* For live updates from journalists in the courtroom, click here and here. Tribune…
The hotly anticipated cross-examination of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan kicked off Monday with a sledgehammer of a wiretap: Audio of a 2018 phone call in which Madigan and his co-defendant Michael McClain chuckle about how some ComEd contractors “made out like bandits,” as Madigan put it, for doing very little work.
“That’s you laughing, sir, isn’t it?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu asked Madigan after playing the audio of the phone call.
Madigan confirmed that yes, it was.
The tape has the potential to be highly damaging to Madigan’s case, and his attorneys fought hard to keep it away from jurors. Prosecutors were only allowed to use it after Madigan, who in a surprise move last week took the stand in his own defense, testified that he was angry and surprised to learn that some of the men he had referred to ComEd had allegedly done little or no real work.
* Reporter Jon Seidel has the background on the “Bandits” recording…
* Sun-Times…
Bhachu turns to questions about Madigans network of friends and associates, noting in particular the former speaker’s close relationship to former Ald. Frank Olivo.
Bhachu shows a note that Olivo’s son sent Madigan that reads “Dear Uncle Mike, Congratulations on the 2012 election.”
Madigan agrees that he socialized with Olivo and his wife, and watched Olivo’s son grow up.
Shortly after, Bhachu circles back again.
“It’s your testimony today, is it, that you had no idea that your longtime friend and political ally — whose son calls you ‘uncle’ — was getting paid eight years straight for doing little to no work for ComEd?”
“That’s my testimony,” Madigan says.
* Courthouse News Reporter Dave Byrnes…
* Click here for some background on Ed Moody. The Tribune’s Jason Meisner…
* More…
* Capitol News Illinois | Jurors to hear tape of Madigan saying ComEd contractors ‘made out like bandits’: Prosecutors allege Acevedo did no work for those monthly checks, which were paid indirectly through a loyal Madigan aide-turned-lobbyist for AT&T. The feds allege the same was true of four other Madigan political allies who ended up on contracts with electric utility Commonwealth Edison from 2011 until the FBI’s investigation into Madigan’s inner circle became public in 2019. But the former speaker this week claimed ignorance of that fact and said he was “very angry” to learn of the no-work contracts as part of the government’s investigation.
* Sun-Times | Meet the prosecutor challenging Michael Madigan on the witness stand: Soon after the feds’ latest campaign against Chicago corruption began to roil local politics and dominate the headlines, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu stepped off a crowded elevator one day at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. When the elevator doors had closed and Bhachu was gone, a man inside quipped, “good thing I’m not a politician.” By that time years ago, word was out that the no-nonsense prosecutor was at the center of an investigation swirling around some of the most powerful politicians in Chicago including, most notably, then-Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan.
- low level - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 2:59 pm:
Personally, I’ll always remember the 1996 MJM whose single minded focus helped to bring Illinois Democrats back from the extinction they faced two years earlier. Its hard to believe now but this once was a very red state. Mike Madigan helped change that.
- Barbie - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 4:07 pm:
What happens if MJM beats this case?
- SpiDem - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 4:10 pm:
This cross examination is not going well for him
- low level - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 4:48 pm:
==This cross examination is not going well for him==
Yes, Bhachu seems to have landed some solid blows today. Its sad to see.
- One Term Mayor - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 4:48 pm:
Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.
- Excitable Boy - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 5:14 pm:
- some ComEd contractors “made out like bandits,” as Madigan put it, for doing very little work. -
I don’t think the ComEd charges will stick, but this definitely shows the jury that Madigan lied to them.
- Frumpy White Guy - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 5:25 pm:
Kinda feeling bad for McClain. He gave
his heart and soul to Madigan and now the boss his throwing his friend into the wood chipper.
- Yep - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 5:25 pm:
=Bhachu seems to have landed some solid blows today. Its sad to see.=
Is it? Most find that pulling back the curtain on what was essentially an organized crime syndicate is long overdue.
The sad part is more than the despicable behavior itself, it is the chilling realization that they didn’t/don’t know that it is wrong.
- Keyrock - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 5:25 pm:
Defense counsel must have thought the Government’s case went in exceptionally well if they let Madigan take the stand. The jury now knows that Madigan will lie to hide his past conduct.
- Excitable Boy - Monday, Jan 13, 25 @ 6:13 pm:
- Kinda feeling bad for McClain. -
McClain is a big reason why Madigan is in that courtroom to begin with. His conduct on behalf of Madigan was reckless, and quite frankly very stupid.
I don’t feel bad for any of them.