(IL/Chicago Way) -Monk,Guilty plea background,Obama, Blagojevich,Rezko,Levine,Kelly,Harris,Cellini..

Alonzo Monk, Guilty plea background, Obama, Blagojevich, Rezko, Levine, Kelly, Harris, Cellini, Indictment, Rezko trial transcripts, Chicago IL corruption, Crime, Board rigging, Evelyn Pringle articles

In part I of this two part series on Alonzo Monk’s guilty plea, the Citizen Wells blog presented background on Monk’s involvement in corruption and how it impacted health care in Chicago and Illinois.

“It was further part of the conspiracy that defendants ROD BLAGOJEVICH and KELLY, along with Monk, Cellini, Robert Blagojevich, Harris, Rezko, and Levine, and others, used and attempted to use the powers of the Office of the Governor and of certain state boards and commissions subject to the influence of the Office of the Governor, to take and cause governmental actions, including: appointments to boards and commissions; the awarding of state business, grants, and investment fund allocations; the enactment of legislation and executive orders; and the appointment of a United States Senator; in exchange for financial benefits for themselves and others, including campaign contributions for ROD BLAGOJEVICH, money for themselves, and employment for ROD BLAGOJEVICH and his wife.”

* Just as Obama is politicizing now, Blagojevich touted health care for all in IL.

* Michelle Obama’s hospital pay nearly tripled after Barack was elected US Senator.

“For years, Rod Blagojevich has projected two distinct images that define his tenure as Illinois’ governor.

In one, he is a populist champion with an agenda of “putting people first” by pushing causes like health care for all.

In the other, he is a consummate politician with cronies who offer advice while raising campaign cash and asking for favors.

Now, under the lights of a federal investigation, the distinctions are blurring, and the crony image is threatening to wash out the populist one.

Federal prosecutors for the first time have put Blagojevich inside their widespread investigation of pay-to-play in his administration.

Blagojevich told one convicted federal informant, “You stick with us and you will do very well for yourself,” according to a court document prosecutors filed.”

“Nix, however, disputed that Knapp’s influence is overriding. Instead, she said Blagojevich long has used a team approach to politicking and governing. In this vein, he is a public official heavily reliant on his aides.

His team has a core nucleus of Nix, chief of staff John Harris, former chief of staff Alonzo Monk, longtime political aide John Wyma, state Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Collinsville), state Sen. James DeLeo (D-Chicago) and campaign spokesman Doug Scofield.

But Monk, Scofield and Wyma are lobbyists, and their clients have won millions in state contracts under Blagojevich’s stewardship. And Kelly, another close adviser and friend, was indicted this month on federal tax fraud charges.” (((LATER COMMITTED SUICIDE, WHEN FACED WITH JAIL)))

***Remember, originially, Blagojevich was going to be the presidential candidate, not Obama.

“Instead of concentrating heavily on winning votes for his health care plan, Blagojevich crafted a strategy to initially sell his idea via a media blitz—a strategy that quickly fell on its face.

Critics, and even some of his allies, said the fatal flaw in this plan was funding the expansion through a gross receipts tax on businesses. True to political form, Blagojevich found his enemy—corporations—and railed against them.”

ROD BLAGOJEVICH, CHRISTOPHER KELLY, ALONZO MONK, WILLIAM F. CELLINI, SR., JOHN HARRIS, and ROBERT BLAGOJEVICH

“Alonzo Monk was a long-time associate of defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH, and among other things served as his general counsel while a Member of Congress, as campaign manager for his 2002 and 2006 gubernatorial campaigns, on his transition team after his election in November 2002, and as his Chief of Staff from in or about January 2003 until in or about December 2005.

Beginning in or about early 2007, Monk worked as a lobbyist, doing business as AM3 Consulting, Ltd.

As a lobbyist, Monk principally represented businesses with interests involving Illinois state government, including businesses in the horse racing industry. In addition, Monk served as Chairman of Friends of Blagojevich from in or about December 2006 to in or about July 2007.”

6. It was part of the conspiracy that defendants ROD BLAGOJEVICH and CHRISTOPHER KELLY, as well as co-conspirators Alonzo Monk, William F. Cellini, Sr., John Harris, Robert Blagojevich, Antoin Rezko, and Stuart Levine, and others, engaged in a scheme to deprive the people of the State of Illinois and the beneficiaries of TRS of their intangible right to the honest services of defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH, Alonzo Monk, John Harris, and Stuart Levine, as more fully described in Count Two, paragraphs 3 through 44 of this indictment.

7. It was further part of the conspiracy that defendants ROD BLAGOJEVICH and KELLY, along with Monk, Cellini, Robert Blagojevich, Harris, Rezko, and Levine, and others, used and attempted to use the powers of the Office of the Governor and of certain state boards and commissions subject to the influence of the Office of the Governor, to take and cause governmental actions, including:

appointments to boards and commissions; the awarding of state business, grants, and investment fund allocations; the enactment of legislation and executive orders; and the appointment of a United States Senator; in exchange for financial benefits for themselves and others, including campaign contributions for ROD BLAGOJEVICH, money for themselves, and employment for ROD BLAGOJEVICH and his wife.”

“Defendants ROD BLAGOJEVICH and KELLY, along with Rezko and Monk, agreed to direct lucrative state business relating to the refinancing of billions of dollars in State of Illinois Pension Obligation Bonds to a company whose lobbyist agreed to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars to Rezko out of the fee the lobbyist would collect, and Rezko in turn agreed to split the money with ROD BLAGOJEVICH, KELLY, and Monk;”

(Continuing ..)Citizen Wells – Note Ata contributions to Obama below

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“Rezko arranged for a total of $50,000 in contributions to Friends of Blagojevich from Ali Ata, a Chicago-area businessman, and in exchange for those contributions discussed with Ata, ROD BLAGOJEVICH, and Monk obtaining a high-level state appointment for Ata, whom ROD BLAGOJEVICH ultimately appointed as the executive director of the Illinois Finance Authority;”

“At times, ROD BLAGOJEVICH acted with the assistance of others, including Monk, Harris, and Robert Blagojevich. These efforts included, but were not limited to, attempts to:

***

a. withhold a state grant to benefit a publicly-supported school until a campaign fundraiser for ROD BLAGOJEVICH was held by a United States Congressman who supported the school, or by a relative of that United States Congressman;

***

b. extort a campaign contribution from Children’s Memorial Hospital, a not-for-profit children’s hospital located in Chicago, Illinois, and its chief executive officer, in return for official action on state reimbursement for pediatric care;”

“It was part of the scheme to defraud that defendants ROD BLAGOJEVICH, MONK, HARRIS, and ROBERT BLAGOJEVICH, together with Kelly, Cellini, Rezko, Levine, and others,

used and attempted to use the powers of the Office of the Governor, and of certain state boards and commissions subject to influence by the Office of the Governor, to take and cause governmental actions, including: appointments to boards and commissions; the awarding of state business, grants, and investment fund allocations; the enactment of legislation and executive orders; and the appointment of a United States Senator; in exchange for financial benefits for themselves and others, including campaign contributions for ROD BLAGOJEVICH, money for themselves, and employment for ROD BLAGOJEVICH and his wife.”

“It was further part of the scheme that to ensure that defendants ROD BLAGOJEVICH and MONK would continue to give Rezko substantial influence regarding matters such as appointments to boards and commissions, the selection of candidates for state employment, and the awarding of state contracts, grants, and investment fund allocations, Rezko gave certain benefits to ROD BLAGOJEVICH and MONK, including the following:

***

a. In or about late August 2003, Rezko directed to ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife a payment of $14,396, purportedly in connection with a real estate transaction involving property at 850 North Ogden Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, for which transaction ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife had not performed any services.

b. From in or about October 2003 to in or about May 2004, Rezko, through his real estate development company, provided ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife with payments of $12,000 a month, purportedly for real estate brokerage services.

c. In or about January 2004, while Rezko’s real estate development company was paying ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife $12,000 a month, Rezko directed to ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife a payment of $40,000, purportedly for brokerage services in connection with the sale of property at 1101 West Lake Street, Chicago, Illinois, even though ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife had provided few, if any, services in relation to that sale.

d. From in or about the spring of 2004 until in or about 2006, Rezko provided to MONK a number of $10,000 cash gifts to pay for various items, such as a car and home improvements, which cash gifts totaled approximately $70,000 to $90,000.”

DOJ site.

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Evelyn Pringle’s Operation Board Games and Curtain Time for Obama

Excerpt:

The following are links to Evelyn Pringle’s series of articles — Operation Board Games and Curtain Time for Obama — currently posted at RBO.

Full Articles (at link)

* Barack Obama — Wizard of Oz.

* Barack Obama — Operation Board Games for Slumlords.

* Barack Obama — Subplots of Operation Board Games.

* Curtain Time for Obama — Part 1 (Iraq Connections).

* Curtain Time for Obama — Part 2 (Planning Board Scheme).

* Curtain Time for Obama — Part 3 (Nobody Knows Auchi).

* Curtain Time for Obama — Part 4 (Mansion Deal).

* Curtain Time for Obama — Part 5 (Minority Owned Business Racket).

Pringle Cliff Notes Versions

* Operation Board Games for Slumlords (reposted August 18, 2008).

* Curtain Time for Obama — Part 1 (Iraq Connections).

* Curtain Time for Obama — Part 2 (Planning Board Scheme).

* Curtain Time for Obama — Part 3 (Nobody Knows Auchi).

* Curtain Time for Obama — Part 4 (Mansion Deal).

* Curtain Time for Obama — Part 5 (Minority Owned Business Racket).

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The above criminal matter is ongoing, but its revelations serve as a telling blueprint of most likely just the tip of the iceberg of one the most corrupt, embedded and sleazy political machines ever created. Its reach, networks, nepotism and pay-to-play deal making continue today.

***

All this corruption, massive misuse of public funds and the public good, and the destruction of the people's faith in the principled operation and stewardship of their government is brought to you by the same folks who're now relishing their newest success:

the willing compliance and agreement by the Federal government via its chief executive, former cabal member Barack Hussein Obama, of their plan to buy 3,000 jobs for the state of Illinois, along with the certain huge economic boost to the state of Illinois and the Illinois political machinery of the infusion of billions of taxpayer dollars to Obama's 2nd home state (that we know of), in exchange for dramatically increasing the likelihood of more home-grown jihadis and terrorism on our soil by relocating the beasts from Gitmo to a prison in Thomson, IL and definitively changing the terrorist's bullseye to the USA.

Make note and remember these official remarks to celebrate their "Gitmo North' coup and assuage legitimate concerns:

James Jones, National Security Advisor to Obama:

"This is going to be a facility that will be very safe. It will pose no danger to the community and we will take all steps necessary to maintain the security of the people of Illinois"

Patrick Quinn, Governor of Illinois and Illinois Democrat Senator Richard Durbin:

Speaking after a briefing with White House officials on Tuesday, Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin and Quinn cast the decision to accept Guantanamo detainees as an act of patriotism — one with the added bonus of job creation.

"Time and time again the people of Illinois have risen to the task," Durbin said. "We believe this is in service of our country."

The letter to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair

"Those departments "will work closely with state and local law enforcement authorities to identify and mitigate any risks" at the prison, the letter said."

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Gitmo and Thomson prison become issue for Quinn and Illinois governor race --- Republican Jim Ryan voices safety concern for state, and another GOP contender challenges governor's authority to sell Thomson Correctional Center

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