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Missing the forest for the trees

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* The Tribune ran a huge headline over its long, front-page story on the Giannoulias family’s Broadway Bank today, but it meandered all over the place and missed the real point. The story was about how the bank loaned more money to a couple of shady characters than originally thought. But the Kirk campaign pointed out what should’ve been the real angle in a follow-up press release…

Less than one month ago, Alexi Giannoulias took a tour of Chicago newspaper editorial boards to answer questions about his time as Vice President and Senior Loan Officer at Broadway Bank.

When asked specifically to answer questions about loans Broadway Bank made to convicted mobsters Michael “Jaws” Giorango and Demitri Stavropoulos, Giannoulias flatly denied he or his family had any knowledge of their criminal backgrounds when they approved those loans.

Demetris Giannoulias in Today’s Chicago Tribune:

“Demetris Giannoulias said the bank learned of Giorango’s bookmaking and prostitution promotion convictions from a spring 2004 Tribune report detailing those cases…He said he asked Giorango about the convictions and Giorango said, ‘It’s in the past. I don’t do that anymore.’” (Chicago Tribune, April 2, 2010)

Alexi Giannoulias One Month Ago:

Audio Available: “Banks do not perform criminal background checks on their borrowers. If I knew then what I know now, would we have given these loans to these colorful characters? Absolutely not.” (Alexi Giannoulias, Chicago Tribune Editorial Board Interview, March 3, 2010)

Audio Available: “I learned of it primarily when I was running for the office of state treasurer…I mean, I don’t remember the exact date, whether it was during the primary or during the general. I think it was during the primary…We didn’t know about this, no.” (Alexi Giannoulias, Chicago Tribune Editorial Board Interview, March 3, 2010)

“Mr. Giannoulias personally visited Florida to see property involved in a Giorango loan. Asked if he was aware then of Mr. Giorango’s criminal past, Mr. Giannoulias replied, I didn’t know the full extent of his legal problems.’ Full extent? Mr. Giannoulias declined to say more, despite several efforts to get him to elaborate on exactly what he knew and when he knew it. (Crain’s Chicago Business, March 3, 2010)

“Giannoulias denied, even though he went down to Florida to inspect the properties, that he was aware of Giorango’s mob ties.” (Chicago Sun-Times, “Giannoulias acknowledges family bank will probably fail,” March 3, 2010)

Meanwhile, the Tribune has yet to publish a single article about Mark Kirk’s apparent flip-flop on whether he would “lead the effort” to repeal the new federal health care reform law.

* On a personal note, my dad is still in the hospital, which is why I haven’t been around here this week. He’s in a rehab unit to help him recover from a stroke. The stroke didn’t appear to damage his brain (he beat me two out of three at checkers the other day), but it left his left side very weak. Thanks for all the calls and e-mails.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Apr 2, 10 @ 1:30 pm

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