Giannoulias Slammed Over Mob Loans
The Chicago Tribune is the poster child for all that is wrong with the newspaper industry; however this morning, the Tribune reminds us all of the important role local papers can still play in shaping voter opinion. This morning, the Tribune ran a short editorial under the headline “What Alexi Knew: His damning non-denial about loans to criminals.” As evidenced by the headline, the paper dices Alexi Giannoulias’ character to little pieces, a task that Mark Kirk has tried, and utterly failed, to do (in part because of his own personal failings). In fewer than 500 words, the Trib does what millions of campaign dollars have not.
On Sunday, Giannoulias sparred with Kirk on Meet the Press. Subsequently, Giannoulias’ campaign put out a fairly routine memo entitled "10 Quotes, 10 Reasons to Vote for Alexi.” It was this memo which apparently sent the Tribune’s op-ed page over the edge, prompting them to write the editorial.
The Tribune focused specifically on one quote not in the memo: Mr. Giannoulias’ response to David Gregory’s query about loans he made while a senior loan officer at his family’s now insolvent Broadway Bank. Specifically, when asked about the large quantites of cash loaned to Michael "Jaws" Giorango and his business partner Demitri Stavropoulos, who were headed to prison, Giannoulias answered: “I didn’t know the extent of their activity.”
The Tribune editorial board seems less than persuaded Giannoulias didn’t know that he was dealing with criminals. While Broadway Bank had consummated its relationship with the two by the time he showed up to work as a senior loans officer, the Trib observes that “during his time as a loan officer, the bank kept giving them loans — even when they were about to go to federal prison on felony convictions.” Whoops. The editorial also characterizes Giannoulias’ response to Gregory’s inquiry as to whether he knew he was loaning money to criminals as a “roundabout way of saying yes.”
But they were only heating up. The Tribune then addresses what Giannoulias and his colleagues “did know- or should have known” and highlights an odd coincidence: The criminals “continued getting loans until September 2005. That was the same month that Giannoulias says he stopped his involvement in "day-to-day" operations of the bank as he got ready to run for state treasurer. In other words, it wasn't until he left to run for office that the bank cut off these customers.”
The Tribune goes even further wondering aloud whether Giannoulias himself may be a criminal, sarcastically asking: “how can Giannoulias say he left in 2005, but report to the IRS that he worked hundreds of hours in 2006, thereby qualifying for a $2.7 million tax deduction?”
In a race that remains neck and neck, Alexi Giannoulias needs to do well amongst Chicago-area voters. He needs to turn out liberals and do decently among independents. The Tribune’s circulation on weekdays is 452,144 and its audience tends to be more liberal than that of its smaller competitor, the Chicago Sun-Times. For the Tribune’s editorial board to run this editorial exactly three weeks before the mid-terms is a very bold move for a newspaper not known for being fond of Republicans. Anyone reading this is struck by the credibility of the source and the harshness of the tone, and anyone who reads this, no matter how liberal, cannot help but wonder whether they want to vote Mr. Giannoulias into office.
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