The best article I’ve seen on what the Tony Rezko thing is all about.
By Edward McClelland
Feb. 1, 2008 | CHICAGO -- During his rise through Illinois politics, it was inevitable that Barack Obama would encounter a suckerfish like Tony Rezko. Illinois has more governmental bodies than any other state -- over 500 in Cook County alone -- and therefore, more opportunities for operators.
Usually, their antics fill the front pages of only the Chicago Tribune and the Sun-Times. But thanks to an accusation by Hillary Clinton, who called him a "slum landlord," Tony Rezko's alleged crookedness is national news. The Syrian-American businessman is facing federal charges for a scheme to extort money from investment firms seeking business with the state. On Monday, he was arrested at his Mediterranean-style mansion and sent to jail for hiding his assets while out on bond. (Salon attempted to contact Rezko's lawyer, Joseph J. Duffy, but he is "not accepting press calls," according to his office.)
Obama's dealings with his hinky friend have never led him afoul of the law, but they show that, despite his high-minded politics, he was no purer -- or no savvier -- than Illinois' biggest hacks in his weakness for a generous contributor. He wouldn't even say no when Rezko cooked up a deal to help the newly elected senator buy a gracious Georgian-revival home.
Rezko, after all, built part of his fortune by exploiting the black community that Obama had served in the state Senate, and by milking government programs meant to benefit black-owned businesses. But Obama took Rezko's money even after the businessman was sued by the city of Chicago for failing to heat his low-income apartments, and even after Rezko was caught using a black business partner to obtain a minority set-aside for a fast-food franchise at O'Hare Airport.
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I’m sorry Daily Kos! I’m a new Kossack and I didn’t read the rules about posting articles, distracted and in a hurry, no excuse. But this is an important and informative article and I fell Kossacks need to know it’s out there, so I’m reposting within the rules. I was rather disappointed by the most of the comments. It seems a lot of people have forgotten that