Tag: Mike Madigan

Mike Madigan

Madigan judge refuses to toss counts after Supreme Court ruling limited bribery law

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

SCHIAZZA MADIGAN

Case of former AT&T boss accused of bribing Madigan heads to jury 

Ex-AT&T Illinois president maintains company got legislative win through legal lobbying   CHICAGO – On Valentine’s Day in 2017, then-AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza got some good news: After years of trying to push for legislation in Springfield that would save the company hundreds of millions of dollars annually, powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael

Prosecutors rest case against former AT&T Illinois boss accused of bribing Madigan

Former Illinois House speaker appears in separate courtroom ahead of own trial CHICAGO – After years of pushing in Springfield, AT&T Illinois’ executive team was thrilled when the Illinois General Assembly in 2017 passed legislation that would get the company out from under expensive obligations to maintain its aging copper landline wires in Illinois. “Game

In bribery trial, AT&T lobbyists detail contentious meeting with Madigan ally

Feds allege AT&T boss bribed Madigan with contract for political ally Eddie Acevedo CHICAGO – On an afternoon in late April 2017, recently retired state Rep. Eddie Acevedo was called to a meeting in the state Capitol in Springfield. The 20-year veteran lawmaker had joined his sons’ lobbying firm and was looking for work. Meeting

AT&T trial

On witness stand, former AT&T lobbyist describes how Madigan ally got $22,500 contract

Trial continues in case of ex-AT&T Illinois president accused of bribing former speaker   CHICAGO – The day before Thanksgiving in 2016, then-AT&T Illinois president Paul La Schiazza read some news that frustrated him. It seemed that energy giant Exelon, the parent company of Chicago-based electric utility Commonwealth Edison, was going to get a big

Paul La Schiazza

Trial of former AT&T Illinois boss accused of bribing Madigan begins

Feds claim AT&T won big in Springfield only after hiring ex-Illinois House speaker’s political ally CHICAGO – As the federal corruption trial of former AT&T Illinois president Paul La Schiazza formally kicked off on Wednesday, prosecutors and defense attorneys painted two very different pictures of a political hire the telecom giant made in 2017. La

Michael Madigan

A judge declined to put the ComEd bribery case fully on hold Monday despite a Supreme Court review of a key corruption law. But a similar request is expected to be made of Madigan’s judge.

The sentencings of four people convicted of a lengthy conspiracy to bribe then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan for ComEd will not go forward as planned next month, but a judge declined Monday to put all proceedings on hold as defense attorneys hoped. 

Meanwhile, a defense attorney for Madigan’s co-defendant said he will be making a similar request to stay proceedings in Madigan’s case, which is set for trial in less than four months.

The developments come in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to take up a corruption case out of Northwest Indiana, in which questions revolve around a law at play in the ComEd and Madigan cases.

Michael Madigan

Madigan, McClain enter not guilty pleas

SPRINGFIELD – Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his longtime political ally Michael McClain entered not guilty pleas Tuesday to bribery and corruption charges involving utility giant Commonwealth Edison and telecommunications company AT&T Illinois. Both were charged previously in the ComEd scandal, but federal prosecutors last month added new charges involving AT&T after that

217 Today Podcast — Oct. 2, 2020

Apple Podcasts  Spotify Podcasts  Google Podcasts  RSS Link 217 Today — Friday, Oct. 2, 2020 Today’s headlines:  Pressure on Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan is ramping up as one of his fellow Democrats announced a challenge to his speakership yesterday. Champaign County reported its 2nd COVID-19 death in as many days yesterday, for a total of 22

News Around Illinois – Sept. 3, 2020

Illinois House Panel To Investigate Long-Serving Speaker CHICAGO (AP) — An Illinois House panel convened at the request of Republicans will investigate Speaker Michael Madigan, a long-serving Democrat who has been implicated in a federal bribery investigation, legislative leaders announced Wednesday. Republicans filed paperwork to form the bipartisan committee earlier this week, a move that

News Around Illinois – July 30, 2020

Senators Seek EPA Help To Fix Metro East Public Health Issue CENTREVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Residents in Illinois’ Metro East region are facing a major public health crisis because of persistent flooding and sewage problems, the state’s two U.S. senators said in a letter sent Wednesday to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Democrats Tammy Duckworth

News Around Illinois – July 29, 2020

Illinois Professors Disagree With School’s Fall Proposals CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois’ college and university professors are pushing back against their school’s proposals for reopening schools amid the pandemic, prompting officials to adopt new norms to accommodate faculty recommendations. Faculty concerns are becoming more urgent after reports say that students returning to college towns are spreading