Holy cow. That story ties Obama into the scheme to stack a state board with Rezko cronies. Obama is dirty.
..the fixing of Illinois State Boards.
Pringle reports:
“Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hamilton and Schar said Rezko was Governor Blagojevich’s top fundraiser. There was no mystery about how Rezko gained control over the Teacher’s Retirement System Board. The answer is access and clout and it stems from Rozko’s ability to raise lots of money.
Rozko gained power over the Health Facilities Planning Board by stacking it with members whose vote he could control. The Chairman was reappointed after delivering a $1,000 contribution to Rozko for Blagojevich, and two others contributed $25,000 before being appointed. Rezko could not set up the schemes himself since he was a private citizen.
Therefore, the evidence presented in his trial focused on his influence over officials in getting members appointed to the Boards. In particular, prosecutors did not (in this trial and indictment) discuss extensively HOW the legislation got passed that enabled the Health Facilities Planning Board to be set up in a way that allowed for the appointment of members to rig the votes to begin with.
That part of the scheme will likely be detailed in future indictments.
Gov. Blagojevich signed the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act with an effective date of June 27, 2003. However, before he could sign the act, a bill had to be passed by the Illinois House and Senate. As discussed prior (in her series), then- Illinois State Senator Obama was the guy in the Senate who pushed through the legislation that finally resulted in the Act.
State records show Barack Obama was appointed Chairman of the Illinois Senate Health and Human Services Committee. The minute the bill was introduced, it was referred to his committee for review. The sponsors of the bill ALSO served on this committee with Obama. Within a month, Chairman Obama sent word to the full Senate that the legislation should be passed.
Records also show that on May 31, 2003 Senate Bill 1332 passed and specified that the “Board shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.” The legislation also reduced the number of members on the Health Facilities Planning Board from 15 to 9, paving the way for the appointment of a new five-block member majority that could rig the votes.
The new members appointed included 3 doctors who contributed to Obama. Michel Malek gave Obama $10,000 on June 30, 2003 and donated $25,000 to Blagojevich on July 25, 2003. Malek also gave Obama another $500 in September, 2003.
Fortunee Massuda donated $25,000 to Blagojevich also on July 25, 2003, and gave a total of $2,000 to Obama on different dates. After he was appointed to the Board, Imad Almanaseer contributed a total of $3,000 to Obama. He did not contribute to Blagojevich.
Ms. Pringle further reports that when the first “pay-to-play” scheme was put in play, and the application for approval of a new hospital (Crystal Lake) was submitted, the Department of Human Services, along with four other Illinois agencies, sent recommendations that the project should be approved even though experts said the hospital was not needed.
Only two pay-to-play schemes succeeded before the Feds swooped in and shut them down, however. Gov. Blagojevich did not receive the original $1.5 million from the Health Facilities Planning Board deal (but others apparently did receive money kickbacks) because the hospital was never built.” |
