[Rhodes22-list] Illinois Politics

[Herb Parsons]

Bill, though the details are vastly different, the rumblings bring back 
memories.

Back in Jan of '88, I had to go to a computer conference in Austin, and 
decided to avoid hotel bills by simply driving out there very early in 
the morning (it's about a 3 1/2 hour drive). So, I'm putzing along at 4 
in the morning (closer to my BEDTIME instead of my waking time) and 
turned on a talk radio station. They're discussing the headline that 
Drudge Report just broke about an intern and President Clinton.

These "rumblings" feel much the same. There were those then insisting 
that there was nothing to the story, and it would never really touch the 
President. They were wrong.


Bill Effros wrote:
> No.
>
> Illinois politicians give much better value for money than this.
>
> Fitzpatrick has documented how this works:
>
> Blackwell Jr. (whose main business is computer consulting) wants a state 
> contract, he learns the man to see is Rezko, (this was easy to 
> learn--everyone knew it) Rezko tells him who to hire, what charity to 
> donate to, what campaign to donate to, what house or airplane to lease 
> for the use of someone else, and the total amount expected in 
> aggregate.  The amount seems to hover around 1%--so it's a really great 
> deal--and its going on everywhere--you can't get a state job any other 
> way--everyone is doing it.
>
> Now, Rezko is great at head fakes.  You want a computer contract?  Hire 
> this politician to run your Ping Pong promotion.  Send the money to this 
> law firm I control.  They will pass the entire amount through to the 
> designated politician.  You now own the politician as well as the 
> contract--2 for the price of 1!
>
> If Blackwell Jr. got onto Blago's transition team there had to be lots 
> of juice.  He pops up over and over.
>
> Obama controlled the hospital board that doled out CONs (if you can 
> believe it) -- Certificates of Need.  You couldn't expand your hospital 
> without first obtaining a CON.  You couldn't get a CON without paying 
> off a lot of politicians.  The only way you could get on the board was 
> by going through Obama. Rezko told Obama who got on the board and who 
> didn't.  Rezko told Obama who got CONs and who didn't.
>
> So one of the hospitals that needed a CON decided to hire Obama's wife 
> for $100,000 a year (increased to $300,000 when her husband became a 
> Senator.)  The hospital got its CON.  When Obama became a Senator, 
> doctors in the hospital sold their mansion to Obama for a fraction of 
> the real price. Rezko arranged for a mortgage for Obama from other 
> bribe-payers angling for different deals.
>
> Obama inserted a million and a half dollar earmark into a completely 
> unrelated senate bill for the hospital.  Fitzpatrick will start tracking 
> that billion dollars worth of earmarks backwards to the various sources.
>
> Everything works fine until a good prosecutor starts flipping people.  
> They tell him where to look, and sure enough! records confirm money 
> flowing in unexpected directions.  Then he flips another and another. In 
> Illinois the string is endless.  You can't get into Illinois politics 
> unless you play the game.  Party affiliation means nothing.
>
> Sorry, Ed, all THESE guys ARE crooks.  And everyone in Illinois knows it.
>
> Brad,
>
> I don't know how long it will take to unravel the twine, but from a 
> perverse journalist's point of view, the longer the better.  I had 
> absolutely no idea of the level of corruption in Illinois prior to 
> checking out Obama's provenance early in the campaign.  I was stunned at 
> the depth and breadth of  it, and greatly saddened that the media made 
> absolutely no effort to expose it prior to the election.
>
> This is sure to be a huge distraction for Obama for as long as he 
> remains in office.  The party pros will actually run the government 
> while Obama and Axelrod tap dance.  It will be hugely entertaining, 
> although, sadly, the country will probably slide into an economic 
> situation it can't recover from in our lifetime...if ever.
>
> Obama won't cause this, he just won't be able to do what must be done, 
> even if he had the slightest idea of what that might me.
>
> But I digress...
>
> Even in your most cynical heart of hearts you can't imagine what these 
> guys have been up to for the past 50 years.
>
> Bill Effros
>
>
>
> Brad Haslett wrote:
>   
>> Bill E,
>>
>> Here's a "blast from the past" -
>>
>> http://www.eki-consulting.com/APPS/EKIHP1.nsf/Content/BE14CC6D3CE4025586256D030075A471?OpenDocument
>>
>> Remember this guy?  He's Mr. Ping-Pong, the guy O got the $300K grant
>> for and then collected $112,000 in "legal fees" over the course of the
>> next year.  Based on your research, is 1/3rd about the right
>> percentage for "pay to play" in Illinois?
>>
>> Brad
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-- 
Herb Parsons