Rezko trial: Levine testifies about another alleged hospital shakedown

I could be naive on this issue, but is Illinois the only state in the nation where hospitals are viewed as shakedown targets? I expressed this sentiment last night, but going after hospitals for kickbacks just stupefies me.

Yesterday in the corruption trial of Antoin "Tony" Rezko trial, admitted political fixer Stuart Levine testified about an alleged shakedown against Edward Hospital, which wanted to build a new hospital in far-southwest suburban Plainfield.

Today Levine spoke in court of a second alleged scheme with Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital.

Rezko's voice was heard by the jury for the first time today--as the prosecution played secretly recorded tapes of telephone conversations between the two political insiders.

From ABC 7 Chicago:

The government clearly now is moving into the heart of its case. Prosecutors played secretly recorded FBI tapes of phone conversations involving Rezko and the corrupt lawyer/businessman Stuart Levine.

On the witness stand, Levine testified that he called defendant Rezko at Rezko's Wilmette mansion the morning of April 24, 2004.

Levine told the jury he was excited about a potential opportunity to run another kickback scheme - this one related to the planned $500 million reconstruction of Children's Memorial Hospital in Lincoln Park.

"I wanted to uh, to uh to talk a little bit about, about, about uh some stuff that may need to be done and may be a giant opportunity also," Levine says on a taped call.

"Very good," Rezko replies.

Fortunately for the hospital, as well as the taxpayers of Illinois, the scheme never went anywhere.

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