Prosecutors paint picture of Mike McClain’s extreme loyalty to ex-Illinois House speaker CHICAGO – By early 2019, Mike McClain had been a fixture around the Statehouse in Springfield for the better part of 50 years, first as a Democratic lawmaker in the 1970s and then for decades as a high-profile contract lobbyist. And though he
First portion of Madigan corruption trial a repeat of 2023’s ‘ComEd Four’ case CHICAGO – In 2006, electric utility Commonwealth Edison was riding out the last year of a decadelong state-mandated rate freeze, which had put the company in “dire” financial straits. In a period when corporate profits climbed at record rates, ComEd was an
The FBI “turned over heaven and earth” to find incriminating evidence against former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan but ultimately found nothing more than “legal favors,” an attorney for Madigan’s longtime friend and confidant told jurors Tuesday. That won’t be enough to convict Michael McClain, the former lawmaker and lobbyist now on trial alongside Madigan, defense attorney John
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
The 12 primary jurors include a nurse who enjoys Marvel movies, a woman who works for Aramark and another woman who has worked in catering, including for an event tied to the recent Democratic National Convention. It took seven days and dozens of interviews, but 12 jurors have finally been chosen to decide whether Michael J.
Danny Solis had been making secret recordings for the FBI for more than a year when he met with Michael McClain in 2017 and asked a question that would eventually go to the heart of one of the biggest federal corruption cases in Chicago history. “What’s your relationship … with Mike, with the speaker?” Solis asked. The “Mike”
U.S. District Judge John Blakey handed down his ruling less than a week before the former Illinois House Speaker is set for trial. The judge also denied a request from Madigan’s longtime friend and confidante to be tried separately. A federal judge on Wednesday declined to dismiss criminal charges leveled against former Illinois House
Two longtime Springfield political insiders — a retired Democratic lawmaker and a Republican lobbyist — were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each through an Illinois government program, according to court records in a civil case. Ex-Illinois state Sen. James DeLeo, D-Chicago, and prominent Republican lobbyist Nancy Kimme each got 1% of the profits from
A federal jury convicted former Alderman Ed Burke on 13 corruption counts Thursday after hearing allegations the longest-serving City Council member in Chicago history with a 54-year tenure had used his power to win private law business from developers.
EIU Reports 2% Spring Enrollment Increase CHARLESTON – Spring enrollment is up at Eastern Illinois University, although by a smaller margin than a year ago. Tenth-day enrollment figures at the state university in Charleston were up two percent from last spring, at 7,621. That compares to a seven percent increase reported last spring. Undergraduate enrollment
State lawmakers are reacting with alarm to a recently released email that refers to the cover-up of a quote “rape in Champaign”. State Senator Scott Bennett, a Champaign Democrat, says he was shocked and angered by the WBEZ report of a 2012 email from then-lobbyist Michael McClain to two aides in the administration of then-governor