Illinois Republican Party

Giannoulias' explanation of bank hours changes...again
10/7/2010

By Adam Zielinski

CHICAGO (WLS) - Democrat Alexi Giannoulias is still having difficulty calculating "how the hours worked out" during his employment at Broadway Bank.

After telling the Chicago Tribune last week that he fully left his position with his family's failed bank in May 2006, Giannoulias told the State Journal-Register Wednesday that it was actually April 2006.

"I left day-to-day operations in 2005, and I fully left the bank about April 2006," Giannoulias said.

Giannoulias told the Tribune he left his daily duties in September 2005 to prepare for his first run for public office but worked about 500 hours in 2006 to complete remaining duties. Those hours he accrued in 2006 allowed him to qualify for a $2.7 million tax break related to the bank's failure.

Giannoulias' timeline for his departure from Broadway Bank has changed several times over the course of his campaign for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat, but he claims he has always been clear regarding when he left the day-to-day operations of the bank.

According to an article that appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times in August 2010, Giannoulias aide Kathleen Strand said, "Alexi left daily operations of the bank in September of 2005, months before this loan was made."

During his campaign for state treasurer, Giannoulias told the Windy City Times on March 15, 2006 that he was still overseeing loans.

“I’m senior loan officer and vice president, so I oversee a $600 million loan department. I’m also chief investment officer and invest about $150 million,” Giannoulias said.

But that's not what he told the Tribune last week.

Giannoulias said his work as a loan officer ended in 2005 and his role in 2006 was merely to wrap up old responsibilities, which required about 30 hours a week.

"I was just finishing up what I needed to do, so I don't know how the hours worked out, but it wasn't a full-time job," he said.

Giannoulias has been plagued with controversy regarding loans the bank made between 2004 and 2005 to political insider Antoin "Tony" Rezko and other individuals with criminal backgrounds.

His opponent, Mark Kirk, has labeled Giannoulias as a "failed mob banker" whose story has been inconsistent.

"First he said he was the senior loan officer and ran much of the bank in order to be elected state treasurer. Then, when it was revealed that the Tony Rezko loans were made, he said, 'Well, I left in 2005.' Then when it was revealed that he took a $2.7 million tax deduction that required him to justify 500 hours of work (in 2006), he said that he actually was there in 2006."

Source: WLS-AM 890

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