* WGN…

The government’s star witness took the stand Thursday in former Illinois Speaker of the House Mike Madigan’s ongoing corruption trial.

[Former Chicago alderman and FBI mole Danny Solis] briefly took the stand late for a little over a half hour before court adjourned for the day. During his testimony, Solis spoke in detail about his Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the government.

* Capitol News Illinois…

Prior to Solis’ appearance that began 45 minutes before trial broke for its usual weekend schedule, the jury heard again from FBI Special Agent Ryan McDonald, one of the lead agents in an investigation that long predated Madigan but nevertheless caught the powerful speaker in its tenterhooks. McDonald had previously testified about the feds’ wiretaps on Madigan co-defendant Mike McClain and detailed how he and another agent approached ComEd executive Fidel Marquez and asked him to cooperate with the FBI in January 2019.

Guided by questions from Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu, who has also long been involved in the investigation, McDonald laid out the decadelong timeline of FBI interest in Solis, dating back to a 2014 meeting between Solis, Madigan and a real estate developer. That developer, See Wong, was already cooperating with the FBI after he’d been caught committing fraud related to an apartment complex he’d built in Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood.

“Mr. Solis requested Mr. Wong and his client attend a meeting with Michael Madigan,” McDonald said, detailing what led up to the Aug. 18, 2014 meeting at the speaker’s property tax law firm office in downtown Chicago.

The developer-turned-FBI mole had been pursuing a letter of support from Solis for a hotel project in Chinatown, which was in Solis’ 25th Ward. Solis allegedly told Wong that he’d lend his support if he and his associate, a Chinese real estate developer, met with Madigan about the speaker representing the project on property tax appeals.

* WTTW…

According to prosecutors, Solis in June 2018 spoke with Madigan about the potential for a state board seat before stating that he would “continue to get you legal business. I, I’ve got all kinds of stuff [referring to developments] happening in the South Loop and in the West Loop.”

Solis had been instructed by the FBI to make that board position and tell Madigan he’d introduce him to developers with the expectation Madigan’s private law firm would receive their business.

“… see, I never knew that that section was in your ward,” Madigan allegedly replied.

Later in the same conversation, after Solis again mentioned the possible board seat, Madigan allegedly stated that he would “put together a, uh, piece of paper that shows you all the” board members and their term dates.

* Tribune…

Solis began his testimony in a slightly hoarse, subdued voice, describing the bribery charge he’s facing, his decision to cooperate, and his deal with prosecutors that will see the case against him dropped as long as he testifies truthfully.

Asked what he was accused of, Solis said in a rehearsed tone: “Trying to solicit campaign contributions from a developer that had a pending application in my Zoning Committee.”

Solis, who represented the city’s 25th Ward and was the head of the City Council’s influential Zoning Committee, also testified last year in the corruption trial of former Ald. Edward Burke.

But in that case, Solis was called by Burke’s lawyers in a Hail Mary attempt to win acquittal. This time, Solis is being called as a foundation of the prosecution’s case, adding import to how he comes across to the jury and also exposing him to a much more wide-ranging cross-examination over his own alleged misdeeds.

* Sun-Times…

Solis testified that development in the 25th Ward was particularly active between 2011 and 2019, especially in the South Loop and West Loop neighborhoods. Meanwhile, prosecutors used Thursday’s testimony to introduce jurors to a crucial unwritten rule at City Hall: aldermanic privilege.

“A development would not get approval for a zoning change unless the alderman of that particular neighborhood would support it,” Solis told them.

Not only that, but he said developers also often required approval from the City Council’s Zoning Committee.

For many years, it was led by Solis.