Giannoulias family's Broadway Bank fails

Well, I went running this afternoon, and I said I would return, but I was less confident about whether Chicago's Broadway Bank would be around after my 10 mile jaunt.

I'm back, but Broadway Bank won't ever be. An hour ago federal authorities closed the troubled financial institution, which was owned by the family of Illinois state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias. MB Bank, a Chicago-based bank with branches throughout the city and suburbs, takes over.

Giannoulias, a Barack Obama protege, is the Democratic candidate for US Senate.

Alexi was the bank's chief loan officer from 2002-2006, and approved loans to mobster Michael "Jaws" Giorongo and reputed new mafiya figure Boris Stratievsky. Although the curtain has closed on Broadway, these loans will provide of material for the campaign of his Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk.

Alexi was not the slated candidate of the state Democratic Party in 2006, but then-Senator Barack Obama instead endorsed Giannoulias, who was just 29 at the time. That endorsement, along with some of his family's money, put Alexi over the top. And in a tough year for Republicans, he cruised to victory in the general election.

Here is a Giannoulias commercial from that campaign, where Obama calls the mob banker "one of the most outstanding men I could ever hope to meet."



Hat tip to Publius Forum for the Alexi graphic.

Related post:

Death watch at Broadway Bank

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