A lesson for Obama
August 27th, 2008The biggest piece of news this month was the resignation of Mike Powers from the Elgin City Council.
Bandits owner Bill Conroy said Powers approached him about a full-time marketing consultant position that was supposed to start June 1. Conroy said it seemed natural since Powers had great area connections, so the team paid him $3,000 in advance, which would have been his monthly salary. (Daily Herald 8/11/08)
Mr. Powers later voted for the $711,000 deal to bring the Bandits to Judson University. You have to wonder what both of these guys were thinking.
In any case, the resignation has been effected, and we can move on. I’m glad Mr. Powers brought this to a speedy resolution, admitted his mistake, and accepted responsibility. He says it was an honest mistake, and I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Of course it does cast a cloud over the city’s dealings with the Bandits.
While there was turmoil on the home front, the Bandits’s star player Jennie Finch, the “pin up pitcher,” “the face of her sport,” the “Barbie-faced blonde” helped team U.S.A. bring home a silver medal at the Olympic games in Beijing. I did a search for “Jennie Finch” in Google news and it turned up 2,456 results. I did a search for “Jennie Finch Elgin” and it turned up nothing. So much for that.
But wow, those commies, er Chinese, sure know how to host an Olympics. Why don’t we just let them host it every year? That way we don’t have to pay for it. I mean, $366 million for a temporary stadium? I can see why the Chinese want to do it, but why do we? What do we have to prove? What are we getting out of it?
The total price tag for a Chicago Olympics is estimated at $5 billion, which seems conservative. By comparison, China spent $40 billion. Athens went almost 4x over budget, ending at $9 billion. Most economists question the economic benefits of the games, especially for a city like Chicago which is already famous. It seems more like an ego thing for Richard Daley.
The games are supposed to be privately financed, but how likely is that? Governor Rod Blagojevich has already proposed state funding, and the City of Chicago has been obliged to provide $500M in guarantees against cost overruns. I don’t think there has ever been an Olympics games that was not financed at least to some extent with public money. If the games are held in Chicago, I’m pretty sure we’ll all be paying for it in one way or another.
The temporary Olympic stadium is to be situated in Washington Park, according to the proposal. I was down in that area a few weeks ago on a visit to the Oriental Institute, which is definitely worth a visit if you haven’t been there. They have a monumental bull from Persepolis, which is very beautiful, and the lamassu is probably the finest you will see in a North American museum. It’s about twice as large as anything I’ver ever seen.
The nearby Robie House, unbelievably, is still undergoing renovation. The last time I was there might have been four years ago…
Anyway, while I was down in Hyde Park, it occurred to me that it would be interesting to see the much-discussed Barack Obama house and adjoining Tony Rezko lot, but without an address, I wasn’t able to find it. There were homes that looked similar, that could have been it, but it was hard to tell. There are many fine homes in that area. For his house, Mr. Obama paid $1.65M, and an additional $104,500 for an extra strip of land from Tony Rezko, who is now in prison.
It was interesting to see the brouhaha this month over how many houses John McCain owns or his wife owns. It would seem that houses are not a good topic for Mr. Obama or his running mate. Mr. Obama’s house problems are well known, but did you know about Joe Biden’s? Mr. Biden was once criticized for selling his Delaware house for the full asking price of $1.2M to an MBNA executive. Full asking price is abnormal in any region, including Delaware, where comparable homes sold for ten to twenty percent less than the asking price:
In the case of Biden’s house, the appraiser compared the home to another large old house about a quarter of a mile away. That house—which was in similar condition—was judged to be worth $1,013,000. It sold in August 1995 for $800,000…The appraiser also looked at two other newer houses in the area. One was appraised at $1,230,000 and sold for $1,007,500. The other was appraised at $1,163,000 and sold for an even $1 million. In all three cases, the homes sold for a good deal less than their appraised value. In comparison, it appears Cochran simply paid Biden’s full asking price. And, according to people familiar with the situation, the house needed quite a bit of work; contractors and their trucks descended on the house for months after the purchase. (National Review 8/23/08)
It would not be so scandalous if Mr. Biden did not have any other relationship with MBNA, but in fact his largest source of political contributions came from MBNA, his son was given a job by MBNA, and then when MBNA and other credit card companies wanted a bill to make it harder for consumers to file for bankruptcy protection, Joe Biden was its biggest champion. For Joe Biden, this doesn’t seem like the kind of topic you’d want to bring up if you’re running on a presidential ticket.
It’s also interesting, because with $1.75M, which is less than what Mr. Obama paid for his house and property, you can buy seven $250,000 condos. Who’s more out of touch? Someone with seven condos or someone with a $1.75M house with “four fireplaces, glass-door bookcases fashioned from Honduran mahogany, and a 1,000-bottle wine cellar.” Don’t answer that, because I don’t think anybody really cares about how many houses you have or how large it is as long as it’s honestly got.
I didn’t support John McCain in the primary elections, because I didn’t agree as much with his views and I didn’t think he was very likable, but I never found a reason to question his probity.
But what about Barack Obama?
The National Review writes:
In 2001, Obama was serving in the state senate, and his modest salary there (less than $58,000 per year) was not enough. His family made a total of $240,000 in 2000, but he was experiencing serious financial difficulties, in part because of the debt he had racked up in his losing congressional primary against Rep. Bobby Rush. In July 2000, his credit card was even declined when he tried to rent a car at the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles.
Obama was short of work and short of cash, but Robert Blackwell Jr. came to his rescue. EKI hired him in March 2001 and paid him $8,000 per month in legal retainers, for a total of $112,000. Obama and his staff then helped Blackwell’s other company, a ping-pong apparel company called Killerspin, get $320,000 in state grants…he did much better in 2003 and 2004. Dan Shomon, Obama’s longtime aide, helped Killerspin get $300,000 more in taxpayer-funded grants in those two years.
The Times reported that Obama, in his required legal financial disclosures for 2001 and 2002, buried this six-figure financial conflict of interest with respect to Blackwell’s companies amid a list of hundreds of other clients represented by his entire law firm. He did not mention in his ethics paperwork that EKI was his largest source of income in 2001…(National Review 8/25/08)
When Elgin councilman Mike Powers did something similar, he acknowledged his mistake and stepped down. Somehow I don’t see that happening with Barack Obama.
If you believe Mike Powers’ activity was an “honest mistake” and that this scandal has been “brought to a speedy resolution,” then you really deserve government by Blago, Stroger, Daley, Obama and all the rest of the Illinois Gang. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, though, and just assume that your comments and your failure to keep up this blog simply reflect an absence from Elgin for the past month. Evidently, you are unaware that the Courier-News on August 20, 2008, published an internal city memo which “contradicts nearly all of Powers’ version of the incident.” Evidently, you are also unaware that Powers, at least as of last week, had not repaid the Bandits his $3000 “marketing” fee, contrary to his public statements. Evidently, you are unaware that Powers and the owner of the Bandits entered into a lease-to-own real estate contract providing a condo for Powers a few weeks after he’d improperly voted for and steered the Bandits’ subsidy through the City Council. Evidently, you are unaware that Elgin’s legal counsel and its assistant city manager claim they told Powers in April not to vote on Bandits’ matters. Don’t you want to know why then these two gentlemen and the City Council let Powers vote on the Bandits’ subsidy a month later? Don’t you want to know why it took three months after the Powers vote for the conflict of interest to become public when our city legal counsel and assistant city manager claim they recognized the conflict in April? Don’t you want to know what Elgin organizations got money from that initial $711,000 Bandits subsidy and how much those organizations have contributed to Powers or the other City Council members? Is that why our Council continues to spin the Bandits as - in Bob Gilliam’s words - ” a positive thing.” And just what other organizations doing city business may have paid for “marketing” services from Mike Powers and his so-called “Redlands Communications”?
Sure, I suppose this is all small fish compared to the Chicago rackets that sustain the Obama boom. But remember, you’re calling this blog “Elginite” so let’s address our own rascals. Even with our limited knowledge of the Bandits deal (isn’t it interesting how quiet the Herald has been about the Powers affair?), it may be the sleaziest financial scandal in Elgin politics in the past generation. If you’re going to preserve the credibility of yourself and this blog, you’re going to have to do better than smoothly assure us that poor Mike “deserves the benefit of the doubt.” I would hope instead that you’d have the character to recognize that Elgin’s citizens really deserve to the States Attorney haul Powers, Bandits owner Bill Sokolis, Corporation Counsel Bill Cogley, Assistant City Manager Sean Stegall, and the rest of our city councilmen in front of a grand jury and have them explain fully and under oath what was going on here. Meanwhile, it’s time to tell the Bandits that they should change their name to the thoroughly-appropriate “Chicago Bribe” and shuffle off to find a new city to sucker.
Posted August 27th, 2008 at 5:44 pmThanks for pointing out the additional information, Rick. I was aware of only the two or three stories on the subject, and none of them indicated that there was more to the story. I’ll try to find the article(s) you mentioned.
Posted August 27th, 2008 at 10:40 pmI found the stories. Don’t know how I missed them!
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/1114403,3_1_EL19_A1POWERS_S1.article
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/1117092,el20_powers_s2.article
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/1116612,3_1_EL20_A1POWERS_S1.article
You’re right, it sounds bad, much worse than I had thought.
Posted August 27th, 2008 at 10:58 pmI agree with RM’s assessment that our local scandal should not be swept under the carpet and should be brought to light and thoroughly investigated but I would hate to see the Bandits go. We don’t have to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Re your comments on Obama….this candidate of “Change” is actually just another Chicago, “tow the party line” politician. He sure can talk fancy. I just hope most voters have the smarts to check facts rather than fall in love with smooth talk….facts like during the 4 years he has held the title “Senator” he has been too busy running for President to effect any positive change for the state of Illinois.
Posted September 1st, 2008 at 11:43 pmOh…BTW….I am a big fan of the Oriental Institute…it has been way too long since I’ve been there.
Posted September 1st, 2008 at 11:44 pmPaula, I’ll endorse RS’s favorable impression of the Oriental Institute. They’ve put some real effort into the galleries, and it shows. (For those of you not familiar with the Institute, its “oriental” focus is on the Middle East, not the Far East, and reflects the University of Chicago’s archaelogical and other studies of the area.) And if you want to make a day of it, check out the U of C’s Smart Museum. It’s free and has an interesting art collection and some good shows. And if you want to make an evening of it, check out what’s playing at the Court Theater across from the Smart.
Posted September 11th, 2008 at 4:02 pmThanks, RM. I’ve never been to the Smart Museum, but I guess I’ll have to check it out. I’d also like to see the Hyde Park Art Center’s new building.
If anybody else goes down there, the place to eat is Chicago’s Home of Chicken and Waffles (Roscoe’s). I guess it’s not that close to the university, but close enough…
Posted September 13th, 2008 at 5:51 amYes, if you want to eat at Roscoe’s it truly is “not that close to the university,” unless you’re traveling to Hyde Park via Los Angeles. The Chicago chicken and waffles place opened this year as “Rosscoe’s Chicken and Waffles” until the real deal from California stepped in and stopped that ripoff with a servicemark infringement suit. The Chicago place reportedly has moved on to the name “Chicago’s Home of Chicken and Waffles,” but the reviews of the place haven’t encouraged me to try it in person. In any event, it’s at 3949 South King, a not insubstantial distance in several respects from the university.
I share your interest in seeing the Art Center. Been by it, not in it. And since you seem to have an interest in Hyde Park, history and architecture, have you done a “Devil in White City” tour? I understand that both the Chicago History Museum and the Chicago Architecture Foundation give versions based on the book of the same name about the 1893 World’s Fair (the “White City”) and one of America’s earliest serial killers, Dr. H. H. Holmes.
Posted September 14th, 2008 at 9:01 pmI didn’t know about the tour, but it sounds very interesting. Thanks for letting me know about it.
Having eaten there once, I do vouch for the Chicken and Waffles place.
Is there any good place in Elgin for soul food?
Posted September 14th, 2008 at 9:19 pm