Antoin "Tony" Rezko is an Illinois restaurant and real estate developer currently facing federal charges of attempted extortion, money laundering, and fraud. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Shortcut: WP:NPOVD Articles that have been linked to this page are the subject of an NPOV dispute (NPOV stands for Neutral Point Of View; see below). ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ... Extortion is a criminal offense, which occurs when a person either obtains money, property or services from another through coercion or intimidation or threatens one with physical harm unless they are paid money or property. ... Money laundering is the practice of engaging in financial transactions in order to conceal the identity, source and destination of the money in question. ...

Rezko was born in 1955 in Aleppo, Syria to a Christian family. After graduating from high school there, Rezko moved to Chicago and earned an engineering and construction degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Rezko then moved into a career as a real estate developer. Aleppo (or Halab Arabic: , ) is a city in northern Syria, capital of the Aleppo Governorate. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... State Street Village, S.R. Crown Hall, Armour Main Building Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private Ph. ...

In addition, he began investing in a variety of fast-food restaurants, starting with a chain of Panda Express Chinese restaurants before soon owning a chain of Papa John's Pizza stores in multiple states. [2][3] Panda Express logo Exterior view of a typical Panda Express restaurant. ... Papa Johns Pizza (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the third largest carryout and delivery pizza restaurant in the United States behind Pizza Hut and Dominos Pizza; it is based in Louisville, Kentucky. ...

In October 2006, Rezko was indicted for alleged extortion of businesses seeking to do business with the Illinois Teachers Retirement System Board and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board. In addition, he has been charged with staging false transactions of his pizza stores in order to secure $10 million in loans from GE Capital. [4] Categories: Companies traded on NYSE | General Electric subsidiaries | Corporation stubs ...

Many Illinois Democratic politicians have received funds from Rezko, including Governor Rod Blagojevich, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, U.S. Senator Barack Obama, Comptroller Dan Hynes, former Cook County Board President John Stroger, and Cook County Board President Todd Stroger. [5] Rezko also provided help to Republicans, raising money for former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar and holding a megamillion-dollar fund-raiser for President George W. Bush in 2003. [6] Milorad Blagojevich, commonly known as Rod R. Blagojevich (pronounced IPA:  , born December 10, 1956) is an American politician from the state of Illinois. ... For the Irish grocery chain entrepreneur, see Quinnsworth John Brian Patrick Pat Quinn (born January 29, 1943, in Hamilton, Ontario),[1] is a former head coach in the National Hockey League, most recently with the Toronto Maple Leafs between 1998 and 2006. ... Lisa Madigan (born July 30, 1966 in Chicago) is the current and 41st Attorney General of the U.S. state of Illinois. ... “Barack” redirects here. ... Daniel W. Hynes (born July 20, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois) is currently the Comptroller of the State of Illinois. ... John H. Stroger, Jr. ... Todd H. Stroger (born January 14, 1963) is the Democratic Partys nominee for Cook County, Illinois, Board president and is currently the alderman for the 8th Ward (map) in Chicago. ... James Edgar (born January 22, 1946, Vinita, Oklahoma) is an American politician who was the Governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ...

Relation to Barack Obama

In November, 2006, Barack Obama acknowledged his involvement in a real estate deal to which Rezko was a participant. Under the deal, Obama and Rezko purchased adjoining properties, with Rezko later reselling part of his parcel to Obama. No laws were broken and Obama is not under investigation. Obama acknowledges that the exchange may have appeared improper, and stated "I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it."^[1] “Barack” redirects here. ...

In April, 2007 Barack Obama was again connected to Rezko, when records were published in the Chicago Suntimes detailing the relationship between Obama, the law firm which employed him and Rezko's Rezmar Corp, a company which made government-subsidized, low-income housing projects, in a series of troubled real estate developments pursued by Rezko's Rezmar Corp, which brought in more than $43 million in government funding for these projects, many of which are currently in distress financially and disrepair. [7] “Barack” redirects here. ...

In June, 2007 the Chicago Sun-Times published a story about Obama writing letters to city and state officials on behalf of Rezko, so Rezko could receive more than $14 million in taxpayer funds to develop senior citizen housing, including $885,000 in development fees for Rezko and partner Allison Davis, Obama's former boss. Before the Sun-Times revealed Obama's letters in support of Rezko, Sen. Obama had insisted to the Tribune , "I've never done any favors for him." [8][9] The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago. ...

Also in June 2007, The Chicago Sun-Times discovered that Obama had collected at least $168,308 from Rezko over Obama's 12 years in politics, approximately triple the best estimate that Obama had provided of Rezko's donations. Obama had told the Sun-Times that Rezko raised "between $50,000 and $60,000" during Obama's political career.[10]

References

Map of Rezko Developments in Chicago Area