Federal prosecutors have begun their cross-examination of former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, kicking off what could be one of the most memorable and high-profile confrontations at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in years.
Madigan, long regarded as a political wizard and master strategist inside the Illinois Capitol, took the calculated risk last week of getting on the witness stand and testifying in his own defense against racketeering conspiracy charges.
But he is now facing off, under oath, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu, who built his own reputation as the driving force behind the decade-long investigation that forced Madigan from office and left him fighting for his freedom in a downtown courtroom.
USA v. Michael Madigan
Feds’ cross-exam of Madigan on Solis, McClain, no-show jobs marked by challenges — and chuckles
The highly anticipated confrontation between Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu and former House Speaker Mike Madigan drew a capacity crowd Monday to U.S. District Judge John Blakey’s courtroom. Bhachu spent about two and a half hours grilling the once-powerful Southwest Side Democrat.
ByJon Seidel, Tina Sfondeles,and 1 more
04:55 PM January 13, 2025
Jury excused for the day, back tomorrow
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Judge Blakey ends the trial for the day shortly before 5 p.m.
Madigan is expected to be back on the stand Tuesday with the government continuing their cross-examination.
04:43 PM January 13, 2025
‘The whole project would be in trouble’
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The government has accused Madigan of using his influence to get kickbacks from developers by having them hire his personal law firm for their tax needs.
In the same conversation, Madigan told Solis that “if they don’t get a good result on the real estate taxes, the whole project would be in trouble."|
Bhachu moves forward to another chat with Madigan and Solis and notes “what you didn’t say to Mr. Solis” was “there’s no connection between the approval of the project and your law firm getting business?”
“That’s correct,” Madigan replies.
Later, Madigan added,"I thought that I had delivered the message to him in that private meeting in my law office that there’d be no quid pro quo.”
04:36 PM January 13, 2025
‘You shouldn’t be talking like that’
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Madigan was also recorded reprimanding Solis for his casual use of the term ‘quid pro quo.’
— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) November 26, 2024Here's a look at Michael Madigan in July 2017, when he was caught on Danny Solis' camera scolding him for using the phrase "quid pro quo."
"You shouldn't be talking like that," Madigan told him. pic.twitter.com/To6COqfjwt
“The tone of your voice is quite low, correct?” Bhachu says after playing the recording for the jury.
Madigan says it was just “the two of us in the office.”
Bhachu: “You closed the door as well?”
Madigan: “Because I wanted to have a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Solis.”
04:31 PM January 13, 2025
‘A big red flag’
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Bhachu asked Madigan if that was “a big red flag.”
Madigan says “yes.”
Bhachu cites another conversation after Solis continued to to tie approvals for an apartment project in the West Loop to business for Madigan’s law firm, leading to this interaction:
Bhachu is walking Madigan through chats in which Solis continued to tie approvals for an apartment project in the West Loop to business for Madigan's law firm, leading to this interaction: pic.twitter.com/i5ASY3PcxO
— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) January 13, 2025
Bhachu: “Quid pro quo is a term that, to your understanding, means an exchange of this-for-that?”
Madigan: “Yes.”
Bhachu: “Big red flags in your mind, right?”
Madigan: “Yes.”
Bhachu: “Serious business?”
Madigan: “Yes.”
04:27 PM January 13, 2025
‘The quid pro quo’
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Bhachu says he’s going to switch now to questions about former Chicago Ald. Danny Solis, who is avoiding federal charges of his own by testifying against Madigan after spending years as a government mole and recording his conversations for the FBI.
Solis’ cooperation as an informant was first reported by the Sun-Times.
Related
- Solis secretly recorded fellow Ald. Burke to help feds in criminal investigation
Bhachu starts with a question about a 2017 conversation between Madigan and Solis in which the former alderperson made a comment to Madigan that a developer understood “the quid pro quo.”
One call that was processed in Cleveland was the 6/23/17 chat between Michael Madigan and Danny Solis in which Solis made his comment about the "quid pro quo." pic.twitter.com/mL9w1NKuvc
— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) December 3, 2024
04:04 PM January 13, 2025
‘I would say that I didn’t support it’
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Throughout the trial, prosecutors have tried to show that a big source of Madigan’s power came from his ability to elevate and kill legislation with his position as speaker of the house.
To that end, Bhachu turns to question about Juan Ochoa, who testified for the prosecution in November.
Related
- Jurors hear Madigan pushed Latino businessman for ComEd board after winning Gutierrez support
In secretly recorded calls and through witness testimony, jurors have heard how Madigan pushed for Ochoa to get a well-paid seat on the ComEd board. But before that, then-Gov. Blagojevich had tried to get Ochoa — at the time heading the agency which ran McCormick Place and Navy Pier — to fire Madigan associates.
In response to a question from Bhachu about that, Madigan replied “in light of how quickly” Ochoa followed Blagojevich’s order, “we knew there was a close connection, which raised a lot of concern.”
Bhachu asked if Madigan in turn blocked legislation the agency sought while Ochoa was CEO.
“I would say that I didn’t support it,” Madigan replied.
03:36 PM January 13, 2025
‘I don’t think I was as loyal to him as he was to me’
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Continuing in that thread, Bhachu asks more questions about the relationship between the two men and the level of respect they had for each other.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors have used the secret recordings of their conversations over the years to show how fiercely loyal McClain was to Madigan.
Bhachu: “You knew Mr. McClain was very loyal to you, didn’t you sir?”
Madigan: “Yes I did.”
Bhachu: “And were you very loyal to Mr. McClain?”
Madigan: “I don’t think I was as loyal to him as he was to me.”
Shortly after, Bhachu asks Madigan, “You trusted McClain with sensitive matters, didn’t you sir?”
“Sometimes,” Madigan replies.
03:31 PM January 13, 2025
Prosecutors raise the “musket” letter
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Bhachu turns to asking Madigan about McClain’s oft-quoted “musket” letter to the former speaker.
“At the end of the day I am at the bridge with my musket standing with and for the Madigan family,” McClain wrote in a flowery 2016 thank-you note.
“It was pretty common for him to express these types of sentiments of the close bond he had toward you?” Bhachu asks.
“He would express sentiments like this on occasion,” Madigan replies.
Bhachu: “Would you reciprocate?”
Madigan: “Not that I recall.”
Bhachu: “You never told him that you held him in high regard or you appreciated his friendship, you never told him that?”
Madigan: “Not that I recall.”
03:24 PM January 13, 2025
Trial resumes: ‘So this is a guy that I’m gonna wanna help...’
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Returning from the afternoon break, Bhachu dives into a series of questions about a secretly recorded phone call between Madigan and McClain regarding U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush’s son.
In a call played for jurors during the trial, Madigan tells McClain the congressman’s son, Jeffery Rush, “got himself jammed up” because he got caught having a sexual relationship with a person incarcerated in a facility within the state’s Department of Corrections while Jeffery Rush was working as a supervisor.
“So this is a guy that I’m gonna wanna help somewhere along the road,” Madigan was recorded saying.
— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) November 12, 2024Jurors then hear Madigan talk about wanting to help Jeffrey Rush.
"He got involved sexually with one of the inmates …." pic.twitter.com/ZosuWJYcif
On the stand, Madigan explains: “I received a call from his father, Congressman Rush, telling me that his son had made a big mistake. And he was trying to help his son, and would I be willing to try and help the son and give the son a second chance.”
Bhachu: “You didn’t do any further inquiry to find out what was going on here?”
Madigan: “I relied upon the representations of the father.” Bhachu: “That’s a no, then?”
Madigan: “I relied upon the representations of the father.”
02:39 PM January 13, 2025
Madigan: ‘a lot of people did it with the expectation that they would get a job’
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Just before wrapping up for a 30-minute afternoon break, Madigan says on the stand, “I viewed my job as finding people to work on behalf of Democratic candidates, and a lot of people did it with the expectation that they would get a job or a promotion.”
We’ll be back shortly.
02:36 PM January 13, 2025
Prosecutors play clips of Madigan interview discussing Hizzoner
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Bhachu follows with a series of clips from an interview that Madigan gave to the University of Illinois Chicago about the late Richard J. Daley.
And this: pic.twitter.com/DkIK0ffAQs
— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) January 13, 2025
02:34 PM January 13, 2025
Finding jobs for campaign workers: ‘That’s why they joined the organization.’
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Pressed about finding jobs for people active in his political campaigns, Madigan explained that he “worked to have a strong organization.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu then asked, “And, in order to have a strong ward organization, you needed volunteers who would help you get out the votes so you could get elected?”
Madigan: “That’s correct.”
Bhachu: “It was your understanding that many of the precinct captains and workers expected to receive your support in finding a job in return for the political work they performed for you?”
Madigan: “For many of them, that’s why they joined the organization.”
02:17 PM January 13, 2025
‘Honest, hard-working people with integrity’
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Bhachu has asked Madigan a line of questions about Ed Moody, who worked as a top precinct captain for Madigan for many years.
Moody testified earlier in the trial that he made hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments from ComEd for a no-show job in order keep doing volunteer political work for Illinois Democrats.
On the stand, Moody claimed Madigan told him, “This is how I reward my good soldiers.”
Bhachu pressed Madigan on whether he believed Ed Moody, before he began cooperating with investigator, to be an honest person.
“Not all the time,” Madigan replied.
Bhachu returned to that after a few questions, asking: “In your prior testimony, did you identify Mr. Moody as an … honest, hard-working person with integrity?”
“The answer is yes,” Madigan said.
02:01 PM January 13, 2025
‘I gave seven days a week.’
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Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu and Michael Madigan had a testy exchange about whether Madigan worked full-time as Speaker of the House.
Madigan: “I believe I testified that I worked at being Speaker seven days a week.”
Bhachu: “And you also had a law firm?”
Madigan: “Yes, I did.”
Bhachu: “So, you weren’t working full-time on being Speaker, were you sir?”
Madigan laughs: “We can define ‘full time,’ but I gave seven days a week.”
01:40 PM January 13, 2025
‘That’s my testimony.’
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Bhachu turns to questions about Madigan’s network of friends and associates, noting in particular the former speaker’s close relationship to former Ald. Frank Olivo.
Bhachu shows a note that Olivo’s son sent Madigan that reads “Dear Uncle Mike, Congratulations on the 2012 election.”
Madigan agrees that he socialized with Olivo and his wife, and watched Olivo’s son grow up.
Shortly after, Bhachu circles back again.
“It’s your testimony today, is it, that you had no idea that your longtime friend and political ally — whose son calls you ‘uncle’ — was getting paid eight years straight for doing little to no work for ComEd?”
“That’s my testimony,” Madigan says.
Bhachu takes a similar approach when he next asks Madigan about Ray Nice, his former precinct captain, who at one point was being paid $5,000 a month through a lobbying contract the utility had with former City Club president Jay Doherty.
“It’s your testimony that, for eight years, you didn’t have any idea that your precinct captain wasn’t doing a lick of work for ComEd, is that your testimony?” Bhachu asks.
Madigan: “Yes it is.”
01:28 PM January 13, 2025
‘That’s you laughing there, isn’t it sir?’
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The jury is played a phone call between Madigan and his longtime friend Michael McClain, who is also on trial, discussing contracts they were able to obtain for alleged no-show jobs at ComEd for several allies.
“Some of these guys made out like bandits Mike,” Madigan says.
“Oh my God, for very little work too,” McClain responds.
At least one juror smiled during the recording.
Bhachu follows the recording up with a question: “That’s you laughing there, isn’t it sir?”
“Yes,” Madigan responds.
Read the transcript below:
Transcripts of the "Bandits" call: pic.twitter.com/h9nLG4zQak
— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) January 13, 2025
01:20 PM January 13, 2025
Prosecutors begin questioning Madigan
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Former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan is seated in the witness chair and is being questioned by AUSA Amarjeet Bhachu.
“Mr. Madigan, before you began testifying last week, sir, you took an oath didn’t you?” Bhachu begins.
"… And you took an oath to tell the truth, didn’t you sir? … And you knew that the oath required you to tell the whole truth and not just part of the truth?”
Bhachu then begins playing the “Bandits” recording. You can read more about that and how the defense opened the door to the recording being allowed as evidence here.
01:17 PM January 13, 2025
Meet the prosecutor challenging Michael Madigan on the witness stand
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Soon after the feds’ latest campaign against Chicago corruption began to roil local politics and dominate the headlines, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu stepped off a crowded elevator one day at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
When the elevator doors had closed and Bhachu was gone, a man inside quipped, “Good thing I’m not a politician.”
By that time years ago, word was out that the no-nonsense prosecutor was at the center of an investigation swirling around some of the most powerful politicians in Chicago including, most notably, then-Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan.
That probe would end Madigan’s 36-year reign in Springfield and has forced him to fight for his freedom this winter inside a downtown courtroom. But now, Bhachu and Madigan are facing off in a showdown for the ages at the federal courthouse.
Read more about Amarjeet Bhachu
01:13 PM January 13, 2025
Jury making way back into the courtroom
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Judge Blakey is on the bench, Michael Madigan is taking the stand, and the jury is on its way to the courtroom. https://t.co/vCG3CIawgv
— Jon Seidel (@SeidelContent) January 13, 2025
01:11 PM January 13, 2025
The risks of Madigan taking the stand in his defense
By Jon Seidel, Tina Sfondeles
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Former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan took a big risk last week when he chose to testify in his own defense and deny that he’d ever sold his public office for private gain.
U.S. District Judge John Blakey ruled late last week that a notorious recording of Madigan allegedly joking about certain ComEd contractors making out “like bandits” could be heard by the jury after the judge had previously barred it from trial.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu had asked the judge to reconsider his previous ruling about the “bandits” recording after Madigan testified that he was “very angry” that associates of his had collected thousands of dollars from ComEd after they’d been hired at Madigan’s recommendation.
Read more about the ruling.
01:11 PM January 13, 2025
The racketeering case against Michael Madigan
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Michael Madigan is accused of leading a criminal enterprise designed to enhance his political power and enrich himself and his allies. Michael McClain, his longtime friend and ally, is also on trial and accused of acting as Madigan’s agent.
McClain, who has already been convicted in a previous trial of conspiring to bribe Madigan, declined before both juries to take the stand. But Madigan might see the move as his best chance to avoid a conviction.
Former Chicago Ald. Edward M. Burke, another old-school politician whose career broke records like Madigan’s, is now in prison after being convicted of racketeering a little more than a year ago. Unlike Madigan, Burke declined to testify.