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By Hannah Meisel
* This is an incomplete timeline of the sprawling federal corruption probe in Illinois beginning in 2019, and only discusses developments directly related to ComEd, Exelon, House Speaker Mike Madigan and his longtime confidant Mike McClain, revealed in as “Public Official A” and “Individual A,” respectively in federal charging documents on Friday. Raids and other actions related to people like former State Sen. Marty Sandoval (D-Chicago), former State Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago), former Cook County Comm. Jeff Tobolski (14), Lyons Mayor Chris Getty, Michael Vondra and his companies, and red light camera company SafeSpeed LLC have been left out for sake of brevity and focus, unless directly related to Exelon, ComEd or Madigan…
May 2019 - Feds raid the homes of Mike McClain, former 23rd Ward Ald. Mike Zalewski (referred to as “Associate 3″ in Friday’s federal documents) and Kevin Quinn, a former 13th Ward operative (and brother of 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn) who was ousted from Madigan’s org in Feb. 2018 after staffer Alaina Hampton went public with allegations of sexual harassment by Quinn.
FBI also executes a search warrant on the downtown office of the City Club of Chicago, where Jay Doherty was president until ultimately resigning in December.
These raids were revealed by news outlets in June, July and October 2019.
June 26, 2019 - Tribune reports the FBI raided Kevin Quinn’s Chicago home in mid-May 2019.
July 12, 2019 - WBEZ and the BGA report federal agents executed a search warrant at the home of former 23rd Ward Ald. Mike Zalewski in mid-May 2019 and were seeking information related to House Speaker Mike Madigan (Public Official A) and efforts by Mike McClain to get a lobbying contract for Zalewski.
July 15, 2019 - Exelon reveals it received a grand jury subpoena “requiring production of information concerning their lobbying activities in the State of Illinois.”
July 18, 2019 - Tribune reports the FBI raided Mike McClain’s home in mid-May 2019.
July 24, 2019 - Tribune reports the feds are investigating $10,000 checks “from current and former ComEd lobbyists” to Kevin Quinn, as orchestrated by Mike McClain.
The law firm of John Bradley (former downstate Democratic House member turned lobbyist for ComEd) wrote four $1,000 checks to Quinn in the spring of 2019, according to Tribune reporting.
Cornerstone Government Affairs, which represents ComEd, wrote two $1,000 checks to Quinn in Jan. 2019. Former long-serving Madigan political director Will Cousineau is a principal at the firm. Last summer, Cornerstone confirmed to the Tribune that Quinn had been hired as an independent contractor for $1,000/month for six months, ending in March 2019.
Cullen Inc., which has the same address as the lobbying firm of Tom Cullen, another former Madigan political director, wrote a $1,000 check to Quinn in Dec. 2018, according to the Tribune. Cullen has lobbied for ComEd and Ameren.
Quinn was sent a $2,000 check from lobbyist Michael Alvarez’s firm dated Jan. 1, 2019, which said “consulting services Dec. 2018” on the memo line, according to the Tribune. Alvarez has lobbied for ComEd at City Hall.
The Tribune story also turned up a $1,000 check to Quinn “from a businessman who has worked with Madigan’s property tax appeals law firm.” The Sept. 2018 check’s memo line said “McClain.”
September 24, 2019 - Feds raid home, Springfield office and Cicero district office of then-State Sen. Marty Sandoval (D-Chicago). The unredacted search warrant released by the Illinois Senate two weeks later reveals feds sought information ranging from ComEd and Exelon, red light cameras, a video gaming magnate and a suburban road paving company. Sandoval’s daughter, Angie, is a senior account manager at ComEd, according to her LinkedIn profile.
October 4, 2019 - The feds subpoena ComEd for “records of any communications” between the utility and then-State Sen. Marty Sandoval. The subpoena is revealed the following week in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing: “The companies have cooperated fully with the U.S. attorney and intend to continue to cooperate fully and expeditiously with any government requests of inquiries.”
October 11, 2019 - Illinois State Senate releases unredacted version of search warrant executed on Sandoval’s Springfield office.
October 15, 2019 - Exelon CEO Anne Pramamggiore abruptly retires.
October 18, 2019 - WBEZ reports that the FBI raided the City Club of Chicago offices in mid-May, looking into clout hires at ComEd. Then-City Club of Chicago President Jay Doherty was a lobbyist for ComEd. WBEZ’s source involved in the investigation said authorities believed many of the clout hires at ComEd got paid to do little or no work and some were connected to House Speaker Mike Madigan.
October 20, 2019 - WBEZ reports House Speaker Mike Madigan was named in the subpoena requesting correspondence between the City Club of Chicago and a list of 10-20 individuals, including the speaker.
October 28, 2019 - House Speaker Mike Madigan is asked about his name showing up on search warrants and subpoenas. “I’m not a target of anything,” Madigan tells reporters (video here).
October 31, 2019 - Exelon reveals the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had also opened an investigation into its lobbying activities. The SEC notified Exelon of the probe on October 22.
November 12, 2019 - Crain’s reports the City Club of Chicago has rejected Jay Doherty’s resignation as president.
November 13, 2019 - Tribune reports the FBI wiretapped Mike McClain’s cell phone calls. WBEZ and the BGA publish a story that found ComEd continued to pay McClain $361,000 for “legal services” in the two years after he officially retired from lobbying for the utility in December 2016, even though he is no longer authorized to practice law in Illinois. A ComEd spokesperson told reporters she believed the payments were mislabeled, and that McClain was providing “political consulting services,” not for lobbying or legal work. She also said McClain stopped working for ComEd in May 2019, which is when feds raided his home.
December 6, 2019 - Jay Doherty resigns as City Club of Chicago president.
January 7, 2020 - WBEZ publishes a story centering around a 2012 email sent from Mike McClain to former Gov. Pat Quinn’s legislative affairs liaison Gary Hannig, and senior advisor Jerry Stermer in Aug. 2012, asking for leniency for Forrest Ashby, who was then working at an Illinois Department of Human Services facility in Rushville. The email said of Ashby: “He has kept his mouth shut on Jones’ ghost workers, the rape in Champaign and other items. He is loyal to the Administration.”
January 9, 2020 - WBEZ reporters find Mike McClain dining at a downtown restaurant and ask him about the 2012 email. “I prefer not to comment right now, but thank you,” McClain said outside of Chicago Cut Steakhouse.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 3:21 pm
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Thank you Hannah
Comment by jimbo Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 3:28 pm
Good timeline Hannah (banned punctuation)
Comment by Sonny Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 3:31 pm
Hannah is the goods, one of the best around…
Thanks for this… wow, so much water, bridges… so many names and faces too…
Probably, arguably the biggest probe in decades.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 3:36 pm
Where’s the bullet? Who flipped on him and guaranteed there are conversations saying what the Feds accused him of saying?
So big question that I’m sure will be answered if an indictment comes down is who flipped?
Comment by Frank talks Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 3:46 pm
=== Probably, arguably the biggest probe in decades.===
And it looks like they sort of stumbled into by accident. Didn’t this come out of the Sandoval investigation? The McClain gives them everything with his e-mails.
This could make a heck of a novel. Hard to beat these characters.
Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 3:48 pm
Someone please hire Hannah full-time! We love her reporting and it’s needed!
Comment by ChiNews105 Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 3:48 pm
===Who flipped on him===
Nobody yet, apparently.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 3:49 pm
Thanks for helping us unpack this, and giving us the cast of characters. The last entry is in January, and it will be interesting what happened in that period. This Com Ed deal has hung over the dome for a long time, and maybe swift action by the Feds will bring justice for IL.
Comment by Top of the State Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 3:52 pm
=== And it looks like they sort of stumbled into by accident. Didn’t this come out of the Sandoval investigation? The McClain gives them everything with his e-mails.===
It seems all great stories are those we never seek…
===This could make a heck of a novel. Hard to beat these characters.===
The addendums to keep track of the characters… man, the pages and pages of side stories.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 3:57 pm
Wow. Thank you SO much for this recap!
I admit I hadn’t been following this story.
Comment by GregN Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:00 pm
Don’t forget John Coli Sr. Has he yet been sentenced?
Comment by Donnie Elgin Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:01 pm
OW, HBO may dump your reboot for this story.
Comment by don the legend Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:12 pm
=== HBO may dump your reboot for this story.===
Netflix is the place for this story… gotta “binge” it
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:14 pm
Well done Hannah.
Comment by Norseman Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:20 pm
Hey Willy….maybe Rauner, Brady,and most of the non clouted, non pensioner Illinois citizens were right
Comment by Mad Hatter Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:22 pm
- Mad Hatter -
… and yet Rauner lost by the biggest margin in 100 years… Brady and Durkin are super-minorities….
LOL
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:26 pm
“Hey Willy….maybe Rauner, Brady,and most of the non clouted, non pensioner Illinois citizens were right“
Rauner and Brady caused unprecedented legal damage through Rauner’s obsession with Madigan. They should have put the state first, but when you’re Rauner with ill intent, wanting to bust unions above all else and turn Illinois into a lower-income red state, it’s impossible.
Comment by Grandson of Man Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:28 pm
All of these dates are after JB handily defeated Rauner, without needing any help from DPI or the speaker. At any point in this timeline, JB could have started work on shoving Madigan out the door and into retirement. But he didn’t. Opportunity lost. Now he’s gonna have to spend an untold amount of time answering questions about MJM, corruption, pay-to-play, job references, etc. that he doesn’t have any good way to answer.
Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:36 pm
=Hey Willy….maybe Rauner, Brady,and most of the non clouted, non pensioner Illinois citizens were right=
You can be right on Madigan all day long and still be on the outside looking in. Heck his approval rating in the last cycle was at its lowest point ever. And yet the ILGOP shows no plan to move from their minority status and still doesn’t hold a single state wide office. And their standard bearer seems more interested in his constitutional right to fish and not wear a mask. What will the excuse be when Madigan is gone?
Comment by Pundent Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:38 pm
=== And yet the ILGOP shows no plan to move from their minority status and still doesn’t hold a single state wide office. And their standard bearer seems more interested in his constitutional right to fish and not wear a mask. What will the excuse be when Madigan is gone?===
Restaurant quality.
(Tips cap to - GoM - as well)
“Anything else”?
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:40 pm
Thanks for the timeline. It is helpful. So as I read it, the only thing we know for certain is that Madigan was named in an email exchange, and that people he knew were under investigation? Is there more information, implicating him of involvement in a specific crime? I don’t mean to be dense, but I am not a political scientist.
Comment by H-W Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:41 pm
The reports of Mr Madigan’s political death are greatly exaggerated. The Fed’s case to get to the man himself still rests on somebody singing and nobody around MJM will do so.
Comment by Near West Side Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:42 pm
This is what you get without term limits.
Comment by Chichi55 Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:45 pm
@Mad Hatter- Brady has his own problems with a company know as Brady Builders.
Comment by {Sigh} Friday, Jul 17, 20 @ 4:52 pm