Chicago Daily Observer

Valerie Jarrett—pal of a U.S. president-elect, confidant of the country’s most powerful mayor and veteran of corporate boardrooms—has perfected the art of networking, Chicago style.

Now that Barack Obama has drafted her to be a senior adviser, a key conduit between the White House and state and local officials clamoring for the president’s ear, Jarrett’s skill set will be put to the ultimate test.

She is “incredibly plugged in,” said banker William Daley, brother of Democratic Mayor Richard Daley. “I can’t think of another female on everybody’s list for a corporate board seat.”

The White House appointment means Jarrett, 52, will give up her job as chief executive of Habitat Co., one of the Midwest’s largest property-management firms. She has already begun to step down from an array of civic boards and from corporate directorships that have brought her more than $350,000 a year in cash and benefits.

To which Jarrett replied, “It’s ironic that you would say that it’s the Democrats that are responsible for big government because government has grown enormously over the last eight years.”

That was a significant concession from the Obama camp because the advocates of activist government like to portray the Bush years as “laissez-faire” and “do nothing.” Obama surrogates spent much of the campaign saying that it makes no sense to put people who hate government in charge of it.

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents linking Valerie Jarrett, an advisor to Barack Obama and the co-chairman of the President-Elect’s transition team, to a series of real estate scandals, including several housing projects operated by convicted felon and Obama fundraiser/friend Antoin “Tony” Rezko.

According to the documents obtained by Judicial Watch from the Illinois Secretary of State, Valerie Jarrett served as a board member for several organizations that provided funding and support for Chicago housing projects operated by real estate developers and Obama financial backers Rezko and Allison Davis. (Davis is also Obama’s former boss.) Jarrett was a member of the Board of Directors for the Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corporation along with several Davis and Rezko associates, as well as the Fund for Community Redevelopment and Revitalization, an organization that worked with Rezko and Davis.

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At a dilapidated Chicago housing project, some see problems with Obama’s favored housing policy, and with Obama’s performance while in office as a State Senator and US Senator.

Valerie Jarrett
Who Am I?

Chicago Medical Center As Well.” (Jay Newton-Small, “Campaign Insider,” Time, 4/7/08)

“Chicago Is In The Running For The 2016 Olympics … One Of Obama’s Top Advisers, Valerie Jarrett, Is The Vice Chair Of Chicago’s Bid Committee.” (Lynn Sweet, “McCain, Obama, Clinton All Push Bush On China Games,” Chicago Sun-Times, 4/10/08)

Under A Plan Devised By The City Of Chicago And Habitat Co., “The City Has Lost More Than 13,000 Housing Units For The Poor.” (Jason Grotto and Laurie Cohen, “Obama Adviser Shapes City Housing Policy,” Chicago Tribune, 7/5/08)

• “Habitat Has Earned $6.8 Million In Fees And $10.8 Million In Administrative Expenses Since The Plan Started In 2000, According To The U.S. Department Of Housing And Urban Development.” (Jason Grotto and Laurie Cohen, “Obama Adviser Shapes City Housing Policy,” Chicago Tribune, 7/5/08)

Four decades after the mayor of Chicago, Richard J. Daley, saw his city torn apart at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, his son, the current mayor, Richard M. Daley, will see his candidate nominated at this year’s DNC.

While the convention will be held in Denver it will give off the greatest Chicago cast since 1996, when Mayor Daley hosted the convention that nominated President Clinton for his second term. The June decision to place operations of the Democratic National Committee in Chicago together with Mr. Obama’s headquarters reinforces the Windy City’s dominance of Democratic politics. The big question is whether American voters will notice.

Valerie Jarrett, a close adviser to Barack Obama, stands at the center of Chicago’s controversial efforts to redevelop public housing.

Jarrett has pushed to integrate new developments by limiting the number of residents, mostly poor and black, who can live in the new communities. From the beginning, that stance clashed with efforts by residents and housing advocates to ensure the number of units set aside for the poor was as large as possible