From the Sun-Times

Obama cuts Rezko ties
CAMPAIGN CASH | Senator's camp says he's giving up rest of tainted donations
January 30, 2008
BY CHRIS FUSCO AND TIM NOVAK Staff Reporters
Barack Obama on Tuesday night aimed to scrub Tony Rezko's taint off his political fund-raising machine, saying he's identified all remaining donations to his U.S. Senate campaign that are tied to the indicted businessman and is donating them to charity.
The latest dump of Rezko-related cash by the Democratic presidential contender is $72,650, bringing the total Obama is giving away to $157,835.
"By refunding these donations, the campaign has returned any and all funds that could be reasonably credited to Mr. Rezko's political support," Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement.
The total includes "contributions made by Mr. Rezko's family members, employees of his companies and those whose contributions may be connected to" a June 27, 2003, fund-raiser at Rezko's Wilmette mansion.
Burton did not say exactly how many people attended that event. He also didn't provide a breakdown of who donated the $72,650 that Obama is shedding.
The $85,185 in donations Obama previously had announced he would donate came from Rezko and 16 other people. Some, sources say, are connected to the federal government's fraud case against Rezko, who is set to stand trial starting Feb. 25.
In November 2006 -- following revelations that Obama had bought his home in the South Side Kenwood neighborhood on the same June 2005 day that Rezko's wife had bought a lot next door to it -- Obama told the Chicago Sun-Times his "best estimate" was that Rezko had raised more than $60,000 for him during his political career.
The Sun-Times over the summer, however, linked $168,000 in donations to Rezko.
Obama's chief presidential rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, had accused Obama of not being straight about the money he's received through Rezko and Rezko's fund-raising efforts.
The former first lady's attacks came after the Sun-Times broke a story about Rezko possibly illegally donating money to Obama through at least one straw donor.
That allegation was contained in one paragraph of a 78-page document filed last month in which prosecutors outlined their case against Rezko, who also was a key money man for Gov. Blagojevich and other politicians before his indictment in October 2006.
Obama isn't accused of any wrongdoing. And there's no evidence Obama knew contributions to his Senate campaign could have been tainted.
But Rezko still has proven a political headache for Obama. The Syrian-born businessman helped raise money for Obama's political campaigns beginning in 1995, when Obama was first running for the Illinois Senate.
At the time, Obama was working for a law firm that helped Rezko's company rehab 15 of 30 buildings that Rezko's company managed for low-income tenants using government funds. Of the 30 buildings, 11 were in the state Senate district Obama represented. Many of the 30 ended up in foreclosure, with tenants living in squalid conditions, the Sun-Times reported last year.
Obama's relationship with Rezko grew closer in June 2005, when Rezko's wife and Obama bought the adjoining real estate parcels from a doctor in the Kenwood neighborhood. Obama paid $1.65 million for the doctor's mansion, while Rezko's wife paid $625,000 for the vacant lot next door.
Six months later, Obama paid Rita Rezko $104,500 for one-sixth of the vacant lot, which he bought to expand his yard. In November 2006, Obama expressed regret about the transaction, calling it "boneheaded" and "a mistake" because Tony Rezko was widely known to be under federal investigation at the time.