Yup, politics as usual:
In a speech to the Urban League last July, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., boasted of his efforts in 2001 to help a handful of African American-owned investment firms in Chicago get a larger share of business with Illinois state pension funds. “And in six months, they got about a half-billion dollars’ worth of business simply on their excellence,” Obama said.
What he did not say in his speech was that the owner of one of the investment firms, John Rogers of Ariel Capital, is a principal campaign fundraiser. Nor did he reveal that employees of the firms he helped have since contributed to or helped to raise more than $765,000 for his campaigns, according to campaign documents. Nor did he mention that two of the firms have allowed him to use their private jets. Nor did he mention that two of the firms have since been dismissed by the state pension fund for “underperformance.”
~~~Following Obama’s efforts, the Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System gave Ariel Capital $112.5 million to manage, and added hundreds of millions more over the next few years.
~~~Now, Rogers is an Illinois finance co-chairman for Obama’s presidential campaign, having raised more than $200,000 for the campaign. Ariel employees have given nearly $70,000 to Obama’s White House effort — for a total of more than $130,000 to Obama’s political career since 2001, when the politician went to bat for the company. The total includes $8,100 donated by Ariel Capital president Mellody Hobson, an ABC News financial contributor. Hobson is listed by the Obama campaign as a “bundler” who has raised between $50,000 and $100,000 for Obama’s presidential campaign.
In addition to fundraising, Rogers provided Obama with Ariel Capital’s private jet in 2005, following his election as a U.S. senator. At the time, Obama took advantage of a loophole in the law that allowed for politicians to reimburse corporate jet owners at first-class ticket rates. He later signed on as a co-sponsor of a Senate measure that would require campaigns to pay full charter cost, and said he would no longer take corporate jets.
~~~Three other minority-run firms — Holland Capital, Loop Capital and Capri Capital Partners — also saw hundreds of millions of assets turned over to them to manage after meeting with Obama and the state pension boards.
Kudos to Brian Ross and The Blotter for not sweeping this story under the rug in support of the chosen one.
There is already tons of evidence to prove that this man is nothing but a byproduct of the Chicago political machine. In this situation he gives those who can help him a a bunch of money in government contracts and ta-da! They raise three quarters of a million in campaign money.
See author page