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* WTTW…
After a Michael Madigan ally was fired amid sexual harassment allegations, the former Illinois House speaker’s longtime confidant Michael McClain allegedly sought to collect and conceal payments for that ally under the guise he’d be doing actual work.
Jurors in Michael Madigan’s corruption trial on Thursday heard recorded phone conversations in which McClain detailed his plans to collect money for former Madigan staffer Kevin Quinn through job contracts to make it appear he was being paid for real work “in case the IRS checked us out.” […]
Hours before [Madigan staffer Alaina Hampto] went public with her story, Madigan fired Quinn. Jurors were told about “misconduct” allegations against Quinn, but the specific details were not presented in court following a pretrial ruling by U.S. District Judge John Blakey.
Hampton is set to testify next week, but prosecutors presented evidence Thursday allegedly showing McClain arranged for multiple people to make consulting payments to Quinn because he was unable to find a job after being fired.
Both Wednesday and Thursday were short trial days, and Madigan’s defense team only managed to get in one hour of cross-examination before Blakey dismissed jurors at 2 p.m. Thursday for Halloween. In the time he had, Madigan’s attorney Dan Collins attempted to deflate the prosecution’s narrative over how much influence Madigan and his cabinet wielded.
He pointed out that when FEJA came up for a House floor vote in late 2016, multiple Democrats voted ‘no’ on it. He also noted that House Republicans would sub their own representatives off committees, and that it was far from a rare occurrence.
“There was nothing unusual about it, is that fair?” Collins asked Cousineau.
“That’s fair,” he answered.
* Tribune…
Publicly, Madigan said there was no place on his team for such behavior. Behind the scenes, however, an effort to kick Quinn some money in his time of need was allegedly being organized by Madigan’s closest confidant, Michael McClain. [..]
But with the heat on, even Madigan couldn’t openly help Quinn until after his re-election as speaker was secure, McClain told Cousineau. The plan, as McClain put it on the Aug. 28, 2018, call, was to quietly recruit a few trusted people to pay Quinn for little to no work, with contracts and paperwork in place to assuage the IRS if they ever came around. […]
Cousineau asked if Quinn would have to register as a lobbyist.
“Oh, no, no, no, this is totally a consultant,” McClain said, and then referred to Madigan by his frequent pseudonym. “And as far as I’m concerned, except for the people signing on, no one else even knows about it except for our friend.”
* Sun-Times…
Neither Madigan nor McClain are accused of sexual harassment. But prosecutors say the Kevin Quinn episode is evidence of Madigan’s criminal enterprise, designed in part to enrich and “reward” his allies.
Defense attorneys made a last-ditch effort Thursday to block it from the trial. Madigan attorney Todd Pugh called it a “purely personal situation” — unlike other allegations that people were paid by ComEd and AT&T Illinois to influence Madigan.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu countered that it’s “dead bang” within the racketeering allegations in Madigan’s indictment. “No question about it,” he said.
Blakey agreed, finding defense claims to the contrary “not supported by the record.”
* More…
* ABC Chicago | Jury learns of ‘magic list’ of Madigan supporters: The jury learned about a “magic list” of Madigan supporters. Mike McClain drafted a “magic list” of people who had helped Madigan. Will Cousineau admitted he saw it with a letterhead of the Talbot Hotel in Chicago. It was handwritten.
posted by Isabel Miller
Friday, Nov 1, 24 @ 9:16 am
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McClain must have written down every conversation he ever had with anyone, then filed it away in multiple cabinets. Those documents then were readily available and organized for the FBI when they came calling. What a goof.
Comment by low level Friday, Nov 1, 24 @ 9:56 am
MJM positioned McClain as a consigliere ala Tom Hagen. Unfortunately, McClain was more Fredo than Hagen. How MJM didn’t see the difference is the amazing part.
Comment by Lincoln Lad Friday, Nov 1, 24 @ 10:56 am
Cousineau comes across as a pencil neck in these stories.
How do these lobbyists on the magic list that help support an alleged criminal enterprise continue to work in Springfield?
Comment by Curmedgonion Friday, Nov 1, 24 @ 11:11 am
@Curmedgonion.
Good question.
Perhaps they are helping the FBI build more cases.
Comment by Back to the Future Friday, Nov 1, 24 @ 11:33 am
==MJM positioned McClain as a consigliere ala Tom Hagen. Unfortunately, McClain was more Fredo than Hagen. How MJM didn’t see the difference is the amazing part.==
1000000% correct, my friend. Outstanding comment. I didnt even think of that but you are spot on.
Comment by low level Friday, Nov 1, 24 @ 12:08 pm
@back to the future, i would love it if that were true. how long have the honest brokers in springfield been waiting for those engaged in this behavior to be punished? the brush fire that should have begun when blagojevich went down. that was the opportunity to burn the whole thing down, leaving only those who were not involved left to lobby for their clients. i don’t believe that day will ever come, but its nice to think about wired up lobbyists down there getting the goods on the dirty ones, and handing them over to the federales.
Comment by friends and family Friday, Nov 1, 24 @ 12:13 pm
Hampton’s treatment was shameful. She was harassed and then kicked to the curb. The political organization wanted to silence her and cover it all up.
Comment by Gravitas Friday, Nov 1, 24 @ 12:24 pm
=How MJM didn’t see the difference is the amazing part.=
I’ve been wondering that myself, but it has become apparent that MJM valued loyalty and producing from his operatives significantly more than other key traits. It seems that many within his organization recognized that, and the individuals whose actions contributed to his downfall focused on demonstrating those traits at the expense of other important values.
Comment by Davos Friday, Nov 1, 24 @ 1:15 pm
==the brush fire that should have begun when blagojevich went down. that was the opportunity to burn the whole thing down==
“We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning, since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No, we didn’t light it, but we tried to fight it”
Comment by low level Friday, Nov 1, 24 @ 1:15 pm
=MJM positioned McClain as a consigliere ala Tom Hagen. Unfortunately, McClain was more Fredo than Hagen. How MJM didn’t see the difference is the amazing part.=
Was it the first time for this type of arrangement? Logic would say they probably were successful with this type of thing in the past. But time, technology, and arrogance caught up with everyone.
Comment by WK Friday, Nov 1, 24 @ 2:04 pm
@Lincoln Lad (and others) - I’ve come to the conclusion that McClain is giving me big G. Gordon Liddy vibes.
Comment by first time, long time Friday, Nov 1, 24 @ 2:18 pm