The opening statements kick off the trial of the longest-serving state House speaker in the country, and one of the most powerful politicians in Illinois history. The FBI has pursued Madigan for more than a decade, and the probe forced him from power in 2021.
A federal prosecutor accused former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan of “corruption at the highest levels of state government” as opening statements finally got underway Monday in Madigan’s highly anticipated racketeering conspiracy trial.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker gestured toward Madigan, seated only feet away from her in a 12th-floor courtroom at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, as she described him as “the most powerful politician in the state of Illinois.” Madigan, dressed in a dark suit and red tie, was not looking her way.
Streicker went on to accuse Madigan and his alleged “mouth piece,” Michael McClain, of a lengthy “campaign of bribery” involving jobs for Madigan’s allies and business for his private law firm.
“This was the defendants’ racket,” Streicker said. “The corruption of public office for private gain. This racket went on for years.”
Madigan’s daughter, former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and his wife, Shirley Madigan, were among those watching from the front row of the courtroom. Madigan himself seemed to take careful notes throughout the presentation.
Streicker went on to lay out details of the five schemes alleged in Madigan’s indictment. She revisited the particulars of last year’s ComEd bribery trial and last month’s AT&T Illinois bribery trial. But she also alleged three additional schemes that have yet to be fully aired in court. They involved former Ald. Danny Solis (25th), who turned out to be a government mole.
The prosecutor explained that Solis represented a ward in which there was a great deal of development underway. He was also chair of the City Council’s zoning committee. As a result, Streicker said, Solis “had power and influence over these developers.”
That put Solis “in a very unique position of having direct access to Madigan,” Streicker explained, because Madigan wanted the developers to hire his private tax law firm.
But, she explained, Solis had “problems of his own. Big problems.” He was confronted in June 2016 with evidence of his own alleged wrongdoing and he agreed to record Madigan and other powerful politicians for the FBI.
Madigan on Monday watched the prosecutor as she encouraged jurors to keep an eye on how Madigan operated in recordings made by Solis. “How transactional and opportunistic he was.”
“Madigan did not even own a cell phone,” Streicker said at one point. “And he did not use email.”
Streicker’s comments kicked off in earnest the trial of the longest-serving state House speaker in the country. The FBI has pursued Madigan for more than a decade, and the probe forced him from power in 2021.
The Southwest Side Democrat’s corruption trial is now the most significant to play out at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse since the trials of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Prosecutors say Madigan led a criminal enterprise — made up of his public office, political organization and private tax law firm — designed to enhance his political power and enrich his allies and associates.
On trial with Madigan is McClain, a former lawmaker and lobbyist who had once developed a reputation in Springfield as Madigan’s messenger. He has since been convicted of scheming to bribe Madigan, and he is now charged with additional crimes.
Madigan and McClain were longtime friends, but this is the fourth criminal trial to examine their relationship. Since it officially began on Oct. 8, there’s been little interaction between the two, even though they’ve been seated just feet away from each other.
The trial is playing out in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge John Blakey, a former prosecutor whose father famously wrote the racketeering law being used to prosecute Madigan. Last week he showed frustration with the pace of jury selection — which took twice as long as he expected — and he pushed for opening statements to get underway Monday.
The panel of eight women and four men ultimately chosen to hear the case includes a nurse who enjoys Marvel movies, a woman who works at a Goodwill donation center, and a painter who works in acrylics and lives in the 19th Ward. Jury selection ended earlier Monday with the selection of two final alternates for the panel.
The trial is expected to last until mid-December. Jurors could hear from as many as 50 witnesses once opening statements are complete. Most notable among them will be Solis, the veteran City Council member who prosecutors have called one of Chicago’s “most significant cooperators in the last several decades.”
Solis helped the feds prosecute the now-imprisoned former Ald. Edward M. Burke. Solis also testified during Burke’s trial, but only after being called to the stand by Burke’s defense attorneys.
One of the earliest witnesses in Madigan’s case could be Alaina Hampton, whose claims of sexual harassment by a Madigan aide rocked Springfield in 2018 and threatened Madigan’s grip on power at the time.
Neither Madigan nor McClain are accused of any sexual misconduct. However, prosecutors will likely use Hampton’s testimony to bolster their claims of a racketeering enterprise.
McClain told Madigan he’d arranged for monthly payments to be sent to the aide who’d been accused by Hampton and then lost his job, prosecutors allege. Madigan knew about the aide’s conduct because Hampton had reported it directly to the speaker, according to the feds.
Evidence in two of the five schemes alleged in Madigan’s indictment has already been aired in various courtrooms. For example, Madigan is charged for his role in the scheme at issue in last year’s ComEd bribery trial, which led to McClain’s earlier conviction.
Jurors in that case heard that five Madigan allies were paid $1.3 million by ComEd over eight years in a bid to influence Madigan. Also convicted in that trial were ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and onetime City Club President Jay Doherty.
Another jury heard last month that one Madigan ally was paid an additional $22,500 by AT&T Illinois in a separate alleged scheme aimed at Madigan.
Former AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza went to trial for his alleged role in that scheme, but a jury failed to reach a verdict in that case. A new trial has not been scheduled.
Finally, Madigan is charged for his role in three alleged schemes involving Solis, in which prosecutors say Madigan tried to squeeze developers for business for his private law firm, Madigan & Getzendanner.
They involved an apartment project in Solis’ ward at Sangamon Street and Washington Boulevard, a Chinatown parking lot at Cermak Road and Wentworth Avenue, and the Old Post Office that sits over the Eisenhower Expressway.