Obama donor behind problem buildings

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) said he had no idea longtime friend and now-indicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko was behind problem buildings in the South Side district that Obama once represented as a state senator.

"Should I have known these buildings were in a state of disrepair? My answer would be that it wasn't brought to my attention," Obama told newspapers Monday.

Rezko's Rezmar Corp. obtained millions in government funds to rehab apartment buildings for the needy.

Court and city documents show 30 of the apartment buildings owned and managed by Rezmar have since been subject to foreclosures, code violations and lawsuits filed by the city, the Chicago Sun-Times reported in its Monday editions. About a third of those 30 buildings were in Obama's Illinois Senate district.

Telephone calls to Rezmar went unanswered Tuesday morning.

"One of the perils of public life is that you end up being responsible for, or you're held responsible for, associations that you didn't necessarily know were a problem," Obama said.

Rezko became acquainted with Obama in 1990 and has been a key fundraiser for the rising political star. Also a key contributor to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Rezko was indicted in October on charges of shaking down investment firms that wanted to do business with the state.

Obama's relationship with Rezko came under scrutiny last year after it was reported that Rezko's wife purchased a lot next door to Obama's new house on Chicago's South Side. Obama then paid Rezko $104,500 to expand the Obama house's yard into part of the lot.

Obama has said the arrangements were ethical and proper, but acknowledged the sale was a "boneheaded" business transaction.

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Two months after Merle Haggard unveiled a song to promote Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton, rival candidate John Edwards is handing out a CD featuring a Haggard tune.

Donors who contribute $50 or more to Edwards' presidential campaign will receive an advance copy of "Moneyland," a collection of songs about the plight of rural America. The CD includes a duet with Haggard and Marty Stuart called "Farmer's Blues."

Meanwhile, on his Web site, Haggard is prominently advertising copies of his new song "Hillary," which praises Clinton and declares, "Let's put a woman in charge."

A spokesman for the Edwards campaign said he did not immediately have a comment on the CD.

One of Edwards' policy proposals is a Rural Recovery Act, which details his plans to boost rural economies and support family farmers.

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a frequent Iraq war critic, canceled plans Tuesday to introduce articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney, citing Cheney's health problems.

Cheney was taken to his doctor's office for an ultrasound of a blood clot in his leg Tuesday. He later returned to the White House to resume his normal schedule, said Megan McGinn, a spokeswoman for the vice president.

"Until the vice president's condition is clarified, I am placing any action on hold," the Ohio congressman said in a news release.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton is looking to another trailblazing woman in politics to help her become the nation's first female president.

Clinton's campaign announced Tuesday that Sen. Barbara Mikulski (news, bio, voting record), D-Md., will be co-chair of Clinton's presidential bid. Mikulski is the Senate's senior woman and was the first female Democrat to enter the Senate by wining a Senate seat in her own right, rather than as a relative of a male politician or through appointment.

In a statement, Mikulski said she hoped to help Clinton break the "last public barrier for women in public life," the presidency.

Mikulski's duties include speaking on behalf of Clinton and helping with campaign strategy. Mikulski has been in the Senate since 1987.

In a statement, Clinton said Mikulski "paved the way for me and countless other women who now serve in the Congress."

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On the Net:

Clinton: http://www.hillaryclinton.com

Mikulski: http://mikulski.senate.gov

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070424/ap_on_el_pr/on_the2008_trail [link]