Another Piece of the Puzzle

Crain's Chicago Business

David Wilhelm, a Democratic powerhouse whose investment firm has surfaced as part of a federal probe here, is selling his Chicago house and plans to move back to his home state of Ohio. Mr. Wilhelm Friday confirmed that his new primary residence will be just outside of Columbus. He said he is moving to help care for his elderly parents and a sister who was badly injured in a car accident, but will commute to Chicago weekly. While in Chicago he will stay in a condominium his family owns in the South Loop.

Mr. Wilhelm denied that his move is connected in any way to a reported federal probe of how the Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS), a large state pension fund, invested millions of dollars with Mr. Wilhelm's and other firms.

“I’ve had a lot of family challenges. I want to step up and sort of rally my extended family” in Ohio, he said. “I’ll be here every week if anyone wants to find me. I’m not going anywhere.”

Mr. Wilhelm added that he already has been splitting his time between Chicago and Ohio for many months, but his wife and two children now will live in Columbus.

Mr. Wilhelm served as campaign manager for President Bill Clinton and chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He also chaired the successful election campaign of Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Federal prosecutors last week charged former TRS board member Stuart Levine with trying to extort kickbacks from investment firms which did business with the fund. Mr. Levine has pleaded innocent, but investigators since reportedly have subpoened records of transactions with other investment firms, including Mr. Wilhelm’s.

Mr. Wilhelm has not been charged with any misconduct nor subpoenaed, he said, and Friday said his work for TRS was fully legitimate and properly obtained.

Haven't I seen this movie before? Oh, right...

Bob Woodward:

The story is dry. All we've got are pieces. We can't seem to figure out what the puzzle is supposed to look like. John Mitchell resigns as the head of CREEP, and says that he wants to spend more time with his family. I mean, it sounds like bullshit, we don't exactly believe that...

Deep Throat:

No, heh, but it's touching. Forget the myths the media's created about the White House. The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.