Revealed: FBI investigation into Chicago corruption secretly recorded the boss of bosses in Illinois politics

[Geee]

American Thinker

I hate to raise expectations prematurely, but this could be really big.  Not only Chicago, but the entire state of Illinois has been a cesspool of political corruption as long as anyone alive can remember, all of it a subsidiary of the Democratic Party, even when, as occasionally happens, a Republican occupies the governor's office.  For the first time, there is a hint that a long-running federal investigation may actually target the real power at the center of it all.

Late last year came news that the FBI raided the office of Alderman Ed Burke, taking boxes and boxes of records.  Burke, who is in his fiftieth year in office as an alderman, is widely regarded as the most powerful member of the City Council, a power who has outlasted every mayor, quietly running things while the more visible mayor takes the brickbats.

Now comes shocking news that another powerful member of the Chicago City Council, Alderman Danny Solis (who is retiring – gee, I wonder why!) has been wearing a wire for the feds for two years.

[Valin]

 

Nov 3, 2016

 

He’s been called the "King of Illinois.” Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan is the most powerful politician in Illinois history, and the longest-serving state House speaker in the nation. This unprecedented documentary explores his reign over the Illinois Statehouse.

[Geee]

@Valin - all the names in that article are familiar to me. They were a constant presence in the news forever (and I guess still) when I lived in Illinois, and that was over 30 years ago.

[Valin]

11 minutes ago, Geee said:

@Valin - all the names in that article are familiar to me. They were a constant presence in the news forever (and I guess still) when I lived in Illinois, and that was over 30 years ago.

 

Thing is this goes back A Long Way..........

 

[Geee]

@Valin - DC is not the only swamp. This one has needed to be drained for more years than I've been alive (and that a long time) - And may I add that our last President and his First Lady came out of the swamp, as did many of the people that they brought in to DC with them.

[Geee]

@Valin - watching that expose on Madigan, I can't help but think of the Mickey Mouse charges that Mueller has come up with that he has indicted people on that are not even close to what these Illinois politicians get away with every day. P.S. I'm still waiting for the Russian Collusion charge, which is what he was called on the investigate

[Geee]

Top Illinois Democrats take wait-and-see approach after FBI raids members of House Speaker Michael Madigan's inner circle

Two of the state's top Democrats said Monday they plan to take a wait-and-see approach after federal agents searched the properties of several people close to longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, but neither the governor or state treasurer distanced themselves from the powerful Chicago Democrat.

The FBI raided a former employee of Madigan’s political operation and a longtime Springfield lobbyist in May. Media outlets reported the investigations could involve $10,000 in payments the lobbyist, Mike McClain, facilitated for the former operative, Kevin Quinn, in the aftermath of a sexual harassment retaliation complaint.

[Geee]

Former Illinois Democrat Speaker Michael Madigan has been indicted

On Wednesday, the federal government filed a RICO claim against Michael Madigan, the former Illinois House Speaker. The 106-page indictment accuses Madigan of engaging in bribery, extortion, and racketeering, all with an eye to maintaining Madigan’s power and rewarding his political allies, workers, and associates, and to generate income for everyone involved in these criminal activities. Considering how powerful Madigan was, I’d like to say this strikes a devastating blow against corruption in Illinois politics, but no one would believe me if I said that.

Michael Madigan came up in Chicago’s political ranks as a protegee of Mayor Richard J. Daley and a friend of Daley’s son, Richard M. Daley. In 1969, by the time he was 27, Madigan was a ward precinct committeeman, at which time (according to Wikipedia), he controlled the “most disciplined” ward organization in Chicago.

In 1970, Madigan was first elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, representing Chicago’s 22nd District (the southwest side). He entered Congress in 1971 and never left it. Madigan rose to the speakership in 1983, a position he occupied until 2021, except for the years 1995-1997, when Republicans briefly controlled the House. (Lee Daniels, a Republican, was the House speaker then. It’s worth noting that Daniels has never been indicted.)

[Geee]

Illinois Democrat Kingpin Michael Madigan Indicted for Corruption

Michael Madigan (D), the former speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives who held unchallenged power in the state for decades, was indicted Wednesday on federal racketeering charges, alleging that he participated in several bribery schemes.

The Hill reported:

A 22-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury, The Chicago Tribune reported, the result of a years-long investigation of the longtime Democrat politician, who was for decades one of the most powerful lawmakers in Illinois.

Madigan was state House speaker for 35 years. He resigned last year amid the bribery investigation.

A longtime confident of Madigan’s, Michael McClain, was also indicted.

Madigan has denied any wrongdoing.

Madigan, who represented the southwest side of Chicago for half a century, established a firm grip on power in the 1990s and used it to overwhelm governors of both parties, essentially dictating state policies from the lower house of the legislature.

He controlled Democrats’ access to campaign funds and endorsements, and until the last ten years, few Democrats aspiring to achieve elected office would dare criticize him. Governors who defied him on policy almost always saw their plans fail.

[Geee]

Under cloud of corruption, Illinois lawmakers return to capitol with potentially more indictments coming

The Center Square) – Lawmakers returned to the Illinois capitol Thursday under the dark cloud of a federal corruption probe that a day earlier resulted in criminal charges against their former longtime leader. The message being heard at the statehouse following the 22-count federal racketeering indictment against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is clear – the investigation is not over.

The U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois filed the indictment against Madigan and one of his associates Wednesday, alleging a nearly decade-long racketeering and bribery scheme by the "Madigan Enterprise" in which the longtime former speaker and his associates profited from quid-pro-quo arrangements. Madigan maintains he’s innocent.

 

House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said the indictment of Madigan should be a wake-up call to majority Democrats at the Illinois statehouse.

 

“This is their chance to change course and say ‘that we’re going to move away from the way that Madigan and the current speaker have been running this chamber,’” Durkin said, referring to current Speaker Emanual “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, who was elected by his peers to the position last year after Madigan stepped down amid the federal corruption probe.

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, filed retaliation allegations against Madigan several years ago. She said that was a tipping point in her understanding of how things operated under Madigan’s rule. But, she said, Madigan is gone from the statehouse.

[Geee]

Trump holdover who indicted Madigan: Corruption investigation is not over

(The Center Square) – The U.S. attorney who secured a 22-count indictment against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan says there's more work to be done.

Northern District of Illinois U.S. Attorney John Lausch, a holdover from the Trump administration, stayed on after President Joe Biden took office at the behest of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield.

As other U.S. attorneys that former President Donald Trump selected were leaving their posts to make way for Biden appointees, Durbin said Lausch was involved in important investigations and should remain.

 

In the summer of 2020, Lausch’s office revealed a deferred prosecution agreement with utility ComEd, in which the company admitted to a bribery scheme involving several individuals and agreed to pay the government a $200 million fine. Madigan was labeled “Public Official A” in the ComEd document as the clear target of the federal corruption probe.

[Geee]

Former Chicago City Council member could play key role in Madigan corruption case

(The Center Square) – Former Chicago City Council member Danny Solis played a key role in bringing an end to what federal prosecutors characterized as former House Speaker Michael Madigan's years-long racketeering scheme designed to line his pockets and keep him and other Democratic allies in power.

Solis, who represented Chicago's 25th ward from 1996 to 2019, began cooperating with federal prosecutors in 2014, according to the 106-page indictment prosecutors filed this week accusing Madigan and confidante Michael McClain, also a former state lawmaker and ComEd lobbyist, of using their elected positions at the Illinois Statehouse and in Illinois politics for personal gain.

[Geee]

On the Boss Madigan Racketeering Indictment–A Boss is a Boss is a Boss - John Kass

As the federal criminal racketeering conspiracy indictment of Michael J. Madigan came down, I was thinking of the audience of the apples.

Years ago, one of his toadies hanging around the press room in Springfield suggested it would be “a good idea” for me to have lunch with Boss Madigan, who for decades controlled the state as Speaker of the Illinois House and chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party, the Democratic boss of the 13th Ward.

So I went to lunch in Boss Madigan’s office. There were two apples sliced neatly, arranged precisely on two linen napkins. He graciously offered me a napkin, but I quickly realized I wasn’t there to eat, but to witness. He spoke methodically about some house procedure, about the Southwest Side of Chicago where each of us were born.  There were pleasantries about the White Sox. It was all very polite.

But it was an audience, not a lunch. It was a theatrical demonstration of control. Of discipline. He kept this mouth closed as he chewed, and in that quiet office, his eyes widening, I could hear the disciplined crunching. One slice, then another. Silence and crunching.

And I thought of Illinois Gov. Pritzker, the state’s porcelain prince,  scrambling to distance himself from Madigan now that Pritzker is the Democratic boss. He bought the state party with his inherited hotel billions.

After the indictment, Pritzker made sure to make himself available to reporters, braying loudly about how much ethics mean to him, as if he was as pure as Caesar’s wife. And he didn’t mention his toilet caper once.

Yes, you’re allowed to smirk.

Say what you will about Madigan. I’ve been his lead critic for decades, waiting for this day to come for the people of Madiganistsan.  But anyone who thinks they’ll be made whole if Madigan is sent to prison is a fool.

[Valin]

@Geee

 

Assuming he is convicted (not necessarily a Sure Thing)  we can be sure he will be be going to a Supermax prison.

[Geee]

5 attorneys prepare to represent Madigan in wide-reaching corruption, racketeering case

The criminal proceedings are just getting underway. Madigan is set to be arraigned March 9. Already, five attorneys from Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, a Chicago-based law firm with more than 700 attorneys across the world, have filed appearances on Madigan's behalf.

 

After it became clear his fellow Democrats wouldn't support him as speaker for another term, Madigan resigned from the Chicago legislative seat he held for five decades on Feb. 18, 2021. The next day, his campaign fund, Friends of Michael J Madigan, spent $2 million with Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, according to campaign finance records.

Sheldon Zenner will serve as Madigan's lead attorney, according to court records. Zenner spent seven years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Chicago.

"Having a prosecutorial background gives Sheldon critical insights into, and the ability to anticipate, the government's strategic decision-making," according to Zenner's biography on the firm's website. "It also informs Sheldon's approach as a defense lawyer. Although never anything short of zealous, he favors a search for common ground and reasonableness, whenever possible, over unproductive displays of aggression."

 

Campaign finance systems Madigan allegedly used for personal gain still exist

[Geee]

Culture of corruption exposed in trial centering on ex-Illinois House Speaker

While the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is still a year away, the depth of his alleged scheme is already starting to be unveiled, as the Chicago Democrat remains a central figure in the corruption trial of four former ComEd officials

Federal prosecutors allege that officials at the ComEd utility company gave benefits to Madigan's associates in exchange for favorable legislation for nearly a decade. Some of Madigan's allegedly crooked connections have slowly been revealed over the past two weeks in the trial of former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty and Madigan confidante and former lobbyist Michael McClain.

[Valin]

1 hour ago, Geee said:

Culture of corruption exposed in trial centering on ex-Illinois House Speaker

While the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is still a year away,

 

Two (expletive deleted) Years? By the time this goes To Trial Mike will either claim infirmity, or be dead.