Jurors in the perjury trial of Tim Mapes, the ousted chief of staff for Democratic ex-Speaker Michael Madigan, will not hear the name of a onetime campaign aide who accused a longtime Madigan lieutenant of sexual harassment, a federal judge ruled Monday.
The decision was one of a flurry of rulings just before jury selection for Mapes, who is accused of lying to grand jurors in an attempt to obstruct the sweeping federal corruption case against Madigan.
U.S. District Judge John Kness also ruled that jurors could hear recordings of a conversation with another member of Madigan’s inner circle concerning a parcel of land in Chinatown and an alleged scheme to bring business to Madigan’s property-tax law firm.
Jury selection began Monday morning after extensive discussion of Kness’s rulings; opening statements are slated for Tuesday.
Mapes, 68, of Springfield has pleaded not guilty to both the perjury and attempted obstruction counts. The latter charge calls for up to 20 years in federal prison, while lying to a grand jury carries a five-year maximum prison sentence.
According to prosecutors, Mapes lied repeatedly in his March 31, 2021, grand jury testimony in an ill-fated attempt to protect his longtime boss, claiming he couldn’t recall anything relevant about Madigan’s relationship with longtime confidante Michael McClain.
While Mapes may not be a household name outside the state’s political circles, his indictment marked an intriguing power play by the U.S. attorney’s office in what has become one of the biggest political corruption scandals in state history.
Jurors may hear evidence, including wiretap recordings, related to a wide range of insider Springfield dealings, such as the alleged Chinatown deal and the 2018 sexual harassment scandals that brought down some Madigan insiders, including Mapes.
But the matters discussed on the tapes are not the main issue in the trial — rather, the recordings will be played in an attempt to prove that Mapes had a tight-knit relationship with Madigan and McClain.
Regardless, the Mapes defense team successfully sought to block the name of whistleblower Alaina Hampton from the trial, viewing it as prejudicial. Hampton was involved in a high-profile 2018 scandal in which she accused Madigan lieutenant Kevin Quinn of sexual harassment.
Madigan subsequently ousted Quinn, the brother of Madigan’s handpicked 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn, from the then-speaker’s government and political operations. Hampton later settled a federal lawsuit against four Madigan-controlled campaign committees over allegations that she was blackballed from Madigan’s organization because she called out Kevin Quinn.
In his ruling on Hampton, Kness acknowledged the matter, which rocked Madigan’s operations while Mapes was still chief of staff, had received extensive “public exposure.”
The judge suggested it is the topic of sexual harassment accusations, which was discussed within Madigan’s inner circle while Mapes was chief of staff, that’s potentially relevant to the case, not Hampton’s name specifically.
For Madigan, 2018 was a year of reckoning with the #MeToo movement as he ended up separating several allegedly misbehaving allies from his political and government organizations, including Mapes.
Madigan ousted Mapes from his top roles as chief of staff, House clerk and executive director of the Madigan-run Democratic Party of Illinois in June 2018. It happened within hours after a downstate staffer accused Mapes of sexual harassment and fostering a “culture of sexism, harassment and bullying.” Mapes disputed the allegations.
In the perjury case on Monday, the defense also successfully kept out of the trial the name of attorney Julie Porter, who once served as interim legislative inspector general while Mapes and Madigan were in office. She is the wife of Mapes’ defense attorney Andrew Porter.
Kness, in ruling, said he did “not want to draw the jury’s attention” to the idea that Julie and Andrew Porter are spouses, saying it’s not important for jurors to know the name of the legislative inspector general.
In a written order, Kness ruled against Mapes’ request to block a conversation withMcClain, a longtime Madigan confident, about an alleged legislative attempt to transfer state-owned property in Chinatown to the city of Chicago as part of a scheme designed to bring business to Madigan’s property tax law firm.
McClain allegedly referred to the Chinatown issue in a discussion with Mapes as an “assignment” from Madigan, and prosecutors are contending Mapes’ did not answer truthfully in the grand jury about what he knew about McClain’s relationship with Madigan.
That evidence “pertains directly” to whether Mapes knew he was lying about McClain’s relationship with Madigan, the judge wrote.
In his written order, Kness also denied the defense team’s motion to exclude evidence concerning the immunity Mapes was granted before giving testimony to the grand jury.
“Evidence showing that (Mapes) testified under a grant of immunity is relevant, as the government explains, to Defendant’s knowledge that he testified falsely,” Kness wrote. “More specifically, the government contends, among other things, that Defendant sought to testify while not offering damaging evidence against either Madigan or McClain.”
Mapes has denied wrongdoing. His attorneys have maintained that federal authorities were attempting to squeeze him to give up information to bolster the prosecution’s case against Madigan.
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Mapes’ allegedly misleading statements had little effect, as Madigan and McClain were both indicted on racketeering charges last year alleging Madigan was at the top of a criminal enterprise aimed at enriching himself and his cronies and maintaining his nearly unfettered political power.
McClain was also convicted in a related case in May on bribery conspiracy charges involving a scheme by utility giant Commonwealth Edison to win the speaker’s influence over legislation in Springfield.
Mapes’ indictment in May 2021 caught many by surprise, particularly since he was granted immunity from prosecution by the U.S. attorney’s office and warned by the chief judge before his grand jury testimony that failing to answer truthfully could result in criminal charges against him.
Mapes is receiving just under $150,000 a year in a taxpayer-supported state pension. Since his ouster in 2018, he has received $711,282 in pension benefits, according to the state’s pension system.
rlong@chicagotribune.com
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
