All in the Chicago Family - Obama's Shadowy Pick for U.S. Senate

All in the Chicago Family
Obama travels to Illinois to help Alexi Giannoulias in Senate race  CLICK HERE

Posted By Rich Trzupek On August 9, 2010 @ 12:46 am In FrontPage

Among the more appealing messages that Barack Obama campaigned on in 2008 was his promise to change the culture in Washington and usher in a new era of openness and honesty in government. It was the sort of message that still resonates with an increasingly cynical electorate that is, as Obama’s handlers recognized, fed up with the corruption, hidden agendas and back-room deals that characterize life within the beltway. Voters hoped that this fresh face, so full of earnest enthusiasm and idealistic vision, could be the one to usher in a new era.

Almost two years after that historic election, more and more voters are realizing that not only didn’t get the change they had hoped for, they’re actually getting much more of business as usual than they could have ever imagined. As ethical questions continue to swirl around the people that the president has embraced one cannot help but wonder if the vaunted political acumen of the Obama administration has been vastly overrated, or if the president and his advisors simply feel that they can and should be able to pull the wool over the eyes of the American people at will.

The list of Obama associates and appointees who have serious ethical problems is long indeed, from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and his unpaid taxes [1] through ex “Green Czar” Van Jones’ communist ties [2]. Now there is a new name on that dishonor roll: the Democratic candidate for the United States Senate seat that was once held by Barack Obama: Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.

Giannoulias’ sordid history and that of his shady associates should be enough to concern any canny politician this side of Boss Tweed, but the president has embraced Giannoulias as if he were the second coming of Obama himself. Giannoulias’s political baggage has not stopped the president from endorsing a candidate who helped run a bank into the ground, who made millions while that bank bled red ink, and who has ties to the mob and disgraced political figures.

Giannoulias was the senior lender at Broadway Bank from 2002 through 2006. Among the people that he approved for loans were one Michael “Jaws” Giorango, a fellow Giannoulias would describe as a “colorful character.” Giorango is colorful indeed, with a long police blotter that includes multiple convictions for bookmaking and for running a prostitution ring. While he was at the bank, Giannoulias approved an $11.8 million loan that Jaws applied for, although he would later claim that he wasn’t aware of Giorango’s background at the time. Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass set the record straight earlier this year:

“With the Tribune’s editorial board, Giannoulias was asked how his relationship with Giorango developed, and at what point did he learn that Giorango, whom he described as a “colorful character,” had a criminal background. “I learned of it primarily when I was running for the office of state treasurer (in 2006),” Giannoulias said. “I mean, I don’t remember the exact date, whether it was during the primary or during the general. I think it was during the primary.” He was promptly reminded that on April 27, 2006, during his campaign for treasurer, he told Tribune reporters that he had discussed Giorango’s criminal past with him. The discussion took place as Giannoulias worked on millions of dollars’ worth of bank loans for Giorango. It was years before Giannoulias’ entry into politics.”

No matter, the president has stuck with the man that he described in 2006 in these glowing terms: “He’s one of the most outstanding young men that I could ever hope to meet. He’s somebody who cares deeply about people.” Rather than retreating from that faulty assessment, in the light of all of the damning revelations that has surfaced over the last four years, Obama doubled down during a recent Giannoulias fundraiser [3], declaring: “Alexi is my friend. I know his character. I know how much he loves this country. I know how committed he is to public service for all the right reasons. You can trust him. You can count on him.”

Giannoulias’ record suggests that Illinois voters can indeed “count on him,” but not in the sense that the president intended. Certainly, one can count on Giannoulias to take care of himself: he personally reaped about $10 million in “profits” from Broadway Bank, while his family as a whole extracted $70 million in dividends [4]. Yet, the bank made so many questionable loans that the FDIC had to step in [5] with public funds to save depositors. Isn’t that the kind of behavior that the president has repeatedly denounced with regard to Wall Street, with much less justification?

The questionable behavior of the Democrats’ nominee for the U.S. Senate in Illinois doesn’t stop there. Giannoulias’ bank also approved a loan of $22.75 million [6] to Riverside District Development LLC, a company whose owners included Tony Rezko, a key advisor to and fund raiser for disgraced Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich and a fellow who also has close ties to the president himself. Rezko has been convicted of six counts of wire fraud, six counts of mail fraud, two counts of corrupt solicitation, and two counts of money laundering. Giannoulias’ brother Demetris was twice appointed [7] to a position with the Illinois Finance Authority and their father donated $10,000 to the Blagojevich campaign.

Since the 2008 election, every endorsement issued by the president has turned into the political kiss of death. The fact that Obama would stick with as troubled a candidate as Alexi Giannoulias isn’t all that troubling when we consider the now-limited effect of the president’s support, but it is disturbing when we evaluate what such blind loyalty says about this administration. If they aren’t able to comprehend that a slimy candidate like Alexi Giannoulias is political poison, are they capable of understanding that corruption matters at all?

Article printed from FrontPage Magazine: http://frontpagemag.com/
URL to article: http://frontpagemag.com/2010/08/09/all-in-the-chicago-family/

URLs in this post:
[1] Timothy Geithner and his unpaid taxes: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/01/obama-geithner.html

[2] communist ties: http://www.conservapedia.com/Van_Jones

[3] during a recent Giannoulias fundraiser: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/40740.html

[4] extracted $70 million in dividends: http://www.nationalreview.com/media-blog/28922/obama-mob-banker-alexi-giannoulias-senate/guy-benson

[5] FDIC had to step in: http://biggovernment.com/capitolconfidential/2010/05/17/the-bailout-candidate-il-dem-senate-nominee-runs-from-history/

[6] approved a loan of $22.75 million: https://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/banker-mobsters-crooks-and-president

[7] was twice appointed: http://giannoulias.nrsc.org/2009/07/