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* Sun-Times…
The [Madigan] indictment was built, in part, on the work of former longtime Chicago City Council member Danny Solis (25th) whose cooperation with federal prosecutors was first exposed by the Chicago Sun-Times in January 2019, and who helped the feds build a similar indictment against Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th), the longest-serving member of the council.
The Sun-Times also exclusively reported in January 2019 on an affidavit detailing the investigation that led to Solis’ cooperation. That document revealed that the feds secretly recorded Madigan in his law office at Madigan & Getzendanner in August 2014. Court records filed in connection with Madigan’s indictment Wednesday confirm the investigation goes back to the same year.
In March 2019, the Sun-Times also reported on a potential deal involving Solis and a Chinatown parking lot that is now part of Madigan’s indictment.
* Mark Brown…
We know from previous reporting that McClain’s phones were tapped and that former 25th Ward Ald. Danny Solis also was caught on wiretaps with Madigan even before he turned FBI mole. The indictment makes clear that after Solis began cooperating he turned his sights on Madigan as well as since-indicted 14th Ward Ald. Edward Burke. […]
There are also new schemes involving Solis’ efforts to set up Madigan, offering to help him get private legal business by squeezing businesses that needed the alderman’s help at the City Council to hire Madigan’s firm, which specializes in helping reduce real estate taxes. Solis told Madigan he wanted a state appointment in return, and the speaker allegedly agreed to help.
My favorite part of the indictment involved Solis telling Madigan he’d made it clear to the representatives of one company that this would require a “quid pro quo.” At first Madigan allegedly responded: “Okay . . . very good.”
But later Madigan allegedly advised Solis not to use the phrase “quid pro quo” the next time he spoke to the business people he was shaking down on the speaker’s behalf, instead offering a more elegant pretext.
“You’re just recommending . . . because if they don’t get a good result on their real estate taxes, the whole project will be in trouble . . . Which is not good for your ward. So you want high quality representation.”
* Illinois Public Radio…
To help boost business for his firm, Madigan allegedly agreed to help then-Chicago Ald. Danny Solis (25) get appointed to a state board — a job that ideally would pay more than $100,000 annually — in exchange for Solis steering clients to Madigan & Getzendanner.
As part of that agreement, Solis — then the chair of the city council’s zoning committee — floated a complicated plan to transfer a parcel of state-owned land in Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood to the city, which the city would then turn around and sell to developers looking to build a hotel. Solis would strongly advise those developers to retain Madigan’s firm.
Both the plan to appoint Solis to a state board and the scheme pass legislation to sell the land in Chinatown hit major snags, never coming to fruition. But what Madigan didn’t know was that Solis was cooperating with the feds and had secretly recorded multiple conversations with the speaker while talking about plans to drive business to Madigan’s law firm.
In one such conversation in 2017, Solis updated Madigan about the progress of an apartment project, telling the speaker that the developer seemed to be open to retaining Madigan & Getzendanner for help.
* Block Club Chicago…
In one case in June 2017, Madigan asked then-Ald. Danny Solis — who was chair of the city’s zoning committee — to introduce him to the representative of a company that needed to get a zoning change through City Council, according to the indictment. Madigan wanted to “seek business” for his law firm, according to the indictment.
Solis told Madigan representatives of the company would meet with the then-speaker so Madigan could try to get business for his law firm — and the company still needed to “deal with” the alderman for its zoning change, according to the indictment. […]
Also in 2017, a group that wanted to develop a hotel in Chinatown needed to get the state to transfer its ownership of a plot of land to the city so the group could then get it and develop it, according to the indictment. Madigan agreed to use his position to support the passage of legislation that would transfer the land to the city; in exchange, work would be steered toward his law firm, according to the indictment.
“In the past, I have been able to steer some work to Mike [Madigan], and these guys will do the same thing,” Solis told McClain in that case, according to the indictment. McClain then agreed that would Madigan would help get the land transferred to the city, according to prosecutors.
Solis also told Madigan that, if Madigan helped transfer the land, the developers would “appreciate it” and would give Madigan’s firm tax work, according to the indictment. “OK, all right, very good,” Madigan said, according to prosecutors.
* Tribune…
Then-Ald. Daniel Solis, who was secretly cooperating with the investigation, recorded numerous conversations with Madigan as part of the Chinatown land probe, including one where the speaker told Solis he was looking for a colleague to sponsor a House bill approving the land sale.
“I have to find out about who would be the proponent in the House,” Madigan allegedly told Solis in the March 2018 conversation. “We gotta find the appropriate person for that. I have to think it through.”
Like the state appointment Solis wanted, that bill went nowhere.
* From the indictment…
It was further part of the scheme that, on or about November 2, 2018, MADIGAN told McCLAIN that “we never settled on a sponsor” for the bill concerning the transfer of the Chinatown parcel, and MADIGAN told McCLAIN that Representative B would be a suitable sponsor for the bill in the House of Representatives because Representative B’s seat was within the Senate district that included the Chinatown parcel. […]
It was further part of the scheme that, on or about November 21, 2018, McCLAIN advised Alderman A that a “major hurdle” to passage of legislation concerning the Chinatown parcel had arisen, in that the Illinois Secretary of State had received petitions from local businesspeople in Chinatown who were opposed to the transfer of the Chinatown parcel, and that the Illinois Secretary of State had reached out to leadership in the Senate to express opposition to the transfer.
It was further part of the scheme that, on or about November 23, 2018, after Alderman A advised MADIGAN that there was opposition to legislation providing for the transfer of the Chinatown parcel and that it was best to wait until after upcoming elections and attempt to pass the legislation in May 2019, MADIGAN agreed to do so.
…Adding… Good point…
You gotta' wonder how many more Federal corruption charges might have ensued if the search warrant affidavit in Solis's own corruption case hadn't been accidentally unsealed prematurely. https://t.co/c0jx4Tjd1N https://t.co/0Rg4Ip6h89
— Chicago Bars (@chicagobars) March 3, 2022
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 10:07 am
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Its a shame that he was able to hold on to so much power for so long and in the way that he did, but thanks to the feds for comducting such a thorough and persistent investigation. If he lives out the rest of his days in jail, it’ll be a little bet of justice of the people of Illinois.
Comment by George Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 10:15 am
Did anyone in the House end up sponsoring the Chinatown parcel?
Comment by Just Wonderin' Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 10:19 am
===Did anyone in the House===
IIRC, it was an amendment to a package of state land transfers that was left behind because of opposition. Those bills can’t move unless legislators who represent the districts all agree. Rep. Mah was strongly opposed.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 10:20 am
So what’s up with Burke? Might we have the pleasure of seeing him in jail at some point?
Comment by The Velvet Frog Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 10:22 am
It’s hard to think of appointments to state boards that carry a $100,000 remuneration. Appointments with substantial stipends often require Senate confirmation, and require actual work.
Comment by Langhorne Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 10:23 am
There has been little written about the other partner in the Madigan and Getzendanner law firm. Did Vincent Getzendanner and the other lawyers sit in innocent wild eyed wonder all these years while all the wonderful lucrative cases fell their way? What will they do now?
Comment by Responsa Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 10:28 am
If one legislator promises to vote for a colleague’s bill in return for the colleague supporting his bill, would that constitute a crime? It used to be called logrolling.
Comment by anon2 Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 10:34 am
In some respects, I suspect the decades of Madigan kept a lot of stupid, knee-jerk policies out of our state. Perhaps a kind of adult, measured approach rather than emotional. Unlike what we see in other deep-blue states with the new crop of juvenile progressives with big mouths and no substance. Just a hunch. If so, hopefully the adults keep control in this state without him.
However, one wonders how Madigan was able to hoodwink everyone for so long. Including so-called statehouse insiders. Maybe that was actually a good thing but introspection is probably warranted all around.
Comment by Bat Manuel Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 10:37 am
Blago served time for proposing to sell a Senate seat. The fact that the scheme didn’t come to pass didn’t make him any less guilty.
Comment by Downstate Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 10:39 am
It will be interesting to see who goes to trial first (if it makes to trial) Burke or Madigan?
Comment by Steve Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 10:43 am
Interesting that Solis’ predecessor as 25th ward alderman, Ambroso Medrano, also got pinched back in the day. I forgot what for.
Comment by low level Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 10:55 am
=== Ambroso Medrano, also got pinched back in the day.===
Twice.
Pinched twice.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 10:56 am
Who is Lobbyist A???
Comment by Former gov official Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 11:00 am
== Pinched twice.==.
Thank you, good Sir. I stand corrected.
Comment by low level Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 11:21 am
who is Elmwood Park? and how case after case does one particular big dog in the Hispanic community not get scorched?
Comment by Amalia Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 12:07 pm
Getting close to Danny Solis surprises me. I always thought MJM avoided people like Solis, who by this time was struggling with booze and serious personal issues. The guy was a mess and MJM was willing to do business with him?
To me, that fact tarnishes the reputation of MJM being smarter than everyone else.
Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 12:09 pm
-Getting close to Danny Solis surprises me-
Being Chairman of the Zoning Committee in Chicago is a big , big deal . There’s only one Chairman at a time and people have to deal with whoever is in that spot.
Comment by Steve Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 12:35 pm
—It’s hard to think of appointments to state boards that carry a $100,000 remuneration. Appointments with substantial stipends often require Senate confirmation, and require actual work.—
Wasn’t one of the positions offered to Solis an appointment to the ICC, which regulates… ComEd?
Comment by Oxfordian Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 12:55 pm
- low level -
No worries.
How he got pinched twice is still a level of criminal incompetence that even we here in this state find head scratching.
Be well.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 12:57 pm
Madigan always struck me as being thorough and cautious. It is very puzzling that he would get so close to Solis.
Comment by northsider (the original) Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 2:02 pm
===My favorite part of the indictment involved Solis telling Madigan he’d made it clear to the representatives of one company that this would require a “quid pro quo.” At first Madigan allegedly responded: “Okay . . . very good.”
====But later Madigan allegedly advised Solis not to use the phrase “quid pro quo” the next time he spoke to the business people he was shaking down on the speaker’s behalf, instead offering a more elegant pretext.
Piggybacking on 47th’s point–when a clown like Solis uses the phrase ‘quid pro quo’ a smart person would have walked out of the room.
Comment by ArchPundit Thursday, Mar 3, 22 @ 3:39 pm