Jurors in the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan are expected to hear limited testimony about charges brought against former Ald. Edward M. Burke and others Tuesday — though they won’t be given Burke’s name.
It’s the second time that the cross-examination of a crucial government witness has opened the door to such detail. This time the witness is former Ald. Danny Solis, who seems to be nearing the end of his testimony in Madigan’s trial.
Solis represented Chicago’s 25th Ward on the City Council for more than 20 years. But in June 2016, FBI agents approached him about his own alleged wrongdoing. He agreed to wear a wire, and the evidence he gathered helped the feds indict Madigan, Burke and others.
Burke spent the 2023 holiday season on trial. He’s now serving a two-year prison sentence for racketeering, though jurors likely won’t hear how things turned out for him.
When Solis’ cross-examination ended Tuesday, a prosecutor called for a sidebar with U.S. District Judge John Blakey that lasted roughly 10 minutes until the judge sent the jury to lunch.
When jurors left, the judge said he would allow prosecutors “to describe [Solis’] cooperation in other matters, including the fact that they resulted in charges.” He also said he thought it appropriate for jurors to be told one person who was charged was “an alderman, and a high-ranking one,” but prosecutors later agreed to refer to Burke simply as a high-ranking official.
Jurors still might have enough information to connect the dots. During his interrogation of Solis on Monday, Madigan attorney Dan Collins began asking Solis about Burke. Collins noted that Burke had told Solis “the cash register has not rung yet” and asked “did we land … the tuna” as he tried to strong-arm business out of the developers of Chicago’s Old Post Office.
Blakey called a sidebar at the time, and he later told jurors to “totally disregard” the questions and answers about Burke. “They are no longer in evidence,” he told them.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur clarified with the judge Tuesday that she could also mention Roberto Caldero, a now-imprisoned former political operative, and Pedro Soto, who once served as chief of staff to the head of Chicago Public Schools.
Caldero pleaded guilty to wire fraud and is serving a nearly five-year prison sentence. Prosecutors say he leaned on Solis to help an Ohio company win a $1 billion custodial services contract with CPS, as well as to get a street and park named in honor of members of the Cacciatore family.
Soto lied to the FBI about whether he had once given out inside information about contract bidding at CPS. A judge gave him probation.
This is the second time such testimony has been allowed during Madigan’s racketeering conspiracy trial. The once-powerful Southwest Side Democrat is accused of leading a criminal enterprise designed to enhance his political power and financial well-being. His longtime ally, Michael McClain, is accused of acting as his agent.
After the cross-examination of former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, jurors were also allowed to learn that related criminal charges were brought against former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and onetime City Club President Jay Doherty, as well as ComEd itself.
The jury was not allowed to learn how things turned out for that group, either. The charge against ComEd was dismissed. Pramaggiore, Hooker and Doherty were convicted at trial in 2023 along with McClain. However, the four have not been sentenced and are challenging the verdict.
It’s notable that Pramaggiore, Hooker and Doherty are named as co-conspirators in Madigan’s indictment — unlike Burke.
Earlier in Madigan’s trial Tuesday, McClain defense attorney John Mitchell painstakingly walked Solis through transcripts of conversations the former alderman either recorded in person or picked up by federal agents through a wiretap of Solis’ phone.
Solis confirmed multiple times that he and McClain had never explicitly discussed a requirement that developers needed to hire Madigan’s law firm in exchange for political support from the former speaker.
“You never, at any time … mentioned anything to Mike McClain about giving legal work to Mr. Madigan?” Mitchell asked in one exchange
“I believe that’s the case,” Solis replied.
Mitchell tried to cast doubt on Solis by pointing to Solis’ testimony that McClain had nodded at one point during a conversation that had been secretly video recorded.
“So the jury would have to rely on you for that,” Mitchell said in a rare biting moment during their exchange in the courtroom.
Mitchell also repeatedly asked Solis about conversations that showed that McClain and Madigan were increasingly questioning whether a Chinatown parking lot development actually had the public support that Solis professed it had.
Finally, Solis was forced to again acknowledge that he would lose his city of Chicago pension if he were to be convicted of a felony — something he hopes to avoid under the deal he struck with the feds.