The May Report: 4/22/2011: Bulletin: I’m still scratching my head: Did the Cleveland people do any due diligence? Tom Thornton, who was last seen for 30 minutes in the office on Friday, April 8th at the KBA in Kansas, is now reappearing as the general manager of alliances at the incubator known as Cleveland Clinic Innovations; Nancy Sullivan; the culture of corruption; the Heber, Landman, Yang, and Ballantine rules and much more…

Editor and publisher: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com, www.themayreport.com , 773-525-3944.

Assistant editor: Melanie Adcock, iPHONE: 312-259-0610, melanie_adcock@msn.com

If you missed an article, go here: www.tmronline.com/A55951/tmrarticles.nsf/vwFullNewsletter
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BizStarts Milwaukee’s Venture Track provides investors access to a rich deal flow of opportunities in Southeastern Wisconsin. We filter and polish high-growth, early stage companies and prepare them for equity investment. For more information, visit www.bizstartsmilwaukee.com/Investors.htm
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Going Mobile – Web Content 2011 Conference – June 6 & 7
Gleacher Executive Conference Center – Chicago

“Smart from the Start” – Content Strategy ½ Day Workshop by Brain Traffic
15 mobile-focused sessions over 2 full days

Early bird registration through 4/29. Save $100

www.webcontent2011.com/

“A power-packed crew of content strategists and technologists ready to talk the future of smart, targeted and user-benefiting mobile content experiences.” – DopeData

“In the world of online content, mobile is the new black! Join national content experts, marketers, strategists, developers and other industry thinkers June 6th and 7th in sunny Chicago at WebContent 2011.” – CMSWire
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Funding Feeding Frenzy May 4th Event Countdown

Register Here: fundingfeedingfrenzy.eventbrite.com/

The May 4th Funding Feeding Frenzy is rapidly approaching. The Funding
Feeding Frenzy is the place to be for CEOs and founders of fast growing
companies to get connected with a group of investors who just may be waiting
to sink their teeth into their winning idea.

For business owners raising capital, this is an opportunity that cannot be
missed. The Funding Feeding Frenzy is a unique opportunity to network with
those ready to recognize the potential their company holds. Attendance at
this event could be a tremendous step forward in securing the funding needed
to rapidly grow their business.

We’ve assembled some of the most innovative and exciting companies around to
present their businesses in an attempt to take their companies to new
heights of success. Here’s a sample of some of the companies that you’ll be
seeing on May 4th:

- City Soles
- Mega Pools Inc.
- Aridhio Technologies
- Brand BBQ Market
- Grouve.it
- many more…

To make this event even more powerful, we’ve put together a group of
panelists including (Angel Investors, Venture Capital, Private Equity and
other funding resources) with the hopes of helping great companies find the
funding they need for growth. Below are samples of some of the investors
that will be at the event.

- Origin Ventures – Steve Miller
- New World Ventures – Rishi Roongta
- Gentry Capital Partners – Glen Gottfried
- Red Rocket Partners – George Deeb
- Michael Gruber – Angel Investor
- Many more…

To Attend the Funding Feeding Frenzy, register at:

fundingfeedingfrenzy.eventbrite.com/

To present your company at the Funding Feeding Frenzy, register at:

fundingfeedingfrenzy-company.eventbrite.com/

If you would like more information about this unique experience, please
visit www.FundingFeedingFrenzy.com to learn more.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Scoop section:

– Tom Thornton will work for Cleveland Clinic Innovations
– Mistrust of Kansas Bioscience Authority may moot BKD’s forensic audit
– May 5, 2011: ScaleWell grant event
– Briefly noted, by Ron May
– Was the Thornton saga deja vu all over again? The story bears a strong resemblance to what happened to Clay Blair a few years ago
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BizStarts Milwaukee’s Venture Track is the source for high-growth investor-ready startups in Southeastern Wisconsin. Get connected now.

www.bizstartsmilwaukee.com/Investors.htm

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Happy to announce about upcoming “Social Media for Business” Training Workshop starting May 25. It is a 5 week, 100% online training that includes 8 Strategy sessions + 5 How-to sessions.

Some of top Social Media Authors and leading thought leaders would be training this workshop that includes:

* Dan Zarrella, Author of Facebook Marketing and Social Media Marketing book
* Ramon De Leon, Dominos Pizza
* Greg Jarboe, Author of YouTube & Video Marketing: An Hour a Day
* Hollis Thomases, Author of Twitter Marketing: An Hour a Day
* Simon Salt, Author of Social Location Marketing
* Barbara Rozgonyi, Founder Social Media Club Chicago
* Marshall Sponder, Author of Social Media Analytics
* Krista Neher, SXSW Speaker & Author Social Media Field Guide
* Eric Enge, Author of The Art of SEO

and many others…

Early Bird Special of $299 through April 25th. SEMPO members get additional 10% off.
Sign-up below:

instantetraining.go2cloud.org/aff_c?offer_id=1&aff_id=1004

After this workshop you will be able to…

* Learn to create a successful Social Media Marketing Strategy for your business
* Be able to put together an Online Reputation Management plan
* Able to build community on Facebook in a very scientific manner
* Have a clear communication strategy on Twitter
* Be able to leverage Location based marketing tools like Foursquare and others
* Become a power user LinkedIn expert
* Learn to integrate Video marketing as part of your marketing strategy
* Be able to understand the importance of Search Engine Optimization(SEO) for Social Media
* Learn the future of Social Media Marketing for Marketing ROI
* Hear case studies from leading experts and business owners

To sign up and learn more about this workshop please visit:

instantetraining.go2cloud.org/aff_c?offer_id=1&aff_id=1004

Thanks!
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4th Annual Guys Night Out for the Kids Benefitting the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center

Friday, May 6, 2010 5pm-9pm
Carmichaels Chicago Steak House, 1052 W. Monroe

About Guys Night Out
Don’t miss the chance to hang with “the guys” on Friday, May 6 at Carmichael’s for the 4th Annual Guys Night Out for the Kids. The event kicks-off with an outdoor Happy Hour in the courtyard followed by an indoor barbeque, games, golf pros, hand-rolled cigars and celebrity athlete appearances that last year included Zack Bowman, current Chicago Bear, Jerry Azumah, Kevin Butler, and Jim Thornton all alums of the Chicago Bears, and Ron Kittle and Dan Pasqua, Chicago White Sox alums. There will be a live auction featuring unique items such as a VIP package to a White Sox game including the opportunity to be on the field for batting practice.

All proceeds from the evening benefit the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center (CCAC) for abused children. Founded by Mayor Daley, the CCAC has served over 22,000 abused children and their families since opening its doors in August 2001.

Details
Date: Friday, May 6, 2011
Where: Carmichael’s Steak House, 1052 W. Monroe
Time: 5pm-6pm Outdoor Happy Hour in the Courtyard
6pm-9pm – Party inside!

Tickets: $100

To Purchase Tickets: www.chicagocac.org

Current Sponsors:
U.S. Cellular, Northern Trust Corporation, Illinois Medical District Commission, Sidley Austin LLP/Partners of Sidley Austin, Johnson & Krol, LLC, Loop Capital, CDW, Wirtz Beverage Group, Budweiser, Goose Island and Vienna Beef

For More Information: www.chicagocac.org; 312.492.3730 Melissa Siemasz
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The Scoop section:
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Tom Thornton will work for Cleveland Clinic Innovations

www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/print-edition/2011/04/22/tom-thornton-will-work-for-cleveland.html

Tom Thornton will work for Cleveland Clinic Innovations
Former KBA chief will work for startup incubator
Kansas City Business Journal – by David Twiddy, Staff Writer
Date: Friday, April 22, 2011, 5:00am CDT
Related:Technology, Legal Services
View photo gallery (2 photos)
Tom Thornton

Related News
National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility gets $40M for construction
Kansas Bioscience Authority CEO resigns
Mistrust of Kansas Bioscience Authority may moot BKD’s forensic audit
Answers on Kansas Bioscience Authority inquiry are scarce, but questions abound
Kansas Bioscience Authority picks BKD for forensic audit
Tom Thornton is taking his skills to Cleveland.

The former president and CEO of the Kansas Bioscience Authority, who stepped down April 15 amid a criminal investigation and forensic audit of the organization, has joined Cleveland Clinic Innovations as its general manager of alliances, said Brian Kolonick, spokesman for Cleveland Clinic Innovations.

Cleveland Clinic Innovations is a startup incubator for the world-famous medical center in Ohio. It provides mentoring, lab space and venture capital for startup companies attempting to commercialize the clinic’s research.

Thornton will be in charge of managing Cleveland Clinic Innovations’ affiliations and partnerships with other research groups, …

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B. G. 3 hours ago

Well done Brownback. Kansas has been the bioscience envy to other states and now one of those states has taken, and rightfully so, our best card. Thornton’s skills and expertise will no doubt make Ohio a better place to do business in the bioscience community, and Kansas will fall right back to where it was 4 years ago. This was nothing but dirty politics, that will result in a loss in business, entrepreneurs and research. A sad day for Kansas but a win for Cleveland. Good luck Thornton.
Flag Like ReplyReply
J E. 4 hours ago

Cleveland’s gain is our loss. But unlike Lebron and Cleveland, we’ll welcome Thornton back anytime. He made a real difference, helped put us on the national stage and every bio entrepreneur and researcher will miss him. We made so much progress, had so much optimism and now it’s all falling apart over raw politics.
Flag B. G. and 1 more liked this Like ReplyReply

Read more: Tom Thornton will work for Cleveland Clinic Innovations | Kansas City Business Journal
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Mistrust of Kansas Bioscience Authority may moot BKD’s forensic audit

www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/print-edition/2011/04/15/mistrust-of-kansas-bioscience.html

Mistrust of Kansas Bioscience Authority may moot BKD’s forensic audit
Kansas City Business Journal – by David Twiddy, Staff Writer
Date: Friday, April 15, 2011, 5:00am CDT
Related:Technology, Legal Services, Agriculture
View photo gallery (3 photos)
Kansas State Sen. Chris Steineger, D-Kansas City

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback

John Carlin

Related News
Tom Thornton will work for Cleveland Clinic Innovations
National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility gets $40M for construction
Kansas Bioscience Authority CEO resigns
Answers on Kansas Bioscience Authority inquiry are scarce, but questions abound
Kansas Bioscience Authority picks BKD for forensic audit
The Kansas Bioscience Authority has kicked off a forensic audit into alleged wrongdoings, but it’s unclear whether the review will settle anything.

Allegations of misuse of money and misconduct by KBA executives and employees have sparked a war of words and a high level of suspicion and distrust.

Antagonists suggest that the results will be in question because the KBA selected the auditor – BKD LLC, based in Springfield, Mo. KBA defenders say BKD is free to expand the audit’s scope to address any legitimate concerns.

“Audits are only as good as the records provided to the auditors by the …

Read more: Mistrust of Kansas Bioscience Authority may moot BKD’s forensic audit | Kansas City Business Journal
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Ron May here. There is a big controversy brewing over the fact that the firm that is conducting the forensic audit was chosen by the KBA board and the governor is not really on board with that firm. Also, another issue with the audit form BKD is that it fouled up another audit it did but more on that next week.
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May 5, 2011: ScaleWell grant event

FW: ScaleWell Grant 3 Announcement and Event

Melanie Adcock
to me, ronaldmay

show details 5:28 PM (25 minutes ago)

from Melanie Adcock
to ron@themayreport.com,
ronaldmay@aol.com
date Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 5:28 PM
subject FW: ScaleWell Grant 3 Announcement and Event
mailed-by msn.com

hide details 5:28 PM (25 minutes ago)

Ron, Seth Gershberg is someone I know. He helps run The Chicago Art Department and he is an avid iPhone Art creator. He’s very creative and tech savvy as well. It’s nice to see a person with an artistic bent using their creative mind to develop a business that makes them money! Way to go, Seth! -Melanie

Greetings,

We are happy to announce the recipient of ScaleWell Chicago grant 3: Green Submarine Pickles!

Pickles you say? Is there a business in producing pickles and is it scaleable? After meeting with Seth Gershberg of Green Submarine last weekend we can say the answer to both of those questions is a resounding yes. With the average american eating 4.3lbs of pickles per year the market is quite large. The efficient, healthy and green old-world-recipe Green Submarine uses puts it in a great position to capture a share of that market. Did we mention these are some of the best pickles we’ve ever tasted?

Check out Green Submarine on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/GreenSubmarinePickles

The Grant 3 award event will take place on Thursday May 5th. It’s an opportunity to hear more from Seth and Green Submarine, to meet the grant trustees and generally for the ScaleWell community to get to know each other. Here are the details:

Thursday, 5/5/2011
5:30PM – 7:30PM
State Restaurant & Cafe
935 W Webster Ave
In Lincoln Park

Please be sure to RSVP for the event on Facebook so that the venue knows how much space to reserve: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=220285197987830

Thanks for supporting scaleable businesses. Your enthusiasm and support for each other keeps this community alive and growing!

Sean Corbett, ScaleWell Grant 3 Trustees
ScaleWell.com
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* It is hard to know where to begin. So many stories, so little time. And now with the news on Tom Thornton’s whereabouts, I have to cut it short for today.

There are really three or four major themes that I need to discuss with you.

The big one is how as a technology community, the culture of corruption makes it harder for us to make our case for funding technology development and earning the trust and gaining the trust of the broader community.

One of the articles that I published about Tom Thornton had some interesting comments from readers in Kansas which essentially said, “Why are these scientists making so much money?”

Here is one of them:
+++++++++++++++++++
lawrenceguy40 (anonymous) replies…
These scientists are stealing from the hard working taxpayer. They are getting rich on the taxes YOU and I pay. It is time to stop all taxpayer funding of science. The free market can direct research far better than the liberals in Washington. If there is no demand there will be no supply.

“Rat hats” are among the products we are funding this thieving bunch to manufacture. What a joke and an expensive joke we can no longer afford!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

As I read these comments, the thought occurred to me that Tom Thornton’s real crime has been that by doing things down in Kansas “the Chicago way” he is fundamentally undermining his ability to sell the idea of economic development and investment in basic research, applied research or even technology commercialization. No one can doubt the ability of such dollars to create long term value and benefits for society as a whole — it is clearly not just money in the pockets of scientists — but the cronyism and the general mismanagement under someone like Tom Thornton is at the core of the problem. It is not just about Thornton. Substitute lots of names like Weinstein, the name Howerton, etc. Don’t just look at funds for VC firms but consider TIFs and other areas that can be a boondoggle subject to abuse.

The culture of corruption here in Chicago and Illinois or in Kansas undermines the ability to sell it (publicly funded investment and ED) to the taxpayers, be they of Illinois or of Kansas. The key issue is not the ability to sell “it” to the VCs in Wisconsin or Indiana.

Tom Thornton was being paid more than the governor of the state of Kansas so in all respects he was and is a public official. He has high visibility and could not possibly have seen himself as being tucked away in the bowels of some economic development organization. Besides, all of us who know him, know that his ego is far too big to be tucked away. So when Tom tells Wisconsin VCs that they can invest anywhere with the taxpayer money from Kansas and he says “Let me be very clear about this, there are no restrictions on where you invest the funds,” he is ostensibly talking to the VCs in Kansas, Indiana, Ohio or Illinois, but in the age of the internet, he is also talking to the taxpayers of Kansas and they are not happy about that.

When David Vranicar who has now been assigned to take Tom’s place, but who comes from the same culture of tell people what they want to hear with little or no accountability or transparency or frankly concern for the expenditure of the taxpayers’ money, goes out to lunch with VCs and HE picks up the check, what the heck is that?

I saw one comment in an article stating that John Carlin, the chairman of the KBA and the former governor of Kansas, said that he had been trying for many years to attract VCs to the state, but to no avail, what message does that send to the VCs themselves?

Is the message Carlin is sending: “We don’t think much of ourselves. Don’t feel obligated to invest in Kansas firms, just take our money and run”?

The same applies to Terry Howerton whom lest you forget, I have not forgotten. Neither has Roger Murphy who invested about $1MM in Howerton’s operation Desksurfer.com. Anyone with the time and the inclination to find out more can easily do so, but so far there are no takers on the board of the ITA. That will soon change.

Terry may have legitimate visionary aspirations for the tech community but by not having his own house in order, his credibility is fundamentally undermined. I am not knocking the Charter School or his work on that but his ability to do that is entirely by his own admission a result of his position at the ITA as the chairman.

The same applies to all sorts of other people and things. When ChicagoBooth venture capital expert and finance professor Steve Kaplan said at the midVentures LAUNCH event in September 2010 that Eric Lefkofsky is one of the true unheralded successful entrepreneurs of the last decade in the whole United States, I was astounded, largely by dint of knowing what I know about the Brad Keywell and Eric Lefkofsky story involving Starbelly and Ha-Lo. But that is ancient history, right? And Steve Kaplan sits on boards of a number of firms, so does Keywell. These guys have already been hailed as Caesar conquering Gaul.

How many people in Chicago high tech know the story of the firm Michigan & Oak which is generally kept very hush hush because it involves two well known professors, one at Kellogg and one at ChicagoBooth. The Kellogg professor being Mohan Sawhney and the ChicagoBooth professor being Steve Kaplan. The story also involved Russ Rosensweig and Rick Salvatore who were partners in the firm. The split with Sawhney by the other three was so acrimonious that there is a gag order surrounding it and I believe that Sawhney was the guy who got his comeupance for his over the top and frankly rapacious approach to the dot com boom ten years ago. He was rife with conflicts of interest and he was raking it in for referring his own students to divine interVentures, a firm that went bankrupt and is now being investigated by the SEC. (The holding company is divine spelled backwards, Enivid.). In those bankruptcy papers, Jude Sullivan of K&L Gates is explicitly mentioned. Thornton hired Jude to do work for the KBA.

The lessons of that era should still be with us.

The big lesson is let’s not get carried away. Getting funded is not the same thing as building a successful firm.

The ability to raise money, even lots of money from VCs, was often conflated with the ability to build a successful firm and worse yet, it was often conflated with actually having a successful firm.

Groupon is a phenom, no doubt about it. It is a once in a generation “happening.” But let’s not throw out all rational thought and reason because of it. Steve Kaplan would not have made the statement about Lefkofsky in my view had it not been for Groupon. It wasn’t Inner Workings or Echo Global Logistics or that Media firm that lead him to make that comment with an air of impunity.

Steve Kaplan like Tom Thornton like Terry Howerton like David Weinstein all muddied the waters. That is to some extent the problem I have found at UIC in the Office of Technology Management under Nancy Sullivan.

I won’t go into the details of what I have found out in today’s report, but the one consistent theme I have encountered is that of the fifteen or more people I have spoken to no one really wants to talk on the record or openly about what is going on. Why is that?

That is because the metrics for success of a tech transfer or commercialization operation are very soft. Number of start-ups, number of patents, number of disclosures, etc. The numbers are effectively arbitrary.

The university receives a great deal of money from various federal agencies and from private industry as well to conduct research and some of that research is supposed to be turned into commercialized technology. Research dollars flow largely on the basis of the merits of the research project proposed and the status of the principal investigators who are often the faculty members and not on any specific promises that there will be X patents or Y licenses coming out of it.

Should the commercializable technology being developed be licensed or should it form the basis for a start-up firm?

Some of these issues were addressed indirectly when Nancy Sullivan moderated the MIT-EF discussion at the March 15th meeting on open innovation. But much to my surprise, Nancy made no reference whatsoever to her own experience at the UIC OTM.

I did finally speak to Avijit Ghosh — I called him at home on a Sunday — the VP of Technology and I believe Economic Development at UIUC (to whom Nancy reported) who just left in March 2011 to be replaced by Lawrence Schook. My intention is to talk to Schook as well.

No one wants to discuss personalities and no one wants to talk about staff decisions.

But the big picture is this: Professors do research and are naturally somewhat leery of the “help” they receive from the Office of Technology Management. It is like most people’s reaction to “We’re from the government and we’re here to help.”

The key to the success of the process of commercialization is that the professors must trust the folks from the OTM and they must open up about what they think their best and most valuable work is. A professor might be thinking, “I don’t want these guys to steal what I have,” or “I don’t trust the university to give me a fair or good deal on what comes out of my research which I have toiled for years to do and dedicated my life to,” and other thoughts along those lines.

Although he is a bit smug about it because he is one of those people who has been anointed as a success before he has really built a successful business even if the technology itself is fascinating, Neil Kane knows this issue well from his days at Argonne National Labs.

I’ve also discussed this issue at various levels with David Gulley, Brenda Russell, Lanny Feder and Mary Dicig along the way.

The one thing an OTM operation does not want to do is scare off the professors and researchers with a condescending or imperious attitude.

So, the big picture is that the personalities in the OTM that interact with the researchers and the faculty are of paramount importance and quite frankly, big money is ultimately at stake and it’s taxpayer money. That’s the key link. In that arena, as in many others, people are the key to the money.

I tell people, don’t dismiss Nancy’s problems as just ones of personnel matters. Mary Dicig told me that in a university, there is a lot of grousing by employees. She told me that complaints to the officials are commonplace.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said that “There is properly no history; only biography.”

In this case, the people in the OTM are the key to the disclosures, the licenses, the patents, and the start-ups and the revenues.

Hence, it is not irrelevant that complaints to HR have routinely been ignored or swept under the carpet. And it is not a good answer, Dr. Avijit Ghosh, to say that such matters cannot be commented on. Remember that Governor Quinn appointed Abner Mikva to investigate admissions practices at the university. Well, there could be an investigation launched for OTM practices.

What I have found out is that Nancy Sullivan’s method for getting rid of people is not to fire them outright since that gets complicated and in an academic setting takes a long time, even as much as a year. The technique was not originated by Nancy Sullivan, but it has been perfected by her.

And that technique is to scare them off, to intimidate them, to undermine their confidence and their ambition in the department so that they leave the university or seek employment outside the university. And guess what? That approach has worked well for Nancy.

One of the most intriguing things I have found out is that Dr. Connie Clearly who was there for a long time and who David Gulley told me did a good job broke down and cried in the office on at least one occasion after Nancy criticized her. I have gotten confirmation on that story from a few sources.

The story I am still working to confirm is that when Nancy started, she supposedly told Connie Cleary that “I know how to hold a grudge.”

The reason for that comment by Nancy was that Connie, as I understand it, had been involved in the decision to take a pass on Nancy when she applied for an intern job at UIC’s OTM back in 2002 or 2003. Connie had felt that Nancy’s resume was light. BTW, that is what David Gulley told people about Nancy too.

Now, Gulley may have had a bit of a conflict here since the study that proposed higher salaries for the person in Nancy’s position was under Gulley’s auspices and my information is that David Gulley wanted the job for himself. But he was the interim director after Mary Dicig was forced out. And BTW, my information is that Nancy has said some very derisive things about Mary behind her back, but hey, that’s what friends are for. I suppose we can ask Darcy about her “Top 25 women in Chicago high tech” list. I haven’t told Mary about this backstabbing yet, but I doubt that she’ll be surprised by it. She was forced out of UIC after all.

David Gulley admitted to me that after 25 years with the university, he’s not making the $200K that Nancy Sullivan is being paid and that Mary Dicig was paid.

When Connie Cleary broke down and cried, it was David Gulley who stepped in to help her get a job at Rush which is where she works now.

Ironically, or perhaps not ironically at all, Nancy used to work for Tom Thornton, but to her credit, she saw through a lot of the nonsense under his reign and got out of there.

The most common response I have gotten from people in my UIC OTM investigation is non-denial denials. But while I am hearing the non-denial denial, I’m also hearing things like “I support what you are doing, keep it up and good luck.”

One person, Mike Isaac, who had a fairly low level administrative job at the UIC OTM, supposedly filed a complaint with the HR department in Urbana (which is where the OTM reports to) but no action was taken to my knowledge based on my investigation thus far. But on one occasion, Mike was chastised severely by Nancy for not taking his cell phone to the restroom so that he could be ready at all times to respond to her. Talk about a short leash.

As one person put it to me as she declined to say anything specific, “There were a lot of good people in that office and now they are gone.” That list includes such professionals as Dr. Jay Vijayan, Dr. Connie Cleary, Colin James, and a number of others.

I have been working on this investigation for about two months now.

One issue that came up in my conversations is the importance of trust in the relationships with the faculty. And that trust is not built over night. One very skilled person told me he felt that he was essentially pushed out — it can be very overt or subtle — when Nancy told him that he had no career path there. Of course he started looking for another job since he clearly saw the handwriting on the wall. But his main point to me was that the faculty trusted him and that is one way to improve the disclosures, etc. Never mind that while he now works in another state far away from here, his wife and daughter remain in Chicago and his daughter attends the University of Chicago Lab School. I know he is not happy about what transpired, but he does not want his name quoted in the report and he will not go on the record. I can respect that.

But when the former University of Illinois VP, Avijit Ghosh, told me that Nancy has not puffed or rigged the numbers, my first thought was: “How does he know that? Has he actually investigated it?”

There are techniques by which the numbers can be jiggered. For example, patents and disclosures that would ordinarily be one disclosure or patent can be split into two or more parts.

The same question came to my mind when Steve Kaplan said that Eric Lefkofsky is the most successful entrepreneur in the last ten years in the United States. My first reaction was that this is probably hyperbole, and a pretty strong statement at that. How does professor Kaplan know this? On what basis does he make this statement? I thought professors were supposed to be first and foremost committed to a systematic and objective analysis of the facts. When did they become evangelists?

Professor Kaplan, leave the puffery to folks like David Weinstein, Terry Howerton, Tom Thornton and others who do not have the education of the young in their hands. I need to dig up the talk by Karl Weintraub about the nature of a liberal arts education. I recall it well. Somehow the ethos of guys like Kaplan and Sawhney does not square with the ideals for a university and college education encapsulated by Weintraub in that talk more than three decades ago.

There is no doubt that Nancy seems to openly favor Jeremy Hollis even though he is not the second in command in the office. She goes to lunch with Jeremy quite frequently and has many meetings with him that do not include others.

My information is that advice from people like Jeff Norgle, the in-house lawyer, is often ignored or overridden.

But you know what, it is getting late and I have not even covered the Elevation Presentation in preparation for FFF on May 4th, the MIT-EF, Walmart, Sam Yagan and ScholarPro and the mishigas that accompanied that firm tussle with Sue Khim’s EduLender, the Excelerator darling firm competing with them; the new rules using Heber, Landman and Yang. Too much.

Let me give you the short version of the new rules which emanates from my really thinking about the Duo Consulting experience.

Information about Melanie’s job that comes from Melanie is in the cone of silence (for how long I don’t know) unless I get it elsewhere and information about other topics like MoMo or the ITA or MobileApEx that do not relate directly to her job but do relate to other activities she’s involved in is in a gray area for further discussion. So, if Melanie tells me that Sweis is full of sh**, for example, it is not my job to write that, it is rather her job to write that, but if there is an email that 20 or 30 people got, and Melanie’s opinion is not involved but the email itself can be printed, she can send it in or just give me the text of it and we can print it. I have to ask him, but this is somewhat like what I used to call the Frank Ballantine rule, but I have honestly forgotten the exact details.

The Heber rule was that I could not use info. I got in my role as a customer of Third Coast in the report. That rule came as a result of my getting kicked out of ANET the first time after I complained about the service at night and on weekends. There may have been other factors, but Amy Heber was not taking any chances.

The Landman rule was that what Richard Landman and I discussed in the car as he drove me to an event came under the cone of silence.

The Helen Yang rule is that even if I share an opinion with someone as I do with Helen about someone else, I cannot say that “Helen and I agree on so and so.” That is her job to say what she thinks. Helen was kind enough to visit me in the hospital in March at Illinois Masonic.

The Frank Ballantine rule is that you can either tell someone else’s story without the names involved or … and I can’t think of the other option for someone else’s story, but you can’t what??? I hope I can get this right. I will send him an email.This applies to my Melanie situation in that it is not my place to tell her stories unless there is a reason to keep her out of it.

So, for example, Fulgoni and Spirrison stories relate to the Duo job so that’s off limits by the Heber and Landman rules, especially if it came from Melanie; but Philbin is not related to her job and she will probably tell that story. It is still in that case her story to tell since she is really one of a very few who know it.

Let me end on this. I have been talking to Susan Wagle who is the chairman of the Commerce Committee of the Kansas State Senate and more will come out about that next week. Susan Wagle and one other person who can’t be named now (or for some time to come) is a hero in my view. They have taken on the powers-that-be and have won the battle against formidable opposition thus far.

On March 31st, I received a disconcerting phone call — some would call it a threat — that contained a message that putatively came from Thornton and there is more….The exact words from the anonymous female caller were “Ron May needs to be taken care of” and I doubt that he was sending an exotic dancer to visit me. Tom supposedly told this to KBA staffers. But I did find out that it was not told to Cary Nourie but that is a different story.

But let me end on this for today. In my conversations with Susan Wagle, I was explaining to her about the culture in Chicago politics and how a lot of aldermen have gone to jail over the years. She seemed pretty surprised. She even asked me if it is common for people here to give business to their friends.

Well, I don’t think Chicago has a monopoly on the habit of doing business with one’s brother-in-law, but we do have a much higher threshold of tolerance for the sweetheart deal and the inside deal.

If you think that the criminal investigation of Tom Thornton and the KBA is strictly a political hit job; if you think that it has no basis in fact or that there is absolutely nothing wrong in what TVT and the KBA has done, then I might suggest another publication for you to read.

Try Technori, Fly Over Geeks or Tech Cocktail’s tech publications or even at times, The Chicago Sun-Times, Crain’s or The Chicago Tribune.

I am still incredulous that The Cleveland Clinic has taken poor Tom Thornton in.

I will have more tomorrow. When I finally sit down to write, as I have today, I don’t want to get out of the zone. Finally, fair warning Dick Reck, Tom Thornton, Scott Meadow, and others on the board of Advanced Life Sciences. That company is the next to go and my goal is to help make that happen.
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Was the Thornton saga deja vu all over again? The story bears a strong resemblance to what happened to Clay Blair a few years ago

midwestdemocracyproject.org/blogs/entries/blair-quits-as-kansas-bioscience-chairman/

Blair quits as Kansas bioscience chairman

[img_assist|nid=3999|title=Clay Blair|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=100|height=144]BY JASON GERTSEN and STEVE KRASKE

The Kansas City Star

Facing mounting allegations of conflicts involving his personal business, family members and the Kansas Bioscience Authority, Clay Blair resigned Tuesday as chairman of the state-funded organization.

State officials and board members said they were concerned about tens of thousands of dollars the authority paid to Blair’s company and more than $14,000 paid to a Kansas City law firm for legal work performed by Blair’s first cousin and two other lawyers.

They also questioned fees paid to Blair’s son-in-law and what they called a lack of oversight and proper hiring procedures at the authority, which is expected to direct more than $580 million in state money to expand the region’s bioscience economy over the next decade.

In a letter to authority board members, Blair gave no reason for his resignation but acknowledged that he had used “creative ways” to push ahead.

“Believing deeply that complacency is among the greatest risks facing Kansas, I have sought in my years of public service to prod and challenge the state to reach for the most ambitious goals in creative ways,” he wrote. “There surely have been times when I could have done this in wiser or more respectful ways.”

In an interview with The Kansas City Star, Blair said that he devoted three years to the initiative and that it was time for him to focus more on his businesses and his family. He said the authority had attracted about 2,800 jobs to Kansas during his tenure.

He also objected to suggestions he had acted inappropriately, contending he probably would have hired the same people to work on important projects if he were asked to do it over again.

“I’m a vision guy, an action guy,” Blair said. “I get things done.”

In recent days, Blair’s political support in the state capital had eroded.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat, on Monday called for Blair’s resignation. Senate President Steve Morris, a Hugoton Republican, said he was reviewing his decision in March to renominate Blair. The Senate had not confirmed the nomination.

Blair said he was confident that an inquiry by the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission about actions he took while chairman of the authority would find that he did nothing wrong. The commission began seeking information from the authority following The Kansas City Star’s report that Blair’s company, Clay Blair Services Corp., received $46,000 in payments from the bioscience authority.

Blair’s resignation becomes effective today, after Tuesday night’s announcement of a development agreement for a biosciences park in Olathe that will provide space for businesses and Kansas State University education and research facilities.

The bioscience authority was created by a 2004 legislative initiative intended to help Kansas stimulate life sciences research and nurture companies promising good jobs and rapid growth in a high-tech field. The authority is financed by state money linked to growth of state income tax withholding from workers in the Kansas bioscience industry.

“Thanks to Clay’s vision as the first chair, and the dedication of other original board members, the bioscience authority is a real asset for Kansas and has strong leadership for the future,” Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday in a statement after Blair’s resignation.

But board member Ed McKechnie, a former Democratic state lawmaker, said the time had come for Blair to go.

“When the chairman hires his son-in-law to do deals and nobody knows about it, I would say that’s not transparent,” McKechnie said. “Clay has done a lot of good things. … But having contracts with family members is just asking for trouble. And we just can’t do it.”

The board is committed to becoming “the cleanest, most transparent, best economic development entity in the country,” McKechnie said. That will help lure the $451 million National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility to Kansas, which is competing with several other states for the federal research facility.

The bioscience authority is leading the task force that is working with Department of Homeland Security site-selection officials. The authority also is expected to provide much of a multimillion-dollar package of local financial support that would be required if Kansas ultimately is picked.

Hensley said he was concerned Blair’s actions would raise questions with the federal government that could undermine Kansas’ chances. Federal officials made inquiries following the earlier reports about payments to Blair’s company.

“They question the leadership of it,” Hensley said before learning of Blair’s resignation. “At that point we definitely need to be concerned about it.”

Blair said authority money was to reimburse the use of his personal office and staff for work done on behalf of the authority before it had its own offices, a full-time leader or administrative workers.

The $46,000, however, was not the only state money directed to those with ties to Blair, according to information obtained by The Star under the Kansas Open Records Act.

Those records show the authority:

Paid $7,625 to Dennis Patterson, the husband of Blair’s stepdaughter and a broker associated with Prime Development Land Co., which Blair called one of his real estate businesses. The money was for work done on a bioscience authority and Kansas State University project in Olathe.
Blair said that Patterson is an effective professional and that disclosing his relationship to Patterson was not required.
“I complied with the law,” Blair said. “I don’t think I am in violation.”
Paid $14,388 to Kansas City law firm Stinson Morrison Hecker for work done by Allen Blair, who is Blair’s first cousin, and two other lawyers. Blair said the firm is respected, was involved in crafting the legislation that created the authority and had attorneys with the skills needed to assist the Olathe project.
“I wanted to turn to people who were experts,” Blair said.
Paid a $1,500 bonus to Chris Golding, a Prime Development employee who serves as Blair’s assistant in addition to performing other duties, Blair said.
Paid $56,000 in salary and $23,000 in bonuses and tax payments over 14 months to Janet Mosser. Blair hired her as the authority’s office manager.
“She was paid very minimally for what she did,” Blair said.
Also, Prime Development, which uses the same office and phone number as Clay Blair Services, is touting the bioscience authority’s Olathe project as enhancing the value of the surrounding area.

Prairie Brook, a new subdivision on College Boulevard near Kansas 7 that Prime Development is marketing, has issued press releases specifically citing the Kansas State University Bioscience Campus and Research Park on College Boulevard just east of Kansas 7.

A press release issued in May by Prairie Brook notes that the development is located in “in the heart of Olathe’s emerging growth corridor – an area the marketing team said holds promise for explosive commercial growth and a burgeoning demand for new housing.”

Blair said he does have a financial stake in Prairie Brook and he owns other land in the area. But he said Olathe officials picked the land for the authority’s project with Kansas State.

“I asked them for a site. I didn’t ask them for that site,” Blair said. “To make some innuendo or suggestion that there was foul play or that I benefited from a land transaction, that’s just not true.”

Referring to claims about the area in the Prairie Brook press release, Blair said, “That’s just marketing.”

Blair is a Johnson County real estate developer who essentially ran the bioscience authority since it began operations in 2004. He has continued as a dominant presence since the organization hired Thornton last fall as a full-time chief executive.

In 1998, Gov. Bill Graves appointed Blair to the Kansas Board of Regents where he served two one-year terms as chairman. He left the board in 2002.

Prior to his appointment to the regents, Blair donated 16 acres for the KU Regents Center campus at 126th Street and Quivira Road. The center opened in 1993. Then Blair donated 20 more acres so the campus could expand.

Blair is a longtime player in Republican politics, often showing up on campaign reports as a donor to even low-level races for city council in Olathe and Overland Park.

In 2002, he briefly pondered a race for governor, but suddenly backed away, saying, “I’m not prepared to make the commitment necessary to deliver the message I think is required.”

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The payments

Records obtained by The Star show that the authority made $46,000 in payments to Clay Blair’s company.

The authority also paid more than $14,000 to a law firm for work performed by Blair’s first cousin and two other lawyers.

Read more: midwestdemocracyproject.org/blogs/entries/blair-quits-as-kansas-bioscience-chairman/#ixzz1KGWdHRpK
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END OF REPORT