Free Republic

Most aldermen, most politicians are hos," corrupt Chicago Ald. Arenda Troutman said, rather famously, on federal tape. She wasn't speaking about gardening tools, was she? Troutman was talking about the politics of Chicago, which is, if you've forgotten, the political corruption capital of the United States. Troutman represented the South Side's 20th Ward. At her 2009 sentencing, she squirted a few tears, sobbed, prayed, begged and then got four years in federal prison anyway. And on Wednesday her replacement, Ald. Willie Cochran, a former Chicago police officer who campaigned as something of a corruption buster, was himself indicted on federal...

Rezko jurors will work late 'to help conclude our decision'By Mike Robinson Associated Press Tuesday, May 27, 2008 3:55 PM CDT CHICAGO -- The federal court jury deliberating charges against political fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko has told the judge it plans to work late two nights this week "to help conclude our decision." The jury handed U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve a note last week saying it wanted to break off deliberations at noon Tuesday but work until 5:50 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. The jurors said that would "help conclude our decision." St. Eve brought attorneys into court...

Barack Obama challenged over 'slumlord' tiesBy Philip Sherwell in Chicago Last Updated: 1:12am GMT 27/01/2008 Barack Obama and Joann Larkins live less than a mile apart in Chicago's predominantly black South Side, but they inhabit very different worlds. What connects her squalid flat and his colonnaded mansion is Antoin "Tony" Rezko, the former Obama donor and friend, who goes on trial for corruption next month - and was denounced as a "slum landlord" by Hillary Clinton in a dramatic and bitter exchange during last week's Democratic presidential debate. Mr Obama’s past ties to the Syrian-born property developer, a well-known figure...