What’s publicly known about federal efforts related to speaker’s political operation stretches back to at least May 2019. Subpoenas or raids have touched lobbyists, legislators, private companies and members of Madigan’s political operation.
Here is how the saga unfolded.
MID-MAY 2019
Raid of home of former Ald. Michael Zalewski
FBI raids the Southwest Side residence of former Ald. Michael Zalewski, who at the time was working with House Speaker Michael Madigan to get lobbying work from ComEd.
Then-Ald. Michael Zalewski, 23rd, appears at Chicago City Hall in 2012. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
MID-MAY 2019
Raid of City Club offices
City Club of Chicago President Jay Doherty listens during a 2017 meeting at Maggiano’s Little Italy. The City Club confirmed it was served with a federal grand jury subpoena in what sources said is part of an ongoing probe into ComEd’s lobbying practices. Doherty is a ComEd lobbyist. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
This undated photo provided by the Evergreen Park Police Department In Evergreen Park, Ill., shows Kevin Quinn. (Evergreen Park Police Department)
MID-MAY 2019
Raid of home of 13th Ward political operative Kevin Quinn
MID-MAY 2019
Raid of home of lobbyist Mike McClain
Lobbyist Mike McClain at the state Capitol in Springfield on May 25, 2012. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)
JULY 12, 2019
Subpoena: ComEd
SEPT. 24, 2019
Raid of home and offices of state Sen. Martin Sandoval
Federal workers carry evidence from the home of state Sen. Martin Sandoval on Sept. 24, 2019, in the Gage Park neighborhood of Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
OCT. 4, 2019
Subpoena: ComEd and Sandoval communications
OCT. 15, 2019
Exelon CEO resigns
Anne Pramaggiore, CEO of ComEd parent company Exelon, abruptly stepped down after it was revealed the utility’s lobbying practices were under criminal investigation.
Anne Pramaggiore, president and CEO of Commonwealth Edison during a visit to S&C Electric in Chicago on Jan. 16, 2013. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune)
OCT. 29, 2019
Madigan makes comments
“I’m not a target of anything,” Madigan told reporters at the Illinois Capitol. In a statement, he called for a review and strengthening of ethics and lobbying laws.
NOVEMBER 2019
Sources: Feds taped Madigan confidant’s calls
Federal authorities recorded Madigan confidant McClain’s phone calls as part of the investigation into ComEd’s lobbying practices, sources told the Chicago Tribune. One of the sources said the recordings were made as a result of an FBI wiretap on McClain’s cellphone.
DECEMBER 2019
Sources: Questions about Madigan
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan speaks after a House Democratic caucus meeting at the Capitol in Springfield on Nov. 12, 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
FEBRUARY 2020
Subpoenas in Merrionette Park and Bridgeview
A pair of federal grand jury subpoenas seeking records from southwest suburban Merrionette Park and Bridgeview named Madigan, his former chief of staff Timothy Mapes, McClain, Marty Quinn and Kevin Quinn. The documents also called for copies of state and federal tax records related to Raymond Nice, a longtime precinct captain in Madigan’s vaunted 13th Ward operation.
APRIL 2020
Records show Madigan legal spending
Madigan’s main campaign fund paid nearly $462,000 in legal fees in the first three months of 2020 to a law firm that employs former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, campaign finance records show. In the final quarter of 2019, Madigan’s campaign fund paid more than $445,000 for legal fees to different firms, which a Madigan spokeswoman at the time said was to cover the cost of a $275,000 settlement with a former campaign worker, as well as ongoing civil cases and routine staff training.
JULY 17, 2020
U.S. attorney announces ComEd fine
ComEd is paying a $200 million criminal fine as part of a federal investigation into a “yearslong bribery scheme” involving jobs, contracts and payments to allies of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago announced Friday. Additionally, prosecutors asked Madigan’s office for “any and all documents and communications” concerning AT&T, including contracts and correspondence related to the hiring of anyone to provide consulting or lobbying services to the public utility, according to a subpoena the Tribune obtained through an open records request.
U.S. Attorney John Lausch, right, announces a major fine against ComEd for bribery involving Illinois politicians during a news conference in the courtyard of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse July 17, 2020. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
JULY 23, 2020
AT&T subpoena
Madigan subpoena
A federal subpoena to Madigan’s office showed investigators were interested in a wide range of information, including dealings with Walgreens and Rush University Medical Center, records related to Madigan’s political organization and private property tax appeals law firm, as well as former state lawmakers and current or former Chicago aldermen.
NOV. 18, 2020
Four indicted
McClain is charged with bribery conspiracy and bribery in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury. Also charged are former ComEd CEO Pramaggiore; lobbyist and former ComEd executive John Hooker, of Chicago; and Doherty, a consultant and former head of the City Club of Chicago.
NOV. 19, 2020
Madigan responds
The embattled Illinois House Speaker releases a statement saying that if anyone at ComEd had tried to bribe him, “it was never made known to me.”
DEC. 2, 2020
Madigan confidant, three others plead not guilty
McClain, Pramaggiore, Hooker and Doherty pleaded not guilty to charges they orchestrated an elaborate bribery scheme with Commonwealth Edison to funnel money and do-nothing jobs to Madigan loyalists in exchange for the speaker’s help with state legislation.
JAN. 13, 2021
Madigan ousted as speaker of the House
Illinois State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, waves as he gets a standing ovation after being elected the Illinois Speaker of the House for the 102nd General Assembly for the Illinois House of Representatives at the Bank of Springfield Center on Jan. 13, 2021, in Springfield. (Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register)
FEB. 18, 2021
Madigan resigns from Illinois House
Madigan announces his resignation from the Illinois House — effective at the end of February — after representing a Southwest Side district for a half-century, the majority of that time as the powerful speaker, but remains chairman of the state Democratic Party.
Sources: Court documents, news reports and Chicago Tribune reporting
