Bob McCarty Writes

Recently, I was encouraged by a Bob McCarty Writes reader to look into the background of Penny Pritzker, a Chicago billionaire who now serves as the National Finance Chair for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. When I did investigate, I found details that should not only cause “Obamaniacs” to question their candidate’s judgment, but should — at a minimum — prompt a detailed explanation from Obama himself.

According to a Forbes article (Shaking the Family Tree by Stephane Fitch) published Sept. 30, 2002, “(Pritzker) represented her family’s half-interest in Superior Bank, a thrift operating in the Chicago suburbs” that “ran into trouble early in 2001 when a large number of subprime loans went into default.”

Note the term, SUBPRIME LOANS.

Also in the Forbes article were the following details:

Regulators charged the bank with poor lending practices and sloppy accounting. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was bracing to cover as much as $550 million in losses at Superior.

The Pritzkers initially seemed confident, offering in July 2001 to infuse the bank with $210 million. But by December, with details of Superior’s losses under increasing scrutiny, the family was forced to open its checkbook, agreeing to shell out $460 million over 15 years. No bank owner in history had ever offered anything close to that to settle a case. But the payout scuttled the possibility of Penny’s having to testify in a very public trial — or of her having to disclose her own role in the bank’s failure.

For Obama, the candidate who got himself involved in at least one shady real estate transaction with a Chicago businessman indicted in a state government kickback scandal and in an alleged business fraud in October 2006 (see Another Scandal in Obama’s House for details), the selection of an individual once up to her eyeballs in a costly subprime lending scandal should prompt everyone who’s serious about selecting the nation’s next leader to questions his judgment. Frankly, however, I expect only one high-profile person — Hillary Clinton — will actually do that.

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For another blogger’s take on the matter, read Obama Campaign Finance Chair Involved In Superior Bank S&L Scandal?

For more information about the Pritzker family’s involvement with Superior Bank, read these articles:

The Pritzkers’ Superior Headache, Forbes, Nov. 5, 2002

The Pritzkers’ Empire Trembles, Business Week, Sept. 10, 2001