Prosecutors defend deal with former Ald. Danny Solis, saying he worked with feds for 6 years to expose corruption

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A federal judge on Thursday allowed federal prosecutors to proceed with their deferred prosecution agreement with former Ald. Daniel Solis, after the feds praised him for his "singular" cooperation in multiple high-profile corruption cases.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu has been cooperating with federal investigators since 2016, and during that time has helped them build racketeering indictments against Ald. Edward Burke and former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

"He didn't just talk. He took action. He worked with the federal government for six years to expose corruption," Bhachu said of Solis.

After Bhachu's passionate defense of the deal with Solis, U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood agreed to exclude three years' time in Solis' case, meaning he's now on track to have the bribery charge against him dismissed on April 8, 2025, if he lives up to his agreement to cooperate with the feds.

The development came after city attorneys decided not to follow through on suggestions last week that they might seek to intervene in the case.

At Thursday's hearing, Bhachu said the city's Law Department did not submit any filings in the case, a week after Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement that she was directing the city's Law Department to prepare a "victim impact statement" in the case.

In a statement on Friday, Lightfoot said, following multiple discussions with federal prosecutors over the past week, the city saw "no need to formally intervene" in the case.

"Separate and apart from this specific proceeding, we will continue to aggressively protect our residents and notably our taxpayers against individuals who commit crimes or otherwise unethically obtain city resources," Lightfoot said.

However, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, Solis' successor in the 25th Ward, filed his own victim impact statement on behalf of the ward, urging Wood to consider the impact of Solis' corruption on the ward and the city when sentencing him on one count of bribery.

"The harm caused by this corruption is generational," Sigcho-Lopez wrote.

Solis, 72, has entered into what is known as a deferred prosecution agreement, in which federal prosecutors have agreed to drop the bribery charge against Solis after three years in exchange for his continued cooperation in the cases against Burke, Madigan, and others.

As part of his deal with the feds, Solis admitted to taking $15,000 in bribes from a developer that needed his help with a zoning change in order to build an apartment building on land that had previously been a restaurant in his ward.

Wood said, while she read Sigcho-Lopez's victim impact statement closely, there has not been a conviction, trial, or guilty plea in the case, so there is no sentencing decision to consider at this point. What went unsaid in court was, if Solis lives up to the terms of his deferred prosecution agreement, the charges against him will be dismissed in 2025, and he won't ever face sentencing for his crimes.

The judge also said she has limited authority in deciding whether or not to approve a deferred prosecution agreement, saying the only question before her is essentially whether the deal is an attempt to circumvent Solis' right to a speedy trial. She also noted she doesn't have the authority to compel prosecutors to file additional charges in the case.

Bhachu defended federal prosecutors' deal with Solis, praising him for his extensive cooperation with multiple investigations. He said Solis has been cooperating with the feds for more than six years so far, ever since they approached him in 2016, while he was under investigation himself. Bhachu described Solis as "one of the most singular cooperators within the last several decades."

Solis recorded hundreds of conversations for the feds over the past six years, leading to multiple wiretaps, and his cooperation could end up lasting more than a decade when all is said and done.

"A lot of people talk about cleaning up corruption, and often all it amounts to is talk," Bhachu said. "It's rare when someone actually delivers, and in this regard, Mr. Solis delivered. He took concrete action," Bhachu said.

While Sigcho-Lopez's letter decried what he called Solis' "rampant and unchecked corruption," and suggested the deferred prosecution agreement would allow him to avoid being held accountable for his crimes, Bhachu contended Sigcho-Lopez was overstating Solis' misconduct, while underestimating the impact the deal will have on his life.

Bhachu said Solis has not only admitted to his crimes, and could face serious consequences if he violates the terms of his agreement; but has lost his seat in public office, has agreed not to ever hold elected office again, and has been ostracized by his former colleagues on the City Council after agreeing to wear a wire to record conversations with Burke and Madigan.

Solis also has agreed to testify on behalf of federal prosecutors in multiple cases.

"Many folks have no idea what type of commitment and sacrifice is required, because they haven't done anything like it," Bhachu said of Solis' cooperation with multiple federal investigations. "Life is never going to be the same for him again."

Bhachu also took issue with Sigcho-Lopez's complaints in his letter about various zoning decisions Solis made while in office, which Sigcho-Lopez said have resulted "in an unprecedented displacement of over 14,000 low income mainly Mexican and Mexican American residents from the Pilsen community."

"Disagreement over policies and how the ward should be developed or not developed, those things don't amount to federal crimes," Bhachu said.

After agreeing to move forward with the deferred prosecution agreement, Wood said prosecutors and defense attorneys would be required to submit quarterly written progress reports, starting in July.