Sunday, June 01, 2008

A Malfeasant Union: Perhaps They Should Ban the Marriage of Realtors to Elected Representatives

I don't see how one could deny the ethical snarl of a wife who is a Realtor selling tens of millions of dollars in real estate based on zoning decisions made by an alderman who is also her husband. It is clear to me that such a marriage of convenience is unethical, but in Chicago it is ambiguous with lawyers calling it both ethical and unethical. I cannot believe that the alderman can deny with a straight face that he does not personally profit. So, if they divorce, the profits all go back to her? What a sinkhole.

1 comment:

  1. That's one way to do it; or, like in Chattanooga, we had a City Council member who is also a realtor, and she even had double-sided business cards, with her official city info on one side, and her realtor info on the other. One time, during a council session, she handed her business card to a man who was requesting a zoning change for his property. (She was forced to step down because she didn't live in her district.)

    Our mayor also has strong ties to the real estate and home building industry.

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