Tony Rezko facts for kids

Antoin Rezko (born 1955) is an American businessman who faced legal challenges related to his business dealings. He was known for helping raise money for politicians, especially those in the Democratic Party in Illinois, and some Republican Party politicians too.

After helping Rod Blagojevich get elected as governor, Rezko helped set up the state's new government. This allowed some of his business partners to get important jobs on state boards. Later, Rezko and others were accused of using their connections on these boards to ask for unfair payments from businesses that wanted to work with the state. While others admitted their involvement, Rezko did not. He was found responsible for some of the accusations against him and was sentenced to time in prison in 2011.

Early Life and Education

Tony Rezko was born in 1955 in Aleppo, Syria. He came from a well-known Syriac Catholic family. After finishing college in Syria, Rezko moved to Chicago. He studied at the Illinois Institute of Technology in the late 1970s, earning degrees in civil engineering. He first worked designing nuclear power plants and then helped design highways for the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Career Highlights

While working as an engineer, Rezko started buying empty land and building homes. He also began investing in fast-food restaurants, including the first Subway in Chicago. Many of his properties were in neighborhoods with lower incomes. There, he met Jabir Herbert (J.H.) Muhammad, who used to manage the famous boxer Muhammad Ali.

In 1983, Rezko was asked to support Harold Washington's successful campaign to become Chicago's first African-American mayor. J.H. Muhammad's company, Crucial Concessions, hired Rezko in 1984. This company won a contract to sell food on Lake Michigan beaches and in many parks on Chicago's South Side. Rezko also helped arrange endorsement deals for Muhammad Ali and traveled with him for five years as the executive director of the Muhammad Ali Foundation.

In 1997, Crucial Concessions opened two Panda Express restaurants at O'Hare Airport. These were part of a city program to help businesses owned by minority groups. However, in 2005, they lost these restaurants because it was believed that J.H. Muhammad was just a front for Rezko.

Real Estate and Business Ventures

In 1989, Rezko and attorney Daniel Mahru started a real estate and restaurant company called Rezmar Corporation. Between 1989 and 1998, Rezmar fixed up 30 buildings, which included 1,025 apartments. They used over $100 million from the city, state, federal government, and bank loans for these projects. Rezmar put a small amount of its own money into each project but earned fees for developing them. They also owned the company that managed these buildings. By 1998, Rezmar Corporation was worth about US$34 million. The company then started buying old factories and land in areas of Chicago that were becoming more popular, turning them into fancy apartment buildings. Rezko was even named "Entrepreneur of the Decade" by a business group.

Rezko's investments in restaurant chains grew. After starting with Panda Express, he opened his first Papa John's Pizza restaurants in Chicago in 1998. By 2002, he had many stores in Chicago, Wisconsin, and Detroit. Some of the money for these stores came from GE Capital. By 2001, Rezko started having trouble making his payments. He transferred the restaurants to other business partners. In 2006, during a legal issue with Papa John's, Rezko changed the name of his Papa John's restaurants to Papa Tony's.

As some of his businesses faced difficulties, Rezko partnered with Iraqi-born executive Nadhmi Auchi. This included a large real estate project in Chicago's South Loop in 2005. Rezko later faced issues related to a loan from Auchi.

Connections to Politicians

Antoin Rezko had many connections with politicians, especially through his fundraising efforts.

Connections with Rod Blagojevich

Rezko's relationship with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was at the center of a federal investigation. Rezko donated a lot of money to Blagojevich's campaigns and helped gather contributions from others. Since 1997, Blagojevich's wife, Patricia, also earned money as Rezko's real estate agent for some of his company's property purchases.

When Blagojevich won the election for governor in 2002, Rezko helped him set up the state government. Rezko suggested many of his business partners and their family members for jobs in state government. Some of these people were appointed to important state boards, including those that oversee hospital projects and state development. Rezko and another fundraiser, Stuart Levine, were accused of using Rezko's influence with public officials to ask for millions of dollars in unfair payments from companies that wanted to do business with the state. Levine cooperated with authorities and was a key witness during Rezko's trial.

Connections with Barack Obama

In 1990, after Barack Obama was elected president of the Harvard Law Review, he interviewed with Rezmar Corp. Rezko did not hire him but thought he would do well in politics. Obama instead worked for a law firm that also represented Rezmar and helped the company get government funding. A former senior partner at that firm later went into business with Rezko and was appointed to a state board at Rezko's request.

Rezko and his companies were among the first to contribute money to Obama's political campaigns in 1995. Starting in 2003, Rezko was part of Obama's U.S. Senate campaign finance committee, which raised a lot of money. Rezko organized an early fundraiser that helped Obama's Senate campaign get started. Obama later identified over $250,000 in campaign contributions from Rezko or his close associates and said he donated most of that money to nonprofit groups.

Real Estate Dealings with Obama

In 2005, Obama bought a new home in Chicago. On the same day, Rezko's wife, Rita Rezko, bought the empty lot next to it from the same sellers. Obama said he told Rezko about his interest in the property but denied that they planned their purchases together. He explained that the properties were sold separately but had to close on the same day.

In 2006, after it was reported that Rezko was under federal investigation, Obama bought a 10-foot-wide strip of Ms. Rezko's property for $104,500. This was more than its assessed value. Some believed that Rezko did Obama a favor by selling him this land, making his own remaining property less attractive for development. Obama admitted that this exchange might have looked improper and said he regretted it.

In December 2006, Mrs. Rezko sold her remaining property to a company owned by her husband's former business attorney. This sale, combined with the earlier sale to the Obamas, resulted in a profit for her. In October 2007, the new owners put the vacant land up for sale again for a much higher price.

Obama's Letters of Support

In June 2007, a newspaper reported about letters Obama had written in 1997 to city and state officials. These letters supported a housing project for senior citizens that Rezko and his partner were involved in. The project received over $14 million in taxpayer money. An Obama spokesperson said that the letters were written to help the community, not as a favor to anyone, because the project was seen as beneficial. Rezko's attorney stated that Mr. Rezko never asked Senator Obama for a letter for that project.

During a political debate in 2008, Senator Hillary Clinton mentioned Obama's association with Rezko. A photo of Rezko with Bill and Hillary Clinton later appeared. Hillary Clinton commented that she takes many photos and would not recognize him.

Connections to Other Politicians

Rezko's first major political act was hosting a fundraiser for Harold Washington when he ran for mayor of Chicago. He later raised money for many other politicians. Besides Blagojevich and Obama, he contributed to or fundraised for other prominent Democrats like Congressman Luis Gutierrez, Comptroller Dan Hynes, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn, and former Chicago Mayors Daley and Washington.

Rezko also raised money for Republicans, including former Illinois Governors Jim Edgar and George Ryan. He co-chaired a large fundraiser for President George W. Bush in 2003. Rezko also led the campaign finance committee for John Stroger in 2002. Stroger appointed Rezko's wife, Rita, to a county board position. A company owned by Rezko also had a contract to maintain pay telephones at the Cook County Jail under Stroger.