Giannoulias is knee deep in slime

Can Illinois set a new record? 5 governors in 40 years to prison.

The people of Illinois are proud to be first among the states. No second city for us! We have the nation's tallest buildings and most storied architecture. We are home to the largest commodity market in the world. Our universities produce record numbers of Nobel laureates. Our state also is first and foremost in political corruption. In the last 35 years, Illinois has seen four of its governors in handcuffs. You would think that the people would learn, but they keep doing the same thing. With the announcement that popular Attorney General Lisa Madigan will not run for governor (perhaps eyeing an Obama-supported run at the Senate), the stars have aligned for the possibility that we may have a fifth incarcerated governor on the way.

In 2003, a little-known, young Chicago politician, with a hard-to-pronounce last name captured the governorship of Illinois. His rise to the top, it has been discovered, rested on bullying and questionable associations. The Blagojevich story is set to happen all over again in 2010. Since Madigan stepped down, a front-runner among the few Democratic candidates set to challenge Pat Quinn for re-election, is a little-known, young Chicago politician, with a hard-to-pronounce last name and questionable ties that fueled his rise. Alexi Giannoulias, who was careful to associate himself with Obama and his promise of "change," was invited by Obama's people to speak at the Democratic Convention. Giannoulias, though, is not "change," but is more of the usual for Illinois.

Giannoulias will be dogged by his associates. They will take him down like they took down Blago. He is standing on a pedestal of stink and corruption. He has no foundation. Giannoulias is simply an inlet of money and is set to buy any seat he can. He does not hide his ambition. Dems in Illinois know this, but the money talks. This is why Senator Durbin has called Giannoulias a "formidable candidate."

Another politician who will listen to the money and not the people. The problem is money stinks. Giannoulias' rise began when he was made president of the family business, Broadway Bank in Chicago. It just happens to the bank where Tony Rezko, the infamous convicted fund-raiser for Obama and Blagojevich wrote his checks from. When Rezko was on top, he recommended his banker Demetrius Giannoulias, Alexi's brother, to an influential state position. The bank, meanwhile, backed some Rezko real estate deals. Support from the Giannoulias family was rewarded on more than one occasion by indicted governor Rod Blagojevich, maybe due to the intercession of Rezko.

Broadway Bank, of which Giannoulias was president, also has interesting business with known figures in the mafia. Convicted bookie, boxing promoter, pimp, and mafia dupe Michael "Jaws" Giorango was able to secure a $11.8 million loan to build a casino. Alexi has changed his story often about this deal. Sometimes he blames his brother for the deal, other times he has called Giorango a "very nice person." In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, he admitted that he helped service the deal and that he spoke with Giorango about his criminal history. Money speaks and doing business with people entangles you in their business. Maybe it was Giannoulias money that Giroango used to fuel the prostitution ring he ran in Miami until he was convicted in 2004? Who knows?

An associate of Michael "Jaws" Giorango also did business with the Giannoulias family. Millions of dollars in loans were extended to Spiros Naos and Giorango, who was working on a big floating casino deal. (Naos is the nephew of slain casino owner Gus Boulis. After selling his floating casino operation to convicted influence-peddler Jack Abramoff, Boulis was gunned down. Gambino family associates have been convicted of the Boulis murder.) Naos, in turn, donated thousands to the Giannoulias campaign. When news of the Naos-Giannoulias connection broke, Giannoulias returned the contributions.

Giannoulias knows money. And he knows it talks in Chicago. That is why he hitched his wagon to star and became one of Barack Obama's top contributors in 2004. Obama kept his campaign funds in the Giannoulias family bank and has since paid for the support. Giannoulias was invited to speak at Obama's Democratic Convention and was allowed to act as a voice from the victorious Illinois Democratic party on the national stage. Giannoulias held fund-raisers for Obama and has called Obama his "political mentor."

While Obama and Giannoulias do run with the same crowds, Giannoulias is more Chicago, I must admit, than Obama. Giannoulias' rise was fueled by his family, his connections, and money from dark places. He is Chicago, though and through. His short career has been built on shady promises and backroom deals. It is the kind of stuff Illinois governors of late have been made of.

The opinion of Illinoisans have no place in the political world of Giannoulias. He knows power does not come from the democratic process, but from money. How else can a 30 year-old nobody become a viable candidate? He will grandstand. He will call his opponents out of touch. He will act as if he is the voice of change, but he is more of the same.

And his chances are good. The Democratic primary will probably be between him and Pat Quinn. Quinn has proven unable to govern or solve any problems. Instead of using sound politics and working on relationships with state legislators, Quinn has focused on silly scare tactics. It will be all too easy to point out his failure to lead. The Republicans so far have no big name candidates and seem as if they will face an expensive slug-fest of a primary. The GOP candidate will probably emerge to the general election politically damaged and financially broke. This is where Giannoulias will outspend his opponent and saturate the airwaves.

Soon Giannoulias could be sitting in the same seat as Rod Blagojevich. And he will probably learn the same lesson: when you surround yourself with slime, you tend to get dirty.

My predictions: (1) Roland Burris will announce he will not run for the Senate. Lisa Madigan will beat out Kennedy for the Democratic candidacy for the Burris Senate seat. I wish Mark Kirk would run for the GOP, but he may not want to lose his seat in Congress. (2) Giannoulias will beat out Quinn and will be the next governor and U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald will run him out of office and into prison. (3) Sarah Palin did something wrong that she is trying to hide.