McHenry County Blog

The Chicago Sun-Time excerpt of Aaron Jaffe’s book, “Goodbye, American Dream.”

Aaron Jaffe sat across the aisle and behind me during my first term in the Illinois House in 1973-75.

Under Republican House Speaker Bob Blair, I got a lot of bills to floor and managed to get 12 of them passed both houses. As one of he staffers told me, Blair didn’t know what to make of that independent from McHenry County.

And, even though he had fired me from the House Appropriations Committee staff job I took after finishing my term as McHenry County Treasurer, I still voted for him over Henry Hyde…because I could count.

Now Jaffe has written a book called “Goodbye, American Dream.”

I hadn’t heard of it until I read an excerpt in Saturday’s Chicago Sun-Times. It was titled,

“Last of the old-time precinct captains”

Jaffe had a marvelous sense of humor and after one of my many property tax reform bills had been debated and passed, he observed, “Skinner, you have a tax bill for a heart.”

Jaffe offers this advice on winning elections from the perspective of a State Representative and Niles Township (mainly Skokie) Committeeman:

“I always maintained that if I could get 100 people to work an area of 60,000 for six weeks, I could win.

“They would give me their weeknights and weekends and go out and work the precincts.

“But today, candidates can’t get 100 in 60,000 to work an area that way–because, by and large, the people have lost their connection to politics.”

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Wish I could find a link, but I can’t.

Ever since Springfield developer Bill Cellini sought and got permission to develop the Vulcan Lakes TIF property owned by the City of Crystal Lake, I have wondered why he came on October 10, 2006, and why the group he led won Mayor Aaron Shepley’s city council’s approval for the $115 million project.

(October 10th was three days before he was implicated in the Tony Rezko probe.)

I still wonder every time I see Cellini’s name in the paper.

Thursday was no different.

Gaming Board Chairman and former State Rep. And Judge Aaron Jaffe issued the following statement, printed by the Daily Herald:

“The Cellini Group, however, continues to hold an interest in a casino awarded to the Waukegan applicant, Indeed, if Waukegan is ever selected, Michael Pizzuto, a longtime associate of Mr. Cellini who purchased the collective Cellini interests for $32,450, must pay the Cellini interests the balance of their prior costs in the Waukegan project, an amount in excess of $600,000. The fact that the Cellini-Pizzuto agreement provides that the payment of prior costs may be disallowed does not abate our concern.”

Here is a short part of Cellini’s appearance at Crystal Lake City Hall.

Ever since Springfield developer Bill Cellini sought and got permission to develop the Vulcan Lakes TIF property owned by the City of Crystal Lake, I have wondered why he came on October 10, 2006, and why the group he led won Mayor Aaron Shepley’s city council’s approval for the $115 million project.

(October 10th was three days before he was implicated in the Tony Rezko probe.)

I still wonder every time I see Cellini’s name in the paper.

Thursday was no different.

Gaming Board Chairman and former State Rep. And Judge Aaron Jaffe issued the following statement, printed by the Daily Herald:

“The Cellini Group, however, continues to hold an interest in a casino awarded to the Waukegan applicant, Indeed, if Waukegan is ever selected, Michael Pizzuto, a longtime associate of Mr. Cellini who purchased the collective Cellini interests for $32,450, must pay the Cellini interests the balance of their prior costs in the Waukegan project, an amount in excess of $600,000. The fact that the Cellini-Pizzuto agreement provides that the payment of prior costs may be disallowed does not abate our concern.”

Here is a short part of Cellini’s appearance at Crystal Lake City Hall.

Two of the investors in the Waukegan casino group showed up in Crystal Lake to make a pitch for and won the approximately $115 million Vulcan Lakes Tax Increment Financing district development.

One of them, sitting before the Crystal Lake City Council was Bill Cellini. He is reported to have sold his share in the Waukegan enterprise a year and half ago.

Cellini is known by Gaming Board Chairman and former State Rep. Aaron Jaffe from Jaffe’s time in the General Assembly.

That left Richard Stein, another guy sitting at the table with Cellini.

The Chicago Tribune reported Cellini and

“…others with Blagojevich ties have connections to the businessman he sold it to: Michael Pizzuto, a Hinsdale real estate developer who was once director of finance for Cellini’s New Frontier Development.

“Cellini was indicted this year on charges that he extorted campaign contributions to Blagojevich from a Hollywood producer whose investment firm was seeking state business.

“Blagojevich appointed Pizzuto to the State Universities Retirement System in 2004, and a “clout list” released in the trial of convicted (Rod) Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko suggested that he was sponsored by fellow fundraiser Chris Kelly.”

Board members also pointed to the $1,000 apiece that Pizzuto and Stein donated to Waukegan Mayor Richard Hyde as a negative.

Three days after Cellini and Stein’s group won the Vulcan Lakes TIF business, Cellini was named as Individual A in Blagojevich’s buddy Tony Rezko’s indictment.

He personally withdrew from the project. Subsequently, the rest of the consortium dropped out.

As I wrote on March 3, 2008,

“The question that remains unanswered is how a Springfield-based Republican developer in business with a Democratic Party developer described by Kass as Mayor ‘Daley’s favorite’ found out about this Crystal Lake TIF opportunity, let alone captured it from local developer Bo Strom of Charles River Development.“

Just in case you haven’t seen the YouTube postings of Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley questioning Cellini, you can link to them below, first the very short version, then the longer on that puts the shorter one in context.

Here’s the one that puts the short one into context, which follows.

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In the blurry photo in the middle of the story, you can see a broadly smiling Bill Cellini leaving the Crystal Lake City Council meeting after winning the rights to develop Vulcan Lakes using TIF subsidy money. Behind him Richard Stein can be seen scratching his head.

Two of the investors in the Waukegan casino group showed up in Crystal Lake to make a pitch for and won the approximately $115 million Vulcan Lakes Tax Increment Financing district development.

One of them, sitting before the Crystal Lake City Council was Bill Cellini. He is reported to have sold his share in the Waukegan enterprise a year and half ago.

Cellini is known by Gaming Board Chairman and former State Rep. Aaron Jaffe from Jaffe’s time in the General Assembly.

That left Richard Stein, another guy sitting at the table with Cellini.

The Chicago Tribune reported Cellini and

“…others with Blagojevich ties have connections to the businessman he sold it to: Michael Pizzuto, a Hinsdale real estate developer who was once director of finance for Cellini’s New Frontier Development.

“Cellini was indicted this year on charges that he extorted campaign contributions to Blagojevich from a Hollywood producer whose investment firm was seeking state business.

“Blagojevich appointed Pizzuto to the State Universities Retirement System in 2004, and a “clout list” released in the trial of convicted (Rod) Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko suggested that he was sponsored by fellow fundraiser Chris Kelly.”

Board members also pointed to the $1,000 apiece that Pizzuto and Stein donated to Waukegan Mayor Richard Hyde as a negative.

Three days after Cellini and Stein’s group won the Vulcan Lakes TIF business, Cellini was named as Individual A in Blagojevich’s buddy Tony Rezko’s indictment.

He personally withdrew from the project. Subsequently, the rest of the consortium dropped out.

As I wrote on March 3, 2008,

“The question that remains unanswered is how a Springfield-based Republican developer in business with a Democratic Party developer described by Kass as Mayor ‘Daley’s favorite’ found out about this Crystal Lake TIF opportunity, let alone captured it from local developer Bo Strom of Charles River Development.“

Just in case you haven’t seen the YouTube postings of Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley questioning Cellini, you can link to them below, first the very short version, then the longer on that puts the shorter one in context.

Here’s the one that puts the short one into context, which follows.

= = = = =
In the blurry photo in the middle of the story, you can see a broadly smiling Bill Cellini leaving the Crystal Lake City Council meeting after winning the rights to develop Vulcan Lakes using TIF subsidy money. Behind him Richard Stein can be seen scratching his head.