Our Charlie Cooke declared a week ago, “Aaron Schock is a crook.”
Aaron Schock will soon be an ex-congressman. He announced his resignation this afternoon, declaring that questions about irregularities in his campaign finance and congressional spending accounts over the past six weeks have proven to be a “great distraction” and have made it too difficult for him to serve.
It’s not just his congressional spending accounts. This morning, the Chicago Tribune reported:
A shell company linked to embattled Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock paid a political donor $300,000 last year for a commercial property in Peoria then took out a $600,000 mortgage for the property from a local bank run by other donors, Illinois state and county records show…
The 2014 deal, which occurred after the congressman’s most recent financial report, raises new questions about Schock’s pattern of repeated reliance on campaign contributors. Political donors built, sold and financed a house owned by Schock in suburban Peoria. Donors also were involved in the sale and financing of a Peoria apartment complex in which Schock invests.
Another real estate developer known for his close ties and land deals with an Illinois politician, Tony Rezko, could not be reached for comment… because he’s still serving his sentence on corruption and fraud charges.