Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter has accepted the “highest award” from the Katie Hall Educational Foundation, named after the former U.S. Congresswoman who later plead guilty to federal mail fraud and extortion charges.

Carter did not respond to multiple requests for comment, including about why he chose to accept the award.

On April 5, Carter received the Katie Hall Public Service Award, which Junifer Hall said is because of his “outstanding contributions to public service” and status as the first Black Lake County prosecutor.

Junifer Hall is Katie Hall’s daughter and one of the foundation’s leaders.

In 2003, as Gary city clerk, Katie Hall pleaded guilty to four of 22 federal counts of mail fraud, extortion and racketeering for making workers raise money for her re-election campaign to keep their jobs. Katie Hall did not go to prison, but Junifer Hall served 16 months, according to Post-Tribune archives.

Katie Hall was the first Black congress member to be elected from Indiana, and she sponsored a 1983 law that made Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday.

Katie Hall died from cancer in February 2012 at 73 years old, according to Post-Tribune archives.

The Katie Hall Educational Foundation was founded in September 2012, Junifer Hall said, and it’s a “living memorial” for her mother.

“The Katie Hall foundation has since 2013 been honoring public servants across the nation and world who have contributed to improving the lives of our citizens, whether they are local, national, regional or international,” Junifer Hall said.

Funding for the foundation comes primarily from local citizens, Junifer Hall said. Tickets for the foundation’s annual awards luncheon were $100 per person, according to the Katie Hall Educational Foundation’s Facebook page.For the past three years, the foundation has also received financial support from Indiana University Northwest, Junifer Hall said, adding that the family has nine degrees from the school.

IUN did not confirm if the university donates to the foundation.

According to ProPublica, no information on the organization’s revenue, expenses, total assets and total liabilities are available. The website also doesn’t have a Form 990 — an annual form allowing organizations to be exempt from income tax — on file for the Katie Hall Educational Foundation since December 2014.

mwilkins@chicagotribune.com