With lifesaving services starving for money, Illinois officials were quietly shoveling millions of dollars out the door to McKinsey consultants. These decisions were often hatched in the dark, without legislative oversight or approval, according to Mendoza. Just three months into her new job, in March 2017, she froze $21.6 million the state had agreed to pay consulting firms for technology advice—most of it earmarked for McKinsey.
