Chicago should have cut off Rezko: Chicago Aldermen

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Chicago aldermen accused the Daley administration Wednesday of being asleep at the switch while low-income housing projects developed by the now-indicted Tony Rezko collapsed into disrepair.

The spigot of loans, grants and tax credits should have been cut off when the first of 30 taxpayer-supported Rezko buildings in Chicago fell into disrepair, the aldermen said.

Instead, a Chicago Sun-Times investigation showed that the city, state and federal governments kept the gravy train rolling -- to the tune of $100 million between 1989 and 1998. The lending to Rezko continued, even as the city repeatedly sued his company, Rezmar Corp., for such basics as no heat.

"They were going after people for being slum landlords in one department and loaning them money in another. That's one of the bureaucratic issues we've got to resolve," said Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th). "You have to at least suspend the payments until you can get some compliance."

Why didn't Tony Rezko get cut off? Probably this man had something to say about that.