* Subscribers were briefed on the trial this morning. Last week, Sen. Emil Jones III testified in his own defense. The Tribune…
“Ever since I was a child, I always wanted to be a state senator like my father and I decided to run,” Jones told the jury, leaving out that his father orchestrated a time-honored Illinois political maneuver to make it happen, retiring abruptly after winning the primary and pitching his son as his replacement to favorable Democratic committeemen. […]
Jones provided the jury a sort of nuts-and-bolts description of how the state legislature operates and how bills move through committees to the floor for a vote. He testified about his work on committees, including the Transportation Committee, which was helmed by Sandoval until September 2019, when the FBI raided Sandoval’s offices and the investigation became publicly known. […]
Earlier Tuesday, the jury heard Jones as he told FBI agents who knocked on his door in September 2019 that he never felt “comfortable” talking to his longtime colleague, Sandoval, particularly about a red-light camera company executive who wanted to be his “friend.”
“Because he’s an intimidating guy, you know?” Jones said about Sandoval on the morning of Sept. 24, 2019, the day the FBI raided Sandoval’s offices in Springfield along with more than a dozen other locations. “And you hear rumors about him … that he’s just shady.”
* WGN…
Amid his defense, Jones accused the late Illinois State Senator Martin Sandoval of blocking his efforts to conduct a statewide study on red light cameras. Jones says he wanted to strengthen the law regarding ‘no turn on red.’ Referring to the late senator at the time, Jones said, ‘He won’t let my bill see the light of day.’
Jones said former Safe Speed executive Omar Maani reminded him of a used car salesman, but the late Sandoval told him he would need Safe Speed’s support if he wanted his bill passed.
In reference to the FBI recordings, Jones says Maani asked him about any future fundraisers. In a June 2019 dinner, Maani brought up fundraisers again and asked Jones how much he could contribute to his campaign.
In the audio transcript, Jones replies, “I don’t give folks numbers,” but later adds, “You can raise me $5,000. That’d be good.”
On the stand, Jones emphasized, “I didn’t say…give me $5,000; I said if you can raise me $5,000.”
* Sun-Times…
The South Side Democrat testified that he’d realized Maani had been “trying to buy me off.” And in a July 2019 text message, Jones made a crack: “LMAO Omar trying to make sure I don’t file my red light camera bill anymore. He thinks steak 48 will do it.”
But a federal prosecutor seized on that exchange in court Thursday. She forced Jones to admit, under oath, that he didn’t contact his ethics officer, he “didn’t call the FBI,” and that he knew from his training that he needed to report an attempted bribe to the Illinois State Police.
Instead, Jones admitted that he “set up” his 23-year-old ex-intern to be hired by Maani, who also promised to raise $5,000 for Jones’ campaign while pressuring the senator to change a bill in Springfield.
“You understand a campaign contribution could be part of a bribe, correct?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Ardam asked during her cross-examination of Jones.
“Yes,” Jones told her.
* More on Jones’ testimony from Capitol News Illinois’ Hannah Meisel…
Deciding to testify in his own defense was a risky move, as it opened Jones up to grueling cross-examination from prosecutors. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Ardam on Thursday attempted over and over to impeach the senator’s prior testimony, pointing out inconsistencies between the previously played secret recordings and what Jones told the jury. […]
Ardam also pointed out that Jones’ contention earlier in his testimony that Sandoval was arrested on Sept. 24, 2019, wasn’t true; in fact, federal agents had executed search warrants on his home and offices. He began cooperating and later pleaded guilty to bribery and tax fraud charges. […]
But Ardam had some mixups of her own. To catch Jones in a lie over his claim Wednesday that he’d never had one of his bills die on the Senate floor, the prosecutor pointed out that in 2019, roughly 30 bills that Jones had introduced died at the end of session. As Jones attempted to tell her, that’s different than the rare and fairly embarrassing scenario in which a senator allows for a bill to be called for a vote only to see it fail to garner the minimum number of votes for passage.
Ardam also spent time suggesting that Jones benefitted from nepotism as his father, Emil Jones Jr., had been a longtime legislator and served as president of the Illinois Senate from 2003 until 2009.
“You were elected in 2008?” Ardam asked, after reminding the jury of Jones’ testimony that “ever since I was a child,” he’d wanted to be a state senator like his father.
“Yes,” Jones said.
“You didn’t tell the jury how that happened, did you?” Ardam said, before falsely asserting that Jones was appointed to his father’s seat when the elder Jones announced his retirement in August 2008.
* Closing arguments are underway at the Dirksen US Courthouse. Tribune…
Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood their initial argument and rebuttal will total over two hours, while Jones’ attorneys said they likely have at least two hours of argument as well. Given the judge also has to instruct the jury, they likely will not get the case until late in the day at the earliest.
* Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Ardam is up first. Sun-Times Federal Courts reporter Jon Seidel is in the courtroom…
* More on Jones’ testimony from last Thursday. Tribune…
Jones said that in early 2020, the feds asked him and his then-attorney to come in and give a proffer-protected statement, which is a often prelude to cooperation and means he could not be charged based on anything he said.
Jones said a prosecutor gave “almost like a little PowerPoint presentation” for him and “did all the talking.” The prosecutor told him “we believe you solicited, asked for a bribe, acted corruptly,” Jones said.
They gave him a few days to think about it, Jones testified, adding that he left the meeting “devastated and confused.” […]
In September 2021, Jones said, his new attorney had a relationship with the U.S. attorney’s office and was able to get a sit-down where they listened to the full recordings for the first time. “I felt the government was misleading me when they had me in their office in February,” Jones testified.
* Jones denied he told the feds he made a deal with Maani. The Tribune’s Jason Meisner…
* Back to today…
* Tribune…
About half an hour into closing arguments that capped the nine-day trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Ardam asked jurors how Jones allegedly changed his views on red-light camera legislation over the course of the summer of 2019. Jones had been handling it for years by the time he met red-light camera executive Omar Maani, Ardam said.
How do we go from “I can’t give you that commitment” to “I got, you, I got you?” she said.
Ardam argued that it was the promised donation and a minimum-wage job for intern Chris Katz, negotiated over steak dinners and workshopped to avoid state reporting requirements, that made him pledge to “protect” Maani’s red-light camera company, SafeSpeed LLC, in the General Assembly and limit a proposed red-light camera study.
“Legislation and legislators should not be up for sale, for any price. That is a crime….That is why the defendant lied to the FBI when they came knocking at his door,” Ardam told the jury.
* More from Seidel…
Click here to follow the trial.
- Tony T. - Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 1:08 pm:
The feds have put on a relative weak case, as if they expected it to settle with a plea deal. But Emil Jones didn’t do himself any favors when he took the stand. Then again, what the heck do I know, I’m just following the testimony on Twitter.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 1:16 pm:
===But Emil Jones didn’t do himself any favors when he took the stand===
I’m not there, of course, but I think he may have done himself a lot of good by just being himself.
- Donnie Elgin - Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 1:20 pm:
=Sen. Emil Jones III testified in his own defense=
Two quotes that stand out - the first is a despicable example of the cavalier remark that Jones had about the depth and of corruption. The second one shows why one should not take the stand against the feds - he cooked his goose.
” “LMAO Omar trying to make sure I don’t file my red light camera bill anymore. He thinks steak 48 will do it.”
““You understand a campaign contribution could be part of a bribe, correct?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Ardam asked during her cross-examination of Jones. “Yes,” Jones told her.”
Hope Jones soon joins fellow Dem Michael Madigan among the convicted.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 1:41 pm:
===He thinks steak 48 will do it===
Depends on the context. I’ve often sneered at people like that who think they could buy me with a subscription or even an ad.
The only way to buy me is to actually buy my company, and it ain’t for sale.
- Riley - Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 1:51 pm:
I have no sympathy for Jones, but the stuff he’s charged with seems to pail in comparison to some of the other things Omar Maani testified about. $23,000 in cash paid to a prominent suburban mayor through a politically connected attorney? Why isn’t that being prosecuted?
- Frumpy White Guy - Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 1:54 pm:
I wonder who the political vultures are flying around Emil’s senate seat should he be found guilty and forced out of office.
- Center Drift - Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 2:48 pm:
I love it when politicians just happen to leave out the fact that a relative gifted them an office. Blago did the same thing many years ago at a conference I attended where he was the keynote. He talked on and on about how his dad set a great example and how he worked his way into politics, Yet never a single work about father in law Dick Mell. The hubris never changes, just the names spitting it out.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 2:59 pm:
===I love it when politicians just happen to leave out the fact that a relative gifted them an office===
It would be pretty tough for Emil to do that because he has the same name as his powerful father.