The oddest part of the story between Obama and Rezko is that Obama paid for lawn care and coordinated work on a fence between the properties:
The Obamas bought the house in June 2005 for $1.65 million–some $300,000 less than the asking price–and secured a $1.32 million mortgage from Northern Trust.
Rezko’s wife, Rita, bought the adjoining lot the same day, paying the full $625,000 asking price with the help of a $500,000 mortgage from Mutual Bank of Harvey. The Rezkos declined to comment for this article.
The Obamas wanted a fence between the parcels. They hired an attorney and architects within a month of their purchase to seek guidance about the fence from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.
Michelle Obama had served on the commission from 1998 to March 2005, and she contacted the staff about the fence. On July 15, 2005, a city landmarks deputy commissioner, Brian Goeken, sent a long e-mail to Michelle Obama saying he had gone out one evening to look at the house. He listed suggestions for obtaining a permit for the fence.
Goeken declined to comment for this article.
Over the next six months, the Obamas’ architect had several conversations with city officials about whether to relocate portions of the existing fence or build a new, compatible one.
Architect Wil Taubert said in an interview that he dealt only with the Obamas.
“I knew somebody owned the corner but I never asked who it was,” Taubert said.
Though the Obamas laid the groundwork, Rezko agreed to build and pay for the $14,000 fence that runs along their property line.
Fence required by city
Obama said Rezko paid for the fence because a city ordinance compelled Rezko to fence the line between his vacant lot and their house. He added that both men agreed there were broader reasons for a fence.
“I had had a conversation with him in which I indicated that it probably was important for us to have a separation of the properties because the property was all one piece, it wasn’t really demarcated, and I did think that it was important for there not to be any perception whatsoever that somehow I was having any use of their property,” Obama said.
“Partly because Michelle had already been on Landmarks, partly because we’re well-known neighbors … I felt it was important to make sure that all the T’s were crossed and I’s were dotted in terms of compliance with landmarks,” he said. “I thought it would be embarrassing if somehow whatever fence was erected didn’t comply.”
Obama said he funded the architectural and legal work because “if somebody walked by, they would assume that it was on my property and so it was important from my perspective that it be done right.”
Obama said he didn’t know exactly how much he spent on the architectural, landscaping and legal work that enabled Rezko to acquire a fence permit in January 2006.
“My suspicion is that it would probably be a couple of thousand dollars. On the architectural side it might be more,” he said. “I think legal fees were a couple thousand.”
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That month, the fabricator hired by Rezko began building the fence, which sits immediately on top of the property line. Five months later, in May, Advance Welding & Construction sent one of Rezko’s companies a $14,300 invoice that stated, “All work is completed.”
Obama said he and his family have never used the Rezko yard–even for a brief picnic or Frisbee game. But Obama said he pays his landscaper to mow Rezko’s 7,500-square-foot yard.
A person can’t enter the Rezko lot from the street–but Obama’s groundskeeper gets in through the gate that opens from Obama’s lot.
Service mows both lawns
“Right now my landscaper who comes and does all my work, I have asked him to go ahead and mow the lawn on the other side,” Obama said.
“My intention was to have the landscaper figure out some pro-rata cost for that mowing and send that bill to Rezko,” Obama said. “I just haven’t had time to do it.”
The lawn-mowing bill that he plans to send Rezko “can’t be more than three or four hundred, a thousand dollars,” Obama added.
The bill for the new fence has yet to be paid, according to Advance President Raymond Oshana and Michael Sreenan, an attorney who represented the Rezkos in transactions pertaining to the fence and garden lot.
That may be because Tony Rezko is embroiled in debt and business difficulties as well as legal trouble. The federal charges against Rezko include allegations that he defrauded a lender to keep one business venture afloat.
But the garden lot may yet be developed.
Sreenan and a Rezko company accountant in October formed a corporation that Sreenan said will try to purchase the lot from Rita Rezko and build there.
While no sale has taken place, “We’re hoping to move ahead on development,” Sreenan said.
It was premature to discuss details, Sreenan said, but one thing was sure about this potential venture: “It will be entirely separate from Mr. Rezko.”
Why this aspect of the situation is the oddest is that as time continued, it became more clear that Rezko was in a lot of trouble. Previous to the middle of 2005, the degree of Rezko’s problems were somewhat unclear. The actual actions that the indictments cover center around the 2003-2005 time range. The earliest actions Rezko was indicted for include pay to play schemes immediately after Rod Blagojevich took office in early 2003.
While there was a cloud of suspicion in 2005, the situation was pretty unclear–by 2006 it became clear there was a wide ranging investigation of Rezko and he would probably be indicted. As such, continuing the relationship even in such a case where the financial outlays were Obamas and it involved being paid back was poor judgment as Obama has admitted. However, there is no evidence of Obama benefiting from the relationship on a personal or political level over that of a typical relationship with a donor.
ArchPundit
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