Obama's past may not be of interest to his supporters but what will happen if the Republicans decide that there are questionable events and ask for hearings? Among all his Chicago political associations, Tony Rezko is liable to be the key that will open the door to investigations.
Obama and Rezko History
According to the Chicago Sun Times ((01/24/08) the Obama and Rezko history go back many years.
- 1990: Obama and Rezko first met when he was a student at Harvard Law School and got an unsolicited job offer from Rezko, then a low-income housing developer in Chicago, which Obama turned down.
- 1993: Obama took a job with a small, Chicago law firm, Davis Miner Barnhill, that represents developers---primarily not for profit groups---building low income housing with government funds.
- 1995: One of the firms not-for-profit clients---the Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corp., co-founded by Obama's boss Allison David,--- was partners with Rezko's company in a deal to convert an abandoned nursing home at 61st and Drexel into low income apartments. Obama spent 32 hours on the project. That same year, Obama began campaigning for a seat in the Illinois Senate and Rezko was among his earliest supporters and two of his companies donated $2000. Obama was elected in 1996---representing a district that included 11 of Rezko's 30 low-income housing projects.
- 2001: Rezko's low income housing empire began to crumble when his company stopped making mortgage payments on the old nursing home that had been converted into apartments. The state foreclosed on the building which was in Obama's Illinois Senate district.
- 2003: Obama announced he was running for the U.S. Senate and Rezko, a member of his finance committee, held a lavish fund-raiser on June 27 of that year at his Wilmette mansion.
- A few months after Obama became a U.S. Senator, he and Rezko's wife, Rita, bought adjacent pieces of property from a doctor in Chicago's Kenwood neighborhood. The doctor sold the property to Obama for $1.65 million, $300,000 below the asking price. Rezko's wife paid full price, $625,000 for the adjacent lot and six months later, Obama paid her $104,500 for a strip of her land so he could have a bigger yard. At that time, it was reported that Rezko was under federal investigation.
Rezko Trial
In 2006, Rezko was indicted on charges he solicited $7 million dollars in kickbacks from companies seeking state pension business under his friend, Gov. Blagojevich. He has since been tried, convicted and is now awaiting sentencing. Obama returned the $10,000 contribution made to his campaign by Rezko which is said to have come from the kickback schemes.
In the Associated Press (10/11/08), Mike Robinson writes that in order to receive a lighter sentence Rezko is talking to federal prosecutors about corruption in Illinois and that the political fallout could be explosive. His sentence has been postponed indefinitely while discussions take place that could effect how much time Rezko will serve. It includes the millions of campaign dollars raised for many Chicago politicians and the clout that controlled appointments to state boards. Obama has sent to charity the $159,000 that Rezko raised for his campaigns for the state legislature, the House and the Senate.
If Obama wins the presidency, the Republicans will start asking more questions about his relationship with Rezko, particularly over his role in the purchase of Obama's home, and may start pushing for hearings.
