Subpoenas from U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office arrived in August at five state agencies seeking copies of contracts and other financial records related to nearly 50 not-for-profit agencies and more than a dozen individuals.

An accompanying letter says the subpoenas are part of “an official criminal investigation,” although it does not say who or what may have been the subject of the investigation.

A number of the agencies said they received grants with the assistance of Chicago mayoral candidate and Democratic state Sen. Rickey Hendon, who is also assistant Senate majority leader. Several of the individuals have ties to Hendon, including his sister and her daughter, whose film and stage production organization received more than $1 million from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in 2007-08, some of which went to make a movie.

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