Jeri L. Wright, the daughter of President Obama’s spiritual mentor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, has been convicted of money laundering, siphoning “as much as $11,000 in cash from more than $30,000 in checks” from “a $1.25 million state grant for a Chicago-based job-training program.”

There is a lot of money sloshing around in the welfare state, and sticky fingers have been known to grab some of it for personal use. Imagine that.

Not only does Ms. Wright bear a name derived from her father’s name, she formerly was a deacon and Director of Media for Trinity United Church of Christ when her father was its pastor.

According to Ray Long of the Chicago Tribune:

Jeri Wright said she would "definitely" appeal the verdict in U.S. District Court, which found her guilty of 11 counts that included money laundering, lying to federal agents and lying to a grand jury.

"I didn't do anything," Wright, 48, of Hazel Crest, said as she left the Springfield courtroom.

The prosecutor thought otherwise:

Prosecutor Timothy Bass…maintained Wright lied “over and over” when quizzed about the case.

Bass maintained in closing arguments that Wright was “given an opportunity” and took it in a state that has a “well-earned” reputation for corruption.

Evans applied for the grant in February 2009 for a group called We Are Our Brother's Keepers. The proposal called for 40 people to get training in bricklaying and electrician skills, but the money allegedly was diverted.

The shared name of the graft-ridden program and President Obama's new "Brother's Keeper" initiative is purely coincidental.

That works out to over $31k per trainee. And the money diverted by Ms. Wright is under 1% of the total grant – chicken feed by standards of Illinois graft. But those chickens have come home to roost.