Funny doings at the White House

Someone with way to much influence is Valerie Jarrett. From The Washington Free Beacon:

Jarrett Towers
Senior White House adviser and long-time Obama confidant Valerie Jarrett�s role in a number of controversial Chicago housing developments has garnered her investments worth millions of dollars while highlighting the administration�s extensive business ties to presidential donors.

Before joining the Obama administration in 2009, Jarrett was president and chief executive officer of the Habitat Company, a real estate development firm founded by major Democratic donor Daniel Levin. Before that, she served three years as commissioner of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development under Mayor Richard Daley.

Jarrett currently owns an 11-percent equity interest in Kingsbury Plaza, a 46-story luxury apartment complex developed by Habitat between 2005 and 2007 at a cost of more than $100 million.

She valued the investment at between $1 million and $5 million on her 2011 financial disclosure form, up from $250,001 in 2010. A Jarrett spokesman told the Washington Times that the investment was �a direct result of her 13 years working for Habitat.�

Cook County records show the Kingsbury property is worth around $27.2 million, but thanks to a series of legal appeals beginning in 2003, the land and building are assessed at a much lower value for tax purposes. Since 2008, the property has been designated a �special commercial structure� and is taxed at a value of just $6.8 million, or 25 percent of the actual value.

Asked how such a property could enjoy such a low taxable value, an official with the Cook County Assessor�s Office told the Free Beacon that the property�s owners �must have good attorneys.�

Much more at the site -- Jarrett's bosses (husband and wife) are major Obama contributors and were awarded a choice ambassadorship. A bit more including this little gem:

Under Jarrett�s leadership, Habitat oversaw the development of a number of public housing projects, one of which, in the Cabrini Green neighborhood, was dubbed a �national symbol of urban despair.� Others became so run-down the city had to ask the federal government to intervene.

Cabrini Green is a perfect example of a government bureaucracy at work. Here is the Wikipedia entry and here is the project website with news about the buildings, the decay, the demolition and the current uses of the property. This is not something I would want on my resume and how the project leader got tapped to be Presidential Adviser boggles the mind...