Failing ShoreBank, Cap-And-Trade and Jan Schakowsky (Updated)

UPDATE, MAY 17, 2010: ShoreBank rescue talks continue, Crain's Chicago Business UPDATE, MAY 14, 2010 - Sachs + Schakowsky + ShoreBank = Shakedown by Joel Pollak at BigGovernment.com: "Today it was reported that Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has been calling Wall Street friends to cough up $125 million to save ShoreBank, which faces federal closure next week. Rep. Jan Schakowsky suggested in January that Illinois taxpayers foot the bill. That would have been the first state-led bank bailout in U.S history. The idea was abandoned–so it appears the government is shaking down Goldman Sachs instead." ALSO SEE: Shorebank Failure Could Cause Obama To Go Ballistic on Wall Street - May 14, 2010 May 5, 2010 - Chicago - What is it with Illinois Democrats and failing banks? Recently, the bank owned by the family of Illinois State Treasurer Alex Giannoulias failed. Broadway Bank was shut down by the feds and was absorbed by MB Financial on April 23. Giannoulias is running for U.S. Senate against Republican Mark Kirk.

This week, we get word of another pending failure of a Chicago area bank - this one favored and coddled by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky.

On May 4, Crain's Chicago Business reported that "Federal banking regulators have begun the process of accepting bids for ShoreBank Corp. in the event the community lender can’t raise the $200 million it needs to avoid failing." (The failed Broadway Bank needed something like $90 million to avoid failing.) Crain's also reported that "Under an amended regulatory order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Illinois Division of Banking, ShoreBank has until May 21 to raise the needed equity. But regulators have been known to seize banks before their capital-raising deadlines." This story is about much, much more than just ShoreBank. It's about corruption, the $10 Trillion cap-and-trade scam, the continuing attempt by Schakowsky and the Democrats to seize control of America's energy policies, and more. It's about the Joyce Foundation, which is a major shareholder of ShoreBank and also a major player in the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). CCX trades in "greenhouse gases." Franklin Raines, George Soros, Al Gore, Goldman Sachs, Barack Obama and others are big players in this story. (At this point, I strongly suggest that you watch Glenn Beck explain the twisted story of the Chicago Climate Exchange and the Joyce Foundation.) Over the past decade, "green" ShoreBank has become a shill and a front for the cap-and-trade crowd and those with a radical environmentalist agenda. "In 2000," says the bank's website, "ShoreBank expanded its focus to include environmental issues, believing that communities cannot achieve true prosperity without also attaining environmental well-being." The Joyce Foundation, says SourceWatch, "is a key progenitor of carbon dioxide cap and trade. In 2000 the Foundation issued a $347,600 grant to Richard Sandor for a study on the feasibility of a cap and trade mechanism. In 2001 the Foundation issued a $760,100 grant to the J. L. Kellog School of Management at Northwestern University, working with Sandor, to fund the design of the Carbon Climate Exchange, otherwise known as the CCX. The CCX mechanism has been adopted by European carbon credit exchanges." How does Jan Schakowsky fit into all of this? She has been trying for some time to get a federal bailout for ShoreBank. An excellent report by The Central Illinois 9/12 Project, posted at BigGovernment, tells us the following (emphasis added):

In 2009, Shorebank received more than $35 million in federal funds for grants and new market tax credits. Despite this new flow of funds to extend to their customers and loan recipients, Shorebank reported a loss of $50 million in 2009 alone and was issued a “cease and desist” order by the FDIC and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. In addition, ShoreBank was receiving strong warnings from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Their dire financial state had lead them to initially seek a “bailout” from the State of Illinois, promoted by Chicago Congresswoman Jan Shakowsky and Senator Dick Durbin. However, they have since decided that they can find capital without seeking state help.

Additionally (emphasis added):

In February [2010], Secretary Geithner proposed “enhancement” to TARP funds specifically aimed at community development banks that would allow them to receive capital investment funds at a 2% rate (compared to the standard 5% rate) and to receive federal TARP funds that would be matched to funding received from private institutions. Chicago Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky wants ShoreBank to be eligible for such funding and has even suggested that such funding would be equivalent to a jobs program for the area. “Plain and simple, this is a jobs program,” she says. “The funds from this program will go directly to the people and communities that need it most which will expedite hiring and rebuild a vibrant economy”.

The Central Illinois 9/12 Project piece asks a pointed question (emphasis added):

Will they do the unprecedented and become one of the first entities to be bailed out by a state that itself has a $13 billion deficit? With its promotion of green development and new carbon credit distribution, could Shorebank become one of the first banks to be deemed too “green” to fail?

Why is Rep. Schakowsky so eager to help ShoreBank? Follow the money. Anne Leary at Backyard Conservative posted this in January, 2010, written by Joel Pollak: Pollak is running against Schakowsky in the 9th Congressional District of Illinois.

After all, when the Bank of Lincolnwood failed last year, Rep. Schakowsky did not save it--and that bank, unlike ShoreBank, was in her own district. The answer may lie in the history of campaign contributions by ShoreBank executives and employees. Federal Election Commission records reveal that ShoreBank executives and employees gave thousands of dollars to Rep. Schakowsky and Sen. Durbin. They also gave heavily to Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Indeed, Crain's Chicago Business reports that "President Obama and the first lady are former neighbors of ShoreBank executives. Other ShoreBank-related contributions include Democrats across the country and left-wing organizations such as MoveOn.org. The ShoreBank bailout would seem to be more of the same Blagojevich-style, pay-to-play politics that Illinois has suffered under for too long."

Money is not the only factor for Schakowsky's support of ShoreBank. Ideology and power lust figure into the equation, too, and if "Auntie Jan" Schakowsky asks for it, there's a good chance that "the unprecedented" bailout of a bank by a state could indeed happen, especially with the "green" aspect thrown in. Democrats seem to go into a trance when anything is described as "green." ShoreBank is "a key to green jobs," and that makes them the darling of Democrats and liberals. They drool over themselves, blind to any faults that the "green" institution may have, because the carbon credit distribution scheme holds such a huge potential for (a) massive profits for the insiders who participate, (b) systemic control by bureaucrats of (i) industry and (ii) social engineering, and (3) huge kickbacks in the form of money contributed by the insiders who participate. The story of Giannoulias' failed Broadway Bank pales in comparison to the story of ShoreBank. Broadway Bank earned notoriety for loans made to known criminals. ShoreBank, on the other hand, is part of a story so massive, so profoundly criminal at its roots, that it may take years to sort it all out. ShoreBank, unlike Broadway bank, has had protection from people at the highest levels of the federal government and from within the "green" non-profit cabals. What we are seeing currently is the tip of an iceberg so massive that we may never see the bottom of it. RELATED: ShoreBank sees another $101M loss just ahead Crain's Chicago Business ShoreBank seeks bailout from large banks Crain's Chicago Business Rep. Jan Schakowsky continues to back ShoreBank Joel Pollak ShoreBank: Too Green to Fail? BigGovernment The Star Players in the ShoreBank Story Central Illinois 9/12 Project Scandal: Obama, Gore, Goldman, Joyce Foundation CCX partners to fleece USA Examiner.com Who Will Profit From Cap-And-Trade? You May Be Surprised Neal Boortz The $10 Trillion Climate Fraud Investor's Business Daily Al Gore to Become World's First Global Warming Billionaire AtlanticRight.com Video: Cap and Trade Con Exposed (How Goldman Sachs Made Billions)... YouTube Glenn Beck Explains the Chicago Climate Exchange (Part 1) YouTube Glenn Beck Explains the Chicago Climate Exchange (Part 2) YouTube Gore, Goldman, and Cap and Trade - Tangled Web of Corruption Investor Village Questioning The Value Of The Chicago Climate Exchange Progress Illinois