Alexi+Giannoulias

Alexi Giannoulias - Anti-Americanism - Banks - Chicago - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois State Government - Liberals - President - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

A Break for ‘Mob Banker,’ Feds Releasing Report After Election

October 24, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

It must be nice to be an Obama insider like Democrat Senate candidate Alexi “The Mob Banker” Giannoulias is. Obama’s FDIC is obviously in his corner, it seems. After all, the FDIC decided to wait until after the election is over to release its report on the failure of Giannoulias’s family bank.

So, Giannoulias might possibly be safely elected to the Senate before the results of any embarrassing investigations into his culpability for the bank failure are released.

Yep, must be nice to have basketball partners in high places.
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A Break for ‘Mob Banker,’ Feds Releasing Report After Election”

Alexi Giannoulias - Banks - Chicago - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - GOP - Government - Illinois - Liberals - Mark Kirk - Republicans - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

Illinois GOP Send ‘Shark’ to Spoof Alexi for Loans to Mobster ‘Jaws’ Giorango

October 21, 2010 by

Great political theater.

The Illinois GOP sent a guy dressed as a shark to dog Democrat Senate candidate Alexi “Mob Banker” Giannoulias. When Giannoulias was working for the Broadway Bank he loaned millions to mobster Michael “Jaws” Giorango. Naturally the mobster never paid it all back.

Alexi Giannoulias - Banks - Chicago - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Mark Kirk - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

Hard to Believe That Alexi Giannoulias ‘Didn’t Know’ Of Mobster’s Crimes

October 13, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Alexi Giannoulias is well known as the “Mob Banker” for the fact that his family bank lent $20 million to two mobsters while Alexi was an officer of the bank. The Illinois Democrat’s Senate candidate has finally answered to this loan a bit more directly than he has in the past and his answer is simply a bit hard to take.

On NBC’s Meet The Press on Sunday, October 10, Giannoulias uttered the laughable claim that he “didn’t know the extent” of the criminal activities of his mobster borrowers at the Broadway Bank.

This is a bit hard to take. Giannoulias seemed to act as if the two mobster’s activities were not as well known in 2005 as they really were at the time his bank gave these ne’er-do-wells multiple loans. Both Michael “Jaws” Giorango and his pal Demitri Stavropoulos were well known criminals by the time they were being served at Broadway Bank.
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Hard to Believe That Alexi Giannoulias ‘Didn’t Know’ Of Mobster’s Crimes”

Alexi Giannoulias - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - Green Party - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Mark Kirk - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

Alexi Bails on Senate Debate

October 6, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Illinois Democrat Senatorial candidate Alexi “The Mob Banker” Giannoulias has withdrawn from a scheduled debate that was to be held October 21 at the WSIU studios in downstate Carbondale.

Giannoulias said that he was pulling out because the Libertarian candidate, Michael Labano, was not invited to participate.

“It’s disappointing, but these things happen in politics,” Yepsen said. “The rules we put together were that we would invite any candidate of an established political party. We’re not going to change the rules for one candidate.”

Independent candidates would only be invited to the debate if they had received at least a 5-percent vote in neutral polls, Yepsen said, and no independent candidates met the requirements.

The debate was to include Republican candidate Mark Kirk, Democrat Giannoulias, and Green Party candidate LeAlan Jones.

One wonders what Giannoulias is afraid of. After all, the rules for entry into the debate was known by Giannoulias when he initially accepted the invitation.
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Alexi Bails on Senate Debate”

Alexi Giannoulias - Banks - Budget - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Senate - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Alexi Tells Voters He Was No Banker, But Claims to IRS He Was

September 30, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

It’s almost like a bad Riddler quip from TVs Adam West Batman show: When is a banker not a banker? Well, apparently the Illinois Democrat candidate for Senate, Alexi “the Mob Banker” Giannoulias, is trying his hand at the riddle. He’s constantly told the voters that he was not employed by his family bank during the year that it met so much trouble, yet on his tax returns Alexi took deductions for his bank work during that same year.

So when IS a banker not a banker? Apparently when he’s trying to run for Senate and get out from under the mess his bank ended up in.

Giannoulias has claimed that he had left his family bank in 2005. But as the Chicago Tribune reports, “Giannoulias was able to take a $2.7 million tax deduction last year because he reported working hundreds of hours at Broadway Bank in 2006.”
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Alexi Tells Voters He Was No Banker, But Claims to IRS He Was”

Alexi Giannoulias - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Michael Madigan - Warner Todd Huston

Democrat Corruption in Illinois: Michael Madigan, Rod Blagojevich, Tony Rezko, That’s What Friends are For!

September 22, 2010 by

The Democrats have a deep bench of corrupt officials that have all helped enrich each other at the cost to Illinois’ taxpayers. The Illinois Republican Party wants to remind you of how one Democrat hand helps the next to your money…

The video shows multiple photos of Illinois’ top Democratic leaders hugging, shaking hands or caught in an embrace with Blagojevich. It’s believed the first image of the photo montage which includes convicted felon Tony Rezko, seated next to House Speaker Michael Madigan and Blagojevich, has not been publicly released until now.

Sometimes we forget what friends are for. Mike Madigan. Pat Quinn. Alexi Giannoulias. Lisa Madigan. They all stood arm in arm with Blagojevich, despite claiming now that they knew he was corrupt.

The photos are accompanied by the song “That’s What Friends Are For.” Phrases such as “I’ll be on your side forever more,” take on new meaning for Democratic officials now trying to run as far away from Blagojevich as they can during this campaign season.

The people of Illinois need to know that this is the party that was on Rod’s side, not the people’s side, and look where that got us.

Alexi Giannoulias - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois - Liberals - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

Ill. Dem. Senate Candidate Calls Fellow Dems ‘Bozos’

August 26, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Fox News has a report of the odd way that Illinois Democrat Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias referred to fellow Democrats campaign appearance at a downstate agricultural forum.
“I have (known) plenty of Democrats that are complete bozos- that’s just the reality of it,” Giannoulias told the crowd.

While it is odd to see such a high profile Democrat candidate saying such a thing, I find nothing at all wrong with what he said. He’s right in context. There are a lot of Democrats that are “bozos.” He’s right that there are a lot of fine Republicans.

In fact, the concurrent reverse is true, too. There are a lot of “bozo” Republicans and a lot of nice Democrats, too.

Still, it is interesting that a guy in the middle of such a tight race was heard saying such a thing.
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Ill. Dem. Senate Candidate Calls Fellow Dems ‘Bozos’”

Warner Todd Huston

Ill. Dem Senate Candidate Took Credit For ‘Job Creation,’ Now Illinois is 3rd Worst in Job Loss

August 23, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Like his president and his party, the Democrat Senate candidate for Illinois, Alexi “the Mob Banker” Giannoulias, is quick to claim that they have “created jobs” with the various and sundry, and continuing “stimulus” bills. But now that Illinois has been reported as having lost the third most amount of jobs nationwide, will Giannoulias take credit for that too?

Back in July, Giannoulias appeared on Fox Chicago TV and told us all that he was proud to have helped “create jobs” in Illinois.

I’m also proud, not only have we helped create jobs here in Illinois, but I’m the only candidate who has actually fought for jobs. When they were going to close Hartmarx, a company that’s been around for over 100 years, 600 good-paying jobs, as State Treasurer I stood up to them, we fought to save those jobs.”

But even Obama’s own Washington establishment is reporting that Illinois lost the third most amount of jobs in July, the very month that Giannoulias was claiming that HE had created jobs in Illinois.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the largest over-the-month employment decreases in non-farm payroll were in North Carolina, New Jersey, and Illinois

So, since good ol’ Alexi is so willing to take credit for “creating” jobs — jobs that don’t seem to have been created at all — is he equally as willing to own up to the job loss in Illinois? If not, why not?
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Ill. Dem Senate Candidate Took Credit For ‘Job Creation,’ Now Illinois is 3rd Worst in Job Loss”

Alexi Giannoulias - Campaign Finance - Chicago - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Government - Illinois - Islam - Islamofascism - Liberals - Religion - Terrorism - Warner Todd Huston

Ill. Dem. Senate Candidate Being Funded by Terror Connected Financier?

August 17, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Daniel Halper asks a whopper of a question, one that could cause quite a lot of trouble for Democrat Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias of Illinois. Halper reveals that one of Giannoulias’ donors is a man connected with a foundation with link to terror organizations.

Sahloul is the former president of the Mosque Foundation, a Bridgeview mosque that has numerous links to terrorist organizations. The Mosque Foundation contributed roughly $400,000 to four Islamic charities that were later shut down by the federal government for links to terrorism. According to the Chicago Tribune, the organizations receiving funds were: the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, the Benevolence International Foundation, the Islamic American Relief Agency, and Global Relief Foundation.

Apparently the Mosque Foundation’s Imam led an effort to raise $50,000 to help with the legal costs incurred by Sami Al-Arian, a University of South Florida professor who was convicted of raising money for terrorism in Palestine.

So what about this? Is Alexi Giannoulias taking money from a group with certain connections to terrorism?

Is the what Illinois wants as their representative in the Senate?
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Ill. Dem. Senate Candidate Being Funded by Terror Connected Financier?”

Banks - Budget - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Hilarious: Lefty Threatens to Sue Illinois Political Blog

August 13, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is pretty funny… well, not so funny if you are The Illinois Review, one of our fine political news blogs in Illinois. Apparently billionaire Nadhmi Auchi has sent a threatening letter to the blog demanding that they delete an August 9 post linking Auchi to Democrat Senate candidate Alexi “the Mob Banker” Giannoulias.

The letter issued by attorneys Carter-Ruck demands that the August 9 piece be removed due to “defamatory and untrue allegations.” The letter also says that Carter-Ruck thinks that the source for the blog post was the Observer (of London) and the New York Times.

Apparently the nitwits at Carter-Ruck didn’t actually READ the post in question, however. The actually source for the blog post is clearly featured at the top of the body copy. Any fool can see that the blog post came “from the IL GOP,” as is noted on the actual post itself. This is a press release from the Illinois Republican Party, not an Illinois Review authored piece.
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Hilarious: Lefty Threatens to Sue Illinois Political Blog”

Alexi Giannoulias - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Media - MSNBC - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell: Giannoulias Not the Best Candidate for Senate

August 6, 2010 by

Alexi “the Mob banker” Giannoulias is facing a whisper campaign from Democrat insiders that he is not the right candidate to run for Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. Maybe that whisper is a roar because even the left-wing cabler MSNBC is reporting that people are asking of Giannoulias is the right candidate for the Democrats.

Alexi Giannoulias - Banks - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

Democrat ‘Mob Banker’s’ Bank Loaned $23 Mil to Tony Rezko

August 2, 2010 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Tony Rezko has been at the root of many of Illinois’ worst cases of government corruption and influence peddling with ties that go back decades. He’s been tied to President Obama, indicted Governor Rod Blagojevich, and now Senate Democrat candidate Alexi Giannoulias whose family bank loaned the crook almost $23 million.

Worse, the Giannoulias family bank made the loan to Tony Rezko’s development group long after he’d become “politically radioactive,” as the Chicago Sun-Times puts it.
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Democrat ‘Mob Banker’s’ Bank Loaned $23 Mil to Tony Rezko”

Alexi Giannoulias - Campaign Finance - Chicago - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Mark Kirk - Republicans - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

Ill. Dem Senate Candidate Still $200,000 in Debt From Primary

July 30, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

So far, the biggest negative that has stuck against Illinois Democrat Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias is that he is a poor money manager. The worst is that he was an officer in a family bank that has since gone under due to shady loans to mobsters — to the tune of $20 million in unpaid debt — and other bad banking practices . And now we can add another poor financial situation to Alexi’s already groaning deficit accounts: he’s still $200,000 in debt for his recently completed primary campaign.

As reported two weeks ago, Giannoulias has under performed in campaign fundraising so far in comparison to his GOP opponent, Mark Kirk.
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Ill. Dem Senate Candidate Still $200,000 in Debt From Primary”

Alexi Giannoulias - Campaign Finance - Chicago - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Mark Kirk - Republicans - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

WGIL: Giannoulias Says He’ll Take Lobbyist $$ for Campaign

July 23, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Despite claims made earlier in his campaign, Democrat candidate for Senate Alexi Giannoulias has said that he’ll be quite happy to take campaign donations from lobbyists as he vies to take Barack Obama’s old Senate seat this year.

WGIL News reports that Giannoulias claimed earlier in the campaign that he wouldn’t take donations from lobbyists. However, Giannoulias limited the scope of that claim to encompass only federal lobbyists and political PACs. He has taken donations from state lobbyists.

The difference between a state lobbyist and a federal lobbyist seems vague with Giannoulias, but he claims there is a difference.
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WGIL: Giannoulias Says He’ll Take Lobbyist $$ for Campaign”

Alexi Giannoulias - Campaign Finance - Chicago - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Mark Kirk - Republicans - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

Illinois ‘Mob Banker’ Can’t Raise Money?

July 16, 2010 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Hill is reporting that Democrat Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias is having trouble raising money, which is amusing because as a failed banker he gave away millions to a pair of mobsters that never paid back the “loan”

The Hill reports that Giannoulias “struggled to raise money in the aftermath of his family bank’s collapse in April.”

Giannoulias has raised only some $900,000 since March 31 — the bulk of it in June. His Republican opponent, Mark Kirk, collected close to $1 million that same month. And Kirk was dealing with his own scandal — the fallout from inaccuracies in reporting his Navy service record at the time.

Giannoulias raised less than half of Kirk’s total, and the Republican now has almost a four-to-one cash on hand advantage.

If you’ll recall — and the Hill notes — that VP Biden recently ambled into town to raise finds for the Democrats “mob banker” but apparently even “no body messes with” Joe Biden isn’t able to help Giannoulias.
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Illinois ‘Mob Banker’ Can’t Raise Money?”

Alexi Giannoulias - Campaign Finance - Chicago - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

Ill. Dem. Senate Candidate Raising $$ From Trial Lawyers in Canada

July 13, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Illinois Democrat candidate for Senate, Alexi Giannoulias, wasn’t too keen of admitting it but he was in Vancouver, Canada over the weekend at a fund-raiser at a trial lawyer’s convention. Along with a dozen other Democrats, the candidate was in Canada to rake in thousands in donations from trial lawyers who know what side of their bread is buttered, for sure.

Chicago Sun-Times reporter Lynn Sweet has all the details at her Scoop blog. But suffice to say that the Giannoulias campaign did not report the whereabouts of their candidate until the National Republican Senatorial Committee sent out a press release urging reporters to grill the Giannoulias campaign.
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Ill. Dem. Senate Candidate Raising $$ From Trial Lawyers in Canada”

Alexi Giannoulias - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois - Senate - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Ill. Dem Senate Candidate Giannoulias a ‘Mob Banker,’ Now ‘Flat Out’ Liar

July 7, 2010 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

The sniping between Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Alexi Giannoulias is beginning to get to full steam these days and Democrat Giannoulias isn’t handling it all very well. As a bank executive, he’s gone from dissembling about his efforts to loan mobsters $20 million that his bank then lost, to now as a candidate lying about his desires to raise taxes.

The latest Giannoulias gaffe comes as a result of his announcement of his tax returns. It seems that he declared a personal business loss that negated his entire tax bill and so Giannoulias paid no federal tax in 2009. Yet, as Mark Kirk says, even as Giannoulias wants to raise all our taxes, he skates by himself without paying any at all!

For his part, the Ginnoulias campaign says that the candidate never said he wants to raise our taxes. They say that Kirk is lying about it. This newest claim makes Giannoulias himself to be a “flat out” liar as far as Illinois political watchdog Rich Miller is concerned. After all, Miller has the video to prove that Giannoulias has said that he wants to raise taxes.
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Ill. Dem Senate Candidate Giannoulias a ‘Mob Banker,’ Now ‘Flat Out’ Liar”

Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - Illinois - Liberals - Mark Kirk - Navy - Republicans - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

Politico: Five Questions for Mark Kirk

June 29, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Mark Kirk has really made himself look foolish and if he loses this election it will be because of his ridiculous missteps on his biography. Why he felt the need to overstate his bio is anybody’s guess, but he did it. And not just once but at least five times. Politico details the bio inflation Kirk has perpetrated in a new piece headlined “Five questions for Mark Kirk .”

They say that Kirk was “once a favorite,” intimating that his stock has dropped. That is essentially true, but in my estimation Kirk has plenty of time to get past this if he handles it right and I think he’s still the favorite even with this foolishness because Alexi “the Mob Banker” Giannoulias has equally problematic bio problems — not the least of which was the $20 million that he and his bank lent to two known mobsters that never paid back the loan.

Politico presents five questions that they feel that Kirk must answer in a straightforward manner or expect to lose credibility as a candidate.
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Politico: Five Questions for Mark Kirk”

Alexi Giannoulias - Congress - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Mark Kirk - Republicans - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

(Ill. Senate Race) Niecestro Says ‘Flake’ Denied Him Petition Signatures

June 23, 2010 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Conservative businessman Mike Niecestro has been making noise about running for the U.S. Senate against GOP candidate Mark Kirk for at least a year. Even just a few weeks ago he amped up his noise machine to say that he had the ballot petition signatures needed to make a run for the office as an independent.

But yesterday the filing time came and no Niecestro papers were to be seen. He told reporters that one of the operatives that promised him thousands of signatures didn’t even get him a single one. ABC’s Charles Thomas reports that Niecestro said the politician in question is “known as a ‘flake’ in GOP circles.”

This quote raises major concerns about the seriousness of a Niecestro campaign. If Niecestro knew the guy he was relying on to put him over the top in petition signatures was a well-known “flake,” then why did Niecestro rely on him in the first place? If Niecestro was putting all his eggs in a “flake’s” basket, this seriously calls into doubt Niecestro’s planning capabilities, doesn’t it?
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(Ill. Senate Race) Niecestro Says ‘Flake’ Denied Him Petition Signatures”

Alexi Giannoulias - Campaign Finance - Chicago - Congress - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois - Liberals - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

Aide to Alexi ‘Mob Banker’ Giannoulias Manhandles Videographer

June 20, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

OK, OK, this one has been making the rounds all last week. It shows one of Illinois Democratic Senate candidate Alexi “The Mob Banker” Giannoulias’ staffers pushing around a videographer who was trying to get a look at who was attending a private fundraiser.

Yeah its uncomfortable to watch, but I have to come down on this in a way that is a bit out of orthodox from all the other conservative websites railing about this video. In fact, that’s why I hadn’t posted about it until now.

I just don’t think it’s a big deal that Giannoulias’ people wanted to keep a private function… well, private.

It was a reserved section, it was a by-invite event not open to the general public and the cameraman wasn’t on the guest list. As much as I think Giannoulias is a crook, deserves to be beaten in the election, and would make a horrible Senator if he wins, I think Giannoulias should be able to expect to see a private fundraiser remain private without being harassed about it all.

As far as this one incident goes, I don’t see any there, there. But, I’ll post it anyway and you decide.
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Aide to Alexi ‘Mob Banker’ Giannoulias Manhandles Videographer”

Alexi Giannoulias - Chicago - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Liberals - Mark Kirk - Military - Navy - Republicans - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

Kirk Bio Wrongly IDs Military Award, is That Worse Than ‘Mob Banker’ Alexi’s Financial Failures?

May 29, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Representative Mark Kirk (R,IL) has admitted that the bio on his webpage has had to be altered to reflect a change in the identification of a military award it had previously accredited to him.

Kirk’s bio page originally claimed that he had been awarded the U.S. Navy’s Intelligence Officer of the Year award. This, however, was in error. It appears that his unit received this award, he did not individually receive the citation.

Kirk told the press, “upon a recent review of my records, I found that an award listed in my official biography was misidentified.” According to Navy records the Vice Admiral Rufus L. Taylor Award was issued to the entirety of the Intelligence Division Electronic Attack Wing at Aviano.

Kirk’s opponent, Alexi “the mob banker” Giannoulias has played this up as a major transgression, of course. Amusingly, Giannoulias comes from the same leftist wing of the Party that is currently excusing Connecticut Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal who didn’t just goof up a particular award he was given but completely lied about his service as a Marine in Vietnam… as in he never served in Vietnam.
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Kirk Bio Wrongly IDs Military Award, is That Worse Than ‘Mob Banker’ Alexi’s Financial Failures?”

Alexi Giannoulias - Anti-Americanism - Banks - Chicago - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Illinois - Liberals - Mark Kirk - Regulation - Republicans - Senate - State Government - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

CBS News (Chicago): The ‘We Won’t Report The News if it Hurts Democrats,’ News

May 7, 2010 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

CBS News decided that if certain aspects of the race for Illinois Senate between Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Alexi “The Mob Banker” Giannoulias threaten to make news, why the good folks at CBS Channel 2 News will just refuse to cover it.

I have to say, I find it interesting that CBS News has decided what it will deign to cover and what it won’t. I am wondering if the rest of us hoi polloi were to chose that track at our places of employment. Don’t like mowing a lawn, cleaning a toilet, doing that boring expense report, talking to the boss… well, follow the Channel 2 method and just refuse to do that part of your job!

Must be nice to pick and choose the parts of your job that you will deign to do, eh?
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CBS News (Chicago): The ‘We Won’t Report The News if it Hurts Democrats,’ News”

Alexi Giannoulias - Barack Obama - Chicago - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois - Joe Biden - Liberals - Mark Kirk - President - Republicans - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

Wow, Ill. Senate Race Rated as ‘Favors Republicans’

April 26, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The famed Cook Political Report has just updated its reading of the race for Obama’s old Senate seat in Illinois to a “favors Republicans” rating!

This is pretty astonishing news:

As expected, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation seized control Friday of Broadway Bank, the community bank owned by the family of Democratic Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias.

The bank’s financial problems and its business relationships with people associated with corruption and organized crime have dogged Giannoulias’ campaign since early February when he became the nominee. Broadway’s failure will have an enormous impact on Giannoulias’ campaign, and it is entirely possible that the fallout could force him from the race. As such, the race is moving from the Toss Up to the Lean Republican column.

…Given recent events, it’s impossible to justify keeping the race in the Toss Up column. While current circumstances would seem to lend themselves to a rating of Likely Republican, we know that it’s entirely possible that we could well be dealt a different hand – and a very different race – a month or two from now. As such, the race moves to the Lean Republican column.

I have to say, with a possible Republican pick up of Obama’s old Illinois seat AND the possible pick up of VP Biden’s Delaware seat also looking to go to a Republican (Mike Castle), it would be an amazing rebuke to the Democrats to have their two top men’s old seats switch parties!

This would be one for the record books, for sure. I mean, has this ever even happened before?
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Wow, Ill. Senate Race Rated as ‘Favors Republicans’”

Alexi Giannoulias - Banks - Business - Chicago - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Mark Kirk - Senate - State Government - Warner Todd Huston

Feds Shut Down Dem. Sen. Candidate Giannoulias’ Family Owned Bank

April 23, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Democrat’s Illinois Senate candidate, Alexi Giannoulias, has seen his family business stripped away from them and placed in the hands of a new owner (MB Financial) because he and his family could not come up with the $85 million needed to shore up falling liquidity.

Banking regulators seized the Giannoulias’ Broadway Bank this evening and placed it in the hands of MB Bank, a bank with branches throughout the Chicagoland area.

Alexi Giannoulias was the bank’s chief lender and vice-president from 2002 to 2006. He has been criticized for working for the bank when it loaned $20 million to Michael “Jaws” Giorongo and reputed mobster Boris Stratievsky. Giannoulias’ family has also been attacked for taking $70 million in dividends in both 2007 and 2008 as the bank’s loans were going bad.
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Feds Shut Down Dem. Sen. Candidate Giannoulias’ Family Owned Bank”

Alexi Giannoulias - Campaign Finance - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois - Liberals - Mark Kirk - Senate - State Government - Warner Todd Huston

‘Mob Banker’ Giannoulias Can’t Raise As Much $$ As Mark Kirk

April 13, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Democrat candidate for Senate Alexi Giannoulias seems to be having some trouble raising campaign cash, at least when compared to the more successful efforts by GOP candidate Mark Kirk.

Giannoulias told reporters that his first quarter fund raising rang in at about $1.1 million for his race to win Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. For his part, Kirk reported that he raised $2.2 million.

The candidate have until April 15 to make their formal fundraising report.

Giannoulias claimed that his bank troubles were not a factor in his lower fundraising amount than Kirk’s. It has been discovered that Broadway Bank, the family bank Giannoulias ran, made over $20 million in bad loans to convicted felons, loans that were never paid back.

The bank is also in severe financial straits having lost $75.3 million last year alone. Regulators have given Broadway Bank until the end of the month to raise $85 million to cover its shortfall.

Quiet whispers among state Democrats have been heard questioning Giannoulias’ electability and rumors abound that state pols are considering alternatives to his candidacy despite his win in the late primary.

Desperate to refocus the news cycle upon Mark Kirk, Giannoulias tried to characterize Kirk as “obsessed” about Giannoulias’ Broadway Bank troubles. Kirk, however, has built a small 37-33 lead in the polls early in this campaign.

www.kirkforsenate.com
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‘Mob Banker’ Giannoulias Can’t Raise As Much $$ As Mark Kirk”

Alexi Giannoulias - Banks - Chicago - Cook County - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois - Senate - State Government - Warner Todd Huston

The Democrats ‘Mob Banker’ With $20 Million in Loans to Criminals

April 2, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

It is bad enough that current State Treasurer and Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias is now well-known as the mob’s favorite banker with revelations of his $20 million in bad loans to various mobsters and convicted felons — so much money that his family bank is now about to go belly up over it all. But what is worse is that the Illinois Democrat Party purposefully backed this shady operator as its 2010 candidate for Senate!

Illinois Democrats are so arrogant that they imagined that they could pick the dirtiest candidate they could find, one with a possible criminal history worse than that of their recently resigned knife wielding Lt. Gov. candidate Steve Cohen, and the voters would just mindlessly go to the polls and vote the party line. And perhaps they are right. We’ll see.

The Chicago Tribune recently reported that Giannoulias’ failing bank loaned the $20 million to Michael Giorango and Demitri Stavropoulos even as they were about to be trundled off to serve federal prison sentences.
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The Democrats ‘Mob Banker’ With $20 Million in Loans to Criminals”

Chicago - Congress - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - Illinois - Republicans - Senate - Warner Todd Huston

Ill. GOP Says: Put Alexi on the Phone!

February 19, 2010 by

Alexi Giannoulias has a very shady past yet the Illinois Democrat Party is still running him for the Senate. But the Illinois GOP has a few question for the nominee…

"Voters want to know about his role in his family’s struggling Broadway Bank, and Giannoulias promised he’d provide those details after the Feb. 2 primary election. "If I’m fortunate enough to make it out of the primary, we can have that conversation," he said. His plan now seems to be to stonewall until November." – Chicago Tribune Editorial, February 12, 2010

CHICAGO – Today marks the 20th day of Alexi Giannoulias’ silence since promising reporters he would answer questions surrounding his role in the near-collapse of his family’s Broadway Bank.

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Ill. GOP Says: Put Alexi on the Phone!”