It appears that the change you can believe in is pretty much the same, old Chicago politics of Illinois politicians doling out taxpayer money to the well connected. Especially if there is a family connection.
As a state senator, Democrat Barack Obama awarded $75,000 in government grants to a Chicago social service organization led by a rabbi who is also his wife’s cousin, records show.
In 1999, Obama arranged for $50,000 for adult literacy and counseling services offered on Chicago’s South Side by a group called Blue Gargoyle. A $25,000 grant for the group’s youth services followed the next year.
The group’s executive director when the grants were awarded was Capers Funnye, a South Side rabbi and Michelle Obama’s first cousin once removed.
Funnye (pronounced fun-NAY) said Monday there was nothing improper about the way Blue Gargoyle obtained the grants. Obama did not encourage him to apply for the money, he said, and Funnye denied using family connections to pressure Obama to approve the application.
The story points out that there were essentially no rules broken – because there were no rules. In other words, glad-handing Chicago politics as usual. (I lived in Illinois for some years and am familiar with how politics operates in that state.)
This is change?
What? It wouldn’t be “change” if dead people got “voting rights” nationwide?
And, hey, welcome back!
Funnye could be telling the truth, sort of. “Funnye denied using family connections to pressure Obama to approve the application.”
Funnye didn’t have to use “pressure,” Obama had plenty of bucks to spread around, so why not skim a little off the top for a good cause, you know, keep it in the family. That’s how things work in Chicago, and in lots of other places too.
One thing you can say with absolute certainty: Put a big pile of cash on the table and folks will grab for it. That’s as true in Chicago as it is in Congress.
Chicago politics: another unregulated industry rife with greed and in need of reform.
Sorry. Been a bit under the weather and needed a little time off.
Linked!
There seem to be more and more instances comin to light of the Obamessiah handing out money to cronies. You’ve got his wife’s cousin getting some largesse in this story. It has already been revealed that one of his earmarks sent a huge chunk of change to the hospital where his wife worked. I wonder if she got any promotions after that? We’ll probably never know – the MSM is too busy trying to dig up dirt on McCain & Palin to bother sending anyone to Chicago to ask questions.