{"id":2721,"date":"2025-01-09T13:51:39","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T19:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thexradio3.com\/news\/?p=2721"},"modified":"2025-01-09T13:52:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T19:52:07","slug":"jurors-to-hear-tape-of-madigan-saying-comed-contractors-made-out-like-bandits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/2721-jurors-to-hear-tape-of-madigan-saying-comed-contractors-made-out-like-bandits\/","title":{"rendered":"Jurors to Hear Tape of Madigan Saying ComEd Contractors “Made Out Like Bandits”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"image_print\"Print<\/span><\/a><\/div>

(Longtime Statehouse lobbyist Mike McClain and former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan are pictured leaving the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in 2023 and 2024. (Capitol News Illinois photos by Andrew Adams)<\/em><\/p>\n

By HANNAH MEISEL
Capitol News Illinois
hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com<\/a><\/p>\n

CHICAGO \u2013 Throughout his five-decade career in politics, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan received hundreds of requests for job recommendations from a wide range of people he encountered.<\/p>\n

They could be anyone from constituents down on their luck or law students looking for part-time work. At times, they included his fellow legislators who were \u201cin the market for a second job,\u201d the longtime speaker told a federal jury this week as he testified in his own defense in his corruption trial.<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/strong>Madigan takes witness stand, denying he traded \u2018public office\u2019 for \u2018private gain\u2019<\/strong><\/a> | <\/strong>Madigan to take witness stand in his corruption trial<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Most of the time, Madigan would delegate the requests to staffers or others in his professional orbit, occasionally asking whoever was handling the matter to keep him updated. But sometimes, Madigan said, he would pass a name or resume along and never check in on it again.<\/p>\n

The former Democratic powerbroker claimed that was the case when recently retired state Rep. Eddie Acevedo came to him in early 2017 asking for help finding clients for his lobbying business. Madigan said he forwarded the request to his friend and longtime Statehouse lobbyist Mike McClain, who eight years later is Madigan\u2019s co-defendant in their bribery and racketeering case.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you know or care about the details of Mr. McClain\u2019s efforts on behalf of Mr. Acevedo?\u201d McClain\u2019s attorney Pat Cotter asked Madigan on cross-examination Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe answer is no,\u201d Madigan replied.<\/p>\n

In the spring of 2017, Acevedo ended up getting a nine-month, $22,500 consultant contract with telecom giant AT&T Illinois. Acevedo, who was ordered to testify last month despite his dementia diagnosis, gave confusing and contradictory testimony about his contract with AT&T. <\/p>\n

Read more: <\/strong>Former Madigan ally contradicts past statements after being ordered to testify<\/strong><\/a> | <\/strong>On witness stand, former AT&T lobbyist describes how Madigan ally got $22,500 contract<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

While Madigan acknowledged that Acevedo \u201chad a drinking problem,\u201d he said that \u201cwhen he was sober, he did just fine\u201d as a legislator, recalling major pieces of policy he passed and his leadership position within the House Latino Caucus. The former speaker also said Acevedo\u2019s health is \u201cgreatly deteriorated\u201d compared to 2017 when he asked McClain to help him find work.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege Acevedo did no work for those monthly checks, which were paid indirectly through a loyal Madigan aide-turned-lobbyist for AT&T. The feds allege the same was true of four other Madigan political allies who ended up on contracts with electric utility Commonwealth Edison from 2011 until the FBI\u2019s investigation into Madigan\u2019s inner circle became public in 2019.<\/p>\n

But the former speaker this week claimed ignorance of that fact and said he was \u201cvery angry\u201d to learn of the no-work contracts as part of the government\u2019s investigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you ever communicate to Mike McClain that anyone you were referring was to get or could get a no-show job?\u201d Cotter asked Madigan Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he replied, reiterating that his expectation was that everyone whose resume he passed along to McClain would work.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe never said anything to you that he believed or suspected that anybody he recommended had a no-show job?\u201d Cotter asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Madigan said again.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors have a different take. Not only do the feds allege ComEd and AT&T granted the no-work contracts to Madigan\u2019s political allies as bribes in order to grease the wheels for key legislation, the government also says the speaker was fully aware.<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/strong>Madigan ally testifies he was rewarded with no-work contracts as \u2018good soldier\u2019 for speaker<\/strong><\/a> | <\/strong>\u2018Make it a federal court suit\u2019: Jurors hear wiretap of McClain describing subcontracts alleged to be bribes<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

And after Madigan\u2019s testimony Wednesday, prosecutors will be allowed to play a wiretapped phone call in which the former speaker and McClain laugh about a different ComEd contractor, as well as others, having \u201cmade out like bandits.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge John Blakey had barred prosecutors from playing the recording at trial after extensive arguments in September. The judge overseeing a related case made the same decision in 2023 before the trial that convicted McClain and three other former ComEd lobbyists and executives for their roles in bribing Madigan.<\/p>\n

But Blakey agreed with Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu that the \u201cdoors were opened\u201d for prosecutors to play the tape after Madigan\u2019s testimony \u2013 the first consequence of the high-risk decision for the former speaker to take the witness stand.<\/p>\n

\u2018Some of these guys have made out like bandits\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear whether prosecutors will be allowed to play the wiretapped call while Madigan is on the stand for cross-examination next week or will have to wait until the trial\u2019s closing arguments later this month. But gaining permission to introduce it is a major win for the feds \u2013 and a blow to the defense.<\/p>\n

As they have for nearly three years since Madigan and McClain were indicted, defense attorneys argued that the call is unfairly prejudicial because the pair\u2019s conversation wasn\u2019t about the five men whose no-work contracts with ComEd and AT&T are alleged to have been bribes to Madigan.<\/p>\n

The only name mentioned in the part of the call at issue is Dennis Gannon, a former president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, who had been hired as a labor consultant with ComEd. In the Aug. 4, 2018, call, Madigan and McClain were discussing a union agreement Gannon was helping to negotiate.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember we got him that contract, um, maybe five years ago now whenever it was?\u201d McClain said, according to the partial transcripts that have been included in written arguments over the tape. \u201cFor a buck fifty a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prosecutors translate that to mean Gannon earned $150,000 annually. In response, Madigan laughed and said, \u201cSome of these guys have made out like bandits, Mike.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh my God,\u201d McClain allegedly said. \u201cFor very little work too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Madigan said.<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/strong>\u2018They were being paid as a favor to Mike Madigan\u2019: Feds\u2019 star witness takes stand<\/strong><\/a> | ComEd lobbyist warned FBI mole to \u2018keep Madigan happy\u2019 and not mess with no-work contracts<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

In pretrial arguments over the tape, prosecutors pointed out that while Madigan and McClain had been talking about Gannon, the former speaker\u2019s use of the plural \u201csome of these guys\u201d meant he was talking about people beyond just Gannon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe defense wants the ability to say Madigan had no idea there were people at ComEd doing no work,\u201d Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Schwartz said at the September hearing. \u201cThis proves otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Blakey at the time agreed with the defense\u2019s contention that it was unclear who Madigan was referring to, making it unfairly prejudicial. However, he said, he could revisit the issue during trial. And on Wednesday, he did \u2013 over Madigan attorney Dan Collins\u2019 objections that Gannon\u2019s contract had \u201cnothing to do with Mike Madigan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I would not be involved in a quid pro quo\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blakey heard arguments over the \u201cbandits\u201d tape and more after the jury left the courtroom on Wednesday ahead of Thursday\u2019s National Day of Mourning for former President Jimmy Carter. They\u2019re not due back until Monday, but before then he must rule on myriad questions over where prosecutors can and can\u2019t go during Madigan\u2019s cross-examination.<\/p>\n

The former speaker\u2019s decision to testify will lengthen the already long trial, which was originally predicted to wrap before Christmas. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Blakey\u2019s various comments to the parties indicated the jury might instead be deliberating through the end of January \u2013 or possibly even later.<\/p>\n

The judge has also yet to rule on critical portions of the complex set of jury instructions that will govern deliberations. Arguments over those \u2013 along with the bounds of cross-examination \u2013 may delay the trial even further.<\/p>\n

But on Wednesday, Blakey joked to the attorneys that he \u201cmay ruin your weekend\u201d because he believed some of Madigan\u2019s morning testimony could open another door to prosecutors being able to ask the former speaker about his understanding of state ethics laws.<\/p>\n

The exchange came during Collins\u2019 questions about his interactions with former Chicago Ald. Danny Solis, who secretly recorded Madigan at the FBI\u2019s direction in 2017 and 2018 as part of his cooperation with the government. <\/p>\n

Both Solis and the lead agent overseeing the FBI\u2019s yearslong criminal probe confirmed during their stints on the witness stand that Madigan was not the target of the investigation until the speaker called Solis out of the blue in June 2017. Madigan called to ask Solis about a proposed apartment building project in Chicago\u2019s booming West Loop neighborhood, seeking an introduction to the developer.<\/p>\n

Madigan on Wednesday said he\u2019d done the same at least one other time in 2014, though his property tax appeals law firm never ended up contracting with that developer. The former speaker said he\u2019d known Solis since the mid-1980s through his community organizing efforts in Chicago\u2019s Pilsen neighborhood and had maintained a friendly relationship during Solis\u2019 rise through city council.<\/p>\n

By the time of his call in June 2017, Solis had been chair of the council\u2019s powerful zoning committee for nearly a decade \u2013 and, unbeknownst to Madigan, had been cooperating with the FBI for a year.<\/p>\n

When Solis later returned Madigan\u2019s call at the FBI\u2019s direction, Solis told the speaker something he\u2019d later tell the jury \u201cwas dumb\u201d in retrospect.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they understand \u2013 they\u2019ve got some issues that they still have to deal with me in terms of zoning,\u201d Solis said before explaining the timing of the meeting he intended to set up between Madigan and the developer. \u201cI think they understand how this works, you know, the quid pro quo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, okay,\u201d Madigan said.<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/strong>\u2018You shouldn\u2019t be talking like that\u2019: Madigan scolded alderman-turned-FBI mole for bringing up \u2018quid pro quo\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Showing Madigan the transcript of the wiretapped call, Collins asked his client to \u201cdescribe what your reaction was in your head.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA great deal of surprise and concern,\u201d Madigan said, adding that in the decades he\u2019d known Solis at that point, he\u2019d heard \u201cnothing negative\u201d about the alderman.<\/p>\n

Madigan said he\u2019d continued to mull Solis\u2019 use of the term and \u201cdecided I wanted to have a face-to-face meeting to tell him I would not be involved in a quid pro quo.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few weeks later, Solis brought the developer to Madigan\u2019s downtown Chicago law office to meet with the speaker and his law partner, Vincent \u201cBud\u201d Getzendanner. In the meeting, which lasted a little over half an hour, Madigan was mostly silent, letting Getzendanner explain how the firm usually handled property tax appeals for large developments.<\/p>\n

But prosecutors were most interested in what happened before the meeting, when Madigan pulled Solis into his office and closed the door, admonishing the alderman in a near-whisper.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the phone, you made a comment that there, that there was a quid pro quo,\u201d Madigan said in the video, to which Solis replied: \u201cOh, I\u2019m sorry. Yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be talking like that,\u201d Madigan continued. \u201cYou\u2019re just recommending our law firm because if they don\u2019t get a good result on the real estate taxes, the whole project would be in trouble. Which is not good for your ward. So you want high-quality representation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since prosecutors first highlighted this exchange in pre-trial motions more than two years ago, the feds have characterized it as Madigan providing a false story for Solis. But Collins on Wednesday walked Madigan through a reframing of the exchange.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you observe his reaction in the moment?\u201d Collins asked Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis expression was such that it told me he had gotten the message from me that I was not going to be involved in a quid pro quo,\u201d Madigan answered, saying Solis\u2019 expression was \u201capologetic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Madigan said he felt comfortable proceeding with the meeting because he felt he\u2019d gotten the message across that \u201cI was not going to connect a request for an introduction with anything else\u201d and because Solis \u201cgenuinely appeared to recognize that he had made a serious mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Capitol News Illinois<\/i><\/a> is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Longtime Statehouse lobbyist Mike McClain and former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan are pictured leaving the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in 2023 and 2024. 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