The Human Costs of Illinois's Political Corruption

The Human Costs of Illinois's Political Corruption
By Whet Moser

Chicago contributing editor Carol Felsenthal stopped by WBEZ's 848 yesterday to talk about Lura Lynn Ryan and Patti Blagojevich, the wives of Illinois's consecutively indicted ex-governors. To paraphrase Felsenthal put it, it's almost too weird for fiction: one on her death bed as the other prepares for her husband to go away for years. Which reminded me of how depressing it is, when these things go down—and they go down a lot in these parts—and how trivial the fruits of corruption seem compared to the human cost for the guilty.


Christopher Kelly

What he took (ok, he took a lot, actually):

In fact, Kelly later admitted in a 28-page plea agreement that between 1998 and 2006, he had worked with an insider to steer $8.5 million in O’Hare contracts to his company, BCI. Kelly used the proceeds for a variety of personal purposes, including paying more than $370,000 in gambling debts and repaying a $700,000 loan from Rezko to buy the Burr Ridge house. About $450,000 went to pay off the person—unnamed in the affidavit—who had helped him rig the bids.

What he lost: Everything. And killed himself in a trailer at 173rd and Cicero.

Kelly was clearly a high roller, though in the service of what seems like a serious addiction.