(The Center Square) – Federal prosecutors said Michael Madigan’s former chief of staff is not entitled to an acquittal or new trial after a jury convicted him in August of lying to a grand jury to protect his former boss.
Tim Mapes, 68, served for decades under former Democratic Illinois House Speaker Madigan as the clerk of the Illinois House and as Madigan’s chief of staff. In August, a federal jury found Mapes guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice charges.
Mapes in November asked for an acquittal, or in the alternative, a new trial in a motion before Judge John Kness. Mapes and his attorney argued that mistakes by prosecutors and the judge required an acquittal. Prosecutors pushed back on those claims in a 50-page motion in response.
“At trial, the government presented ample evidence of Mapes’ repeated lies in the grand jury on March 31, 2021,” prosecutors wrote. “His motion for judgment of acquittal … ignores this evidence.”
Prosecutors also argued that Mapes’ motion for a new trial was “similarly ill-founded.”
“There was no evidentiary or legal error that would provide a basis for a new trial,” prosecutors wrote.
In May 2021, federal prosecutors charged Mapes with lying to a grand jury in a federal probe connected to the longtime former speaker. According to the indictment, Mapes acted as a courier exchanging messages between Madigan and former state Rep. Michael McClain, who worked as a lobbyist for Commonwealth Edison after retiring from the House.
The indictment alleged that Mapes lied to the grand jury when asked about Madigan’s relationship with McClain.
Prosecutors claimed in their latest motion that “a reasonable jury could find that Mapes carefully attempted to dodge straightforward questions about Madigan and McClain, two men with whom he had a close personal relationship for decades.”
“Over and over, Mapes testified that he did not know or recall anything about Madigan’s and McClain’s relationship, even though McClain had described to Mapes at length the work he did for Madigan,” prosecutors wrote. “Considering the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, the jury could reasonably conclude that Mapes’ testimony was knowingly false.”
Prosecutors further said that the judge was correct to allow the jury to see evidence regarding Mapes’ immunity deal.
“As the Court correctly ruled, defendant’s immunity was relevant to show Mapes’ knowledge that he testified falsely; his immunity made it more likely that his ‘do not recall’ answers were efforts to answer (as required under the immunity order) ‘while not offering damaging evidence against either Madigan or McClain,'” according to the prosecution’s motion.
Mapes faces 20 years in prison on the obstruction conviction and five years on the perjury conviction.
Mapes was fired from his position under Madigan in 2018 after public allegations of harassment against colleagues. An inspector general in 2019 said Mapes should never be allowed to work for state government again.
McClain could face life in prison after being convicted in a separate trial earlier this year. In May, a jury convicted former state lawmaker and lobbyist McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former contract lobbyist Jay Doherty of a multi-year scheme to bribe Madigan with no-show jobs, contracts and payments to associates in exchange for support with legislation that would benefit the utility’s finances.
ComEd, the state’s largest utility, agreed to pay $200 million in July 2020 to resolve a criminal investigation into the years-long bribery scheme. As part of a deferred prosecution agreement, ComEd admitted it arranged jobs, vendor subcontracts and payments in a bid to influence Madigan.
Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021. He served as speaker of the Illinois House from 1983 to 1995 and again from 1997 to 2021. He wielded additional power as chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois. Madigan, who resigned after losing the House speakership in January 2021, has been charged with 23 counts of racketeering, bribery and official misconduct in a separate case that could go to trial in April 2024. He has pleaded “not guilty.”
