Tag: Mike Madigan

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

News Around Illinois – July 22, 2020

Police: 15 People Were Injured In A Shooting Outside A South Side Funeral Fifteen people were injured, one person was being questioned and multiple suspects were being sought after gunfire erupted outside a funeral home on Chicago’s South Side where at least one squad car was present, police said. First Deputy Superintendent Eric Carter said

News Around Illinois – July 21, 2020

House Progressive Caucus Weighs In On Madigan, ComEd CHICAGO (AP) — Members of the Illinois House of Representatives’ progressive caucus said Monday longtime House Speaker Michael Madigan must resign if allegations of a bribery scheme involving utility ComEd are true. The 12 caucus members said the allegations disclosed Friday by federal prosecutors in Chicago are