Schooling in the Ownership Society: Who's making out on the great DePaul Basketball land swindle?

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Who's making out on the great DePaul Basketball land swindle?:

Who's making out on the great DePaul Basketball land swindle?

Just in case you thought Rahm's DePaul Arena land grab was about basketball -- it ain't. Rather it's nothing less than one of the great taxpayer rip-offs in Chicago history. The deal enriches a web of the mayor's clouted friends using millions in TIF funds that should have gone to bail out a bankrupt school system. It is the culmination of massive kickbacks and political contributions from investors, bankers, and lakefront property owners to Gov. Quinn, Ald. Burke, Mayors Daley and Emanuel.

While everyone has lately had their eye on the penny-ante shenanigans of the Chicago machine boys, like Boss Madigan's hiring of his pals and relatives over at the RTA, Tribune writers Kathy Bergen and Bill Ruthhart were documenting the major league stuff in last Sunday's business section. 

Best and funniest quotes:

"This isn't some clout project," McPier CEO Jim Reilly said. "That isn't how we do business."

Emanuel spokesman Tom Alexander said the mayor's chief lobbyist,