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CHICAGO — Sen. Barack Obama gave four dozen 8th graders a graduation to remember Wednesday when he unexpectedly walked onstage in the middle of their ceremony.

The mostly black crowd of students, family and friends erupted in squeals of disbelief in seeing the Democratic presidential candidate, who had just finished a hastily arranged economics forum across the hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Screams and cheers nearly drowned out his brief remarks to graduates of the Young Women’s Leadership Charter School of Chicago. “I’m proud that you graduated from the 8th grade, but it’s just the 8th grade,” Obama said. He urged the students, all girls, to read, turn off the TV and decide “how can I make myself the best young woman I can possibly be.”

Obama shook a few hands and walked off as those in the auditorium, still pinching themselves, chanted “Change, change.”

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The decision to remove Father Michael Pfleger, the Catholic priest who berated Hillary Clinton from the floor of Barack Obama’s former church, has drawn criticism from members of St. Sabina Church where Pfleger is the pastor.

St. Sabina President Gerald Stewart said members of the church “wholeheartedly disagree” with Cardinal Francis George’s decision and “respectfully request” that Pfleger be reinstated because of the significant impact he has had on the Chicago community.

Cardinal Francis George, the Archbishop of Chicago, announced Tuesday that Pfleger was to be removed from his post, at least temporarily.

“To put recent events in some perspective, I have asked Father Michael Pfleger, Pastor of St. Sabina’s Parish, to step back from his obligations there and take leave for a couple of weeks from his pastoral duties, effective today,” Cardinal George said in a statement.

“Fr. Pfleger does not believe this to be the right step at this time. While respecting his disagreement, I have nevertheless asked him to use this opportunity to reflect on his recent statements and actions in the light of the church’s regulations for all Catholic priests. I hope that this period will also be a time away from the public spotlight and for rest and attention to family concerns,” George said, adding that Pfleger is in his prayers.

Pfleger mimicked Clinton while delivering a guest sermon at Trinity United Church of Christ two Sundays ago. During the sermon, Pfleger, who is white, mocked Clinton for getting choked up on camera before the New Hampshire primary in January.

“When Hillary was crying … I really don’t believe it was put on. I really believe that she just always thought ‘This is mine. I’m Bill’s wife. I’m white. And this is mine’,” he said, shouting at times. “Then out of nowhere came, ‘Hey I’m Barack Obama’. And she said, ‘Oh damn! Where did you come from? I’m white! I’m entitled! There’s a black man stealing my show!’”

After that, he simulated Clinton crying and said: “She wasn’t the only one crying. There was a whole lot of white people crying … I’m sorry. I don’t wanna get you in any more trouble. The live streaming just went out again.”

Trinity United is no stranger to controversy. Its newly retired pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, caused considerable embarrassment to Obama — a member of the church for 20 years — when Wright’s anti-American tirades were broadcast on the Internet. In them, he blamed the U.S. government for giving HIV/AIDS to the black community and claimed the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks were deserved for American terrorism abroad.

Wright attended Tuesday night’s gathering at St. Sabina, receiving a standing ovation when he was introduced as a guest. Pfleger was on church grounds, but did not appear in public.

Stewart issued a statement in which he said those who know Pfleger believe he has repented for his actions and his apology has been accepted by the St. Sabina congregation.

“We love and respect our pastor. He has married us, buried us, laughed with us and cried with us. Our tears are a result of enduring a deluge of hateful statements. He is our pastor and spiritual leader and we will continue to love and support him,” Stewart said.

Others at the event said their protest to Pfleger’s removal was not because of anything he said at Trinity United but because they now no longer have a pastor, even if it’s just for a few weeks.

Less than a week after Pfleger’s sermon at Trinity United, Obama severed ties to his church, claiming the backlash was the deciding factor for him.

“It’s clear that now that I’m a candidate for president, every time something is said in the church by anyone associated with Trinity, including guest pastors, the remarks will be imputed to me, even if they totally conflict with my long-held views, statements and principles,” Obama said, praising the congregation and church leaders for their work in the Chicago community.

Trinity United Church of Christ (FNC Photo)

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By Jeff Goldblatt

Across America seven days a week, parents drop their kids at day care centers, which are supported by funding from the federal government.

But what makes one facility noteworthy in inner city Chicago is that it’s run by Trinity United Church of Christ. It’s the same church whose former head pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, drew widespread scrutiny after he cursed the U.S. government for its treatment of African-Americans.

FOX News has learned that over the last 15 years, Trinity has received at least $15 million in grants from the federal government — in other words, taxpayer money.

Records show this money supported a variety of outreach: everything from low income housing to nutritional programs for needy kids to money for HIV/AIDS education. Wright blames the government for intentionally infecting the African-American community with that deadly virus.

DePaul University journalism professor Laura Washington, who specializes in race and politics, said Wright is a hypocrite for taking money from the government.

“On the one hand, he says, ‘God damn America’ and he says America is responsible for all the ills in the black community. On the other hand, he’s taking money from the same community he’s crucifying,” Washington said.

But another scholar who specializes in religion and politics says Wright never swore off government funding like ultra-nationalist Black Muslims have.

Andrew Walsh, associate director of the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life with Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., said Wright’s practices fall in line with his preaching.

“Wright believes things like the government-funded programs are a necessary compensation for the legacy of white racism, part of what’s necessary to heal the wounds inflicted over four centuries on blacks. His niche is even more specialized– he does this sort of work in the context of white denominational mainline Protestantism, which, on the whole has welcomed both him and his message.”

So, how did Trinity, given Wright’s controversial criticism of the government, get millions of dollars in handouts from Washington over the years?

Democratic presidential candidate and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama says the grants didn’t come with any of his help, despite 20 years of membership at Trinity.

In fact, after the Obama campaign learned FOX News was working on this report, it released a statement saying, “Barack Obama did not work to secure grant money for Trinity United Church of Christ while serving in the Illinois state Legislature or Congress.”

But Jay Shafritz, an author and professor emeritus of public administration from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, says at some level, politics invariably influences how government grant money is awarded.

“This is very much a sophisticated operation of convincing the people in government that you are the most deserving person, because these grants are very often competitive,” he said.

“It’s very much like good old fashioned patronage. In the old days, political machines had jobs to give their constituents. Nowadays, they offer them grants,” Shafritz continued.

Shafritz examined the grant documents provided by FOX News and found no wrongdoing.

Yet, he said there’s no way to know exactly how Trinity spent its millions in taxpayer money, since grant awards usually afford some latitude for discretionary use. He stressed that it’s clear the grants have helped Wright grow his once tiny ministry into a massive empire.

“Before he embarrassed himself on national television with his rantings, he was a very, very sophisticated guy in terms of growing organizations. He knew how the game was played and he played it very well. But he’s not unique,” he said.

Nationwide, African-American churches have used this kind of funding to pump investment into inner-city neighborhoods as a means of growing support — religious scholars say largely so under the Bush administration, when faith based grants increased significantly.

“For these organizations, federal funding for things like senior centers or drug treatment programs or affordable housing helps them get where they want to go,” Walsh said.

Trinity United refused comment on this story. But Wright, who officially retired on Monday, has long defended the legacy of community outreach provided by Trinity, which he founded 36 years ago.

But Washington says if Wright felt it was OK to get resources from the government, the church shouldn’t preach against it.

“It’s a dangerous thing to do because there’s a reason that the government gives that kind of support to the church. If the church bites the hand that feeds them, maybe that support is going to end.”

Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski (Photo Courtesy of: Daily Herald)

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A Barack Obama supporter has given up her role as a pledged delegate after the campaign found “unacceptable” her description of her neighbor’s children as “monkeys,” which she says she called them because they were climbing in trees.

Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski, an a Hispanic trustee for the Village of Carpentersville, Ill., was accused of racism following the interaction with her African-American neighbors.

“Given the incident, she is stepping down and will be replaced as delegate,” Ben Labolt, a spokesman for the Obama campaign told FOXNews.com, calling Sliwinski’s remarks “unacceptable.”

The campaign discussed the incident with Ramirez-Sliwinski, who decided to step aside as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in August, Labolt said.

Police issued a $75 citation for disorderly conduct on Saturday to Ramirez-Sliwinski , Carpentersville Police Cmdr. Michael Kilbourne told FOXNews.com.

“This is like a parking ticket,” Kilbourne said. “She was not arrested, she was not fingerprinted.”

Police officers were dispatched to Sparrow Road for a neighbor dispute, Kilbourne said.

Ramirez-Sliwinski told the kids to stop playing in her next-door neighbor’s tree because she was worried they would fall out of the tree and hurt themselves, Kilbourne said.

Dametta Stewart, a parent of one of the kids, alleges that Ramirez-Sliwinski came outside and told the kids to “quit playing in the tree like monkeys,” according to the police report. Stewart told police she was upset and felt the comment was racist since her children are African-American, Kilbourne said.

Ramirez-Sliwinski told officers that she didn’t believe the comment was racist and that she calls her own grandkids monkeys.

Ramirez-Sliwinski told the local Daily Herald, based in Arlington Heights, Ill., that her remarks were not racist despite ill feelings between the neighbors.

“Technically, I don’t consider it a mistake because that’s not what I meant,” Ramirez-Sliwinski told the newspaper. “They’re children. They’re climbing in a tree. What would you think?”

Ramirez-Sliwinski said she likely won’t run for re-election as a trustee after her term expires in April 2009.

Click here for more coverage from the Daily Herald.

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Barack Obama’s views have evolved since he first ran for the Illinois state Senate, according to a comparison of recent statements and answers to questionnaires attributed to the Democratic presidential candidate that date as far back as 12 years.

In paperwork uncovered by the Politico newspaper, the Illinois senator answered “yes” and “no” to several questions asking for his views on everything from parental notification for abortion to gun bans and capital punishment.

Obama’s presidential campaign has said the questionnaires posed by the Independent Voters of Illinois – Independent Precinct Organization were largely written by his state Senate campaign manager. But Politico learned that Obama actually was interviewed by IVI-IPO, which ended up doing a lot of precinct work for him in his 1996 bid, and sent in an amended questionnaire.

A comparison of the questionnaires found that on the issue of whether minors should be required to notify parents before having an abortion, Obama’s first response in 1996 was one word — “No.”

The amended version, according to Politico, states: “Depends on how young — possibly for extremely young teens, i.e. 12 or 13 year olds.”

In a 2004 questionnaire for the same group, Obama, who was running for the U.S. Senate at the time, wrote: “I would oppose any legislation that does not include a bypass provision for minors who have been victims of, or have reason to fear, physical or sexual abuse.”

A similar question posed by a different reproductive rights group last year got an even longer response from his presidential campaign.

“As a parent, Obama believes that young women, if they become pregnant, should talk to their parents before considering an abortion. But he realizes not all girls can turn to their mother or father in times of trouble, and in those instances, we should want these girls to seek the advice of trusted adults - an aunt, a grandmother, a pastor,” reads the answer to RH Reality Check, according to the newspaper.

“Unfortunately, instead of encouraging pregnant teens to seek the advice of adults, most parental consent bills that come before Congress or state legislatures criminalize adults who attempt to help a young woman in need and lack judicial bypass and other provisions that would permit exceptions in compelling cases.”

Politico reported that other brief answers to questions relating to capital punishment and gun control have since been disavowed by Obama’s presidential campaign.

Click here to read the Politico story on Obama’s questionnaire for the Independent Voters of Illinois – Independent Precinct Organization.

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Now that Eliot Spitzer will no longer be governor of New York, he will no longer be a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention.

His successor, Lt. Gov. David Paterson, was already a superdelegate and therefore the DNC now counts one superdelegate less than the 796 currently allotted under party rules.

Spitzer and Paterson are both supporters of their home state senator, Hillary Clinton.

University of Virginia’s Center for Politics Head Larry Sabato said the DNC has one less superdelegate because no new lieutenant governor is elected when the current lieutenant governor moves up to the top spot after a resignation. Instead, the lieutenant governor’s post is left technically vacant and the state Senate majority leader, currently Republican Joe Bruno, assumes the lieutenant governor’s duties.

Sabato said Clinton needs every superdelegate she can get but will have to find support elsewhere.

DNC spokesman Dag Vega said the the DNC has alloted superdelegate status to the new congressman from Illinois’ 14th Congressional District, Bill Foster, who won a special election Saturday to succeed Republican Rep. and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

Foster was helped in his campaign by Illinois Sen. and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who filmed an endorsement ad for him and offered a public congratulations the night of Foster’s victory.

– FOX News’ Major Garrett contributed to this report.