Feds to call ex-Ald. Solis as witness in Madigan corruption trial
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Federal prosecutors revealed Monday they plan to call former Chicago Ald. Danny Solis as a witness in former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's corruption trial in October, months after declining to call Solis to the stand in the trial of former Ald. Ed Burke.
In a lengthy court filing on Monday outlining the various evidence and witnesses prosecutors plan to present to the jury in Madigan's trial, they said they plan to call Solis to the witness stand. Solis has been cooperating with the feds for years, and agreed to wear a wire against Madigan and former Ald. Ed Burke, who was convicted of corruption charges in December.
Madigan is set to face trial on Oct. 8 on racketeering, conspiracy, bribery, and wire fraud charges accusing him of leading a criminal enterprise to boost his own political power and provide financial gain for himself and his allies.
In their court filing on Monday, prosecutors said they will show that the goals of the so-called "Madigan Enterprise" were "to financially reward Madigan's political allies, political workers, and associates for their loyalty, association with, and work for Madigan; and … to generate income for members and associates of the enterprise through illegal activities."
The case against Madigan in 2022 brought an end to his career as the longest-serving state house speaker in U.S. history, as well as his position as chair of the Illinois Democratic Party. Madigan stepped down as speaker in 2021 after it became public that he was the target of a sweeping federal probe. He resigned from the Illinois House altogether a month later, and gave up his party leadership post days after that. He was indicted in 2022.
Charged alongside Madigan is his longtime confidant, Michael McClain, a former state lawmaker and lobbyist who was convicted last year on separate charges of conspiring to bribe Madigan to benefit ComEd.
Federal prosecutors said Solis' testimony will revolve around secret recordings of Solis' conversations with Madigan, and will provide "devastating evidence that Madigan intended to personally benefit himself by causing Solis to leverage his official position" to squeeze real estate developers to hire Madigan's law firm for property tax work.
"Solis is expected to testify that Madigan continued to ask Solis during his cooperation to make introductions to developers so that Madigan could secure their tax business for his law firm," prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors said Solis also is expected to testify that he offered to introduce Madigan to the developers of the Old Post Office in downtown Chicago in exchange for Madigan helping him get an appointment to a state board.
When Solis later asked Madigan what would happen if Madigan were to recommend him in 2018 for a state board seat, Madigan told him "you'd come in as [the future Governor's] recommendation," referring to then-Democratic nominee for governor JB Pritzker.
"Solis is expected to testify that he understood this to mean that Madigan would convince the future Governor to appoint him to the State Board," prosecutors wrote.
However, according to the feds, the discussion was all part of a ruse as Solis was cooperating with their investigation.
"Solis raised this possible appointment with Madigan at the direction of law enforcement authorities, and Solis was not seeking an appointment to a State Board. Madigan, however, based on the recordings and interceptions, responded to Solis's request as if it were real," prosecutors wrote.
Pritzker has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The decision to call Solis as a witness against Madigan is a stark contrast to prosecutors' strategy in Burke's corruption trial last year. Prosecutors opted not to call Solis as a witness against Burke, instead presenting his wiretapped recordings of his former City Council colleague to the jury through the testimony of FBI agents.
Instead, Burke's defense team called Solis as a witness, in an attempt to discredit him, asking jurors why prosecutors didn't call him to the stand. But prosecutors argued they didn't need to call Solis to the stand to explain Burke's motives, because the secret recordings Solis obtained of his former colleague made that clear on their own.
Solis began cooperating with the feds in 2016, after he was confronted by the feds with evidence of his own wrongdoing. He agreed to wear a wire against Madigan, Burke, and other politicians, and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement that will see prosecutors drop bribery charges against him next year if he lives up to his end of the bargain.
Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge John Blakey delayed Madigan's trial for six months, until Oct. 8, while the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a separate bribery conviction in a Northwest Indiana case that could have a major impact on the case against Madigan.