Opponent questions Giannoulias connections to mob

September 28, 2006 (WLS) -- New questions were raised Thursday about a political candidate's alleged connections to organized crime. Alexi Giannoulias is a Democrat running for Illinois state treasurer. His Republican opponent, Christine Radogno, is asking these questions. But she isn't the only one.

Political newcomer Alexi Giannoulias is not only facing Republican Christine Ragogno in the state treasurer's race, he is also battling with the chairman of his own Democratic party, House Speaker Michael Madigan, who agrees with Radogno that Giannoulias hasn't provided the right answers to questions abut loans from his family bank to unsavory characters.

The Democratic candidate for state treasurer, Chicago banker Alexi Giannoulias, is still facing the same questions he has been answering for months about multi-million dollar loans from his family-owned Broadway Bank to convicted felons with mob ties. Some of the questions are coming from his Republican opponent, state senator Christine Radogno of southwest suburban LaGrange.

"Clearly, he is the banker for people with mob associations, and, yeah, I don't think there's any question about that," said Christine Radogno, (R)-nominee for state treasurer.

Rodogno is getting unexpected help in fueling the controversy from the chairman of Giannoulias's own Democratic party, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who refuses to endorse Giannoulias and won't even put his picture on the party's campaign web site.

"I want some answers. The allegations are there," Madigan said earlier this week. "My history in politics, if you were alleged to be connected to the mob, you were done. But life seems to go on."

Giannoulias says that banks don't do criminal background checks of prospective clients, his bank has never been accused of any wrongdoing by federal regulators, and he would explain all of that to Madigan, if the party chairman would return his phone calls.

"The federal government looks at every loan in our portfolio and we've done nothing wrong. From day one, people have said we'd done nothing wrong, but it's politics and people are gonna make stories up," said Alexi Giannoulias, (D)-nominee for state treasurer.

The rest of the Democratic party is supporting Giannoulias, including Senator Barack Obama, the political superstar whose campaign commercial helped Giannoulias defeat the Madigan-backed candidate in the Democratic primary, and state representative John Fritchey says Madigan should meet with Giannoulias to clear the air.

"I would hope that we would have gotten these issues resolved by now, but if we haven't, we really should get it done before the election comes around," said State Rep. John Fritchey, (D)-Chicago.

Madigan was not available Thursday, and a spokesman says he won't be meeting with Giannoulias because that won't accomplish anything. Political observers speculate that Madigan may see Giannoulias as a threat to his daughter Lisa, the attorney general, if she eventually runs for governor.

Meanwhile. Barack Obama is ready to help Giannoulias in any way he can, despite the feud with Madigan.

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