“Leaky” John Chase obscures the issue of Tony Rezko financing Barack Obama

An upcoming book about Rod Blagojevich says undercover recordings caught the former governor saying he had heard that convicted influence peddler Antoin “Tony” Rezko secretly channeled $25,000 in cash to Barack Obama, but federal authorities did not deem the claim credible.

Which the Trib notes is only 10% of the total, excluding the house that Rezko and Obama bought together in 2005

Obama’s ties to Rezko were a nagging issue in the 2008 campaign. Rezko and Obama were friends, and Rezko raised as much as $250,000 for Obama for the first three political offices he sought. Obama also acknowledged a lapse in judgment over his involvement with Rezko in private real estate transactions related to the purchase of Obama’s home in the Kenwood neighborhood in 2005.