* Bruce Rushton at the Illinois Times…
State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, helped talk a physician into making a $1 million loan in 2010 while he was running for governor, according to a court ruling entered Tuesday in Springfield by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Mary Gorman.
The money loaned to Robert Brady, one of the senator’s brothers, was never repaid. Gorman ruled that the loan made to bail out a construction company owned by the senator and two brothers was made under false pretenses and so the obligation cannot be discharged via bankruptcy.
Dr. Tom Pliura loaned the money predicated on promises that there was plenty of collateral in real estate if the loan went south, according to Gorman’s decision. In fact, the real estate, four apartment buildings in Normal, were mortgaged and underwater.
Contrary to what Robert Brady told the doctor when the loan was made, the buildings were owned by limited liability corporations as opposed to Robert and Edward Brady, also a brother of the state senator. According to Sen. Brady’s statements of economic interests filed with the secretary of state, the senator, dating back to 2010, has stock in one of the corporations and a “membership interest” in the other.
Ultimately, the buildings were turned over to a bank in lieu of foreclosure, and Pliura received nothing. With interest, the doctor says that he is owed more than $1.8 million.
Oof. And, yes, that’s the same doctor who tried to hand out free COVID-19 “tests” in Champaign this week. We’ll have more on him later.
- JS Mill - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 10:12 am:
I have long been a critic of Bill Brady so I have an admitted bias. The Brady brothers business practices have been fairly well known locally for a long time so I am always a bit baffled when Bill Brady breezes tor election over and over.
This episode just confirms my thoughts on the business.
- efudd - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 10:16 am:
Man, but those Republicans are soooo good with money.
- Annonin - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 10:23 am:
Yikes. NoTaBill was also NoPayBack too? GovJunk must be so proud. BTW we read elsewhere what Griffin was up to with the bunker in Palm Beach. Wonder how GovJunk is doing. Maybe someone from Best Team in American could update us
- Kippax Blue - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 10:23 am:
The doctor guy that wants you to sign a contract that will limit the damages he might cause to $10,000 before he will provide healthcare?? He’s baaaa-aaack. As with any crisis, the snakes are coming out…
- JS Mill - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 10:24 am:
Oof. I was a little too kind in my remarks after reading the full article.
Gorman wrote. “The truth was not told.”
The judges statement sum up Bill Brady in a nutshell. Poor businessman, dishonest. This is the same guy that tried to give state funds to Bloomington Central Catholic High School so they could purchase property and construct a new practice field (they already had a very nice facility)and thought that was ok. That episode was also well documented.
And yet he wins election easily. Every time. sad.
- NIU Grad - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 10:26 am:
Can anyone find a link of Brady boasting about his business skills during the 2010 or 2014 campaign? Please and thank you.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 10:30 am:
This information and story is far more damaging, right now, within the internal caucus politics if someone decides to run as leader of the SGOP.
The political reality is how damaging is this, today, to his own seat, not so much.
This will be a watch, if someone or a group in the caucus decide this story and the gambling story are too heavy of a lift to continue to support Leader Brady.
That’s the watch for me, probably after the crisis subsides to allow thoughts of politics again.
- NIU Grad - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 10:34 am:
“someone decides to run as leader of the SGOP”
Same as with the HGOP and state party leadership…with more and more losses on the horizon, who even wants the job right now?
- Former Leader Brady - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 10:38 am:
Reserving this name now.
How much more of this can SGOP tolerate? I’m betting they can find an uncompromised leader with the FBI running all over the state.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 10:42 am:
=== Same as with the HGOP and state party leadership===
I’ll hold my own thought to H & S GOP Leadership.
I like both Leaders, Brady and Durkin, it’s up to those caucuses to decide their business.
ILGOP? Not ILRaunerites, as Shaw and Schneider still run as Bruce and Diana (she funded that state party as much as anyone) Rauner’s appointees and run the party into the ground.
When the Raunerites are gone, let’s talk about next steps.
It’s up to the caucuses and their leaders to force the ILRSCC to remove the Raunerites, once and for all.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 10:53 am:
oswego willy, perhaps this explains why brady backed dr. tom in his primary against chapin rose….and may explain who will rise to challenge him for leadership
- JS Mill - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 10:54 am:
@OW, if memory serves Brady in particular (of the two minority leaders) was pretty submissive to Rauner no?
Brady loves to attack Madigan and yet, in pretty short order, he has been outed as pretty dishonest himself. Maybe not the full breadth of Madigans decades of work. But still, helping to defraud some guy on a loan is pretty bad.
Just some food for thought.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 11:03 am:
- JS Mill -
Much respect,
Leader Brady is also the one his own caucus feels that he concedes too often… to get compromise and results.
I wholly stand by my call for “mea culpa” of those thinking they lead this “party” going forward, that hasn’t changed.
To the caucuses, however, it’s those, in this case, nineteen in the room that need to show “me”, and the leaders need to show “me” they’ve learned and by the campaigns and candidates they choose and the compromises and deals to move policy forward, for now, might have to be good enough… until leaders change and emerge to bring a new look.
That can’t be my call. Can’t.
I respect the caucuses and leaders, it’s up to them, all of them, to let actions mean their words to new things are real.
If I’m at all honest, a former Raunerite caucus rumbling about a leader working too closely with the majority to get results seems to be a leader not continuing Raunerite ways.
You’re not “wrong” to the history or thought, or even my “anger” or “asks”, I’m looking at this news and seeing the road forward.
With respect.
- Last Bull Moose - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 11:12 am:
Quinn’s election in 2010 is looking better and better.
Can’t blame Madigan.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 11:41 am:
=== chapin rose===
Mr. Rose, who continually and gleefully voted against fully funding higher education and voted Raunerite over and over hurting his district’s and the region’s economic engine… yeah, good example of someone who owes a “mea culpa”
Oh, to that question/statement… dunno. That’s where the internal caucus politics will need to play out.
I wouldn’t call Mr. Rose at all thoughtful as he ignores the damage he caused to his region.
If Mr. Rose would like to change course and say that was wrong then and moving forward, be a party that the whole state can support needs changing, then I’d change my tune.
I won’t hold my breath, but…
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 11:56 am:
In this era of our renewed interest in public ethics, it seems like this would be an appropriate situation to ask the state police to investigate the circumstances of this loan to determine whether any of the criminal statutes regarding fraud, et al, have been violated.
I’m not terribly familiar with this section of the Illinois law, but I do know if he did these things to a bank it would constitute financial institution fraud.
Given the timing of the loan, the amount of the loan, and the fact that the money seems to have somehow evaporated while they seek the protection of the U.S. Government from the physician they swindled, there certainly needs to be a deeper investigation to these practices.
I know that there’s a lot going on, but perhaps we should be asking the Governor to ask the State Police to look into this.
- Annonin - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 12:23 pm:
All these accomplishments plus being GovJunk’s agent to dump Rodagno. He must be bustin’ with pride. Capt Fax should reach out for some quotes
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 12:25 pm:
===… dump Rodagno.===
Leader Radogno deserved better…
A Raunerite legacy of stopping all chances of compromise.
- LTSW - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 12:53 pm:
The Brady’s learned from their dad. Bankruptcy has been an integral part of their business plans for decades.
- JS Mill - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 1:24 pm:
@OW- Spot on with regard to Chaplin Rose. This is a guy who seems to revel in being wrong. I once sat on a panel with him regarding education and could not believe how ridiculous he was.
- ethics schmethics - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 1:25 pm:
How is this guy still in office? People are so fixated on Madigan they miss most off the unethical actions that happen in plain sight. Or they’re just ignored because it’s not Madigan.
- Mama - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 1:34 pm:
How is Brady still in office? No one runs against him in the elections.
- Roman - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 2:46 pm:
== who even wants the job right now? ==
That’s the key question — in both chambers. It seems to me that the GOP members who might be politically skilled enough to engineer a caucus revolt are also smart enough to understand that the job of GOP leader isn’t worth the fight.
- Just Curious - Thursday, Apr 2, 20 @ 4:28 pm:
Also evident in the legislation he proposes as he has many conflicts of interest regarding the use of state and local incentives.