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Reform and Renewal - Where’s the check?

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Illinois

As I wrote in this morning’s Capitol Fax, I don’t think that this is a particularly huge deal…

Gov. Blagojevich and his wife, Patti, upgraded their Northwest Side bungalow in 2003 by renovating their family room and building a deck.

What makes the home improvement project noteworthy is who Illinois’ first family put in charge of it: a company owned by now-indicted political fund-raiser and real estate developer Antoin “Tony” Rezko.

Even this part doesn’t really trouble me…

Chicago Construction Services began overseeing the Blagojevich work in July 2003, six months after Rezko began pushing the governor to place friends and associates in key state posts. The project took place during a 16-month period in which Patti Blagojevich, a real estate broker, netted about $86,000 from Rezko-orchestrated real estate deals.

I do have a problem with this, however…

Despite repeated inquiries, the Blagojeviches declined to provide bills or canceled checks for the work or a list of subcontractors.

Normally, it might be unseemly to demand that a governor “prove” his innocence. But Rezko raised a lot of money for the guv, “recommended” a whole lot of high-level appointees (some who contributed big bucks to the guv’s campaign fund around the same time), did a bunch of work with the First Lady (some of which looks like she was added to the list of realtors at the last minute) and has been indicted by the feds.

The governor has also refused to divulge how much cash he and his family have received as “gifts” from other inner circle members. That leaves me with no alternative except to ask…

Where’s the check, governor?

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 8:43 am

Comments

They didn’t pay for it themselves. Their daughter gave it to them as an anniversary present.

Comment by HoosierDaddy Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 8:49 am
Is there a tax angle here? If one does not actually pay for a capital improvement to one’s home, can you include it in the cost basis of the property when you sell it?

And won’t the feds be all over Rezko’s books looking for such ‘donations’?

Comment by RBD Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 9:07 am
All in due time……..

Comment by Indrid Cold Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 9:22 am
I’m beginning to think that this federal prosecutor and all these rumors of investigations are myths you know like the Headless Horseman,the troll under the bridge and Illinois’s balanced budget.

Comment by DOWNSTATE Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 9:37 am
Downstate,
You have finally caught on!

Comment by Bill Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 10:59 am
Again! Don’t pay attention to man behind the curtain….
Illinois is in GOOD HANDS!

Comment by Waist Deep In The Big Money Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 11:24 am
BILL it’s kind of nice to dream a little dream.

Comment by DOWNSTATE Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 11:46 am
The only person Blago has to provide construction information to is Patrick Fitzgerald. Fitz is almost done with the Skooter Libby trial and then look out Illinois. Mornin’ Bill.

Comment by Little Egypt Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 11:47 am
When Blagojevich was running for office, did he say he would reform government by bringing cynicism back stronger than ever? Because that seems to be the only thing he’s done.

So sorry to be so cynical, but considering this guy’s mode of operation, he needs to prove his innocence here. Then he needs to continue doing it until we get tired of asking questions.

If he was open and honest, he would have been doing this from day one. He hasn’t, so we have to ask the questions.

To not ask these questions would be our failure, just like re-electing him was one of our failures.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 12:14 pm
Haven’t politicians from other states gotten into trouble around home improvement activities? The governor of Connecticut replaced by Jodi Rell comes to mind…I don’t recall his name, but I believe he let state contractors and political hires help fund his summer house. And he ended up resigning ahead of a probe.

Blago doesn’t have to show us the cancelled checks. And the Democratic legislature won’t put any pressure on him tp produce them. But perhaps he should have them ready for the feds, just in case. He won’t be the first.

Comment by Cassandra Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 12:25 pm
Why no check? Cash only, small unmarked bills in a manila envelope (better yet, put it in a shoebox at the St. Nick - they’ll never look there).

Comment by If It Walks Like a Duck... Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 12:37 pm
Hello Little e,
You have been waiting for Pat for a long time now. What will you do if he doesn’t get re-appointed after screwing up the Ryan and Plame cases?

Comment by Bill Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 12:39 pm
Hmmm…this reads like some of the wise guy books that used to entertain me. Who needs cable to watch the Sopranos? Chicago, Chicago that’s the mob’s kind of town.

Comment by vole Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 12:56 pm
The bigger question here is what did he do to that room to warrant a renovation bill north of $80K? I know he used union labor and all but that’s pretty steep! Methinks there’s some laundry being done.

Comment by S. Illinois Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 1:15 pm
If It Walks Like a Duck: that was good - you quack me up.

Comment by maggiemae Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 1:50 pm
The federal prosecutor must have some rich material to look at here. It’s just too bad Blago has the State of Illinois Departments all screwwed up already. But there are still many of us who will enjoy watching him squirm though a trial. Good redance to a disasterous governor. However, it will still take considerable patience because Fitzgerald won’t go public until the case is sewn up tight. That likely won’t be until some of Blago’s top people plead guilty or are convicted. Sit back and enjoy the show. There’s no honor among this group of snakes, they will squawk at the first threat. There will be a great deal more shameful conduct leaking out in the future.

Comment by romeosatan Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 2:55 pm
Bill, I don’t know what I’ll do. But on a GREAT note, Little Little E#1 IS FINALLY HOME FROM IRAQ. Safe and sound. So really, nothing else matters at all. Maybe I’ll even begin to like Blago.

Comment by Little Egypt Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 3:18 pm
Bill,

I don’t think it was Fitz who screwed up the Ryan case. The judge did a pretty good job all by herself.

Comment by Papa Legba Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 3:21 pm
Little Egypt - Congrats on your child’s safe arrival back from Iraq and my sincere thanks to him/her for serving our country. You are right -nothing else should matter….. but please rethink the Blago thing when the excitement wears off. I know you’ll come to your senses and say “what was I thinking”?

Comment by maggiemae Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 3:25 pm
LE,
That is FANTASTIC news!!!Im thrilled for you and yours. Thanks for your srvice #1!

Comment by Bill Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 3:26 pm
Congratulations Little Egypt! Tell him thanks from all of us.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 3:48 pm
I’d rather discuss the disgusting way our active troops and disabled veterans are being mentally, physically and financialy abused by the state and federal governments. Blago and his state and federal cohorts are AWOL from the real world.

Comment by i d Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 4:19 pm
What a buzz kill!

Comment by Bill Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 4:20 pm
Maybe they can’t produce them because they were, uummmm, uuuummmmm, yea that’s it the dog ate them. Honest…

Comment by Save a horse, Ride a Harley Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 4:52 pm
Illinois has Orville Hodge as a fine example. He feathered his Lake Springfield personal nest at taxpayers expense. The former treasurer had illigally dipped into better than a million in special funds and diverted them to personal use. I think he also bought a motel in Florida that his wife ran while he had some special friendlies out to the house. This case, I believe, was part of the foundation reasoning for the creation of the Comptroller office to separate the authorities necessary to transact certain business to require the Treasurer and Comptroller together to act. Orville spent several years in the slammer and retired to work in a hardware store in S. Ill.

Comment by A Citizen Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 5:12 pm
LE, the prayers are answered and LLE is back home safe. Thanks to you for raising a good son and to him for his service to America.
I’m not worried about this bout of joy turning you into Bill the 2nd, though.

Now to the post-nearly $400 per square foot for a family room makeover (and yes, I read about the deck) is conservatively twice the absolute top market price for that kind of work, even in Chicago with prevailing wage labor for the whole job.

Ergo:

a) Tony screwed Rod and Patti.

b) Tony and Patti screwed Rod.

c) Rod and Patti stiffed Tony, so he marked up the bill as high as he thought he could get away with.

d) Rod and Patti paid Tony for “other services” besides construction.

e) d) except the extra money came back in bogus real estate commissions.

You be the Judge.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 5:24 pm
Was the work performed by union labor?

Comment by Larry McKeon Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 5:43 pm
I love the part in the article where it said, “from Abby Ottenhoff,a Blagojevich spokeswoman, said the first family did nothing wrong by hiring Rezko’s firm and that the Blagojeviches picked it because it could secure union labor to do their relatively small job.”

Wow $80,000 plus is a small job? I could remodel most of my house for that price, heck even have a second story put on. Maybe if they just moved to the guv mansion they would have had all the room they needed. Was Tony marking up the bill?

Comment by Concerned Voter Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 5:47 pm
According to the article they used Union Labor in that Blago had been criticised previously for not doing so. Sorta mending fences I guess. Anyway you can easily afford the higher cost if you are using Antoin’s money - OPM.

Comment by A Citizen Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 5:50 pm
Oh! And Patty was the “General Contractor”. Probably a minority and female set-a-side project. Obviously she is “she who must be obeyed”.

Comment by A Citizen Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 5:53 pm
I built a large deck and redid a kitchen last summer. Don’t recall the total cost as being in the $80,000 range. That must be one fine deck and room at the Gov’s crib.

Comment by zatoichi Tuesday, Feb 20, 07 @ 9:33 pm