June 24, 2010 - Chicago - Two former 50th Ward campaign workers were found guilty of "multiple Class A misdemeanor counts of attempted mutilation of voting materials and attempted absentee ballot violations" today. The charges came from violations committed during the the hotly contested 2007 aldermanic race between Stone, Greg Brewer, Naisy Dolar and Salman Aftab in West Ridge/East Rogers Park.
"A Cook County judge handed down guilty verdicts in the bench trial of two political workers for Ald. Berny Stone on charges that they had allegedly tampered with absentee ballots stemming from the 2007 aldermanic race in the 50th Ward," reports Lake Effect News (LEN) this afternoon.
On November 9, 2009 Chicago Breaking News reported that "Prosecutors said Anish Eapen, a precinct captain for Ald. Bernard Stone, 50th, and the ward's Streets and Sanitation superintendent, flashed his work badge and made it clear to voters that they could benefit if they chose his candidate."
According to LEN, "Anish Eapen, the former ward Streets and Sanitation superintendent, and Armando Ramos, a paid campaign worker for Stone’s political campaign committee, were both found guilty of multiple Class A misdemeanor counts of attempted mutilation of voting materials and attempted absentee ballot violations, " and "Both men were facing more serious felony charges that they had engineered absentee ballots of mostly immigrant voters in the 50th Ward favoring Stone. Stone was not charged with any wrongdoing. Eapen and Ramos face up to one year of jail time, two years of probation, fines or a combination of all three." More at Lake Effect News...
An earlier report by LEN said that Salman Aftab (photo) triggered the 50th Ward vote fraud investigation that led to today's verdicts against Eapen and Ramos. Aftab waged a very bitter campaign against Stone, which included personal attacks. Aftab lost in the February 27 general election, but on March 27, 2007 he gleefully announced his support for Alderman Stone in the pending April 17 run-off against Naisy Dolar. Aftab, who took only 5.2% of the ward's vote in February, said, "My community insisted that I endorse Ald. Stone and I'm doing what my community says," Aftab said. By "my community," Aftab was referring to the large Indian and Pakistani community of West Ridge. (Source: Chicago Tribune/Clout Street)
Stone won the April 2007 aldermanic run-off election with 52.93% 5,965 votes (52.93%). Challenger Naisy Dolar received 5,304 votes (47.07%). Source: AlderTrack
Aftab triggering that vote fraud investigation against two of Stone's political workers. Although it's a good thing that fraud was brought to the attention of the authorities.
Aftab was an early supporter of Barack Obama and of Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL9). He was an acquaintance of Salman Ibrahim, former head of Sunrise Equities, the Chicago sharia finance company that defrauded many dozens of investors in 2008. (There is no reason to believe that Aftab was connected in any way to the Sunrise Equities scandal.) Sunrise Equities gave Obama office space for his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign. There was a private ribbon cutting ceremony for that office space, and you can see Aftab in the photos of that event. Alderman Berny Stone was also present at the ceremony. You can see the photos here and here.
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Obama Connected To Sunrise Equities Scandal, Part One" CNB
Obama's Connections to Sunrise Equities, Part Two CNB
Showing posts with label Ald. Berny Stone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ald. Berny Stone. Show all posts
Ald. Stone Campaign Committee Paying Defendant's Legal Fees
Leave it to Lorraine Swanson to turn this up: "Attorney fees for one of the co-defendants in the 50th Ward vote fraud trial are being picked up by the Bernard L. Stone Campaign Committee."
Stone is the 50th Ward alderman in Chicago, lording over a neighborhood known both as "West Ridge" and as "West Rogers Park." Stone, legendary in part for falling asleep at City Council meetings and for yelling at constituents, would not return the phone calls of Swanson, who publishes the Lake Effect News web site.
As Swanson reported on November 13, two of Stone's political workers, Anish Eapen, the former ward superintendent and campaign worker Armando Ramos, are accused of multiple felony charges "that they allegedly tampered with absentee ballots of mostly immigrant voters in the 2007 municipal election and aldermanic runoff in the 50th Ward."
Stone is a Democrat and well entrenched in the local Machine politics. Yes, yes, it's shocking that a Democrat in Chicago would be mixed up with a couple of guys who are, allegedly, scumbags and paying their legal fees to boot. Shocking. I know that you're shocked, too.
There's a whole lot more to this story, which Swanson has been covering since its beginning. See her related stories: Trial Date Set For Stone Political Workers and Witnesses Offer Chilling Testimony of Voting ‘Chicago Style’.
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Stone is the 50th Ward alderman in Chicago, lording over a neighborhood known both as "West Ridge" and as "West Rogers Park." Stone, legendary in part for falling asleep at City Council meetings and for yelling at constituents, would not return the phone calls of Swanson, who publishes the Lake Effect News web site.
As Swanson reported on November 13, two of Stone's political workers, Anish Eapen, the former ward superintendent and campaign worker Armando Ramos, are accused of multiple felony charges "that they allegedly tampered with absentee ballots of mostly immigrant voters in the 2007 municipal election and aldermanic runoff in the 50th Ward."
Stone is a Democrat and well entrenched in the local Machine politics. Yes, yes, it's shocking that a Democrat in Chicago would be mixed up with a couple of guys who are, allegedly, scumbags and paying their legal fees to boot. Shocking. I know that you're shocked, too.
There's a whole lot more to this story, which Swanson has been covering since its beginning. See her related stories: Trial Date Set For Stone Political Workers and Witnesses Offer Chilling Testimony of Voting ‘Chicago Style’.
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Trial Date Set for Ald. Stone Campaign Workers
Lorraine Swanson has been following the felony cases of two men who worked for Chicago Alderman Berny Stone (50th Ward).
Both men face numerous counts of felony vote fraud, which they allegedly committed during the 2007 aldermanic election. Swanson filed this today at her Lake Effect News site:
Former Ward Streets and Sanitation Superintendent Anish Eapen and campaign worker Armando Ramos have been scheduled for a two-day bench trial on Nov. 9 and Nov. 10 in the Cook County Criminal Court building at 26th and California before Judge Marcus Salone .... Charges were filed in January 2008 after the completion of a joint investigation by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s and Chicago Inspector General’s offices. FULL STORY...
Stone, born circa 1749, has been Chicago's Vice Mayor since 1837, one year after the city was incorporated. Prior to getting into politics, he worked as a snake oil salesman, selling miracle potions in the American colonies of New England from a two-horse carriage. After the United States won its independence from England, Stone traveled west on foot, surviving on a diet of squirrels and rhubarb until he arrived at a swampy area, now the site of modern day Chicago. He built a small log cabin near the future site of N. Western and W. Devon, and immediately gerrymandered the swampy land. After Chicago became an incorporated city, Stone was given squatter's rights to the area now known as the 50th Ward, and was additionally granted the title and privileges of Lifelong Divine Ruler of the Land of West Ridge.
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Plan Nine From The 50th Ward
One of my favorite drinking games involves Avy Meyers, clown prince of local public access (amateur) television political shows. He plays talk show host from his dining room, in his musty house in West Ridge (a.k.a. West Rogers Park). He wears a yarmulke. This is crucial to the drinking game, mind you.
I have nothing against yarmulkes or Jews, so calm down already. My father's family was entirely Jewish and I am proud of the heritage. I've worn a yarmulke at funerals and weddings out of respect, but since I am religiously Jewish myself I don't usually wear one. My point is simply this: Meyers is chronically distracted by his shifting yarmulke, frequently flinging his limp-wristed hand up to stop it from falling off his head. The drink game is simple enough: Every time Avy Meyers catches or adjusts his unpinned yarmulke you down a shot of whatever is at hand.
If you follow the politics of Chicago's 50th Ward, you'll get the graphic at left. If you don't live there, or if you don't follow the politics there, please excuse this post - unless you're interested in how Chicago's Vice Mayor uses a local fool named Avy Meyers as a propaganda mouthpiece.
Click images to enlarge
The parody graphic, left, is based on the 2007 50th Ward Run-Off Election show. Stone was in a tight race with Naisy Dolar. Meyers did a special live show just to help his buddy Berny get re-elected (and he was so excited to be live!) on CAN TV, a public cable access station in Chicago. The show is produced by S I Hersh Productions and posts to YouTube under "sonnyhtv." You could spend a month laughing your way through the cliche-bad episodes archived there. There is also a poorly designed web site for their North Town News Magazine.
Meyers describes himself as an "objective journalist." In fact, he is not objective, and the show began with a voice over from a show staffer saying "Good luck Bernie!" So much for the objectivity. It's all downhill from there as it turns into a shameless lovefest for Alderman Stone. Meyers dedicated a huge portion of the show figuratively felating Stone in a shameful display of unobjective suckup behavior. It was his usual performance as regards Berny Stone, and is one of the reasons that respected sources such as the Chicago Reader has called Meyers a "racist. [and] pimp for corrupt Machine politicians."
This is television that is so bad that it's accidentally good, in the same way that one of the worst movies ever, Plan Nine From Outer Space, is so entertaining. If you find disasters fascinating, you'll be mesmerized by any of Meyers's shows. One of the worst/best is the self-indulgent episode, "Marty Levinson, The Ultimate Barber." It defies description. You just have to see it. (If Avy Meyers is hoping for a break a la the goof in Wayne's World, he needs a reality check. It ain't gonna happen.)
What will Avy do after Berny Stone, in his 80's, is no longer alderman of the 50th? Will Avy ever vacuum the gold shag carpeting in his dining room/video studio again after Berny walks on it for the last time? (Has Avy ever vacuumed that carpet?) Why does that carpet smell of mildew? We hope Avy continues after Berny Stone, uhm, leaves office. Which he will, of course, everybody does eventually. Perhaps Avy Meyers will find new love with one of his other objects of fascination, such as Joe Moore, Todd Stroger or Larry Suffredin.
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Alderman Stone's Parking Meter Pomposity
50th Ward Alderman Berny Stone, long known as an elitist, said that it's nobody's business how much research he personally put into the infamous parking meter deal.
Stone also dissed Chicago's Inspector General David Hoffman's report, which called the deal seriously flawed. "He can't even do his own job," Stone said in an amazing video from WTTW. (Click image to see the video.)
Angela Caputo wrote this for Progress Illinois:
After the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization's (IVI-IPO) filed a lawsuit yesterday against the city of Chicago challenging the legality of the 75-year parking meter lease, WTTW's Chicago Tonight convened a panel to talk about this latest development. In a curious selection, Ald. Berny Stone (50th Ward) was tapped to defend the $1.15 billion deal. He squared off against the Reader's Mick Dumke, whose ongoing investigative reporting on the meter lease (alongside Ben Joravsky) has made him an expert on the intricacies of agreement. Full Article...
We don't know yet if Avy Meyers will cover this story, but if he does you can be sure he'll softball Stone. Meyers, who has an annoying cable show in Stone's West Ridge neighborhood, has long been a mouthpiece and apologist for the 50th Ward alderman.
Related:
- Mick Dumke vs. Bernard Stone
- Inspector General: We Got Ripped Off on Meter Deal - Chicagoist
Stone also dissed Chicago's Inspector General David Hoffman's report, which called the deal seriously flawed. "He can't even do his own job," Stone said in an amazing video from WTTW. (Click image to see the video.)
Angela Caputo wrote this for Progress Illinois:
After the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization's (IVI-IPO) filed a lawsuit yesterday against the city of Chicago challenging the legality of the 75-year parking meter lease, WTTW's Chicago Tonight convened a panel to talk about this latest development. In a curious selection, Ald. Berny Stone (50th Ward) was tapped to defend the $1.15 billion deal. He squared off against the Reader's Mick Dumke, whose ongoing investigative reporting on the meter lease (alongside Ben Joravsky) has made him an expert on the intricacies of agreement. Full Article...
We don't know yet if Avy Meyers will cover this story, but if he does you can be sure he'll softball Stone. Meyers, who has an annoying cable show in Stone's West Ridge neighborhood, has long been a mouthpiece and apologist for the 50th Ward alderman.
Related:
- Mick Dumke vs. Bernard Stone
- Inspector General: We Got Ripped Off on Meter Deal - Chicagoist
Funny Alderman Berny Stone Video
If you've never been to a 50th Ward meeting - or any meeting - conducted by Chicago Alderman Berny Stone, I urge you to do so. It's like Vaudeville and Broadway mixed up with the Catskills, packed with drama and finger pointing. I recorded this video on January 14, 2009 at a community meeting in West Ridge (a.k.a, West Rogers Park). The weather was cold as hell that night, but the meeting hall was packed with neighbors concerned about potential parking problems resulting from the new Boone-Clinton public school to be built at 6700 North Whipple.
Ald. Stone has a reputation for falling asleep at meetings when he's not the one in charge, but when he is in charge, it's guaranteed that everyone in the room will remain wide awake. I recorded this video mainly for my own archives, but it turns out that it's funny as hell even thought the quality is low. Upon viewing it again, it made me laugh so hard that I wanted to share it with you.
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Alderman Berny Stone in The Onion!
Worth a look: The Onion has a very amusing "Illinois Corruption Timeline" in their March 3 edition. An excerpt:
1983: Chicago City Council member Bernard Stone stirs up opposition to African-American mayor Harold Washington in a rousing speech beginning with the famous words, "In my day..."
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Is Alderman Joe Moore a "Tool of Hamas?"
Some of the anti-Semitism sweeping Europe and North America has struck in Chicago in recent days, especially on the city's north side. In light of that, a flashback to May of 2008 seems appropriate.
50th Ward Alderman Bernard Stone (photo, right) called 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore (photo, below left) an "ignorant cry baby" who is "a tool of Hamas." Stone made his remarks in a live telephone interview with morning hosts "Don and Roma" on WLS 890 AM (photo, below right).
FLASHBACK to May 15, 2008: Alderman Bernard Stone called Alderman Joe Moore an ignorant cry baby who is a tool of Hamas. Speaking live by phone on WLS 890 AM this morning with morning hosts Don Wade and Roma about the humiliating defeat of his two-year old foie gras ban, Moore said that the Chicago City Council has "lost even the pretense of a democracy." Moore went on to embarass himself for nearly 10 minutes. Hear the full Moore interview (6.6 mb mp3 file.)
IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING MOORE'S PHONE INTERVIEW, 50th Ward Alderman Bernie Stone was interviewed.Stone, on the phone, said Moore was a "cry baby" who doesn't know proper procedure for City Council meetings. Stone said that had Moore followed procedure, he could have spoken, but Daley called the vote without Moore doing what was required. But that's not all that Stone said.Moore is a "tool of Hamas," Stone said.
Stone said the particular anti-war resolution that Moore was proposing would serve as a propaganda tool for Hamas, which is sworn to destroy Israel.The end result of the exchange between Moore and Don Wade, then Stone and Don Wade, is that Joe Moore was painted as a boob who does not understand City Council procedures, is a cry baby who is whining about losing a battle, and he's a useful idiot for anti-American interests. ORIGINAL POST...
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UPDATED: Obama's Connections to Sunrise Equities, Part Two
Add a possible murder to this story…
by Tom Mannis at The Bench http://rogersparkbench.blogspot.com
continued from OBAMA CONNECTED TO SUNRISE EQUITIES, PART ONE
Update/Addendum, 10-24-08: When this story was originally posted on 10-23-08, we said that we had photos of fugitive Salman Ibrahim, the missing CEO of Sunrise Equities. We said then that we were withholding them due to legal concerns. However, The Bench has decided to post part of one of those photos, shown here, which shows Ibrahim's face as he peers over the shoulder of Alderman Joe Moore (49th Ward) during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the free office space given to Barack Obama's 2004 US Senate race. As far as we can determine, this is the only photo of Ibrahim to be posted on a public web site ever. If you see Ibrahim, call the FBI.
RECAP: Sunrise Equities failed, leaving at least 150 investors in Chicago devastated. About $80 million of their money is missing. The Illinois Secretary of State is investigating, as is the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Sunrise’s CEO, Salman Ibrahim, was reportedly seen recently on the streets of Lahore, Pakistan. Ibrahim is said to be a Taliban sympathizer. Barack Obama has long ties to Ibrahim and Sunrise Equities, which gave him free office space in his 2004 campaign for US Senate.
CHICAGO - 24 October 2008 - (The Bench) - Just hours before this was to be posted, The Bench received an urgent - and disturbing - email. It alerted us to the premature death of one of the peripheral players in this drama, the larger drama of the implosion of Sunrise Equities.
Reported dead is radio talk show host Rehan Sheikh, a friend of The Bench. (Photo of Rehan Sheikh by Tom Mannis, taken Sept. 21 while broadcasting). In his early 40s, Rehan is believed to have died suddenly from unknown causes sometime between Thursday night, October 16 and Wednesday noon, October 22. There is a lot of mystery surrounding his death; the time, even the day, of his death is unknown. Rehan Sheikh was a resident of Rogers Park.
Sources tell The Bench that Rehan suffered “two heart attacks” shortly after eating at a Pakistani restaurant on Devon Avenue in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood, where he was a well-known and controversial figure.
The cause of death is unknown, but some in the community strongly suspect murder by means of deliberate food poisoning.
Rehan, a Pakistani immigrant to the US, drove a Yellow taxicab, but was better known as the host of radio talk show “Dil Se,” which aired every Sunday from 11:00 p.m. to midnight on WBCI 1240 AM in Chicago. Dil Se was an Urdu language talk show that covered current events of interest to Chicago’s Indian and Pakistani community.
The show’s topic on the night of Sunday, September 21, 2008 was Sunrise Equities, the missing $80 million and missing Sunrise CEO Salman Ibrahim. The Bench had the pleasure of sitting in the studio during that night’s live broadcast. Fluent in English, Rehan had no problem fielding the occasional caller who spoke English. All of the callers were very emotional about the Sunrise topic. You do not have to understand Urdu to get the emotion that poured from the callers that night.
Before and after that broadcast, Rehan spoke off-air about the Sunrise crisis. Among the things he related then, and at other times (some of which The Bench gets from reliable sources), was that Mohammed Tariq Siddiqui told him in April of this year that Salman Ibrahim was “going to vanish.” Siddiqui’s words were proved prophecy; about four months later, Ibrahim went missing along with $80 million and fellow Sunrise personnel.
Siddiqui, also known as “The Builder,” is currently a top bundler of Obama campaign donations. He is a former partner-associate of Sunrise Equities. A number of his real estate development projects in Chicago were to be built by Sunrise Development, a subsidiary of Sunrise Equities. (Siddiqui is profiled more, below).
The Bench listened in on a phone call in the middle of last week, in which Rehan reported that he had food poisoning. Rehan also said that his taxicab had recently been vandalized, its windows smashed. It should be emphasized that it is not yet known whether the damage to his cab and the sudden food poisoning are related. Rehan expressed fear for his own safety, however, regarding his role as person who was publicly discussing the Sunrise Equities story. There was, and still is, much heated emotion surrounding the issue.
There are some Muslims in the “Devon Corridor” community, the heavily Indian-Pakistani part of West Ridge, who view the sharia-compliant Sunrise Equities story as an embarrassment for Islam and would prefer that the story be kept “in the family” and not splashed all over the media. Rehan Sheikh was a media person who was splashing the story, so to speak, on a radio show that was popular among the very community that Sunrise Equities harmed so deeply.
A theory floating around today says that Rehan Sheikh was the victim of foul play that the food poisoning he suffered from may have been caused by food that may have been deliberately tampered with. The Bench must point out, however, that this is still only a theory. Furthermore, we will probably never know the true cause of death.
There is no body to examine, and no autopsy was performed.
Muslim tradition requires that a dead body be buried no more than one day after death, but allows for special circumstances. In the case of Rehan Sheikh, a friend who was very close to him for many years told a trusted source that his body was flown back to Pakistan for burial. No autopsy was - or will be - performed. The friend, fearing foul play and for personal safety, left Chicago for an extended and unspecified period.
Mystery surrounds even the transport of Rehan’s body. It is still not clear who arranged, so suddenly and with such short notice, to have Rehan’s body flown overseas.
OBAMA’S GREEN RIBBON CEREMONY
Barack Obama has long had strong ties to Muslims and to Pakistanis. He also has long and strong ties to Sunrise Equities and Salman Ibrahim. In 2004, Sunrise Investments gave Barack Obama free office space to use during his run for US Senate. Obama the free space primarily as a fundraising hub, but at least five of Obama’s campaign workers are said to have used the office for distribution of campaign lawn signs.
The Bench has photographs of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the Obama-Sunrise offices. Clearly seen in the photos is Barack Obama and Salman Ibrahim. Because The Bench has seen photographs of that ribbon cutting, we have no doubt whatsoever that Obama had the office space referred to above. Our source tells us the photographer was hired by Sunrise Equities’ associate, Tariq Siddiqui, a major Obama fundraising bundler. (More about Siddiqui below.)
Copyright issues prevent The Bench from publishing those photos at this time, but we do have scanned copies hidden in multiple locations on multiple servers. If Barack Obama's legal piranhas want to sue The Bench as part of its nationwide media harassment campaign, The Bench would welcome the challenge and the free worldwide publicity that would be given to us by such action. The photographs are discussed more below.
The exact date of the ribbon cutting is not known, but is estimated by best accounts to have been in late July or early August in 2004. Obama's operatives have done a thorough job of scrubbing this (and much more) information from the Internet. After days of scouring the Internet, The Bench found no reference to that office. The Bench could not find the free office space listed anywhere as an in-kind donation to Obama after thoroughly searching the Internet, including the Illinois State Board of Elections.
The Obama-Sunrise fundraising office was a satellite campaign operation in the “Devon Corridor,” a largely Indian-Pakistani section of Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood on the north side. Salman Ibrahim was happy to help. Free space was given to Obama’s campaign within Sunrise’s general offices at 6355 N. Claremont in West Ridge, Chicago. Obama has long wooed Muslim voters, and did not have a physical presence in this part of Chicago, so the Sunrise location made logistical sense. It also made sense for Ibrahim and Sunrise Equities as part an ongoing effort to curry favor with rising star Barack Obama.
Ibrahim immigrated to the US from Pakistan about 22 years ago. His is a rags-to-riches tale, lifting himself from driving a taxi to becoming a trusted CEO of a financial institution. In 1997, he earned a bachelor degree in accounting from Northeastern Illinois University and became a CPA. Sunrise Equities, founded in 2001 by Amjed Mahmood and Dr. Mohammed Akbar Zahid, recruited Ibrahim to set up sharia-compliant investment services because of his knowledge of finance. The Chicago Journal reported that Ibrahim "quickly became the company's CEO and president, advising neighborhood banks on mortgage and other programs in accordance with Islamic laws that prohibit interest-bearing loans, and getting those programs sanctioned by Islamic scholars." (Source)
Ibrahim associated himself and Sunrise Equities with the Shariah Board of America. He was one of their directors and its treasurer. Through this alliance, and alliances with local Muslim religious leaders, Ibrahim gained the trust of hundreds of investors. He always dressed in traditional Pakistani garb, with a bushy beard and doppa, a round skullcap. There was a functioning mosque in the basement of the Sunrise Equities offices, in a neighborhood that would not look out of place in any large Pakistani city. Fellow Muslims bought his act of piety. So did non-Muslim investors, most especially developers who allied themselves with affiliate Sunrise Development. The religious leaders and the Shariah Board were also caught off guard by the scandal. They disowned Ibrahim in early September.
The disaster of Sunrise Equities is not connected with the current economic crisis gripping most of the world. It has nothing to do with the meltdown of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Rather, it is the result of a group of men going bad, conning investors with kindness and religious piety, and leaving town in the middle of the night for parts unknown. The mystery of where Salman Ibrahim and his partners ran off to remains unsolved. The investigation, by both Illinois and Federal authorities, is still in its early stages.
The Bench wants to emphasize, again, that time is short and this story needs to get out quickly. This is a tiny operation, a blog, and we do not have the kind of resources that a large news organization could put in place on a story such as this. Therefore, in the following paragraphs, we will plow into the facts without concern for prose. Below details about certain key players associated with the Sunrise Equities scandal that support The Bench's contention that Barack Obama is tied to the perpetrators of this disaster.
THE 2004 OBAMA-SUNRISE PHOTOGRAPHS
BARACK OBAMA is in four of the photographs of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for his free office space at Sunrise Equities. He wore a charcoal gray, two-piece suit with a white shirt and a tie with gray and white stripes. Attendees at the ceremony include Salman Ibrahim, Salman Aftab, Tariq Siddiqui and his brother, Alderman Joe Moore (49th) and Alderman Berny Stone (50th) and an Obama campaign aide.
SALMAN IBRAHIM, CEO of Sunrise Equities, is in one of the photos, peeking into a room from a hallway. Only his head can be seen, over the shoulder of another attendee, Alderman Joe Moore. Ibrahim, as usual, was wearing a tan, round skullcap.
Crain’s Chicago Business reported that they requested an interview this past summer for a profile of Sunrise Equities. However, Ibrahim declined, telling Crain’s that his religious prohibited him from being photographed. Yet, he is smiling for, and seems fully aware of, the photographer taking pictures of the group.
Ibrahim donated money to both Barack Obama and to Joe Biden for several years. In 2004, he donated $2,000 to Obama’s US Senate general election campaign (Obama for Illinois, Inc.).
In 2006, he donated twice to Biden: $2,000 to Biden for President, Inc. (primary election) and $2,000 to DE Citizen for Biden (US Senate primary election).
Ibrahim is alleged to have overstayed his student visa in the 1980's, so for a time he may have been an illegal alien. He is said to have married an American citizen circa 2003-2004, allegedly so he could stay in the US legally. A brother, Imran, was deported near the time of that marriage for overstaying his visa. Prior to marrying the American woman, however, Ibrahim was reportedly already married in Pakistan. His first wife, a Pakistani, followed him to the US sometime in the late 1980s, and always wore a full burka in public. That first wife is reported to have left the US in late July or early August of 2008, just weeks before Ibrahim and fellow Sunrise Equities officers went missing. Still another source says that Ibrahim never legally divorce the first wife, leaving open the possibility that among Ibrahim’s alleged crimes is bigamy. That, however, is a side story for somebody else to investigate.
Ibrahim is thought by many to have returned to Pakistan. Some say he might be in Oman or Dubai. On Wednesday, October 15, radio talk show host Rehan Sheikh said that a friend of his saw Ibrahim in Lahore, Pakistan “within the past ten days,” meaning between October 5 and October 16 inclusive. Imran Ibrahim, brother of Salman Ibrahim, is listed as an officer of NEXTEC Engineering in Lahore.
AMJED MAHMOOD was not in any of the ribbon-cutting photos. Mahmood went missing for a while, too, but Rehan Sheikh said that he has resurfaced, his beard shaved off, and is now driving a taxicab. Mahmood was Senior Vice President of Sunrise Equities. Their web site said that he was “one of the founding members of Sunrise Equities and has a background in corporate sales and General Management. Mr. Mahmood, who possesses over twenty years of business experience and leadership, currently oversees the Sunrise Construction Group. His background in asset management, development and real estate investments provides a solid foundation of knowledge, experience and expertise in the real estate field.”
DR. MOHAMMED AKBAR ZAHID, Senior VP Community Relations at Sunrise Equities. He was not in any of the ribbon-cutting photos. Status and whereabouts unknown; not answering phone, not returning calls. From the Sunrise Equities web site: “Mohammad Akabar Zahid is also one of the founding members of Sunrise Equities. With extensive international experience both as a Physician and an Entrepreneur, Dr. Zahid brings both his experience and reputation to the Sunrise organization. In addition to shaping the companies overall vision, he is primarily responsible for guiding and enhancing the Sunrise image in the community.”
SALMAN AFTAB is in three of the Obama ribbon-cutting photos. He wore a dark gray or navy suit (bad camera flash) with an adhesive nametag on his right lapel, and black tie. Aftab ran unsuccessfully for the Chicago City Council in Chicago's 50th Ward against incumbent Berny Stone in 2007. In his IVI-IPO Chicago Aldermanic Questionnaire, Aftab listed "Finance Committee Senator Barack Obama for United States Senator" as one of his past "activities for other candidates." (He was a $2,000 donor to Obama for Illinois in 2004.) Aftab also listed "Arab /Asian / Muslim Liaison for Forrest Claypool for Cook County Board President" and "Field Organizer for 50th ward for Tony Peraica for County Board President." (Source: http://www.iviipo.org/) Aftab also claims to have raised over $125,000 for Obama's 2004 U.S. Senate campaign.
MOHAMMED TARIQ SIDDIQUI, also known as "the builder," is clearly seen in three of the photos. He and his brother (name unknown) flank Obama as Obama cuts a green ceremonial double ribbon. (Green, by the way, is the official color of Islam.) Siddiqui wore a dark gray or blue (that bad lighting again) suit and an open-collared blue shirt, no tie.
Siddiqui was once an associate-partner of Sunrise Equities but had something of a falling out with Ibrahim a few years ago. The personal friendship thinned. Siddiqui is still a major Obama bundler of campaign donations, raising more than $50,000 to date. Siddiqui has long been active in Democrat politics in Chicago and a supporter of both Obama and Biden. Siddiqui’s office was located in the same building as Sunrise Equities. He was a partner with Sunrise Equities and Sunrise Development in several construction projects. According to an earlier Chicago Journal report, "Sunrise is involved in 11 real estate development projects that are listed on the company's Web site. Seven of those 11 projects are deeded to Rogers Park developer Mohammed [Tariq] Siddiqui, according to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. Many of them remain unfinished."
Since mid-September of this year, a black Mercedes and silver Ford Explorer have been parked in the rear of Siddiqui's home on W. Farwell Avenue in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. Both vehicles, a silver Ford Explorer and a black Mercedes Benz, have Indiana "dealer used" plates. The significance of this is uncertain, but they only appeared shortly after the Sunrise Equities scandal broke.
ALDERMAN BERNY STONE, city council member from the 50th Ward in West Ridge, is also in one of the photos. He his shaking Obama's hand as Obama appears to lurch toward him, through a group of 11 other men. Stone wore a light tan suit.
ALDERMAN JOE MOORE, city council member from the 49th Ward in Rogers Park (which borders West Ridge), is in three of the photos. Moore was wearing what appears to be a gray two-piece suit, with white shirt and a cheap red, black and white striped tie. Moore, a Democrat with deep ties to Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), has spent more time over the past six months outside of Chicago campaigning on behalf of Obama than he has spent on his city council duties. Moore's ex-wife was a delegate to this year's Democrat National Convention; they are very close to Schakowsky and her convicted felon husband Robert Creamer. Moore has become discredited within his own party as a viable politician since he spent more than one million dollars to barely win reelection in an April 2007 run-off, but hopes that an Obama win will get him a job in Washington next year.
As stated in Part One, this is still a developing story, with no end in site as of October 23.
MORE ABOUT SUNRISE EQUITIES (on Chicago News Bench)
RELATED:
by Tom Mannis at The Bench http://rogersparkbench.blogspot.com
continued from OBAMA CONNECTED TO SUNRISE EQUITIES, PART ONE
Update/Addendum, 10-24-08: When this story was originally posted on 10-23-08, we said that we had photos of fugitive Salman Ibrahim, the missing CEO of Sunrise Equities. We said then that we were withholding them due to legal concerns. However, The Bench has decided to post part of one of those photos, shown here, which shows Ibrahim's face as he peers over the shoulder of Alderman Joe Moore (49th Ward) during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the free office space given to Barack Obama's 2004 US Senate race. As far as we can determine, this is the only photo of Ibrahim to be posted on a public web site ever. If you see Ibrahim, call the FBI.RECAP: Sunrise Equities failed, leaving at least 150 investors in Chicago devastated. About $80 million of their money is missing. The Illinois Secretary of State is investigating, as is the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Sunrise’s CEO, Salman Ibrahim, was reportedly seen recently on the streets of Lahore, Pakistan. Ibrahim is said to be a Taliban sympathizer. Barack Obama has long ties to Ibrahim and Sunrise Equities, which gave him free office space in his 2004 campaign for US Senate.
CHICAGO - 24 October 2008 - (The Bench) - Just hours before this was to be posted, The Bench received an urgent - and disturbing - email. It alerted us to the premature death of one of the peripheral players in this drama, the larger drama of the implosion of Sunrise Equities. Reported dead is radio talk show host Rehan Sheikh, a friend of The Bench. (Photo of Rehan Sheikh by Tom Mannis, taken Sept. 21 while broadcasting). In his early 40s, Rehan is believed to have died suddenly from unknown causes sometime between Thursday night, October 16 and Wednesday noon, October 22. There is a lot of mystery surrounding his death; the time, even the day, of his death is unknown. Rehan Sheikh was a resident of Rogers Park.
Sources tell The Bench that Rehan suffered “two heart attacks” shortly after eating at a Pakistani restaurant on Devon Avenue in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood, where he was a well-known and controversial figure.
The cause of death is unknown, but some in the community strongly suspect murder by means of deliberate food poisoning.
Rehan, a Pakistani immigrant to the US, drove a Yellow taxicab, but was better known as the host of radio talk show “Dil Se,” which aired every Sunday from 11:00 p.m. to midnight on WBCI 1240 AM in Chicago. Dil Se was an Urdu language talk show that covered current events of interest to Chicago’s Indian and Pakistani community.
The show’s topic on the night of Sunday, September 21, 2008 was Sunrise Equities, the missing $80 million and missing Sunrise CEO Salman Ibrahim. The Bench had the pleasure of sitting in the studio during that night’s live broadcast. Fluent in English, Rehan had no problem fielding the occasional caller who spoke English. All of the callers were very emotional about the Sunrise topic. You do not have to understand Urdu to get the emotion that poured from the callers that night.
Before and after that broadcast, Rehan spoke off-air about the Sunrise crisis. Among the things he related then, and at other times (some of which The Bench gets from reliable sources), was that Mohammed Tariq Siddiqui told him in April of this year that Salman Ibrahim was “going to vanish.” Siddiqui’s words were proved prophecy; about four months later, Ibrahim went missing along with $80 million and fellow Sunrise personnel.
Siddiqui, also known as “The Builder,” is currently a top bundler of Obama campaign donations. He is a former partner-associate of Sunrise Equities. A number of his real estate development projects in Chicago were to be built by Sunrise Development, a subsidiary of Sunrise Equities. (Siddiqui is profiled more, below).
The Bench listened in on a phone call in the middle of last week, in which Rehan reported that he had food poisoning. Rehan also said that his taxicab had recently been vandalized, its windows smashed. It should be emphasized that it is not yet known whether the damage to his cab and the sudden food poisoning are related. Rehan expressed fear for his own safety, however, regarding his role as person who was publicly discussing the Sunrise Equities story. There was, and still is, much heated emotion surrounding the issue.
There are some Muslims in the “Devon Corridor” community, the heavily Indian-Pakistani part of West Ridge, who view the sharia-compliant Sunrise Equities story as an embarrassment for Islam and would prefer that the story be kept “in the family” and not splashed all over the media. Rehan Sheikh was a media person who was splashing the story, so to speak, on a radio show that was popular among the very community that Sunrise Equities harmed so deeply.
A theory floating around today says that Rehan Sheikh was the victim of foul play that the food poisoning he suffered from may have been caused by food that may have been deliberately tampered with. The Bench must point out, however, that this is still only a theory. Furthermore, we will probably never know the true cause of death.
There is no body to examine, and no autopsy was performed.
Muslim tradition requires that a dead body be buried no more than one day after death, but allows for special circumstances. In the case of Rehan Sheikh, a friend who was very close to him for many years told a trusted source that his body was flown back to Pakistan for burial. No autopsy was - or will be - performed. The friend, fearing foul play and for personal safety, left Chicago for an extended and unspecified period.
Mystery surrounds even the transport of Rehan’s body. It is still not clear who arranged, so suddenly and with such short notice, to have Rehan’s body flown overseas.
OBAMA’S GREEN RIBBON CEREMONY
Barack Obama has long had strong ties to Muslims and to Pakistanis. He also has long and strong ties to Sunrise Equities and Salman Ibrahim. In 2004, Sunrise Investments gave Barack Obama free office space to use during his run for US Senate. Obama the free space primarily as a fundraising hub, but at least five of Obama’s campaign workers are said to have used the office for distribution of campaign lawn signs.
The Bench has photographs of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the Obama-Sunrise offices. Clearly seen in the photos is Barack Obama and Salman Ibrahim. Because The Bench has seen photographs of that ribbon cutting, we have no doubt whatsoever that Obama had the office space referred to above. Our source tells us the photographer was hired by Sunrise Equities’ associate, Tariq Siddiqui, a major Obama fundraising bundler. (More about Siddiqui below.)
Copyright issues prevent The Bench from publishing those photos at this time, but we do have scanned copies hidden in multiple locations on multiple servers. If Barack Obama's legal piranhas want to sue The Bench as part of its nationwide media harassment campaign, The Bench would welcome the challenge and the free worldwide publicity that would be given to us by such action. The photographs are discussed more below.
The exact date of the ribbon cutting is not known, but is estimated by best accounts to have been in late July or early August in 2004. Obama's operatives have done a thorough job of scrubbing this (and much more) information from the Internet. After days of scouring the Internet, The Bench found no reference to that office. The Bench could not find the free office space listed anywhere as an in-kind donation to Obama after thoroughly searching the Internet, including the Illinois State Board of Elections.
The Obama-Sunrise fundraising office was a satellite campaign operation in the “Devon Corridor,” a largely Indian-Pakistani section of Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood on the north side. Salman Ibrahim was happy to help. Free space was given to Obama’s campaign within Sunrise’s general offices at 6355 N. Claremont in West Ridge, Chicago. Obama has long wooed Muslim voters, and did not have a physical presence in this part of Chicago, so the Sunrise location made logistical sense. It also made sense for Ibrahim and Sunrise Equities as part an ongoing effort to curry favor with rising star Barack Obama.
Ibrahim immigrated to the US from Pakistan about 22 years ago. His is a rags-to-riches tale, lifting himself from driving a taxi to becoming a trusted CEO of a financial institution. In 1997, he earned a bachelor degree in accounting from Northeastern Illinois University and became a CPA. Sunrise Equities, founded in 2001 by Amjed Mahmood and Dr. Mohammed Akbar Zahid, recruited Ibrahim to set up sharia-compliant investment services because of his knowledge of finance. The Chicago Journal reported that Ibrahim "quickly became the company's CEO and president, advising neighborhood banks on mortgage and other programs in accordance with Islamic laws that prohibit interest-bearing loans, and getting those programs sanctioned by Islamic scholars." (Source)
Ibrahim associated himself and Sunrise Equities with the Shariah Board of America. He was one of their directors and its treasurer. Through this alliance, and alliances with local Muslim religious leaders, Ibrahim gained the trust of hundreds of investors. He always dressed in traditional Pakistani garb, with a bushy beard and doppa, a round skullcap. There was a functioning mosque in the basement of the Sunrise Equities offices, in a neighborhood that would not look out of place in any large Pakistani city. Fellow Muslims bought his act of piety. So did non-Muslim investors, most especially developers who allied themselves with affiliate Sunrise Development. The religious leaders and the Shariah Board were also caught off guard by the scandal. They disowned Ibrahim in early September.
The disaster of Sunrise Equities is not connected with the current economic crisis gripping most of the world. It has nothing to do with the meltdown of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Rather, it is the result of a group of men going bad, conning investors with kindness and religious piety, and leaving town in the middle of the night for parts unknown. The mystery of where Salman Ibrahim and his partners ran off to remains unsolved. The investigation, by both Illinois and Federal authorities, is still in its early stages.
The Bench wants to emphasize, again, that time is short and this story needs to get out quickly. This is a tiny operation, a blog, and we do not have the kind of resources that a large news organization could put in place on a story such as this. Therefore, in the following paragraphs, we will plow into the facts without concern for prose. Below details about certain key players associated with the Sunrise Equities scandal that support The Bench's contention that Barack Obama is tied to the perpetrators of this disaster.
THE 2004 OBAMA-SUNRISE PHOTOGRAPHS
BARACK OBAMA is in four of the photographs of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for his free office space at Sunrise Equities. He wore a charcoal gray, two-piece suit with a white shirt and a tie with gray and white stripes. Attendees at the ceremony include Salman Ibrahim, Salman Aftab, Tariq Siddiqui and his brother, Alderman Joe Moore (49th) and Alderman Berny Stone (50th) and an Obama campaign aide.
SALMAN IBRAHIM, CEO of Sunrise Equities, is in one of the photos, peeking into a room from a hallway. Only his head can be seen, over the shoulder of another attendee, Alderman Joe Moore. Ibrahim, as usual, was wearing a tan, round skullcap.
Crain’s Chicago Business reported that they requested an interview this past summer for a profile of Sunrise Equities. However, Ibrahim declined, telling Crain’s that his religious prohibited him from being photographed. Yet, he is smiling for, and seems fully aware of, the photographer taking pictures of the group.
Ibrahim donated money to both Barack Obama and to Joe Biden for several years. In 2004, he donated $2,000 to Obama’s US Senate general election campaign (Obama for Illinois, Inc.).
In 2006, he donated twice to Biden: $2,000 to Biden for President, Inc. (primary election) and $2,000 to DE Citizen for Biden (US Senate primary election).
Ibrahim is alleged to have overstayed his student visa in the 1980's, so for a time he may have been an illegal alien. He is said to have married an American citizen circa 2003-2004, allegedly so he could stay in the US legally. A brother, Imran, was deported near the time of that marriage for overstaying his visa. Prior to marrying the American woman, however, Ibrahim was reportedly already married in Pakistan. His first wife, a Pakistani, followed him to the US sometime in the late 1980s, and always wore a full burka in public. That first wife is reported to have left the US in late July or early August of 2008, just weeks before Ibrahim and fellow Sunrise Equities officers went missing. Still another source says that Ibrahim never legally divorce the first wife, leaving open the possibility that among Ibrahim’s alleged crimes is bigamy. That, however, is a side story for somebody else to investigate.
Ibrahim is thought by many to have returned to Pakistan. Some say he might be in Oman or Dubai. On Wednesday, October 15, radio talk show host Rehan Sheikh said that a friend of his saw Ibrahim in Lahore, Pakistan “within the past ten days,” meaning between October 5 and October 16 inclusive. Imran Ibrahim, brother of Salman Ibrahim, is listed as an officer of NEXTEC Engineering in Lahore.
AMJED MAHMOOD was not in any of the ribbon-cutting photos. Mahmood went missing for a while, too, but Rehan Sheikh said that he has resurfaced, his beard shaved off, and is now driving a taxicab. Mahmood was Senior Vice President of Sunrise Equities. Their web site said that he was “one of the founding members of Sunrise Equities and has a background in corporate sales and General Management. Mr. Mahmood, who possesses over twenty years of business experience and leadership, currently oversees the Sunrise Construction Group. His background in asset management, development and real estate investments provides a solid foundation of knowledge, experience and expertise in the real estate field.”
DR. MOHAMMED AKBAR ZAHID, Senior VP Community Relations at Sunrise Equities. He was not in any of the ribbon-cutting photos. Status and whereabouts unknown; not answering phone, not returning calls. From the Sunrise Equities web site: “Mohammad Akabar Zahid is also one of the founding members of Sunrise Equities. With extensive international experience both as a Physician and an Entrepreneur, Dr. Zahid brings both his experience and reputation to the Sunrise organization. In addition to shaping the companies overall vision, he is primarily responsible for guiding and enhancing the Sunrise image in the community.”
SALMAN AFTAB is in three of the Obama ribbon-cutting photos. He wore a dark gray or navy suit (bad camera flash) with an adhesive nametag on his right lapel, and black tie. Aftab ran unsuccessfully for the Chicago City Council in Chicago's 50th Ward against incumbent Berny Stone in 2007. In his IVI-IPO Chicago Aldermanic Questionnaire, Aftab listed "Finance Committee Senator Barack Obama for United States Senator" as one of his past "activities for other candidates." (He was a $2,000 donor to Obama for Illinois in 2004.) Aftab also listed "Arab /Asian / Muslim Liaison for Forrest Claypool for Cook County Board President" and "Field Organizer for 50th ward for Tony Peraica for County Board President." (Source: http://www.iviipo.org/) Aftab also claims to have raised over $125,000 for Obama's 2004 U.S. Senate campaign.
MOHAMMED TARIQ SIDDIQUI, also known as "the builder," is clearly seen in three of the photos. He and his brother (name unknown) flank Obama as Obama cuts a green ceremonial double ribbon. (Green, by the way, is the official color of Islam.) Siddiqui wore a dark gray or blue (that bad lighting again) suit and an open-collared blue shirt, no tie.
Siddiqui was once an associate-partner of Sunrise Equities but had something of a falling out with Ibrahim a few years ago. The personal friendship thinned. Siddiqui is still a major Obama bundler of campaign donations, raising more than $50,000 to date. Siddiqui has long been active in Democrat politics in Chicago and a supporter of both Obama and Biden. Siddiqui’s office was located in the same building as Sunrise Equities. He was a partner with Sunrise Equities and Sunrise Development in several construction projects. According to an earlier Chicago Journal report, "Sunrise is involved in 11 real estate development projects that are listed on the company's Web site. Seven of those 11 projects are deeded to Rogers Park developer Mohammed [Tariq] Siddiqui, according to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. Many of them remain unfinished."
Since mid-September of this year, a black Mercedes and silver Ford Explorer have been parked in the rear of Siddiqui's home on W. Farwell Avenue in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. Both vehicles, a silver Ford Explorer and a black Mercedes Benz, have Indiana "dealer used" plates. The significance of this is uncertain, but they only appeared shortly after the Sunrise Equities scandal broke.
ALDERMAN BERNY STONE, city council member from the 50th Ward in West Ridge, is also in one of the photos. He his shaking Obama's hand as Obama appears to lurch toward him, through a group of 11 other men. Stone wore a light tan suit.
ALDERMAN JOE MOORE, city council member from the 49th Ward in Rogers Park (which borders West Ridge), is in three of the photos. Moore was wearing what appears to be a gray two-piece suit, with white shirt and a cheap red, black and white striped tie. Moore, a Democrat with deep ties to Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), has spent more time over the past six months outside of Chicago campaigning on behalf of Obama than he has spent on his city council duties. Moore's ex-wife was a delegate to this year's Democrat National Convention; they are very close to Schakowsky and her convicted felon husband Robert Creamer. Moore has become discredited within his own party as a viable politician since he spent more than one million dollars to barely win reelection in an April 2007 run-off, but hopes that an Obama win will get him a job in Washington next year.
As stated in Part One, this is still a developing story, with no end in site as of October 23.
MORE ABOUT SUNRISE EQUITIES (on Chicago News Bench)
RELATED:
- Sunrise Equities Story Might Now Include Murder
- IL Sec of State Investigating Sunrise Equities Scandal
- More results from Rogers Park in 1000 words
- Obama’s Muslim “outreach” problems. Coincidental? Get real!
- Obama and the Sunrise Equities Failure: Sharia Firm Scandal
- So necessary to read, I am posting this article again-OBAMA linked ...
- Obama and the Sunrise Equities Failure: Sharia Firm Scandal
- $15.5 Million Foreclosure Lawsuit on an Uptown Development Site
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ALDERMAN CALLED "TOOL OF HAMAS"
Alderman Berny Stone called Alderman Joe Moore an "ignorant cry baby" who is a "tool of Hamas."
Speaking live by phone on WLS 890 AM this morning with morning hosts Don Wade and Roma about the humiliating defeat of his two-year old foie gras ban, Moore said that the Chicago City Council has "lost even the pretense of a democracy." Moore went on to embarass himself for nearly 10 minutes. Hear the full Moore interview (6.6 mb mp3 file.)
IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING MOORE'S PHONE INTERVIEW, 50th Ward Alderman Bernie Stone was interviewed.
Stone, on the phone, said Moore was a "cry baby" who doesn't know proper procedure for City Council meetings. Stone said that had Moore followed procedure, he could have spoken, but Daley called the vote without Moore doing what was required. But that's not all that Stone said.
Moore is a "tool of Hamas," Stone said. He said the particular anti-war resolution that Moore was proposing would serve as a propaganda tool for Hamas, which is sworn to destroy Israel.
The end result of the exchange between Moore and Don Wade, then Stone and Don Wade, is that Joe Moore was painted as a boob who does not understand City Council procedures, is a cry baby who is whining about losing a battle, and he's a useful idiot for anti-American interests.
READ ABOUT THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION TO PROTECT IRAN!
Wow! Local politics takes a preemptive strike against any future military actions in the Middle East. Oh my I'm so happy Chicago's City Council is taking a stand on something that they ultimately wouldn't be at the table for making a decision anyway. FULL POST at "IT'S MY MIND"...
FLASHBACK: Mayor Daley Calls Alderman Moore Incompetent
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