Tony Rezko's Republican "Co-Schemer A"

John Kass reports:

The Pope got himself thrown off the bus this week. The political bus, that is.

And so Illinois Republican boss William "The Pope" Cellini -- given his plucky nickname by alleged fixers and co-schemers in the massive fraud and kickback scheme over hundreds of millions of dollars in state pension fund investments -- lost his free ride.

Not the ride on the state pension scam. That federal bus keeps on running. Instead, Cellini lost his ride on a sweetheart hotel deal in Springfield that cost taxpayers at least $30 million.



Cellini has been described as The Pope and "Co-Schemer A" in the federal political corruption case against Tony Rezko, the bipartisan political fixer and personal real estate fairy to America's political reformer, Sen. Barack Obama.

But Cellini has not been charged with any federal crime. We tried to reach The Pope at one of his many sanctuaries -- the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association, which contributes mightily to Democrats and Republicans alike, since the Illinois Combine is bipartisan and ecumenical. Sadly, The Pope didn't call back.

Still, the federal bus runs its engine, idling there, waiting for his Democratic counterparts, including the already indicted Chris Kelly, the right hand of Gov. Rod "The Unreformer" Blagojevich, and perhaps even the unindicted Blagojevich himself.

Some of their buddies are already on that federal bus, yapping, telling their secret histories, according to federal court documents filed in the pension case. But I'm not talking pensions just yet. I'm talking about one of Cellini's questionable state deals.

Because on Wednesday, a Democratic state treasurer with a touch of gubernatorial ambition finally put the ax to a controversial Cellini hotel deal in Springfield that has been going on 25 years.

No word yet from Barack Obama on this one.