Washington Prowler
Hitting Close to Home
Richardson withdrawal points spotlight at Obama’s ties to Illinois housing industry. Also: Rangel kept out of the stimulus loop.
AN ORGANIZED COMMUNITY
One reason the Obama transition team pushed New Mexico Gov.
Bill Richardson overboard was concern that other
close associates of Obama might be drawn into the burgeoning “pay
for play” scandal that is now enveloping not only Richardson, but
also the administration of Pennsylvania Gov. Ed
Rendell, as well as other prominent Democrats.
“The biggest concern is [Valerie] Jarrett and anyone associated with the public housing industry in Chicago,” says an Obama transition team adviser. “Some of Obama’s earliest and most influential fundraisers came from the low-income housing industry.”
In fact, according to federal law enforcement sources, the company at the center of the “pay for play” scandal, CDR Financial, was about to announce the opening of a new office in Illinois. “They were expecting to make some money there, just how and how much isn’t clear yet, but it’s something that is being looked at.”
Web pages on the CDR website that announced contact information for the Illinois office mysteriously were taken down about a week ago, about the time that Richardson announced he was withdrawing from consideration for Commerce Secretary.
And because of Obama’s ties to the housing industry in Illinois, there is growing concern that the CDR story is not something that will go away any time soon, and it threatens to touch some of Obama’s closest advisers.
Jarrett, for example, who is expected to serve as the senior adviser to the President, with an office down the hall from the Oval Office, and beyond being perhaps the Obamas’ closest friend, and a hardened Chicago Democrat machine cog in the Daley administration, was perhaps the most influential player in Chicago public- and low-income housing for more than a decade.
Since 1995, and until she recently stepped down, Jarrett was a high ranking executive at Habitat Co., a real estate firm that oversaw large segments of low-income and public housing operated by the Chicago Housing Authority. In 2007, she was named CEO.
Jarrett and Habitat could decide how many public, low-income and “lease to own” housing units could be built, approved the budgets and negotiated contracts that included financing and construction.
“Valerie was in a position where she actually signed off personally on many of the decisions the company made,” says a longtime Obama supporter in Chicago. “Her family has had ties to the Chicago Housing Authority for decades. No one understands the situation better than she does. In fact, between 2000 and 2007, Habitat earned almost $7 million in administrative fees and collected almost $11 million for expenses from federal and state housing programs. It also earned millions serving as a property manager for the housing authority.
Habitat also stands to make millions more through a ruling that allows development firms to build “market priced” (homes sold at market value), as a proportion of the units built as part of public housing developments.
CDR Financial was a firm that oftenAntoin dealt with state and municipal bonds that are used to construct that kind of housing, and apparently was expecting to do business in Illinois. “It’s not uncommon for entities with ties to this level of political influence to focus business on those folks’ home state,” says a longtime Clinton White House staffer. “Look at how many people with ties to Arkansas got sweetheart jobs to gain access to the administration and the Clinton people.”
At least four of Obama’s major financial backers — going back to his campaign for the Illinois state senate — are involved in public housing finance, construction and/or management.
The most notorious is Antoin “Tony” Rezko, who is credited in Chicago political circles for jumpstarting Obama’s political career, and who gave the Obama family a sweetheart financial deal for the family’s Chicago home. Rezko’s company used city, state and federal housing subsidies to develop more than 1,000 apartments, almost all of them in Obama’s state senate district.
Another major contributor is Cecil Butler, who developed with housing subsidy dollars the Lawndale Restoration, at the time the largest subsidized low-income housing project in all of Chicago.
Then there is Allison Davis, who was a law partner of Obama, a fundraiser for his U.S. Senate and presidential campaigns. He was involved with Jarrett in the development of one of Habitat’s largest projects, and took advantage of housing subsidies to develop more than 1,500 low-income housing units in Chicago.
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Paul Bunker| 1.12.09 @ 7:12AM
This is a chapter in the story of Don Ricardo Daley's Chicago political machine. Are you surprised? Why? You must not have been paying attention. Good luck.
Eric Dondero | 1.12.09 @ 9:25AM
AS Prowler, you continue to be the Best on the Web for investigative journalism, especially on the massively corrupt Obama administration.
Keep up the good work. Political Correctness is keeping just about everyone else from investigating this southside Chicago thug, But looks like you all, at least have the cajones to look into him.
Might I make a suggestion? Check out some of boss Rezko's ties to Illinois gaming. And Obama's (and Eric Holder's), connections to the horse tracks, and proposed casinos. There's a lot of smoke there... and as the saying goes, where there's smoke...
Trotter| 1.12.09 @ 10:24AM
Public housing has been a fiasco since the day it was created. As such, does it shock anyone that it has been a vehicle for corruption? The Illinois public housing environment just happens to stink worse than the others.
Marc Jeric| 1.12.09 @ 11:34AM
Public housing - a source of corruption? What a surprise. 90%+ of government employees are rejects of private enterprise: design, construction, planning and scheduling - they are strangers to these, and you want them to control and administer whatsoever?
Appleby| 1.12.09 @ 12:13PM
As my Southern Granny used to say, Up Jumped The Devil.
Read Luke 4 for further details.
Tim| 1.12.09 @ 12:52PM
It wouldn't be the first time that a person seeking power threw his supporters and close friends under the bus after securing their coveted power.
The ancient Romans and Egyptians to name just two famous groups were fantastic at doing this.
That Obama will have to throw potential criminals(friends) that have supported him under the bus is a no brainer.
What will be very interesting to see in the coming months and years is if he runs out of people to throw over-board before he becomes the last man standing without a chair when the music stops.
Then again, he may be the only honest person in DC.......Time will tell for certain.....
bpjam| 1.12.09 @ 1:53PM
Gosh, wouldn't it have been interesting for anybody to have know about these kind of people BEFORE we annointed The Messiah?? Thanks MSM. Thanks so very much.
Pablo| 1.12.09 @ 2:42PM
Can't anybody out there stop this communist before he takes office?
Trotter| 1.12.09 @ 2:53PM
Tim:
Honest people don't have this many "friends" of this nature. As such, I think your answer is already apparent.
Alan Brooks| 1.12.09 @ 4:10PM
well, we'll see; we'll see.
a guy told me the massively corrupt Clinton administration would v. quickly be impeached and removed from office. that was in 1992.
in 1998 a guy with hair standing up on the back of his neck said Clinton would be removed from office that year, and now his wife will be secstate.
isnt predicting the future swell?
its not enough to have Gingrich doing it, everybody is doing it.
its the in thing to do, babe.
Tim| 1.12.09 @ 4:32PM
Pablo, Obama was elected and he will and should take office. Granted, Acorn won him a few states that he should have lost if the vote tally and actaul votes cast had been all legal.
But, even discounting the Acorn factor, Obama still would have won.
The answer to your over-all question regarding Communists. If, Obama falls into the trap of governing as a neo communist, he will self destruct and there will be no need for any one else to do anything. The dems will loose control of both houses of congress in 2010 and he will be a one term Jimmy Carter type President.
So I think we should acknowledge that the man will be sworn in as our next President. If he remains true to our deep rooted American Principles he will serve himself and the country well. If, not then he will have to deal with the negative fall out for trashing what we have stood for.
The ball will be in his court in 8-days. What he does with it is his call.
But the USA will be here long after he is no longer President regardless of how he trys to govern.
After all, he really isn't the Messiah!
Interloper| 1.12.09 @ 5:47PM
Another set of baseless smears by "The Prowler" eh? Let's just say there is a reason he does not put his name on his contributions.
The company Valerie Jarrett worked for has not been linked to misconduct involving urban development contracts. In fact, it has taken on some of the mismanaged properties of other developers. The majority of Habitat's business is not in the public housing sector.
Gov. Richardson's problems predate President-elect Obama's decision to run for president.
Gov. Rendell was a Hillary Clinton supporter and has limited connection to Obama.
But, "The Prowler" could not care less about the truth.
Alan Brooks| 1.12.09 @ 10:03PM
but what can any politician do.
those too competent to live in public housing aren't competent enough to pay out their mortgage notes.
only scientific progress really exists; economic progress is fleeting.
Frosty| 1.13.09 @ 12:30AM
Interloper, provide links to support your claims. I don't believe you--prove what you are saying is true.
Henauder| 1.13.09 @ 1:42AM
Tim,
Obama has no intention of our Republic surviving as we have known it. In 4 years you can expect further devaluation of the dollar, 50+ per cent of GDP being government spending, and yielding to the UN in matters that are in conflict with out national interest, along with ignoring our Constitution in deference to the UN charter.
Henauder| 1.13.09 @ 1:43AM
If you want to see what our country will look like in 4 years, take a look at Belgium. Obama and his team seek to reduce the US to the same status in the world as Belgium.
Interloper| 1.13.09 @ 2:41PM
Frosty, give off your lazy arse and do some reading outside of the Tinfoil Hat Zone. Anyone doing due diligence will easily confirm "The Prowler" just makes stuff up. You can begin by reading any account of when Gov. Richardson began his relationship with CDR, ie. long before Barack Obama was even thinking of running for president.
Kat| 1.13.09 @ 10:09PM
Interloper, what do you mean by, "give off your lazy arse?" Is that nasty liberal-speak for "I have been caught lying once again, or are you just losing what little mind you have?" Testy liberal.
Interloper| 1.14.09 @ 3:06AM
Kat, I meant get up off your lazy arses and actually learn what is going on in the world instead of spending all your time in the Tinfoil Hat Zone. Comprende?
Kat| 1.14.09 @ 3:51AM
Just trying to help you out there, you obviously were struggling. If you hold us in such disdain, why are you here so much? Salary from the Obama campaign pretty good?
Interloper| 1.14.09 @ 10:06AM
I'm being a good Samaritan, Kat. As a knowledgeable person, I believe I have a duty to help my fellow citizens, including the obtuse. Thanks to me and any other rational contributors, you have learned some actual factual information about the issues 'The Prowler' is lying about. Perhaps you will even seek out real information for yourself, someday.
Kat| 1.14.09 @ 2:34PM
I checked your source, and you are lying. Go back to your campaign headquarters, your Obamassiah is going to nominate another corrupt loser for you to whine about.
Sharon Russ| 1.14.09 @ 4:48PM
Hussein Obama is a exalted Black democrat Across the country, every black congress man at the federal,state and, local level reside over slum ridden, crime ridden districts. Democrats elect these politicians who have managed to control the Black masses through the politics of victimization and race. For instant, Charlie Rangle has sat in the congress for almost a lifetime crying and telling his constituents that the "WHITE MAN" is the reason for their miserable state , all the while he lives the life of the tragic house negro ( I'm Black so don't panic if I use the word "negro", it's o.k. ). Poverty pimping is the democrat's game. They recruit the low-down-est (as my mother use to put it) Black rascals they can find ; all they need is the Black vote. Hussein was only elected because he brought Blacks to the poll. He gave power back to the Clintons. A Black democrat is the overseer of every housing project in country. Hussein made his fortune with Rezko at the expense of his constituents who live in the rat infested, crime infested slums of Chicago. Not to mention his own aunt who lived there llegally.
ruth| 1.14.09 @ 4:57PM
Sharon, if you are for real, bravo!
Sharon| 1.15.09 @ 4:05PM
Ruth I am for real. I know you don't hear many Blacks speaking this way. Thank God for wisdom and believe me I am not popular among my race. The truth will set you free.
ruth| 1.15.09 @ 5:49PM
I can just imagine, and I am sorry if it's difficult for you, Sharon. You're certainly welcome here.
An American| 9.8.09 @ 9:27PM
So on top of being good Communists...they're Crooks too? Really?...no kidding?
gfh| 1.11.10 @ 2:11AM
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