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* Press release…
Illinois Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) appointed Jeremy Margolis, Co-Chair of White Collar Criminal Defense & Investigations at Loeb & Loeb,to serve on the Legislative Ethics Commission’s search committee tasked with finding qualified candidates for the position of Legislative Inspector General.
“Jeremy’s extensive legal accolades and accomplishments will allow him to bring an experienced perspective to this very important process,” McConchie said. “Specifically his prosecutorial experience and tenure as Director of the Illinois State Police make him uniquely qualified to see the talents, skills and dedication to ethical behavior we need in Illinois government.”
Margolis practices law internationally with an emphasis on grand jury, white collar, and internal investigations, compliance counseling, investigations and complex commercial litigation.
“I am honored to be able to serve Illinois’ Senate leadership in this role,” Margolis said. “I will do all that I can to help enhance the level of integrity in state government and to restore public confidence in what is often viewed as a broken and self-serving system”.
He has tried dozens of United States District Court jury cases to verdict, both for and against the government, and he has briefed and argued over 30 cases in the United States Court of Appeals.
Prior to entering private practice, Jeremy served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Chicago for 11 years, handling many cases of national interest. He conducted complex and sensitive investigations and prosecutions of sophisticated financial schemes, official corruption involving high-ranking federal and state elected and appointed public officials, and organized crime cases ranging from loan sharking to murder. His cases included both domestic and international terrorism involving bombings, air piracy, hostage taking and seditious conspiracy. Jeremy was one of the co-founders and coordinators of the multiagency Chicago Joint Terrorist Task Force, directly responsible for many matters directly affecting national security.
He also served for four years as Director of the Illinois State Police (ISP), a full-service law enforcement agency numbering over 2,500 officers and 1,000 support and laboratory personnel. The ISP’s law enforcement responsibilities include uniformed and tactical patrol, investigations, operating the State Police Academy, and delivering crime laboratory services to Illinois law enforcement agencies through a network of regional laboratories.
In addition, Jeremy served as Illinois Inspector General for three years, overseeing both criminal and regulatory investigations involving child abuse, public health, the environment and public safety. During his appointment as inspector general, he briefly served as Illinois Acting Director of Public Health during a statewide salmonella crisis caused by contaminated milk, which affected over 10,000 child and adult victims. The crisis was resolved with the coordinated involvement of the U.S. FDA and CDC.
Jeremy has lectured extensively at law schools, bar associations and civic organizations, and he has conducted training for state and local prosecutors and local, state and federal law enforcement officers. He is regularly quoted in local and national media, including in hundreds of case-related newspaper and magazine articles, and he has been interviewed on radio and television programs.
Margolis earned his B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before graduating cum laude from the Northwestern University School of Law. He has received many awards and honors throughout his career including the Anti-Defamation League’s Civil Rights Award, the United States Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service and the United States Secret Service Honor Award.
He is a member of the FBI Chicago Chapter of the Society of Former Special Agents and a member of the Board of Governors of the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists and a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
*** UPDATE *** From one of my syndicated newspaper columns way back in the day…
Margolis is a walking conflict of interest, and that’s the least of his faults. A former director of the Illinois State Police, he first gained notoriety in the 1998 governor’s race, when George Ryan brought him in to investigate allegations that secretary of state workers were handing out commercial drivers licenses to anyone who bought George Ryan campaign-fundraiser tickets.
Margolis took a quick look and declared there was no organized effort to sell licenses for campaign donations, and insisted that no follow-up investigations were needed. And then he began aggressively, and dishonestly, defending Ryan in the media.
“This is campaign time,” he told reporters with a dismissive tone. “Six-hundred-dollar bribes which you wouldn’t normally report are big news now.”
Margolis reviewed a diary kept by secretary of state whistle-blower Tony Berlin, but he claimed when his investigation was complete that the whistle-blower had a “lengthy arrest record,” so Berlin was chalked up as untrustworthy. But after Ryan was safely elected governor, the U.S. attorney revealed that Berlin’s diary was crucial in making bribery cases against Marion Sieble, Berlin’s boss, and others. And Berlin’s supposedly “lengthy” arrest record? He was busted once for DUI. Margolis smeared him.
One of the documents Margolis never mentioned was a memo written a week after the Rev. Scott Willis drove over a piece of metal that had fallen off a semi, which caused his van to blow up and kill all six of his children. In the memo, Secretary of State Inspector General Dean Bauer said he suspected the truck driver, who didn’t speak any English, had bribed his way to a driver’s license. The memo didn’t surface until many months after the 1998 election.
The Margolis influence was felt beyond the license-for-bribes scandal. A Margolis friend at Ryan’s secretary of state office was given the job of spying on a separate state-police investigation into campaign work done on state time.
After Ryan was elected governor, Margolis chaired a gubernatorial transition committee and began “monitoring” the federal corruption investigation for the governor.
It wasn’t long before Ryan’s campaign was paying Margolis to represent almost all the Ryan employees who were receiving visits from FBI agents and testifying before grand juries.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 10:00 am
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SMH!
Comment by Anyone Remember Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 10:04 am
Great pick by the GOP side.
Comment by Donnie Elgin Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 10:21 am
Huge void in Jeremy’s Bio, does anyone remember a hundred year old white-shoe Chicago law firm named Altheimer & Gray, of which Jeremy was in management and he ran straight into the ground?
Or have we already forgotten because it’s been 20 years?
Comment by Belden Ave Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 10:23 am
great point Belden Ave. Can’t Margolis find a job in the private sector?
Comment by Plano Pride Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 10:27 am
ISP had over 2,500 state troops when they will given the Chicago Expressways. The Chicago expressways became very safe highways.
Comment by Jeremy Jabber Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 10:35 am
==“I am honored to be able to serve Illinois’ Senate leadership in this role==
This role isn’t to serve Senate GOP leadership. Guess we know what kind of partisan “ethics” McConchie believes in.
Comment by Shield Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 10:55 am
Margolis very fond of Margolis.
Comment by Amalia Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:11 am
and brother of “Excuseman,” whose legal ethics were questioned.
Comment by Amalia Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:33 am
If McConchie feels a George Ryan “plumber” is a good person to have on legislative ethics…
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:36 am
After reading the press release, I thought this was a good pick.
Glad to admit that was a very good story in the River Cities Reader back in April of 2002 and it was certainly worth the read. That story clearly set the record straight.
Seems Mr. Miller has a lot better memory than Back does.
Comment by Back to the Future Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:42 am
Ugh. Looks like Republicans haven’t changed, and will never learn.
Comment by Nick Name Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:44 am
Staff fail.
Comment by walker Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:46 am
=Great pick by the GOP side.=
So you like cover up guyys? Explains your support of trump.
Comment by JS Mill Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:51 am
Casual reminder that no one who has ever been hired to conduct an “independent investigation” has ever actually done an independent investigation.
Having that show up on your resume essentially disqualifies you in my eyes from ever holding a role that requires actual ethics.
Comment by Homebody Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:59 am
Say you want to coverup public corruption by your cronies without saying you want to cover up public corruption by your cronies.
Comment by Candy Dogood Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:01 pm
Where is Dale Righter when you need him? Oh, he is McConchie’s chief of staff. Never mind.
Comment by Medvale School for the Gifted. Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:03 pm
SWeem to recall JM having a role in a coverup of kinky stuff at a Rx in Kankakee too.
Comment by Annonin' Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:17 pm
===Staff fail.===
Yep. Perhaps because they’re all too young to have first-hand memories of the Ryan era.
Thankfully, Rich doesn’t forget.
Comment by 47th Ward Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:25 pm
===Perhaps because they’re all too young to have first-hand memories of the Ryan era.
Thankfully, Rich doesn’t forget.===
So true.
Also, the idea that institutional knowledge is a luxury and not a necessity is once again … proven wrong.
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:28 pm
Thanks, Rich.
Jeremy has always been a, um, character,
Comment by Keyrock Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:29 pm
A blast from the past of how Republicans weren’t exactly shining examples of ethics when they ran this state…and a reminder that they would go right back to business as usual if they had that level of power again (which they never will, of course).
Comment by NIU Grad Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:30 pm
==A blast from the past of how Republicans weren’t exactly shining examples of ethics when they ran this state==
More cases in point: Bill Cellini, MSI, Scott Fawell, etc.
Comment by EssentialStateEmployeefromChatham Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:45 pm
LOL.
Was Scott Fawell busy?
Comment by Asteroid of Caution Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:46 pm
When people show you who they are you should believe them. Back in they day Jeremy showed us who he is.
Bad choice
Comment by Leave a Light On George Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 1:20 pm
Looks like we have found the next LIG /s
Comment by DTAG Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 1:31 pm
It takes a thief to catch a thief, and that makes Jeremy Margolis imminently qualified.
Comment by Thomas Paine Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 1:33 pm
If Margolis steps back, I’m sure Rod B is available to step in.
Comment by Pot calling kettle Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 1:54 pm
That is the kind of ethics and integrity we have come to know and expect from Illinois government.
Comment by Nobody Sent Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 2:29 pm
Jeremy was the best ISP director in recent memory. I would walk on hot coals for this man.
Comment by Bob Meter Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 7:12 pm
When all the GOP has is tweaking the Libs.
Comment by PublicServant Tuesday, Aug 24, 21 @ 6:04 am
Well titled Rich…talk about a blast (more like a bomb) from the past, thanks for the unfortunate memories.
Comment by NorthsideNoMore Tuesday, Aug 24, 21 @ 6:05 am
Wow, the ignorance is astounding. This is why…
Comment by Elliott Ness Tuesday, Aug 24, 21 @ 8:29 am