Robert Vanecko, nephew to Mayor Richard Daley, doesn't seem to be able to make any kind of investment that works out profitably - at least not for his investors. After Vanecko and Daley's son Patrick were discovered to have been involved in a business that the city contracted for millions of dollars of sewer work, Chicago's Inspector General began an investigation into a real estate investment venture involving Vanecko and Allison Davis, an aide to the mayor. That business was funded by $64 million from five city worker pension funds. And the icing on the cake? Turns out the city has been leasing space from Vanecko to park vehicles, while local business owners in Vanecko's properties struggled to stay open under Daley's wrought iron mandates. more ›

Robert Vanecko, the mayor's nephew who's use of city pension funds for real estate investments is now under federal investigation, is moving forward with a planned development in the South Loop. According to the Sun-Times, DV Urban Reality, the real estate investment firm run by Vanecko and Daley ally Allison Davis, are moving forward with plans to demolish the Chicago Letter Carrier's union building to construct a 220-unit apartment building. The letter carriers will move to a new building at 38th and Wabash. more ›

The ongoing city scandal over real estate and leases involving the mayor's nephew has drawn the ire of 31st Ward Alderman Ray Suarez. Reacting to the questionable month-to-month lease the Department of General Services established back in November of 2007, Suarez told the Sun-Times that he should have signed off on it. Suarez is chair of the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Real Estate. more ›

As if the ongoing rift in the Daley family over mayoral nephew Robert Vanecko's connections weren't bad enough, the Bright One brings us more evidence of corruption in the mayor's family. According to records obtained by the Sun-Times, the city has been leasing property from clouted landlords, often at rental rates higher than market. Adding to the problems for the mayor is a warehouse at 3348 S. Pulaski that Vanecko and his business partners acquired, and which the city has paid more than $480,000 in rent over the past 15 months. The city uses that space to park dump trucks. more ›

The political embarrassment of Mayor Daley has been brewing publicly for a few months now (not counting the earlier charges that his son and nephew had hidden ownership stakes in a company that did millions of dollars of business in contracts to clean city sewers). To wit, Daley's nephew, Robert Vanecko, has been at the center of an investigation by city Inspector General David Hoffman, and now federal prosecutors, over a real estate investment firm he ran with Daley fundraiser Allison Davis, DV Urban Realty. That company, which bought up South side properties which eventually lost money in the hosuing meltdown last year, was financed with nearly $70 million in city pension funds. more ›

Mayor Daley's nephew Robert Vanecko announced his resignation Wednesday from DV Urban Realty, the real estate investment firm that is the subject of a federal investigation. DV Urban Realty, which is headed by Vanecko and City Hall insider Allison Davis, has come under scrutiny recently for nearly $70 million in investments it's obtained from five city pension funds, including police, teachers, laborers, municipal workers and CTA employees. Federal prosecutors, working with Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman, subpoenaed records related to those investments almost two weeks ago. more ›

A federal grand jury subpoenaed files related to four city pension funds that are invested in DV Urban Reality in late May. DV Urban Reality is the real estate invest firm headed by the mayor's nephew, Robert Vanecko. The city's Inspector General, David Hoffman (himself a former federal prosecutor) has been trying to get those records for several months now; the pension funds, which include teachers, municipal employees, laborers and CTA workers, have refused, saying Hoffman lacked the authority to subpoena the records. Hoffman has been investigating how's DV Urban Reality, which is headed by Vanecko and mayoral buddy Allison Davis, got nearly $70 million in funding from municipal pension funds. Hoffman has said that his office is now jointly conducting an investigation into the pension fund investments with federal prosecutors. more ›

Allison S. Davis, a Daley fundraiser, tendered his resignation from the Illinois State Board of Investment. Davis's resignation was tendered on April 17, but he asked that it be considered retroactive to April 3. Davis is believed to be the first resignation resulting from a law signed by Governor Pat Quinn designed to rid the state of holdovers from the Blagojevich administration. more ›

Mayor Daley's public troubles grew yesterday as news emerged that the mayor has taken some 46 trips abroad in the last two years, 19 of them at taxpayer expense. The Sun-Times is reporting that "seven of the trips were fully or partially bankrolled by the Daley campaign fund, seven by the Chicago 2016 Olympic organizing committee, four by the Sister Cities program, three by World Business Chicago and two by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce." Two trips - to Washington, D.C. and Kona, Hawaii - were aboard a private jet owned by Educap, a nonprofit organization under federal fraud investigation. more ›

Inspector General David Hoffman, whom Mayor Daley recently, albeit tepidly, endorsed for another four year term, has subpoenaed records from DV Urban Realty Partners, a real estate investment firm run by Daley ally Allison Davis and Daley'S nephew Robert Vanecko. The city pension fund has paid the firm hundreds of thousands of dollars in management and consulting fees. more ›