Michael Madigan
News and updates related to Illinois politician Michael Madigan, Speaker of the House and state representative from Illinois’ 22nd district.
The feds’ key witness, former ComEd Vice President Fidel Marquez, spent hours testifying Tuesday about how he and other ComEd executives fielded constant requests to find jobs for people he said were pushed for employment by Madigan, even when evaluations found their qualifications lacking.
Fidel Marquez took the stand at the ComEd bribery trial as prosecutors presented FBI recordings and internal ComEd documents showing hundreds of thousands of dollars went to alleged ghost payrollers of the utility.
Will Cousineau took the witness stand after securing letters from the feds granting him immunity and making clear he’s not a target of an investigation. Then he listened as prosecutors played a December 2018 call he’d participated in and which was secretly recorded by the FBI.
“I understand we have a lot of people walking around trying to find things to complain about,” Madigan is heard saying at the meeting. “Every once in a while, the speaker gets to do what he wants to do.”
Four former political power players are charged in a scheme to bribe Michael Madigan when he was Illinois’ powerful House speaker by arranging for jobs, contracts and money for Madigan’s allies.
ComEd’s former general counsel said he was told to sign the law firm of political operative Victor Reyes to an unusual three-year contract guaranteeing Reyes’ firm 850 hours of legal work a year.
When asked what Madigan valued most in other legislators, state Rep. Robert “Bob” Rita answered, “loyalty.”
For the first time Thursday, jurors in the bribery trial of Michael McClain and three other political power players heard Madigan’s voice on secret recordings.
The opening statements Wednesday kicked off the highly anticipated trial of Madigan confidant Michael McClain, ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and onetime City Club President Jay Doherty.
Public can hear recordings of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan after challenge by Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ.
Jurors at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse are expected to get a close-up look at how Springfield operated in the last decade when four political power players head to trial.
A look at some of the key players involved in the case and the trial, and a timeline of key events leading up to it, as outlined in court records.
Illinois Commerce Commission Chair Carrie Zalewski isn’t charged in the trial, but the indicted former chief of ComEd, Anne Pramaggiore, was asked to clout her father-in-law into a job with the utility, federal prosecutors claim.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber said releasing the recordings to the public would “sensationalize the trial more than we want.”
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber noted that “emphasizing the history of corruption and election fraud that marked the early years of the machine could prejudice defendants.”
The role of interim U.S. attorney will fall to Morris Pasqual, the office’s first assistant U.S. attorney. A search is underway for a successor to Lausch.
The election night deadline for Madigan’s attorneys to file the motions was set in January by U.S. District Judge John Blakey, who presides over the case.
The four were indicted in November 2020 and accused in a nearly decadelong scheme to sway Madigan. They allegedly landed his associates jobs, contracts and money while legislation crucial to ComEd’s bottom line moved through Springfield.
Alex Acevedo, his brother Michael Acevedo and their father were charged with cheating on their taxes in indictments in February 2021. Edward Acevedo pleaded guilty in December 2021 to tax evasion, was sentenced to six months behind bars and was released last month.
“Some of these guys have made out like bandits,” the former Illinois House Speaker was allegedly recorded saying of associates who benefited from what prosecutors describe as a scheme for jobs and contracts. He’s far from the first Chicago pol to trip over a federal wire.
The wiretapped conversation was contained in a 126-page proffer filed late Tuesday by prosecutors in anticipation of the March 6 trial of Madigan confidant Michael McClain and three others, all accused of trying to bribe the former speaker of the Illinois House to benefit ComEd.
Madigan is accused of leading a “criminal enterprise” for nearly a decade designed to enhance his political power and generate income for his allies and associates. He ended his record-breaking tenure as Illinois’ House speaker amid the burgeoning scandal two years ago.
Long before the feds’ public corruption investigation rocked Chicago, See Y. Wong went undercover to record powerful politicians in 2014.
Instead of looking forward to their own majority, Republicans are now facing a 5-2 deficit on the court after Democrats Elizabeth Rochford and Mary K. O’Brien pulled out hard fought victories for two open suburban seats indirectly created by Kilbride’s ouster.
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