IL senate race debate, Alexi Giannoulias, Mark Kirk, Giannoulias Rezko Obama, Citizen Wells open thread, October 30, 2010
IL senate race debate, Alexi Giannoulias, Mark Kirk, Giannoulias Rezko Obama
Obama is back in Chicago and Illinois stumping again for another corruption crony, Alexi Giannoulias. Obama supporting any candidate should be a politcal kiss of death. However, Alexi Giannoulias, has enough baggage of his own, enough associations with criminals like Tony Rezko and Michael Durango, to alarm concerned citizens.
From the recent debate between Alexi Giannoulias and Mark Kirk provided by the Chicago Tribune.
“>> Phil Ponce: LET’S MOVE ON TO SOMETHING ELSE THAT CONTINUES TO LINGER. MR. GIANNOULIAS, YOU ACKNOWLEDGED THAT YOU KNEW THE CRIMINAL BACKGROUNDS TO MEN TO
WHO YOUR FAMILY’S BANK MADE LOANS UP TO $27 MILLION, WHAT EXACTLY DID YOU KNOW ABOUT MICHAEL DURANGO AND OTHERS?
>> Alexi Giannoulias: LET ME STEP BACK AND TRY TO CLEAR THE AIR BECAUSE THROUGHOUT THIS CAMPAIGN, CONGRESSMAN KIRK AND KARL ROVE AND HIS OUTSIDE GROUPS HAVE
SAID THINGS THAT ARE WRONG, INACCURATE AND OFFENSIVE.
I’M VERY, VERY PROUD OF THE BUSINESS THAT MY FATHER STARTED 30 YEARS AGO.
AND, YOU KNOW, NO ONE NO ONE HAS EVER ACCUSED MY FATHER’S BUSINESS OF EVER DOING ANYTHING ILLEGAL, ELICIT OR IMPROPER.
HE CAME TO THIS COUNTRY WITH NOTHING.
HE STARTED A COMMUNITY BANK THAT HELPED THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ACHIEVED THE AMERICAN DREAM.
BY
>> Phil Ponce: LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR CONDUCT, THOUGH.
>> Alexi Giannoulias: BY HELPING THEM BUY THEIR FIRST HOME.
TO CHERRY PICK A FEW INDIVIDUALS OUT OF THOUSANDS OUT OF THOUSANDS WHILE IT’S EASY TO MAKE A POLITICAL AD, RUNNING A BUSINESS IS NOT A STRAIGHT LINE.
AND MISTAKES ARE MADE, AND INEVITABLY, UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE PEOPLE YOU WISH YOU NEVER HAD DONE BUSINESS WITH, BUT THAT DOESN’T REPRESENT THE THOUSANDS OF
CUSTOMERS THAT ACHIEVE THE AMERICAN DREAM BECAUSE OF MY FATHER.
>> Phil Ponce: AND YET YOU SAID IN A 2006 ARTICLE, THAT YOU DID DISCUSS HIS CRIMINAL BACKGROUND WITH MR. DURANGO.
>> Alexi Giannoulias: NOTHING I SAID IS INCONSISTENT.
THESE ARE NOT THE KIND OF PEOPLE THAT WE WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH, THAT’S NOT MY FATHER’S LEGACY.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE WAY THAT BANKS AND COMMUNITY BANKS MAKE DECISIONS.
THEY LOOK AT THE CREDIT WORTHINESS AND WHETHER THAT INDIVIDUAL CAN PAY THEIR LOAN IN A TIMELY MANNER.
THAT’S HOW CREDIT DECISIONS ARE MADE.
IT’S ALSO IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT NONE OF THE LOANS THAT WERE GIVEN HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY OF THESE INDIVIDUALS.
NONE OF THEM.
SO, AGAIN, IT’S IMPORTANT TO PUT THAT IN PERSPECTIVE AND I’M VERY PROUD OF MY FATHER’S COMMUNITY BANK.
>> Phil Ponce: WE ARE REALLY TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU PERFORMED AS A SENIOR LOAN OFFICER.
AND DID YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, THE TWO MEN WERE FACING PRISON SENTENCES AT THE TIME THE LOANS WERE MADE?
>> Alexi Giannoulias: AS I SAID, PHIL, IF WE KNEW THEN WHAT WE KNOW NOW, WE WOULDN’T DO BUSINESS.
>> Phil Ponce: SO YOU DON’T KNOW?
>> Alexi Giannoulias: PHIL, WHEN MAKE A CREDIT DECISION.
YOU LOOK AT THE CREDIT WORTHINESS OF THE BORROWER AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY CAN PAY THAT LOAN.
AND WHEN YOU GO TO A LARGER BANK, YOU WILL FIND NOT TWO OR THREE PEOPLE BUT HUNDREDS.
THAT’S HOW THE REALITY OF BUSINESSES.
>> Phil Ponce: ARE YOU SAYING YOU GO TO A LARGER BANK LIKE CHASE, THEY DO BUSINESS WITH HUNDREDS OF CRIMINALS.
>> Alexi Giannoulias: ABSOLUTELY.
I’M SURE THEY HAVE GOTTEN LOANS FROM A LOT OF OTHER BANKS.
>> Phil Ponce: DO YOU HAVE YOUR LIST WITH YOU?
>> Mark Kirk: THIS IS A LIST OF ALL THE LOANS MADE BY BROADWAY BANK.
THE ONES IN YELLOW ARE THE ONES MADE WHEN ALEXI GIANNOULIAS WAS THE SENIOR LOAN OFFICER OF THE BROADWAY BANK.
TO INFAMOUS MOBSTERS LIKE MICHAEL “JAWS” DURANGO AND TO LEARN ABOUT THEM, YOU DON’T HAVE TO PULL THEIR RAP SHEET.
YOU CAN READ ABOUT THEM IN THE “CHICAGO TRIBUNE.”
JOE KLEIN OF “TIME” MAGAZINE SAID AFTER OUR APPEARANCE ON “MEET THE PRESS” IN ALL OF HIS YEARS IN POLITICS, HE DIDN’T SEE SOMEONE RUNNING FOR A NATIONALLY
POLITICAL OFFICE, SAYING I DIDN’T KNOW THE EXTENT OF THE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY OF THE PEOPLE I WAS LENDING MONEY TO.
AND, REMEMBER, THIS WAS ELECTRIC A FEDERALLY LICENSE FROM A FEDERALLY LICENSED AND FEDERALLY INSURED INSTITUTION THAT THEN COLLAPSED, TRANSFERRING A $390
MILLION BILL ON TO THE BACK OF THE FDIC.
>> Phil Ponce: YOUR RESPONSE.
>> Alexi Giannoulias: SO I’M THRILLED.
YOU KNOW WHAT THE CONGRESSMAN CONTINUES TO CARRY THIS LIST AROUND.
HE TRIES, IT’S GUILT BY ASSOCIATION ATTACKS THAT DON’T WORK.
HE TRIES TO MALIGN MY FAMILY, MY FATHER’S BUSINESS, AND HE READ THE LIST.
I BROUGHT MY LIST AND IF WE WANT TO PLAY THESE GUILT BY ASSOCIATION ATTACKS, LET’S DO IT.
HE TOOK MONEY, THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FROM STUART LEVINE WHO PLED GUILTY TO CORRUPTION.
NICHOLAS HERKIN PLED GUILTY TO KICKBACK SCHEMES AND JOHN GLENON PLED GUILTY TO KICKBACK SCHEMES.
I CAN GO ON AND ON.
BUT, LOOK, THESE GUILT BY ASSOCIATION ATTACKS, PEOPLE AREN’T BUYING IT.
THEY ARE SICK OF IT.
LET’S ELEVATE THE CAMPAIGN AND TALK ABOUT IDEAS.
YOU CAN TALK ABOUT CRIMINALS WHO YOU TOOK MONEY FROM.
SO I WOULD LOVE TO TALK ABOUT THE ISSUES AND MOVE THIS CAMPAIGN FORWARD AND TALK ABOUT THE FUNDAMENTAL ECONOMIC DIFFERENCES BUT ONE OF THE REASONS THAT YOU
ARE GOING TO SEE THAT CONGRESSMAN KIRK TODAY DECIDED TO GO STRAIGHT NEGATIVE THROUGHOUT THIS CAMPAIGN IS BECAUSE HE HAD AN INDEFENSIBLE RECORD IN CONGRESS.
FOR THE RECORD, I HAVE DECIDED FOR THE REST OF THE CAMPAIGN TO GO POSITIVE.
>> Phil Ponce: FOR THE REST
>> Alexi Giannoulias: AND THE CONGRESSMAN.
IT’S IRONIC THAT TODAY HE PULLED ALL OF HIS POSITIVE ADS AND HE’S GOING STRAIGHT NEGATIVE.
>> Phil Ponce: LET’S GET YOUR RESPONSE TO THAT LIST.
ARE YOU AWARE THAT THESE DONORS ACCORDING TO MR. GIANNOULIAS HAVE CRIMINAL BACKGROUNDS?
>> Mark Kirk: WELL, SO MUCH WITH ALEXI GIANNOULIAS, WHEN YOU ARE DEBATING HIM, IT’S LIKE AND NOW THE REST OF THE STORY.
IT’S LIKE A PAUL HARVEY EPISODE.
WHAT HE DOESN’T SAY IS WE REFUNDED THE MONEY AS SOON AS WE KNEW ABOUT CRIMINAL PROBLEMS.
MANY OF THEM WE REFUNDED ALMOST A DECADE AGO.
>> Alexi Giannoulias: YOU REFUNDED ALL OF THESE CONTRIBUTIONS?
>> Mark Kirk: WELL, FOR EXAMPLE, STUART LEVINE AND NICHOLAS HERKINS, WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS I DIDN’T LEND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO TONY REZKO.
>> Alexi Giannoulias: YOU RECEIVED A CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION FROM TONY REZKO.
>> Mark Kirk: I DIDN’T INTERRUPT YOU.
I WOULD GIVE YOU THE RESPECT OF NOT INTERRUPTING YOU.
>> Alexi Giannoulias: YOU ALSO HAVE TO ANSWER PHIL’S QUESTION.
>> Mark Kirk: ARE YOU OKAY NOW?
CAN I TALK?
>> Alexi Giannoulias: SURE, GO AHEAD.
BE TRUTHFUL.
>> Mark Kirk: I’M GOING TO RESPECT MY OPPONENT AND LET HIM ANSWER AND THEN I WILL ANSWER.
WE REFUNDED THIS MONEY FROM, FOR EXAMPLE, STUART LEVINE AND WHEN YOU RUN BIG CAMPAIGNS, YOU WILL ACCEPT MONEY FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE BUT THEN WHEN YOU HEAR
ABOUT CRIMINAL PROBLEMS, YOU WILL REFUND IT.
WHAT I DIDN’T DO IS I DIDN’T LOAN MONEY TO TONY REZKO.
WHAT I DIDN’T DO IS RUN A BANK THAT HAD SO MANY RELATIONSHIPS WITH MOBSTERS AND FELONS.
WHAT I DIDN’T DO IS BET THE WHOLE BANK ON RISKY REAL ESTATE LOANS, A BROKERED HOT MONEY DEPOSITS.
“THE NEW YORK TIMES” ANALYSIS SHOWED LED TO THE COLLAPSE OF THIS INSTITUTION.
AND THEN A $390 MILLION BILL PAID BY THE FDIC.
BY THE WAY THAT WAS MY OPPONENT’S FIRST JOB.
HIS SECOND JOB WAS AS TREASURER FOR THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, IN WHICH HE PRESIDED OVER A STEADY COLLAPSE OF OUR STATE’S CREDIT RATING AND A LOSS OF COLLEGE
SAVINGS UNDER THE BRIGHT START PROGRAM.”
Read more:
http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2010/10/us-senate-debate-transcript.html
Giannoulias Rezko Obama. Another of many examples of politicians tied to corruption and crime in Chicago and IL and pay to play politics. Obama has been endorsing Giannoulias for years and both had money ties to rezko.
From Citizen Wells August 3, 2010.
““A new headache for Giannoulias? Another Rezko loan”
“By February 2006, businessman and political fixer Tony Rezko was already politically radioactive, caught up in a federal investigation that would see him criminally charged by the end of that year.
News reports had linked Rezko, a key adviser and campaign fund-raiser for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, to shady deals involving state pension funds — among the crimes that ultimately would send him to prison.
This was the Tony Rezko who, looking for millions of dollars for a massive South Loop development, turned to Broadway Bank, owned by the family of Alexi Giannoulias. Giannoulias, the Democrat now running for U.S. Senate, had left his post as a senior loan officer at the Chicago bank in late 2005 to mount a successful campaign for Illinois state treasurer, though he still held an ownership stake in the bank.
Rezko’s company asked. And Broadway Bank came through.
On Feb. 14, 2006, newly obtained records show, the bank made a $22.75 million loan to a company called Riverside District Development LLC, whose owners, it turns out, included Rezko.”
“Giannoulias, who touted his experience at Broadway Bank in his campaign to win election as state treasurer, has said its failure was the result of the national economic slowdown and the pullback in the real estate market, in which it invested heavily.”
“Broadway Bank made the loan even though another Rezko company, Chicago Hudson LLC, had fallen behind on a $10.9 million loan it got from the bank four years earlier. That loan — for a proposed high-rise condo building at 750 N. Hudson on the Near North Side that never got built — ended up in Bankruptcy Court. The property ended up being sold to another developer. Broadway Bank received $11.5 million from the sale, which took place July 31, 2006.
Following Rezko’s indictment in October 2006, he and his lawyers met in January 2007 with U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve to discuss his assets. During that closed-door hearing, Rezko disclosed his ownership stake in Riverside District Development, the company that got the $22.75 million loan from Broadway Bank. Rezko’s lawyers said his main partner in Riverside was General Mediterranean Holding, a Luxembourg company controlled by Iraq-born billionaire Nadhmi Auchi.”
“According to Giannoulias and Auchi, Riverside District Development paid off the Broadway Bank loan with money it obtained from a $27 million loan from another financial institution: Mutual Bank.
Like Broadway Bank, Mutual also ended up getting shut down by federal regulators — though the loan was paid off, records show. Like Rezko, Mutual’s president, Amrish Mahajan, had been a top fund-raiser for Blagojevich.”
Read more:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/watchdogs/2555870,CST-NWS-watchdogs02.article
For those of you really paying attention, the following exerpt will ring a bell.
“Conner was employed by Mutual bank from on or about August 3, 2000 until involuntarily terminated on October 23, 2007. Conner reported to James Murphy, Senior Vice President, Internal Auditor/Risk Manager, who in turn reported to Amrish Mahajan, President & CEO of Mutual Bank.””
Read more:
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