Chicago Spider Web

You really have to pay attention to figure out who's connected in Chicago...and to whom.

As an example, one fellow who will be involved in the governor's impeachment to come is the soon-to-be Illinois Senate president, John Cullerton (D-Chicago).

"I'm really outraged and ticked off because of the embarrassment that is unfairly being brought upon our state," Cullerton was quoted as saying of the scandal involving Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his alleged plan to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder.

It's nice to hear Cullerton's righteous views about his home state. But Cullerton has a connections with a powerful buddy, the shadow governor of Illinois, a guy extremely close to Blagojevich who had time to install Cullerton in the Senate presidency but never got credit...State Senator Jimmy DeLeo (D-Chicago). Jimmy has been around awhile, serving as a Chicago cop, a Cook County cop and several terms in the state legislature. There are some pretty strong rumors that, along with the governor, Jimmy is also the subject of a federal investigation and may be involved in the governor's "situation".

Recently, Blagojevich has been meeting with high-profile defense attorney Edward Genson, the lawyer of choice for Chicago mob figures and dirty politicians.

Yet in all the stories about the governor's lawyer, there's one thing missing from the news reports...Lincoln Park Title Company, a firm which gets a lot of the title business from anyone or any company that's wired into the Chicago political scene.

Lincoln Park Title, located in Chicago's Loop, is not your average, boring title company. It has a star-studded list of officers and directors. According to reports filed with the Illinois secretary of state's office, the President of Lincoln Park Title is Jimmy DeLeo. As if he didn't have enough to do, Jimmy is also the treasurer and assistant secretary. The vice president is Pamela J. Cullerton, who is married to John Cullerton, Jimmy's buddy who he got installed as the head of the Illinois Senate. She's also the secretary of the company. The board of directors includes DeLeo and John and Pam Cullerton and another guy who knows Eddie Genson extremely well...Morton Genson, the son of the mob's and now the Governor's lawyer.

There's nothing improper about connected politicians and the son of the governor's lawyer investing in a title company. It's not a conflict of interest, either, since Eddie Genson is the one representing the governor, not his son.

But in that the Governor has surely spilled the beans about things to his defense lawyer, and Jimmy DeLeo is under investigation himself, I'd sure love to hang out at the Lincoln Park Title water cooler after the governor has left Ed Genson's office, just to listen to the gossip about all the fascinating stuff in the world, whatever that might be. I'm guessing, but I don't think they're into discussion of last night's "Dancing With the Stars."

Do you think things get this complicated in New York, or Washington?