A Worth Township official who once served briefly as a state legislator and now moonlights as a sales consultant for a politically connected red-light camera contractor has been subpoenaed by federal authorities investigating the company’s activities.
John M. O’Sullivan, 51, of Oak Lawn, is Worth Township supervisor and previously served as the township’s Democratic committeeman.
O’Sullivan was chosen by Democratic party leaders in August 2010 to finish out the last four months of state Rep. Kevin Joyce’s unexpired term after Joyce resigned and moved to Florida. Sources said O’Sullivan is a close ally of the Joyce family, longtime political powerhouses in the 19th Ward.
At SafeSpeed, LLC, O’Sullivan’s job is finding municipalities that might want to hire the Chicago company to install and operate red light cameras in their communities – with the business and the towns splitting the revenues from tickets.
O’Sullivan went from being a driver and weekend disc jockey to state representative, township supervisor and Democratic committeeman, Cook County Forest Preserve District supervisor, and chief of staff to former Cook County Board member Ed Moody, now the recorder of deeds. O’Sullivan also is linked to a red-light camera company, SafeSpeed, that the feds are said to be eyeing.
O’Sullivan and Moody, along with Moody’s brother, Fred, have been the torque of Madigan’s political organization for decades. They were the guys standing on front stoops collecting signatures, bullying opponents, setting up political trades, electing Madigan’s House majority — putting in their time in exchange for perks down the road.
They got them. O’Sullivan replaced former state Rep. Kevin Joyce in 2010 in the Illinois House when Joyce moved to Florida. Conveniently, O’Sullivan was able to appoint himself to the seat with a weighted vote as a Democratic committeeman. This is Illinois, after all.
O’Sullivan later voted for the 2011 state income tax hike as a lame-duck representative. He then ended up, along with another short-term legislator, Michael Carberry, on Cook County’s payroll under President Toni Preckwinkle. […]
O’Sullivan has been around the block. He knows a lot. I’m guessing at this point, so do the feds. And now he’s been subpoenaed.
O’Sullivan is definitely in tight with the Moody brothers and worked a lot of Madigan campaigns through them, I’m told, but he’s most definitely on the outs with the 19th Ward these days. And, as far as his ties to Madigan, here’s what a longtime 19th Ward guy told me this week…
I’m guessing any communication between O’Sullivan and the Speaker goes through Marty Quinn first, and then through the Moodys. “The family has a lot of buffers.”
“My video gaming license was approved (in 2012) after a 24-month intensive investigation. All my business relationships were disclosed to investigators, and the relationships in question were explicitly discussed with multiple (Illinois Gaming Board) agents and investigators. As these business relationships were ongoing, they had been disclosed and further discussed at each annual review of my licenses over the last seven years,” Heidner testified. “I have no affiliation with the mafia at all.”
“I have never been arrested or indicted for any crime whatsoever. And no proof linking me to any criminal conspiracy, whether it’s called ‘Mafia,’ or ‘Cosa Nostra’ or whatever other name you wish to give, has ever been made public.”
I am absolutely not saying that Mr. Heidner was lying, mind you. I didn’t even know who the guy was until the other day. All I’m saying is there’s a reason why I made my interns watch Godfather 1 and 2 and Goodfellas.
