One tidbit that’s now been cut from two of LL’s columns, including the second part of this week’s effort, is that the Child & Youth Investment Trust Corporation has given two grants directly to Team Thomas, the non-profit belonging to Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr.

Both the CYITC and Team Thomas play prominent roles in the lawsuit Attorney General Irv Nathan filed Monday against Thomas, which alleges Thomas ripped off city money earmarked for youth sports.

CYITC’s director Ellen London told LL back in January that her quasi-independent grant-giving group awarded Team Thomas $75,000 in 2002 for “summer programming in Ward 5” and a $8,000 mini-grant in 2006 for something called the “Boys of Color Learning Circle.”

Nothing really shocking about that, Thomas wasn’t a councilmember when his group won the grants.

What does need answering, however, is how Team Thomas won grants from CYITC without having registered with the IRS as a tax-exempt 501(c)3, which the CYITC appears to require of all its grantees.

London hasn’t returned a request from comment from LL and declined to comment to the Post on matters involving Team Thomas citing the on-going investigation. Worth reading: LL of old Mike DeBonis‘ 2010 report on Thomas’ outsized influence with CYITC after the council stopped giving out earmarks, and DeBonis’ follow up story that ran today.