(The Center Square) – An attorney for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan entered a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf during a brief teleconference hearing Tuesday morning in the latest corruption charges filed by federal prosecutors.
Co-defendant Michael McClain – a former lawmaker, ComEd lobbyist and close associate of Madigan – also pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Madigan and McClain did not participate in Tuesday’s teleconference, but both entered pleas through their attorneys. Both have so far avoided walking into a public court hearing in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago in one of the state’s highest-profile corruption cases in decades.
In the latest indictment, prosecutors allege Madigan and McClain in 2017 conspired with AT&T Illinois’s then-president, Paul La Schiazza, to corruptly arrange for $22,500 to be paid at the direction of the company to a Madigan ally. AT&T Illinois allegedly made the payments through a lobbying firm to conceal the nature of the payments, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said the plan was “to influence and reward Madigan’s efforts as Speaker to assist AT&T Illinois with respect to certain legislation in the Illinois General Assembly.” Prosecutors said the assignment for Madigan’s ally was a cover for the payments and that the person performed no actual work for AT&T Illinois.
Madigan, 80, also faces 22 counts of corruption, including bribery, fraud and racketeering related to his dealings with ComEd. He previously pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Madigan was one of Illinois’ most powerful politicians. Until 2021, he controlled what legislation moved through the Illinois House as speaker and the finances of the Democratic Party of Illinois as chairman of the party.
If convicted of the most serious felony charges, Madigan could face up to 20 years in prison.
The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of $2.8 million in alleged illegal profits from Madigan.
The charges stem from Madigan’s and McClain’s dealings with the state’s largest utility, ComEd, along with other businesses that had wanted to influence legislation in Springfield.
In 2020, federal prosecutors and Exelon subsidiary ComEd reached a deferred prosecution agreement. As part of the agreement, the utility admitted it paid $1.3 million in jobs and contracts to associates of Madigan over nine years to influence the former House speaker. ComEd agreed to pay a $200 million fine. A former ComEd official, Fidel Marquez, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in September 2020.
Prosecutors also allege that former Chicago Ald. Danny Solis agreed to help steer business to Madigan’s personal law firm, Madigan & Getzendanner, which specializes in challenging property tax bills for its clients. In exchange, prosecutors claim Madigan agreed to ask Gov. J.B. Pritzker to appoint Solis to a state board position that would pay $93,926 a year after Solis retired from the Chicago City Council. Solis is referred to as Alderman A throughout the indictment. Pritzker has said he does not remember any such request from Madigan. Solis, who represented Chicago’s 25th ward from 1996 to 2019, began cooperating with federal prosecutors in 2014, according to a 106-page indictment.
Madigan previously denied wrongdoing.
“I was never involved in any criminal activity,” Madigan said in a statement in March. “The government is attempting to criminalize a routine constituent service: job recommendations. That is not illegal, and these other charges are equally unfounded.”
