The Republicans' Rezko Problem

John Kass reports:

Rezko is a pal of the Democratic Gov. Rod "The Unreformer" Blagojevich. Rezko became involved in the questionable purchase of Obama's home, while under federal investigation. Every politician in Illinois—except for Obama—figured Rezko to be leprous with federal subpoenas. By dancing with Rezko, Obama impeaches his own judgment, and raises questions as to whether he has the presidential stuff.

Rezko stands accused of using his Illinois political connections to extort kickbacks and political money from investment firms seeking billions of dollars worth of state business in the investing of state pension funds.

But Republicans eager to use the trial to unearth problems about Obama should understand that if they dig deeper in the Rezko case, they will find evidence of the disaster facing them now.

Because long before establishment Republicans in Washington lost their credibility—expanding big government, scarfing up pork like the "Bridge to Nowhere," and dealing with corrupt fixers like Jack Abramoff—the leaders of the Illinois GOP were quite busy.

Their heads were in the taxpayer trough, their behinds up in the air, curly tails wiggling as they gulped. They ate up the deals, and squeezed out or killed off the conservatives, and danced with the Chicago Machine Democrats and became mouthpieces for the heavily corporate Republican establishment. And they formed an unofficial partnership I call the bi-partisan Illinois Combine.

One of the Combine bosses implicated, but not charged, in "Operation Board Games" is Springfield's "Big" Bob Kjellander, a self-professed pal of former White House political guru Karl Rove.

Kjellander was the treasurer for the Republican National Committee until he was identified as "Individual K" in the federal indictments. He made $4.5 million in finder's fees on state pension fund deals through the Blagojevich administration—then was made national GOP treasurer. That nifty move, pocketing Democratic money while mouthing Rove's talking points, makes him a candidate for Illinois Combine poster boy.

But the real poster boy is Republican boss William "The Pope" Cellini—who started out in patronage, and has since made a fortune in state gaming, development and asphalt empires. Cellini and Kjellander backed Mitt Romney in Illinois, the same Romney who all but called for the ouster of the federal prosecutor investigating them.

But that's probably just a coincidence.

The other day, federal prosecutors heated Cellini up again, in Rezko court documents. The Tribune published a fascinating and detailed account of this on Friday.

Though Cellini has not been charged, prosecutors insisted that he was a significant player in the case involved in extortion and kickbacks. They identified him in court documents as "Co-Schemer A" (that's A as in Alpha) and they knocked down the contention by Rezko's attorneys that since Cellini was not interviewed by investigators or charged, Cellini must be innocent of any crimes.

"As the court is aware," wrote prosecutors, "there are many other explanations that can account for the failure to charge or interview an individual other than innocence. Rezko's assumption to the contrary is unsupported by the evidence in the case."

Republican Cellini's lawyer in the case is former U.S. Atty. Dan Webb, who recently represented the now-imprisoned former Republican Gov. George Ryan.

Webb is a boss at the giant law firm Winston & Strawn. Other Winston & Strawn lawyers there are being paid millions of dollars by Blagojevich, presumably for criminal legal work related to "Operation Board Games."

Sound confusing? Illinois politics is often quite muddy. Just don't think what's coming is just about the Democrats and Rezko and, by extension, Obama.

It's about Republicans in Illinois mud too.

Tony Rezko understands one has to "hedge" their bets.