Posted by
Redtown on Saturday, June 28, 2008 7:30:47 PM
A major expose reveals Obama’s extensive favors for sleazy real estate developers and their paybacks to his campaigns.
The (liberal, pro-Obama) Boston Globe published this investigative report on Friday:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/27/grim_proving_ground_for_obamas_housing_policy/
“As a state senator, (Obama) coauthored an Illinois law creating ... tax credits for developers. As a US senator, he pressed for increased federal subsidies. And as a presidential candidate, he has campaigned on a promise to create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund that could give developers an estimated $500 million a year.
“A Globe review found that thousands of apartments across Chicago that had been built with local, state, and federal subsidies - including several hundred in Obama's former district - deteriorated so completely that they were no longer habitable.
“Grove Parc and several other prominent failures were developed and managed by Obama's close friends and political supporters. Those people profited from the subsidies even as many of Obama's constituents suffered. Tenants lost their homes; surrounding neighborhoods were blighted.
“Campaign finance records show that six prominent developers - including Jarrett, Davis, and Rezko - collectively contributed more than $175,000 to Obama's campaigns over the last decade and raised hundreds of thousands more from other donors. Rezko alone raised (another) $200,000, by Obama's own accounting.
“One of those contributors, Cecil Butler, controlled Lawndale Restoration, the largest subsidized complex in Chicago, which was seized by the government in 2006 after city inspectors found more than 1,800 code violations.
“Butler and Davis did not respond to messages. Rezko is in prison; his lawyer did not respond to inquiries.”
This gives a whole new meaning to Obama’s slogan, ”Yes we can!”
Obama's dealings with Tony Rezko - who was convicted of 16 corruption counts including fraud, money laundering, and taking kickbacks - are just the tip of the iceberg. This story reveals the fuller pattern of Obama's shady dealings.