(The Center Square) – The first witnesses have taken the stand in the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
U.S. government prosecutors called two former state representatives as witnesses after opening arguments wrapped up Tuesday morning.
Former Illinois state Rep. Carol Sente, D-Vernon Hills, served in the Statehouse from 2009 to 2019. Sente testified first about the legislative process and about her meetings with Madigan and with Madigan associate Will Cousineau. Sente said that Madigan and Cousineau would tell her how to vote. She also said that someone from the speaker’s office would tell her that she could be substituted out of a vote by another lawmaker if she was not going to vote in favor of a bill proposed by a fellow Democrat.
Sente testified as to how Madigan prevented her proposed predatory lending measure from moving forward.
After a lunch break, Sente’s testimony was briefly interrupted by flashing lights and an announcement that there was a fire reported in the building. A court employee said there was a report of smoke on the 23rd floor. The trial of Madigan and McClain continued on the 12th floor. An announcement that all was clear followed about 20 minutes after the initial announcement about a reported fire.
Former state Rep. Drury, D-Highwood, served in the statehouse from 2013 to 2019. Drury discussed his attempts to move legislation through committee. He said Madigan had the ultimate control over legislation, because he “controlled the flow.”
In cross-examination, Drury and Madigan defense attorney Todd Pugh clashed several times over several pieces of legislation Drury proposed during his time in office.
Both Sente and Drury previously testified in the ComEd Four trial last year, which ended with McClain and three others being convicted of bribery and corruption charges.
Prosecutors indicated that former state Rep. Lou Lang would be their next witness.
A recording of Lang and McClain from Nov. 8, 2018, was presented by prosecutors during the ComEd Four trial.
McClain urged Lang to consider a different career instead of seeking a leadership position in the House.
“This is no longer me talking. I’m an agent, somebody that cares deeply about you, who thinks that you really ought to move on,” McClain told Lang in the recorded conversation.
Opening arguments in the Madigan trial concluded Tuesday morning with statements from McClain’s defense team.
McClain defense attorney John Mitchell opened by saying that there is a difference between lobbying, which is legal, and an illegal bribe.
Mitchell argued that McClain did 100% legal favors for Madigan, while bribery involves an exchange. Mitchell said the government does not have evidence of an exchange. Mitchell also described McClain as “kind and generous.” Mitchell reminded jurors that, per Judge John Robert Blakey’s instructions, they cannot speculate. He told the jury several times to stay focused on the issue of exchange.
Mitchell attempted to discredit several of the prosecution’s scheduled witnesses, including former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, former AT&T lobbyist Stephen Selcke, and former Chicago Alderman Danny Solis.
Mitchell said it was Marquez, not McClain, who supervised workers who had been hired by ComEd and did next to nothing. Mitchell said Selcke had immunity, but there was still no intent to exchange. Mitchell described Solis as a liar and a thief who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds. Mitchell said that Solis would testify and get a free pass, while keeping his $100,000 annual pension paid by Chicago taxpayers.
Before he finished, Mitchell said multiple times, “The government made a mistake.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker was asked about the Madigan trial on Monday. The governor said that when corrupt people get caught, it might deter others from committing a corrupt act.
“We want to make sure that people pay attention, because we don’t want corruption going forward,” Pritzker said.
Reform for Illinois Executive Director Alisa Kaplan said the lack of ethics reform in Springfield is a real loss for the people of Illinois.
“I just don’t think that we’ve seen the push for real change that we should have expected, given the nature of these charges and given the damage that they’ve done to the public trust,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan added that many people in government are continuing Madigan’s legacy.
“The current Speaker of the House, Chris Welch, was basically hand-picked by Madigan. Certainly there are still a lot of state and city officials who are part of the Madigan machine,” Kaplan said.
Madigan is facing 23 counts of bribery, racketeering and official misconduct.
United States of America v. Madigan et al is scheduled to resume Wednesday morning at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago.
