The House Financial Services Committee voted Wednesday to launch an investigation of the ShoreBank bailout, a scandal that was first revealed here at BigGovernment.com. Of the dozens of banks that have failed this year, only ShoreBank received help from Washington and Wall Street. The reasons: its connections to the White House, its close relationship with Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and its importance to the radical left.
After I broke the story in January, other bloggers, notably the Central Illinois 9/12 project, connected more of the dots. Soon, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and even the New York Times began following the story. Two weeks ago, my campaign joined Rev. Isaac Hayes (who is challenging Jesse Jackson, Jr. in IL-2) and the Illinois Tea Party in a spirited protest outside ShoreBank’s offices on LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago.
Representatives Judy Biggert (R-IL) and Darrell Issa (R-CA) took up the cause and demanded answers about the White House’s role. Suddenly, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve began backing away from the bailout. That triggered a public attack on Treasury secretary Tim Geithner by the Illinois Finance Authority. Finally, Rep. Biggert succeeded in inserting an investigation of ShoreBank into the financial reform bill.
The financial reform bill is still a job-killer. But if it does pass, the consolation is that Congress will investigate the ShoreBank bailout. The fact that a bipartisan committee managed to agree on the investigation shows how important the allegations are.
Meanwhile, the ShoreBank bailout is still on hold. Thanks to bloggers, the much-maligned Tea Party, and bold leadership on Capitol Hill, we have stopped a corrupt bailout, against overwhelming odds!