I agree with the many who have observed that, given the machinations of Chicago’s city council, and the apparent rise in price of Rezko’s lot, it is doubtful that it actually is unbuildable.
[/QUOTE]
I question the rise in the price of Rezko’s lot. It turns out the purchaser, Sreenan, is Rezko’s lawyer. Given the financial difficulties Rezko has found himself in, or perhaps the need to distance himself from Obama to avoid bribery charges, the price could be easily subject to other considerations. And for the lawyer to almost triple the price of a 50’ wide lot at a time when national real estate prices are tanking sure seems suspicious.
If the lot is 50’ wide, what are the Chicago setbacks? Just about everywhere I’ve lived and built, the setback from the street is 25’. Given this is a corner lot next to a mansion in an upscale residential neighbourhood, I can’t see building anything there that would be acceptable to the neighbourhood.
There are just too many questions in this land deal for me to completely ignore the plausibility of machinations towards a coverup of a financial favour by a developer to a local politician. Not saying Obama did anything illegal, just stupid. Rezko works just like the mafia. Once they do you a big favour they think they own you.
[QUOTE=RedFury]
Oh he’s “looking” alright. Second blast-Obama thread, second bust. Bet that only encourages him to find the “right” one.
Good luck with that, Mr Investigative Reporter, specializing in creating Obama Outrage[sup]®[/sup] out of pointless minutia.
What say you, play the “Hussein” angle or the Muslim terra’rist next?
[/QUOTE]
Nah. Look at the aerial photo from Google Maps in stolichnaya’s post. The building directly across the street from the Obama property clearly has a dome and a minaret, so it just has to be the mosque where the senator is plotting the internal overthrow of the U.S. Constitution and its replacement by Sharia Law.
Yeeesh. I hope I don’t find this drivel repeated in the next round of libelous 'Net and e-mail glurge.
[QUOTE=Leaper]
Anyone know much about the Chicago Better Government Institution and/or its politics? One of its members argues that this goes beyond the land deal; that Rezko was a close personal confidante and mentor until it became “inconvenient.”
[/QUOTE]
I didn’t see anything new in that article. Maybe I’ve just seen too many Rezko stories in the past 24+ months but it’s not exactly hidden knowledge that Obama knew Rezko for quite some time. Damn near everyone in Illinois politics on both sides of the aisle knew Rezko. Jay Stewart’s gripe with Obama seems to be that Obama hasn’t complained enough about Illinois politics and the sleaze that goes along with it.
The article doesn’t promise to shed new light on Obama so much as reveal how sleazy Illinois politics are (I’m sure this will surprise the whole world). Really, the Obama link (given what’s in the article) seems more sensational than anything else as if people wouldn’t read an article about Rezko and Blagojevich unless they could tie Obama in.
[Quote=The Flying Dutchman]
It turns out the purchaser, Sreenan, is Rezko’s lawyer.
[/quote]
Cite, please.
[/QUOTE]
As with most of the manufactured outrage in this whole bit of nonsense, it is “technically” true.
Sreenan was the realty lawyer who was retained by the Rezkos to handle the transaction under question. I have found no indication that Sreenan was the Rezko lawyer–no indication he was on retainer or acting as the daily legal counsel for the couple. He appears to have been employed for this single transaction and has now decided to make his own investment in the property as things go South for the Rezko finances.
[QUOTE=The Flying Dutchman]
I question the rise in the price of Rezko’s lot. It turns out the purchaser, Sreenan, is Rezko’s lawyer. Given the financial difficulties Rezko has found himself in, or perhaps the need to distance himself from Obama to avoid bribery charges, the price could be easily subject to other considerations. And for the lawyer to almost triple the price of a 50’ wide lot at a time when national real estate prices are tanking sure seems suspicious.
If the lot is 50’ wide, what are the Chicago setbacks? Just about everywhere I’ve lived and built, the setback from the street is 25’. Given this is a corner lot next to a mansion in an upscale residential neighbourhood, I can’t see building anything there that would be acceptable to the neighbourhood.
There are just too many questions in this land deal for me to completely ignore the plausibility of machinations towards a coverup of a financial favour by a developer to a local politician. Not saying Obama did anything illegal, just stupid. Rezko works just like the mafia. Once they do you a big favour they think they own you.
[/QUOTE]
This is what I find so interesting about some “thinking”. The “I don’t have any evidence, but there are “questions””. It lets you dirty and slam a person without any evidence whatsoever.
The attorney you mention seems to have been admitted to the bar in 1986.
[/QUOTE]
Could be my classmate. Was a pretty good guy in school. We weren’t really tight, but played some hoops together. He was far more involved in and accomplished at law school than I. Seemed to have a kinda high opinion of himself, but that is not at all unusual for law students.
[QUOTE=tomndebb]
I have found no indication that Sreenan was the Rezko lawyer–no indication he was on retainer or acting as the daily legal counsel for the couple. He appears to have been employed for this single transaction and has now decided to make his own investment in the property as things go South for the Rezko finances.
[/QUOTE]
When I was Googling yesterday, I thought I saw something identifying him with a title such as “counsel” for Rezko’s business or somesuch. Suggested to me some kind of on-going business relationship.
[QUOTE=tomndebb]
As with most of the manufactured outrage in this whole bit of nonsense, it is “technically” true.
Sreenan was the realty lawyer who was retained by the Rezkos to handle the transaction under question. I have found no indication that Sreenan was the Rezko lawyer–no indication he was on retainer or acting as the daily legal counsel for the couple. ** He appears to have been employed for this single transaction** and has now decided to make his own investment in the property as things go South for the Rezko finances.
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Dinsdale]
By selling Obama 10’, Rezko allowed him a side yard buffer from any potential new construction. In Chicago, a 10’ wide side yard can be very significant. However, if the corner lot is now unbuildable, Obama in effect has the use of a double-wide corner lot.
[/QUOTE]
Is “use” a legal term in this instance? I can see how having a buffer between his lot and any new construction is of value to him, but that doesn’t mean he can use the lot, does it? He certainly could not plant a garden there, for instance, unless he had permission.
Cool. Just saw numerous references to him as Rezmar’ss general counsel, and Rezko’s long-time attorney, so I suspect this is more than a one-time thing.
And other sites say he went to UofI and has been licensed since 86, and I only remember one Mike Sreenan form my class. Good sized guy, we used to bang down low in the post.
Yet another classmate who has enjoyed far more financial success than I!
[QUOTE=Dinsdale]
Yet another classmate who has enjoyed far more financial success than I!
[/QUOTE]
Heh, but you’re not the one getting your name dragged around in the news. I think you win.
[QUOTE=Dinsdale]
However, if the corner lot is now unbuildable, Obama in effect has the use of a double-wide corner lot.
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=The Flying Dutchman]
If the lot is 50’ wide, what are the Chicago setbacks? Just about everywhere I’ve lived and built, the setback from the street is 25’.
[/QUOTE]
It’s useless to discuss the setback limits for this corner lot without knowing the required setbacks for the particular zoning, and whether or not the City is amenable to variances. Another question is, which street would the City consider as the fronting street? If it were Greenwood, then one has 150 ft depth to work with. Using 25-ft front and rear limits with 10-ft side yard limits, a 100-ft x 30-ft area can be used for building. I don’t know about a six-condo high-rise, but a single-family home could certainly fit.
As far as being accepted in the neighborhood, I’m sure they could tart it up enough to satisfy the neighbors.
[QUOTE=tomndebb]
Sreenan was the realty lawyer who was retained by the Rezkos to handle the transaction under question. I have found no indication that Sreenan was the Rezko lawyer–no indication he was on retainer or acting as the daily legal counsel for the couple. He appears to have been employed for this single transaction and has now decided to make his own investment in the property as things go South for the Rezko finances.
[/QUOTE]
Well isn’t that conveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenient! How are we supposed to catch them doing something wrong if they don’t do anything wrong! It’s like they’re being good on purpose to make it harder for us to prove that they’re evil! The bastards!
[QUOTE=Jophiel]
I still question that the lot is unbuildable. Mrs. Rezko sold it to Michael Sreenan and made a profit on it. Sreenan said he planned to build a condo on the site. He’s now trying to sell it for $1.5mil (making almost a million dollar profit on it).
That’s a lot of real estate movement for a supposedly unbuildable plot of land. I don’t think anyone is going to spend one and a half million to set out a lawn chair and look at Obama’s back porch. I think that either someone extrapolated the “the gate is on Obama’s property” line out further than it deserved or else the lot is technically unbuildable but could receive a variance without much work (again, the city would rather have the property tax from a built lot in a high class neighborhood than from a vacant, unbuildable one).
[/QUOTE]
Apparently the detractors don’t even have a layman’s understanding of building codes. Not being able to build a unit of condos somewhere doesn’t mean you can’t build a house there. It is possible that Michelle Obama called to put a halt to having a condo unit built next door.
Sorry taking so long to get back to you. I thought tomndebb would get back to me by now with a cite for his “manufactured” assertion that the Sreenan and Rezko lawyer/client relationship was a one time affair. Tom’s usually pretty fast with reponding to requests
Here’s a list of earlier Rezko or Rezmar contributions to Obama for his Illinois senate runs handled by Sreenan.
[QUOTE=The Flying Dutchman]
Sorry taking so long to get back to you. I thought tomndebb would get back to me by now with a cite for his “manufactured” assertion that the Sreenan and Rezko lawyer/client relationship was a one time affair. Tom’s usually pretty fast with reponding to requests
[/QUOTE]
I’ve been at work. I’m glad someone has been able to find more info than I had been in two quick searches, this morning. ::: shrug :::
The whole outrage nonsense remains manufactured, of course. With two Chicago dailies and dozens of Right-wing (and perhaps HRC supporting) bloggers digging into this for two years, the worst that anyone can come up with is that Obama paid a decent price to secure some land for his house and Rezko’s (occasional? permanent?) attorney has decided to take the property and make an investment on it, himself. Makes the Keating scandal and Whitewater just vanish by comparison.
[QUOTE=tomndebb]
I’ve been at work. I’m glad someone has been able to find more info than I had been in two quick searches, this morning. ::: shrug :::
The whole outrage nonsense remains manufactured, of course. With two Chicago dailies and dozens of Right-wing (and perhaps HRC supporting) bloggers digging into this for two years, the worst that anyone can come up with is that Obama paid a decent price to secure some land for his house and Rezko’s (occasional? permanent?) attorney has decided to take the property and make an investment on it, himself. Makes the Keating scandal and Whitewater just vanish by comparison.
[/QUOTE]
But don’t you understand, tom, there are QUESTIONS. QUESTIONS!!!
