By Tim Novak
Chicago Sun Times
CHICAGO — It has been more than four years since Jacob Kiferbaum pleaded guilty in a kickback scheme involving a hospital that needed state approval for a construction project, one of the earliest corruption scandals under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Kiferbaum, though, has yet to spend a day in prison.
The north suburban construction magnate is one of 12 men convicted in Illinois political corruption cases who still await sentencing months -- in some cases, years -- after their convictions.
What’s keeping them out of prison? For most, it’s the help they’re offering authorities in ongoing cases, involving Blagojevich and others -- cooperation that could cut their prison time.
For now, most of them are living at home, trying to lead normal lives. One found work delivering packages. One has helped build homes for the poor. Another has given lectures to students in Lebanon.
The lone exception among them: Tony Rezko, who was a major campaign fund-raiser for Blagojevich, among other politicians.
Like the others, Rezko still hasn’t been sentenced. But he chose to surrender to authorities immediately after a federal jury in Chicago convicted him in June 2008 of wide-ranging corruption involving state deals under Blagojevich. So far, the Wilmette businessman has served 18 months behind bars -- even before the judge imposes a sentence for his crimes.
The 12 awaiting sentencing:
Jacob Kiferbaum
Pleaded guilty: June 20, 2005.
The owner of Kiferbaum Construction Corp., Kiferbaum, 57, of Glencoe, admitted to the attempted extortion of officials of Edward Hospital in Naperville who wanted to build a second hospital, in Plainfield. The scheme also involved Stuart Levine, then a member of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, who threatened to block the hospital’s plan -- unless it hired Kiferbaum’s company.
Joseph A. Cari Jr.
Pleaded guilty: Sept. 15, 2005.
A former finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Cari, 57, of Chicago, admitted to the attempted extortion of a Virginia investment firm seeking pension business from the Teachers’ Retirement System of Illinois. Cari has surrendered his law license but was allowed to travel overseas last spring to lecture at Lebanese American University on “the United States political system.’'
Steven Loren
Pleaded guilty: Sept. 15, 2005.
A former attorney for the Teachers’ Retirement System, Loren, 54, of Highland Park, pleaded guilty to tax charges related to the attempted extortion of the Virginia firm. Loren -- who gave up his law license -- has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, building homes in Lake County.
Stuart Levine
Pleaded guilty: Oct. 27, 2006.
A longtime Republican power broker, Levine, 63, remained in state government when Democrat Blagojevich reappointed him to two state boards -- the Teachers’ Retirement System and the Health Facilities Planning Board -- where Levine oversaw kickback schemes. Levine testified against Rezko, is cooperating in the investigation of former Ald. Edward R. Vrdolyak and could take the stand against Blagojevich next year. He’s now living in a Skokie apartment after he was forced to sell his lakefront mansion in Highland Park. He has given up his law license and had been delivering packages in the Loop, but his lawyer says he recently got a new job. He wouldn’t say what it is.
John Glennon
Pleaded guilty: Nov. 19, 2007.
A former adviser to now-imprisoned ex-Gov. George Ryan, Glennon admitted he helped cover up kickbacks from Kiferbaum’s construction project for a North Chicago medical school. Glennon, 57, of Lake Forest, still has his law license.
Ali Ata
Pleaded guilty: April 22, 2008.
A former Rezko business partner, Ata, 52, of Lemont, has admitted giving Blagojevich a $25,000 campaign contribution to win an appointment to a $127,000-a-year job as director of the Illinois Finance Authority, a state agency Blagojevich created. Ata pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and also admitted failing to tell the Internal Revenue Service about $1.2 million he made selling land to pave the way for a Home Depot to be built at Addison and Kimball.
Tony Rezko
Found guilty: June 4, 2008.
A former top fund-raiser for Democrats including Blagojevich and President Obama, Rezko was found guilty of 16 charges involving the corruption of the state teachers’ pension fund and the health facilities board, as well as shaking down companies seeking state business. Rezko, 54, surrendered immediately. He has been in federal custody awaiting sentencing, while, according to sources, he continues to cooperate with federal authorities.
Nicholas Blase
Pleaded guilty: Oct. 31, 2008.
The longtime mayor of Niles pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion, admitting he steered businesses to buy insurance from an agency that paid him $420,000 in kickbacks over 20 years. Blase, 81, is to be sentenced Jan. 29.
P. Nicholas Hurtgen
Pleaded guilty: Feb. 25, 2009.
A onetime aide to former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, Hurtgen, 47, of Glencoe, was an investment banker with Bear Stearns when he helped Levine and Kiferbaum in the scheme to get kickbacks from Edward Hospital for state approval of a new hospital in Plainfield. Hurtgen was angling for Bear Stearns to finance the project.
Vito Scavo
Found guilty: June 1, 2009.
The former police chief of Melrose Park, Scavo, 61, was convicted of racketeering and extortion in a scheme to force businesses, including Kiddieland, to hire the private security company he operated while also heading the police department. He’s expected to be sentenced sometime in 2010.
John Harris
Pleaded guilty: July 8, 2009.
Harris, 47, of Chicago, who was Blagojevich’s chief of staff, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and has agreed to testify against his former boss. Previously, Harris was Mayor Daley’s budget director and deputy aviation commissioner at O’Hare Airport. “We will certainly push for sentencing as soon as possible after the Blagojevich trial is finished,’' says Terry Ekl, Harris’ lawyer. “While this is hanging over him, he can’t go forward. He’s an attorney, but he can’t get work. John is working as an apprentice electrician right now. He needs an income to provide for his family. He’s got three young sons, and his wife is a stay-at-home mom.”
Alonzo ‘Lon’ Monk
Pleaded guilty: Oct. 20, 2009.
Blagojevich’s former law school roommate and a former chief of staff, Monk, 51, pleaded guilty to mail fraud, saying he and Blagojevich schemed to get rich off state deals, to make “hundreds of thousands of dollars per deal,” splitting the money with Rezko and the late Blagojevich adviser Chris Kelly, after Blagojevich left office. Monk now lives in downstate Decatur. He is expected to testify against Blagojevich.
Copyright 2009 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.