Then-Chicago Ald. Danny Solis had already been cooperating with the FBI for a little more than a year in June 2017 when he received an unexpected voicemail from powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Madigan’s attorneys accuse FBI agent of leading speaker into government’s trap
Political ally Ed Moody testified that despite doing little to no work to earn the money, he spent nearly seven years collecting $4,500 each month, paid indirectly from electric utility Commonwealth Edison through a series of ComEd lobbyists connected to Mike Madigan.
Despite internal pushback, a team effort pushed Juan Ochoa onto the ComEd board.
The FBI found handwritten notes and email printouts prosecutors would later use to charge Mike McClain and Mike Madigan for running an alleged “criminal enterprise” for the benefit of those in the speaker’s inner circle.
Defense attorneys try to undercut Fidel Marquez’s credibility after gun purchase attempt CHICAGO – Before the sun rose on a cold Wednesday morning in January 2019, Fidel Marquez agreed to a life-altering assignment as a cooperating witness in a criminal case the government was building against his colleagues at electric utility Commonwealth Edison and powerful
The former chief lobbyist for ComEd has spent the last week telling a federal jury how he bent over backward to accommodate hiring requests from Michael Madigan.
McClain to Madigan’s son: ‘That’s what happens when you’re in this game’
Jury in ex-speaker’s bribery trial sees undercover videos made by prosecutors’ star witness
Former ComEd exec-turned-FBI mole testifies about no-work contracts for speaker’s allies CHICAGO – As chief lobbyist for electric utility Commonwealth Edison, Fidel Marquez had an expansive role that put him in charge of “approximately 130, 135 people.” But in June 2013, more than a year into that job, Marquez received an email about someone he
Defense attorneys seek to undermine evidence that speaker knew of arrangement CHICAGO – It had been a tumultuous winter and spring for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan as he was forced to fire or distance himself from several top allies, three of whom were accused of sexual harassment at the height of the #MeToo movement.
Jury hears another wiretap of Mike McClain referring to Madigan as ‘real client’ CHICAGO – Under the stained-glass dome of the Capitol in Springfield, lobbyists often wander the building, popping into a quiet corner to make a phone call or ducking into an empty committee room to send emails. Some veteran lobbyists have longstanding arrangements
Mike McClain’s job recommendations weren’t bribes – or even improper, witness says CHICAGO – For decades, electric utility Commonwealth Edison renewed its contract with top Springfield lobbyist Mike McClain – in part because of his strategic abilities, but also because of his close relationship with longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. But it was
In ex-speaker’s trial, former utility exec calls Madigan’s apparent involvement in contract talks ‘unusual CHICAGO – Commonwealth Edison’s top attorney was busy preparing for the General Assembly to take up major legislation the utility had spent months negotiating when ComEd’s top in-house lobbyist stopped by his office in late October 2011. A little over 13
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