Free Republic

How 'bout a little refresher re. Obama political Godfather  and actual (16-count!) convicted felon Tony Rezko...? The Syrian-born Rezko is an infamous Chicago slumlord, fast-food restauranteur, and sleazy political operator who played a key role in the Blagojevich case- as well as the unlikley ascension to power of Barrack Hussein Obama.Obama's longtime ally, friend, and top fundraiser was found guilty of 16/24 counts of felony influence peddling back in June 2008. Of course the story was mostly buried/detached from his bud Barry in the run-up to that year's most unfortunate (for us) presidential election whilst the jury convicted Rezko of wire...

"Rod and Patti Blagojevich have long claimed they dipped into their own checking account to pay for personal home renovations set up by a company of convicted businessman Tony Rezko. But a newly released, 91-page filing from federal prosecutors alleges that Rezko secretly funneled tens of thousands of dollars to the former first couple by setting up a sham $40,000 real estate commission for Patti Blagojevich. Prosecutors say the money was then used to pay for work on the Ravenswood Manor home. The company overseeing the work on the home was a Rezko company, Chicago Construction Services."

Did Roland Burris's business partner, Fred Lebed, have anything to do with Patti Blagojevich landing a full-time job as development director of the Chicago Christian Industrial League? Lebed, who served on Gov. Rod Blagojevich's transition team, also serves on CCIL's Board of Directors. The question was raised on Sunday night by political pundit Bruce Dumont on his XM Satellite radio show "Beyond the Beltway." I was a guest, along with writer Salim Muwakkil and Judy Baar Topinka, the former state treasurer who ran against Blagojevich for governor. When Patti Blagojevich, for the time being, at least, the first lady...

Even before her voice was heard on covert recordings made by federal investigators, First Lady Patricia Blagojevich was neck-deep in the federal probe of her husband and his administration. Once a residential real estate broker on the North Side, Patricia Blagojevich left that career this year amid scrutiny from the Tribune and federal agents who have for a year been examining whether clients hired her to win favor from her husband's administration. But her decision to change careers didn't seem to slow the investigation, which sped up in recent weeks after federal agents tapped the Blagojevich's phones and caught the...

Sun-Times and NBC5 exclusive: WIN-WIN LOSES | Everybody was supposed to benefit. But things didn't turn out as planned It was supposed to be a quintessential City Hall deal. Help the homeless. Remove an eyesore from a booming neighborhood. And help Mayor Daley’s pal build a multi-million-dollar condo development. The deal cost Chicago taxpayers at least $13.5 million. But it hasn’t worked out as planned. One of the city’s oldest homeless shelters left its crumbling home in Greektown for a new $25 million, state-of-the-art building. But the deal left the homeless shelter on the verge of bankruptcy, desperate to raise...

Cable television introduced us to "The Real Housewives of Orange County" -- an estrogen-infused reality show featuring a coven of conniving and ambitious women living pampered lives in Southern California. Blago-gate has brought us something even juicier: The Real Housewives of Crook County, Illinois. The public may be wearying of indicted Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the Chicago boys' club, but the conniving and ambitious women behind the scenes of the corruption scandal are a must-see political drama all their own. Mrs. Blago, the former Patti Mell, won the hearts of old-school thugs everywhere with her f-word-filled rants captured on...

Stringing obscenities together like holiday lights on the Thompson Center Christmas tree, Illinois first lady Patti Blagojevich participated in backroom calls with her husband on how to leverage his political position into a high-paying job for her, the federal complaint against her husband says.