Obama, Rezko & Governor Infamous

The state of Illinois and its business as usual politics is on trial along with Tony Rezko, come tomorrow. Tribune:

Illinois has a rich and infamous history of political corruption trials, but the trajectory of the case against Antoin "Tony" Rezko -- a chief fundraiser for Gov. Rod Blagojevich -- may be without parallel.

Perhaps never before has a sitting Illinois governor become so enmeshed in a criminal proceeding of such breadth.

Rezko's trial, set to begin with jury selection Monday, is expected to shed unflattering light on the inner workings of an administration that Blagojevich vowed would clean up state government after his predecessor left in scandal.

Millions in alleged kickbacks to insiders as firms seeking state business paid to play. Some of these dollars found their way into campaign coffers.

Governor Infamous. Not famous. Not running for president. That's left for another buddy of Tony's. Barack the post-political. But back to Blagojevich:

"The governor came here riding a white horse and he was our ethics czar and he definitely doesn't deserve a pass," said Sen. Susan Garrett (D- Lake Forest). "But I think it's really more important that we as legislators and leaders look into why this continues to happen over and over again."

The Republican combine in Illinois deserves our scorn. But they have paid the political price in Illinois. Here's how the Tribune's John Kass describes Obama:

The sellers split the parcel in two, one a vacant lot and one with a home. Obama got a $300,000 discount on the house. The Rezkos paid the full asking price for the lot next door. Obama, who keeps insisting he's told us everything, until something new comes out, admitted recently that he toured the home with Tony before that magical sale. So the real estate fairy sprinkles the magic fairy dust on the Obama dream home. Obama becomes the reform candidate for president, to change American politics as we know it -- except of course in Chicago, where the Daley Machine runs things.

Barack for change. Yeah right.

UPDATE: NY Times, "As Developer Heads to Trial, Questions Linger Over a Deal With Obama". Key grafs:

But a review of court records, including new details of Mr. Rezko’s finances that emerged recently, show that the lot purchase occurred as he was being pursued by creditors seeking more than $10 million, deepening the mystery of why he would plunge into a real estate investment whose biggest beneficiary appears to have been Mr. Obama.

As Mr. Obama and Mr. Rezko were completing the property purchases in June 2005, Mr. Rezko was fighting to keep lenders and investors at bay over defaulted loans and failing business ventures. But he side-stepped that financial dragnet by arranging for the land to be bought in his wife’s name, making it the only property she owned by herself, according to land records.

As a result, when the Obamas bought part of the land from Mrs. Rezko seven months later to widen their yard, the money they paid was beyond the reach of Mr. Rezko’s creditors, including one conducting a court-ordered hunt for his assets to recover a $3.5 million debt.

A little mutual back-scratching. Those new details unearthed by the Times of London last week raise even more questions. And this of course:

For at least two years before the property purchases, news articles had raised questions about Mr. Rezko’s influence over state appointments and contracts. There had also been reports that the F.B.I. was investigating accusations of a shakedown scheme involving a state hospital board to which Mr. Rezko had suggested appointments.

Also, Chicago officials had announced that they were investigating whether a company partly owned by Mr. Rezko had won public contracts by posing as a minority business.

As a result, said Jay Stewart, executive director of the Better Government Association in Chicago, Mr. Obama “should have been on high alert.”

Recall this. Seems like Barack was giving a little help to his close personal fundraiser friend. And recall this:

Gov. Rod Blagojevich's chief fundraiser has arranged to get a loan from the same Iraqi billionaire whose $3.5 million payment got another member of the governor's inner circle thrown in jail.

Christopher Kelly, head of Blagojevich's campaign fund in both of his races for governor and now under federal indictment, pledged all of his shares in a Nevada land partnership as collateral in exchange for the loan, according to state records reviewed by The Associated Press.

The loan came from General Mediterranean Holdings, a company based in Luxembourg and headed by Nadhmi Auchi, a London-based Iraqi who is currently appealing a fraud conviction in France.

Curiouser and curiouser.

P.S. More potential roadblocks for Barack. Obama has quite a track record in real estate, not so much in building bridges. David Ignatius, WaPo, RCP:

Obama's argument is that he can mobilize a new coalition that will embrace his proclamation that "yes, we can" break out of the straitjacket. But for voters to feel confident that he can achieve this transformation should he become president, they would need evidence that he has fought and won similar battles in the past. The record here, to put it mildly, is thin.

What I hear from politicians who have worked with Obama, both in Illinois state politics and here in Washington, gives me pause. They describe someone with an extraordinary ability to work across racial lines, but not someone who has earned any profiles in courage for standing up to special interests or divisive party activists. Indeed, the trait people remember best about Obama, in addition to his intellect, is his ambition.

Precisely. (Still more precisely, no profile in courage--but hiding in the bathroom.) And taking a few shortcuts in the pursuit of power.

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