Big Muddy rancher
Well-known member
Too Many Feet in the Fire #02 The Rezko/Obama connection.
Be forewarned! There is enough dirt in here to fill an olympic sized swimming pool. After hours of research, I had the strong urge to take a shower before I could sit down and write it.
Antoin "Tony" Rezko was born in Syria in 1955 and came to Chicago in 1971 to study Civil Engineering. He soon began to invest in fast-food chains and real estate on the South side of Chicago.
In 1983, he befriended Jabir Herbert Muhammad, the business manager of Muhammad Ali. Soon thereafter, Rezko became the executive director of the Muhammad Ali Foundation, a group devoted to the spreading of Islam. Jabir Herbert Muhammad was the son of the Elijah Muhammad (the leader of the Nation of Islam until 1975). [FrontPage Magazine.com]
In 1989, Rezko and a business partner founded Rezmar Inc., a real estate company aimed at rehabilitating
properties into apartment buildings. Rezmar purchased 30 properties with the help of community groups and government loans.
Barack Obama first met Tony Rezko in 1990. When hearing of Obama's election as president of the Law Review at Harvard, a Rezmar executive approached Obama with a job offer which he declined. But when learning of Obama's interest in politics, he introduced him to Rezko.
In 1993, Obama took a job with the law firm, Davis Miner, Barnhill & Galland. During Obama's time with the firm, Davis Miner represented 3 community groups in partnership with Rezmar. Through them, the law firm
helped Rezko obtain $43 million dollars.
In 1995, when Obama decided to run for state Senate, Rezko was the first in line, donating $2,000 to Obama through two of his fast food businesses. [Salon News]
From 1997 to 2004, while Obama served in the state Senate, eleven of Rezko's thirty properties were located in Obama's district. And during that same time, Rezko continued to be Obama's main source of campaign contributions.
In 2003, Rezko held a fundraiser for Obama's run for US Senate seat in his Chicago mansion, in which reportedly 100-130 guests attended. Several days following, Obama reported contributions from 3 of Rezko's associates.
"The donor list included six people involved in the two federal indictments of Rezko. *In 2006, Obama said he was donating $22,000. from three of these donors to charity. Among those were, Ali D. Ata ( a partner of Rezko's and former official in Gov. Blagojevich's administration). Ata was name coconspirator in Rezko's indictment, Joseph Aramanda and Dr. Paul Ray. Aramanda was involved in a scheme involving state pension funds, and whose son once held an internship in Obama's senate office.
During 2004 and 2005, the FBI takes notes of repeated visits by Obama and Gov. Blagojevich to the offices of Rezmar Corporation. During the corruption trial of Rezko, an FBI mole, John Thomas helped investigators build a record of repeat visits to the offices of Rezko, at 853 N. Elston, by Obama and Blagojevich, though the purpose of the visits is not clear. [Chicago Sun-Times]
In 2004, Iraqi billionaire Nadhmi Auchi flies from London to Chicago and meets with Rezko, Blagojevich and Obama. At this point, both Blagojevich and Obama are aware that Rezko is under investigation.
In 2005, Auchi loans Rezko 3.5 million dollars. Three weeks later, Obama purchases his mansion in Kenwood, with the help of Tony Rezko and his wife Rita. The details of this questionable transaction can be found here: http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/124171,CST-NWS-obama05.article
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Rezko and Obama were friends who talked frequently and dined together with their wives. However, in a November of 2006, when Obama was posed a series of questions about his association with Rezko, Obama answered: "I have probably had lunch with Rezko once or twice a year and our spouses may have gotten together on two to four occasions in the time that I have known him. I last spoke with Tony Rezko more than six months ago."
In this same questionnaire, Obama was also ask for an estimate of how much money Rezko raised for his campaigns, to which he replied: "He hosted one event at his home in 2003 for my U.S. Senate campaign. He participated as a member of a host committee for several other events. My best estimate was that he raised somewhere between $50,000 and $60,000."
In April of 2007, Obama said he was unaware that Rezko was a slumlord with problem buildings while he served as Senator for the district that had eleven of those properties, stating that to his knowledge none of Rezko's tenants ever contacted his office with complaints. These problems involved repeated law suits brought by the city against the low income housing. (My opinon) Obama must not have read newspapers during that period as everyone else in Chicago knew of these projects.
Obama also claimed in November of 2006 that neither Rezko or his companies ever solicited any support from Obama involving state or federal government, to which Obama stated: "No, I have never been asked to do anything to advance his business interests."
In June of 2007, the Sun-Times reported that they had traced triple the amount of campaign contributions to Obama from Rezko and his associates, totaling at least $163,308. This was in addition to unknown amounts of money from people who attended fund-raising events by Rezko since the mid-1990s. Obama's staff still claims their best estimate of Rezko's contributions to be $50 to $60 thousand.
As to the question of political favors Obama claims to have never given or been asked by his friend, Tony Rezko, below is a brief history of Obama's Senate actions that certainly would have benefited his biggest fund raiser.
In October 1998, Obama wrote city and state officials, urging them to give Rezko $14 million to build an apartment complex outside of Obama's state Senate district. The Chicago Sun-Times noted last year that Obama's request included 855,000 in "development fees" for Rezko and for another developer, Allison Davis, who happened to be Obama's old law-firm boss. Obama's spokesman said it was just a coincidence that the state senator wrote letters to obtain millions of dollars for his two longtime friends.
In fact, Obama was a dependable ally of subsidized developers in the Legislature, giving Rezko and others broader help as well. In "The Case Against Barack Obama," I identify and parse six housing bills with which Obama was closely involved. A few examples:
* In 2001, Obama cosponsored a bill allowing developers to sell state tax credits to others and pocket half of the proceeds.
* In 2002 and 2004, he was chief cosponsor of a bill to authorize a rent-subsidy fund giving "grants . . . directly to developers" of low-income housing. Seventy percent of the money was earmarked for the Chicago area.
* Obama cosponsored the Illinois Housing Initiative Act of 2003, which required the governor to develop a plan for more low-income housing and "provide[d] for funding for housing construction and rehabilitation and supportive services."
* In 2003, Obama voted for the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act, which required Illinois municipalities to make 10 percent of their housing units "affordable" (by definition, this included subsidized housing). This forced 46 communities just outside of Chicago to create more than 7,000 new "affordable" units - a huge boost in demand for area developers. The bill also provided loopholes for developers to circumvent local ordinances and regulations.
After voting for this measure (it passed narrowly), Obama then cosponsored a new bill that moved up its implementation by more than a year.
These and the other Obama-backed bills helped make millionaires of Rezko and other slum developers at taxpayers' expense. The developers - including his former law boss and an adviser to his current campaign - reciprocated, together giving and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Obama's campaigns.
To sum up: Obama got them subsidies to build. He secured them a steady income of government rent subsidies. He arranged special tax credits and abatements for them. He backed measures that increased demand for their services, and helped them legally circumvent local laws.
There are so many characters involved in Obama's circle of friends that I could have written three times the length of this article.
In future installments of "Too Many Feet in the Fire," I will try to research some other interesting friends and their role in Obama's political years, as well as connecting dots from Syria to Iraq and Kenya. If you want to do some research of your own on issues covered in this article, I've listed some links below.
As to my conclusion, it appears to me that Obama has repeatedly lied to the public about his associations and dealings with the Chicago thugs. But you are free to draw your own.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/watchdogs/757340,CST-NWS-watchdog24.article
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/355098,CST-NWS-obama24.article
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/18/whistleblower-hits-obama-friends-appraisal/
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/432197,CST-NWS-obama18.article
Be forewarned! There is enough dirt in here to fill an olympic sized swimming pool. After hours of research, I had the strong urge to take a shower before I could sit down and write it.
Antoin "Tony" Rezko was born in Syria in 1955 and came to Chicago in 1971 to study Civil Engineering. He soon began to invest in fast-food chains and real estate on the South side of Chicago.
In 1983, he befriended Jabir Herbert Muhammad, the business manager of Muhammad Ali. Soon thereafter, Rezko became the executive director of the Muhammad Ali Foundation, a group devoted to the spreading of Islam. Jabir Herbert Muhammad was the son of the Elijah Muhammad (the leader of the Nation of Islam until 1975). [FrontPage Magazine.com]
In 1989, Rezko and a business partner founded Rezmar Inc., a real estate company aimed at rehabilitating
properties into apartment buildings. Rezmar purchased 30 properties with the help of community groups and government loans.
Barack Obama first met Tony Rezko in 1990. When hearing of Obama's election as president of the Law Review at Harvard, a Rezmar executive approached Obama with a job offer which he declined. But when learning of Obama's interest in politics, he introduced him to Rezko.
In 1993, Obama took a job with the law firm, Davis Miner, Barnhill & Galland. During Obama's time with the firm, Davis Miner represented 3 community groups in partnership with Rezmar. Through them, the law firm
helped Rezko obtain $43 million dollars.
In 1995, when Obama decided to run for state Senate, Rezko was the first in line, donating $2,000 to Obama through two of his fast food businesses. [Salon News]
From 1997 to 2004, while Obama served in the state Senate, eleven of Rezko's thirty properties were located in Obama's district. And during that same time, Rezko continued to be Obama's main source of campaign contributions.
In 2003, Rezko held a fundraiser for Obama's run for US Senate seat in his Chicago mansion, in which reportedly 100-130 guests attended. Several days following, Obama reported contributions from 3 of Rezko's associates.
"The donor list included six people involved in the two federal indictments of Rezko. *In 2006, Obama said he was donating $22,000. from three of these donors to charity. Among those were, Ali D. Ata ( a partner of Rezko's and former official in Gov. Blagojevich's administration). Ata was name coconspirator in Rezko's indictment, Joseph Aramanda and Dr. Paul Ray. Aramanda was involved in a scheme involving state pension funds, and whose son once held an internship in Obama's senate office.
During 2004 and 2005, the FBI takes notes of repeated visits by Obama and Gov. Blagojevich to the offices of Rezmar Corporation. During the corruption trial of Rezko, an FBI mole, John Thomas helped investigators build a record of repeat visits to the offices of Rezko, at 853 N. Elston, by Obama and Blagojevich, though the purpose of the visits is not clear. [Chicago Sun-Times]
In 2004, Iraqi billionaire Nadhmi Auchi flies from London to Chicago and meets with Rezko, Blagojevich and Obama. At this point, both Blagojevich and Obama are aware that Rezko is under investigation.
In 2005, Auchi loans Rezko 3.5 million dollars. Three weeks later, Obama purchases his mansion in Kenwood, with the help of Tony Rezko and his wife Rita. The details of this questionable transaction can be found here: http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/124171,CST-NWS-obama05.article
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Rezko and Obama were friends who talked frequently and dined together with their wives. However, in a November of 2006, when Obama was posed a series of questions about his association with Rezko, Obama answered: "I have probably had lunch with Rezko once or twice a year and our spouses may have gotten together on two to four occasions in the time that I have known him. I last spoke with Tony Rezko more than six months ago."
In this same questionnaire, Obama was also ask for an estimate of how much money Rezko raised for his campaigns, to which he replied: "He hosted one event at his home in 2003 for my U.S. Senate campaign. He participated as a member of a host committee for several other events. My best estimate was that he raised somewhere between $50,000 and $60,000."
In April of 2007, Obama said he was unaware that Rezko was a slumlord with problem buildings while he served as Senator for the district that had eleven of those properties, stating that to his knowledge none of Rezko's tenants ever contacted his office with complaints. These problems involved repeated law suits brought by the city against the low income housing. (My opinon) Obama must not have read newspapers during that period as everyone else in Chicago knew of these projects.
Obama also claimed in November of 2006 that neither Rezko or his companies ever solicited any support from Obama involving state or federal government, to which Obama stated: "No, I have never been asked to do anything to advance his business interests."
In June of 2007, the Sun-Times reported that they had traced triple the amount of campaign contributions to Obama from Rezko and his associates, totaling at least $163,308. This was in addition to unknown amounts of money from people who attended fund-raising events by Rezko since the mid-1990s. Obama's staff still claims their best estimate of Rezko's contributions to be $50 to $60 thousand.
As to the question of political favors Obama claims to have never given or been asked by his friend, Tony Rezko, below is a brief history of Obama's Senate actions that certainly would have benefited his biggest fund raiser.
In October 1998, Obama wrote city and state officials, urging them to give Rezko $14 million to build an apartment complex outside of Obama's state Senate district. The Chicago Sun-Times noted last year that Obama's request included 855,000 in "development fees" for Rezko and for another developer, Allison Davis, who happened to be Obama's old law-firm boss. Obama's spokesman said it was just a coincidence that the state senator wrote letters to obtain millions of dollars for his two longtime friends.
In fact, Obama was a dependable ally of subsidized developers in the Legislature, giving Rezko and others broader help as well. In "The Case Against Barack Obama," I identify and parse six housing bills with which Obama was closely involved. A few examples:
* In 2001, Obama cosponsored a bill allowing developers to sell state tax credits to others and pocket half of the proceeds.
* In 2002 and 2004, he was chief cosponsor of a bill to authorize a rent-subsidy fund giving "grants . . . directly to developers" of low-income housing. Seventy percent of the money was earmarked for the Chicago area.
* Obama cosponsored the Illinois Housing Initiative Act of 2003, which required the governor to develop a plan for more low-income housing and "provide[d] for funding for housing construction and rehabilitation and supportive services."
* In 2003, Obama voted for the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act, which required Illinois municipalities to make 10 percent of their housing units "affordable" (by definition, this included subsidized housing). This forced 46 communities just outside of Chicago to create more than 7,000 new "affordable" units - a huge boost in demand for area developers. The bill also provided loopholes for developers to circumvent local ordinances and regulations.
After voting for this measure (it passed narrowly), Obama then cosponsored a new bill that moved up its implementation by more than a year.
These and the other Obama-backed bills helped make millionaires of Rezko and other slum developers at taxpayers' expense. The developers - including his former law boss and an adviser to his current campaign - reciprocated, together giving and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Obama's campaigns.
To sum up: Obama got them subsidies to build. He secured them a steady income of government rent subsidies. He arranged special tax credits and abatements for them. He backed measures that increased demand for their services, and helped them legally circumvent local laws.
There are so many characters involved in Obama's circle of friends that I could have written three times the length of this article.
In future installments of "Too Many Feet in the Fire," I will try to research some other interesting friends and their role in Obama's political years, as well as connecting dots from Syria to Iraq and Kenya. If you want to do some research of your own on issues covered in this article, I've listed some links below.
As to my conclusion, it appears to me that Obama has repeatedly lied to the public about his associations and dealings with the Chicago thugs. But you are free to draw your own.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/watchdogs/757340,CST-NWS-watchdog24.article
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/355098,CST-NWS-obama24.article
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/18/whistleblower-hits-obama-friends-appraisal/
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/432197,CST-NWS-obama18.article