By: Diane Benjamin
It took 3 weeks to get a FOIA from IDHS based on this story: https://blnnews.com/2026/03/18/paid-consultants-inccrra/
The delay was caused by 2 extensions. They had to get the information from the local INCCRRA office.
That story includes a list of some of the paid consultants involved in the $17 million Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA), as reported on their tax return. It turns out that some of them are a stretch to call “consultants,” while others were actually programs set up to train child care personnel. More on those later.
This story is about 108 LLC who was paid $3,490,000, all tax dollars of course. Finding information on this company is difficult at best. One document below shows the contract was signed by Aalap Shah. That name took me to this website: https://about.me/aalapshah The Visit My Website button doesn’t work. He is located in Chicago however.
Next I tried 108 Agency. That took me to this website: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/1o8 Aalap Shah is listed as founder of 108.
It is also in Chicago. It shows the company has 10 employees or less. They specialize in digital marketing. They billed INCCRRA $1,200,000 as a fee and spent the rest on expenses. The one other guy listed is Steve Gaither. He was formerly the president of JB Chicago, a larger digital marketing firm.
You can read what work they performed in the two documents below. Note both contracts were signed in August of 2023 while the term started in July. This firm was hired to do digital marketing. It looks like one contract was to promote employment in early childhood education while the other promotes Illinois Cares For Kids.
Do a search on that group and you will find this: Resources available to families and caregivers looking for information on protections, support, and planning for immigrant families.
On the main page it talks about subsidizing the cost. https://www.illinoiscaresforkids.org/
I’d love to hear what local digital marketers think about the cost of these two contracts. I’d also love to hear if “migrants” deserve your tax dollars while local childcare facilities are closing. With limited funds government has to set priorities, in Illinois it’s “migrants”.
They got another $1,000,000 here – time frame is the same as above:
It’s quite incredible. American Federal and state dollars, our tax money, given to non government organizations, so non-americans can receive special government benefits, and then our tax dollars are given to private for profit businesses to advertise these taxpayer benefits to non-americans, to encourage them to take the benefits.
A system designed to not benefit the American public, while providing cushy contracts for select private benefits.
While we can barely get real substantial jobs and get any state help and taxes of all types galore?? The systems in Illinois and public/private partnerships are like a huge public funnel (to select NFP and projects and orgs) Good points DOGE.
Projects and $ here are Chicago driven in all Indistry it seems. And we are paying for it all even at children and grandchildren’s expense. It all sounds so humanitarian til you see who is getting the $$.
Good research Diane!!
Woah, I just looked at both of those contracts, and the CEO of the marketing company Aalap Shah e-signed both of those documents from Cancun Mexico, based on his IP address when he signed.
Does he actually live in America? He certainly is loaded enough to vacation in a premier resort town like Cancun, getting rich advertising our tax dollars to foreign migrants.
Also, help me remember, but the last name of Shah, is that one of the names of a signer of the declaration of independence? One of those long established heritage american last names? The Shahs of Plymouth Massachusetts?
Could have used a VPN
Can you say, “Minnesota?”