Illinois Republicans criticize Senate candidate Giannoulias for loan issued after he left bank

GOP criticizes Ill. Senate candidate for bank loan

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Republicans accused Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias of lending money to a corrupt political insider, although Giannoulias said he left his family’s bank before the loan was issued and the insider wasn’t listed on loan documents.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday that Broadway Bank lent $22.75 million to a development company in 2006. One of the company’s owners was Antoin “Tony” Rezko, who was then tied up in a corruption probe that ultimately led to his conviction for shaking down people who wanted to do business with the state.

The loan documents don’t list Rezko as an owner of Riverside District Development LLC, and the transaction took place five months after Giannoulias says he stepped away from the bank’s day-to-day affairs so he could run for Illinois treasurer. He was elected in November 2006.

“The facts are clear: Broadway Bank made a sound loan and the loan was fully repaid. Alexi was no longer involved in the bank’s operations when the loan was made and, as the loan document makes clear, Mr. Rezko had no role in this transaction,” Giannoulias spokeswoman Kathleen Strand said.

But Giannoulias’ Republican rival in the Senate race accused him Monday of misleading voters. Mark Kirk’s campaign said in a statement that Giannoulias had previously said all his bank’s dealings with Rezko occurred before anyone knew of Rezko’s misconduct.

“This is part of a troubling pattern of deception we learn more about everyday,” Kirk told the Southern Illinoisan during a Monday campaign stop. “A business relationship should have been accurately described years earlier.”

The state Republican chairman, Pat Brady, called on Giannoulias to level with voters. He cited former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, now awaiting a verdict in his federal corruption trial, as an example of what happens when voters aren’t fully informed.

“It’s time for us, the citizens of the state of Illinois and the Republican Party, to make a clean break from the politics of the past,” Brady said.

Giannoulias, a former vice president at Broadway Bank, has faced criticism over loans to criminals and over financial decisions that ultimately led to the bank’s collapse.