November 3, 2007

Another Scandal?

The Chicago Tribune is conducting an investigation into a real estate deal involving the wife of Governor Blagojevich and a businessman who has received approximately $10 million in no-bid contracts from the State.  

Patti Blagojevich reportedly received a commission estimated at somewhere between $26,000 and $39,000 on the sale of a condo that sold for $650,000.  Here's a little something about the condo's seller:

The seller was Mark T. Wight, owner of Wight & Company, an architecture firm that won three new contracts with the state's toll highway authority after the 2005 sale. The buyer was John R. Wyma, Wight's tollway lobbyist and a longtime Blagojevich insider.

Even the buyer, John Wyma, has strong Blagojevich connections:

Wyma and Blagojevich have shared a close personal and professional relationship for more than a decade. Wyma became the first chief of staff for Blagojevich after he was elected a Northwest Side congressman in 1996 and soon became one of Blagojevich's closest political advisers.

The two remained close even after Wyma left in 2000. About a year later he returned as political director for Blagojevich's 2002 campaign for governor. After the victory, Wyma registered as a state lobbyist while remaining a member of Blagojevich's "kitchen cabinet" of advisers and one of the biggest fundraisers for the governor's campaign fund.

Wyma has repeatedly turned up as the lobbyist for groups that would benefit from some of the governor's most high-profile proposals, from new gambling to expanded health care.

One might conclude that this was a transaction put together as a result of Mrs. Blagojevich tapping into her personal social network and matching a buyer and seller.  That would be a customary business practice on its own, but it's not exactly what happened.  What really raises eyebrows is that Mrs. Blagojevich was not involved in the transaction but received a commission anyway:

Real estate records show the Wicker Park condominium was never officially listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service, a nationwide market listing commonly used by agents.

Patricia Blagojevich had been house-hunting for Wyma for months. But Wyma and Wight found each other without Blagojevich's help. Still, Wight said, he decided to pay her the commission anyway.

My, how generous of him!

Then there's an issue of timing:

The deal closed Jan. 7, 2005.

The day before the closing, the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority approved a no-bid, $2 million contract with Wight & Company for various tollway design services. That contract was later increased to $2.5 million.

This isn't the first suspicious business dealing involving state contractors and Patti Blagojevich:

It is the third time the Tribune has disclosed similar commissions earned by the first lady and her home-based real estate business, revealing a steady income to the Blagojevich household from key political supporters, fundraisers and state contractors.

Patricia Blagojevich's real estate deals with power brokers close to her husband first came under scrutiny in 2005 when the Tribune disclosed her eight-year business relationship with Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a Chicago developer who became one of the governor's top fundraisers and a member of his kitchen cabinet.

Rezko was indicted last year on unrelated federal charges of soliciting kickbacks from firms seeking state business.

She also earned more than $113,000 in real estate commissions in 2006 through Anita Mahajan, owner of a now-defunct drug testing company, who has been indicted on charges she defrauded state taxpayers of more than $2 million.

Mahajan's husband, Amrish, is a Chicago-area banker who has helped raise more than $500,000 for Blagojevich's campaign fund.

Of course the lackeys at the Illinois State Tollway Authority are shilling for the Governor:

Tollway spokeswoman Joelle McGinnis said Wight has been a tollway contractor going back 15 years and said the latest contracts had nothing to do with the real estate deal. Rather, she said, the company got more work because of its good reputation and because the tollway was embarking on a major expansion.

Wight has seems to be doing pretty well under this Governor:

Wight also has received about $2.5 million in contracts from agencies that report directly to the governor since Blagojevich took office. His firm has donated nearly $100,000 to Blagojevich's campaign since 2002.

It wasn't too long ago that Governor Blagojevich had pledged to end "pay to play" and "rock the system" with ethics reforms.  There has barely been a tremor, and Illinois voters are still waiting.