red states rule
09-12-2008, 06:40 AM
While Obama gets "credit" and his backers get cash - Obama's constituents get the shaft
Obama and South Chicago Slum Developers
By Lee Cary
Barack Obama's political career rose from the south side of Chicago with a lot of help from his friends involved in the housing industry. They have profited and thrived, unlike the Senator's south side constituents
The Tony Rezko scandal focused the nation's attention on just one piece of a much larger story: Obama's close association with several South Chicago slum landlords, plus one property manager who is now his senior advisor.
A remarkable June 27, 2008 article entitled "Grim proving ground for Obama's housing policy" by Binyamin Appelbaum of the Boston Globe, exposed the Chicago housing mess and the role of a circle of associates of Barack Obama. A principal actor is Valerie Jarrett, Obama's senior campaign advisor, close family friend, and Michelle Obama's former boss on Mayor Daley's staff, where Jarrett hired her in 1991. Currently, Michelle is on leave from her position at the University of Chicago's Medical Center where Jarrett is Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors. Newsweek described Jarrett last May as Michelle's "mentor." She also chaired the finance committee for Obama's 2004 Senate campaign.
Friends don't get much closer.
The scope of Appelbaum's exposé remains unparalleled. He can be heard here discussing his findings in a 12 minutes interview on National Public Radio, with rebuttal from an Obama apologist.
Mayor Daley's Housing Reforms
The mess began with a massive wave of housing projects. When construction of the Robert Taylor Homes, named after an African-American activist and former CHA board member, was completed in 1962, it was the largest public housing project in the nation, with 4,415 apartments in 28 high-rise buildings. Richard J. Daley, the current Mayor Richard M. Daley's father, was mayor of Chicago.
In time, the Robert Taylor Homes and many other CHA properties became open sores of poverty and crime.
Valerie Jarrett is Robert Taylor's granddaughter.
On October 11, 1991, the Chicago Tribune reported (article available via the Tribune archives) that,
"Continuing what he described as "sweeping changes" in the structure of city government, Mayor Richard [M.] Daley Thursday announced the merger of the city's Planning Department and Economic Development Department, to be headed by Valerie Jarrett, his former deputy chief of staff."
Eventually, one piece of Daley's reform initiatives involved the Chicago city government out-sourcing ownership and operation of Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) low-rent, subsidized public housing to private developers. The city also subsidized private enterprises to build new affordable housing.
Involvement of the public sector in low-rent housing was an appealing theory that failed in execution, with the help of several Obama financial supporters and friends. That failure resulted in a worsening of living conditions for poor residents already suffering from below basement-level amenities in CHA housing.
for the rest of the article
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/09/obama_and_south_chicago_slum_d.html
Obama and South Chicago Slum Developers
By Lee Cary
Barack Obama's political career rose from the south side of Chicago with a lot of help from his friends involved in the housing industry. They have profited and thrived, unlike the Senator's south side constituents
The Tony Rezko scandal focused the nation's attention on just one piece of a much larger story: Obama's close association with several South Chicago slum landlords, plus one property manager who is now his senior advisor.
A remarkable June 27, 2008 article entitled "Grim proving ground for Obama's housing policy" by Binyamin Appelbaum of the Boston Globe, exposed the Chicago housing mess and the role of a circle of associates of Barack Obama. A principal actor is Valerie Jarrett, Obama's senior campaign advisor, close family friend, and Michelle Obama's former boss on Mayor Daley's staff, where Jarrett hired her in 1991. Currently, Michelle is on leave from her position at the University of Chicago's Medical Center where Jarrett is Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors. Newsweek described Jarrett last May as Michelle's "mentor." She also chaired the finance committee for Obama's 2004 Senate campaign.
Friends don't get much closer.
The scope of Appelbaum's exposé remains unparalleled. He can be heard here discussing his findings in a 12 minutes interview on National Public Radio, with rebuttal from an Obama apologist.
Mayor Daley's Housing Reforms
The mess began with a massive wave of housing projects. When construction of the Robert Taylor Homes, named after an African-American activist and former CHA board member, was completed in 1962, it was the largest public housing project in the nation, with 4,415 apartments in 28 high-rise buildings. Richard J. Daley, the current Mayor Richard M. Daley's father, was mayor of Chicago.
In time, the Robert Taylor Homes and many other CHA properties became open sores of poverty and crime.
Valerie Jarrett is Robert Taylor's granddaughter.
On October 11, 1991, the Chicago Tribune reported (article available via the Tribune archives) that,
"Continuing what he described as "sweeping changes" in the structure of city government, Mayor Richard [M.] Daley Thursday announced the merger of the city's Planning Department and Economic Development Department, to be headed by Valerie Jarrett, his former deputy chief of staff."
Eventually, one piece of Daley's reform initiatives involved the Chicago city government out-sourcing ownership and operation of Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) low-rent, subsidized public housing to private developers. The city also subsidized private enterprises to build new affordable housing.
Involvement of the public sector in low-rent housing was an appealing theory that failed in execution, with the help of several Obama financial supporters and friends. That failure resulted in a worsening of living conditions for poor residents already suffering from below basement-level amenities in CHA housing.
for the rest of the article
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/09/obama_and_south_chicago_slum_d.html