several investment properties over the years, including the Woodlawn address, which is now in foreclosure. She bought the property 13 years ago before she ran as a state representative for the 10th District in 2000.

At that time Collins said the homeowner’s exemption was given automatically for the Woodlawn address. An April 2011 Fox Chicago News report said that Collins received $2,300 in property tax breaks for living in the condo. Collins says she has since repaid the money to the Assessor’s office.

That is of little consolation for White, who championed Collins to replace Hendon as state senator, a decision he now regrets. Collins’ residency issues did not surface during the state senate selection process.

“I’m not happy with my current senator,” said White, who has been the top black vote-getter for any statewide office. “It is obvious she does not live in the district.”

That revelation was discovered in a foreclosure proceeding by the condo association back in the spring. Collins admitted in court that she lived at the Woodlawn address, White said, adding that Collins took an FHA loan in 2008. To receive a FHA loan, the property must be owner-occupied.

The condo went into foreclosure two years later, according public records website CheckIllinois. White added this is not the first piece of property Collins owns that went into foreclosure. A house in the 2000 block of North Honore Street is also up for foreclosure.

“I’ve known her for years,” White said, “and if I had known then what I know now, I would not have supported her for that position.”

Collins has made other missteps that eroded White’s support. He raised concerns about legislative scholarships to the state’s university and college systems that a then-state-Rep. Collins awarded to students. White contends some scholarships were given to students who live outside of the district.

White reviewed 14 scholarships Collins doled out, and found that 13 were outside of the district. Eight students, he added, lived on West Walnut Street in the 2900 block, 3500 block and 3400 block. Some of students live in Naperville, Bolingbrook and River Grove, White said.

“Have you ever heard of eight individuals going to college in a three block area on one street?” White asked. “Something is happening with this young lady that I’m not happy with. That’s why I’m supporting Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins for those reasons and more.”

Van Pelt-Watkins said she is grateful for White’s support, but she added she is not surprised by it.

“We deserve good representation that is not distracted,” said Van Pelt-Watkins, who unsuccessfully vied to replace Hendon as well before Collins eventually nabbed the seat. “We deserve representation where people actually live in this district, not live somewhere else. It is clear that her heart and mind has not been here.”

Van Pelt-Watkins has sent a letter to Senate President John Cullerton seeking an investigation into Collins’ residency issue, but hasn’t heard from Cullerton. According to state campaign disclosure records, Cullerton’s campaign fund donated $5,000 to Collins’ campaign fund on Dec. 12.

In 2005 another state politician faced similar residency issues. Former state Rep. Patricia Bailey was removed from office after she was found living outside the 6th Representative District on the city’s south side.

However, Collins balked at the idea that she doesn’t live in the district. She said she has lived at 2159 W. Warren for the last three years. She contends that efforts to thwart her campaign on a residency snafu are mere political hay.

Collins noted that every time she has run for office she has been challenged on residency, an issue she has always prevailed on. And on the scholarships, Collins said students signed an affidavit indicating that they lived in the district.

Collins expressed disappointment that White, whom she has worked with for years, didn’t come to her with his concerns. But Collins insists that White knows where she lives.

“Everything he is saying is bogus and that is very disappointing,” Collins said of White.

Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) is among the growing chorus backing Van Pelt-Watkins. Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) and former state comptroller Dawn Clark Netsche are also supporting Van Pelt-Watkins.

Fioretti supported Van Pelt-Watkins in the selection process to replace Hendon. He thought then, as he does now, that Van Pelt-Watkins would make a good leader.

“Her integrity is beyond reproach,” Fioretti said. “She will roll her sleeves up and research the issues and make the right decisions for all the people. She won’t be beholden to the special interests that control Springfield right now.”

He too expressed concern regarding Collins’ residency issue. And while he called it “troubling,” it was not a determining factor in supporting Van Pelt-Watkins.

“I am not sure what the current senator has done in either her representative capacity or in her senatorial capacity to bring jobs, to improve education or stem the flow of violence that we have in our community,” Fioretti said.

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By Joey from 5th District
Posted: 02/22/2012 3:30 PM

Anyone who saw Annazette Collins on WGN news on Tuesday morning would have recognized that it was not the best performance of her life. She was sweating out when the anchor called her out on property tax exemption issue. As she is explaining herself, you can see Senator Collins wiping sweat off of her face as she is trying to answer that one. I think Blagojevich is lot better than her and he should announce that he\\\\\\\'ll sue White for mentioning his name with hers!

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By Anon from Near west side
Posted: 02/22/2012 7:59 AM

Beverly, your rant is incoherent. Collins is a liar by taking credit for things she has not done. For example, her campaign phone 'surveys' talk about her involvement in the Pete's grocery store. She had no hand in the matter. The calls also talked about her activities in the community, again, a no show. The calls also claimed the neighborhood was a food "dessert" instead of "desert". Talk about needing fact checking.

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By beverly from west side
Posted: 02/21/2012 7:07 PM

woman is a nut case, fact is most all her fans are from her church, Secretary of State White reaalllly should do alot of fact checking outside of looking at what her inside church goers think and rave about her. Mayoral Campain was over 80% funded by her pastor, good Google it folk. Carol Mosley Braun called it quite accurate when Watkins just (Just) got out of her Mayoral Run \"CULT\". And her success stroy is all endorsed by its members and target where everyone from her church works. No Way

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By beverly from west side
Posted: 02/21/2012 7:05 PM

woman is a nut case, fact is all her fans are from her church, Secretary of State White reaalllly should do alot of fact checking outside of looking at what her inside church goers think and rave about her. Carol Mosley Braun called it quite accurate when Watkins just (Just) got out of her Mayoral Run "CULT". And her success stroy is all endorsed by its members and target where everyone from her church works.

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By Samantha from Garfield Park
Posted: 01/11/2012 10:11 AM

I think that it is a real shame that Van Pelt-Watkins has decided to run such a negative campaign. This article is one-sided and filled with lies.

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By Details, Details
Posted: 01/06/2012 11:18 AM

The statements in this article, if true, are pretty serious. My concern is that this article suffers from poor writing or poor fact checking. “ . . . said White, who has been the top black vote-getter for any statewide office.” Secretary of State White was the top state-wide vote getter in 2010 without regard to race. He received more than 2.5 million votes. AG Lisa Madigan got over 2.3 million votes, but no other candidate for governor, senator, or other statewide office broke 2million.

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By Matt Wos from Dearborn Park
Posted: 01/05/2012 4:56 PM

"She will not be beholden to the special interests that control Springfield right now," Fioretti said. As opposed to the special interests that control the Chicago City Council? (Or the ultimate special special interest-Bob Fioretti himself, who ran [or was running] for Mayor, Congress, and Alderman all in one year. Or did I get the order wrong?)