Obama sought HUD grant for donor's project

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By Jim McElhatton

EXCLUSIVE:

Sen. Barack Obama, who vows to change Washington by trimming wasteful spending and disclosing special-interest requests, wrote the Bush administration last year to seek a multimillion-dollar federal grant for a Chicago housing project that is behind schedule and whose development team includes a longtime political supporter.

Mr. Obama's letter, however, was never disclosed publicly. In fact, the letter was ghostwritten for him by a consultant for the Chicago Housing Authority, which wanted the money - a practice ethics watchdogs have frequently criticized.

The housing project through July had completed fewer than one-sixth of the 439 public housing units it had planned, court records show.

The Bush administration obliged Mr. Obama's request, awarding a $20 million competitive grant last month from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It called the project a “shining example” of urban revitalization. The Washington Times learned of the letter from Republican operatives.

As Mr. Obama campaigns for president as an agent of change who promises to clean up Washington's money game, his role in the Stateway project raises questions about the appearance of a conflict of interest and whether he has been participating in the very system he criticizes, watchdogs say.

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“It's not just Senator Obama; it's endemic to Capitol Hill. It's a broad issue, where lawmakers are just simply rubber-stamping something through,” said Steve Ellis, vice president of the nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense, referring to the practice of consultants writing funding requests for lawmakers.

“It's sort of like of your standard earmark practice in a lot of ways, where lobbyists end up writing the request letters,” he said. “It's a problem especially if neither the staff nor the lawmaker knows what's going into the request.”

Mr. Obama's aides say he knew the project was worthwhile because it is helping make safe and affordable housing available to hundreds of people displaced by the demolition of public housing complexes.