Federal authorities have pursued former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan for more than a decade. But there’s been collateral damage along the way.
At least 21 individuals and businesses have faced related criminal charges since the investigation began. Nine have been sentenced to prison.
Here’s a look at those caught in the wake of the Madigan investigation:
Michael McClain
McClain is a former state lawmaker who became a lobbyist after his 1970s career in the Legislature. He developed a close friendship with Madigan and became known in Springfield as someone who would pass along messages and carry out tasks for the powerful but reclusive speaker. He’s now set to face trial for the second time in two years, this time as Madigan’s co-defendant. A jury convicted McClain and three others in May 2023 for a lengthy conspiracy to bribe Madigan to benefit ComEd. McClain and the others have yet to be sentenced, though. They are challenging their convictions following a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jay Doherty, John Hooker and Anne Pramaggiore
Onetime City Club President Doherty, ex-ComEd lobbyist Hooker and former ComEd CEO Pramaggiore were convicted at trial with McClain in May 2023. They were found guilty of a nearly decade-long conspiracy to bribe Madigan. A judge is considering whether those convictions should stand following the recent Supreme Court ruling. The high court said a bribery law used in the ComEd prosecution does not also criminalize after-the-fact rewards known as “gratuities.” The four have yet to be sentenced.
ComEd
Federal prosecutors first implicated Madigan in wrongdoing when they filed a bribery charge against ComEd, the largest utility in the state. ComEd acknowledged wrongdoing in the scheme by McClain, Pramaggiore, Hooker and Doherty to bribe Madigan. It also agreed to pay a $200 million fine and cooperate in the investigation. However, ComEd’s attorneys pleaded not guilty in court. And in July 2023, a judge dismissed the bribery charge under the terms of a deal struck by ComEd.
AT&T Illinois
The utility was charged in late 2022 for a scheme similar to the one that led to the convictions of McClain, Pramaggiore, Hooker and Doherty. AT&T Illinois was accused of funneling money to former state Rep. Edward Acevedo to influence Madigan. It entered into a two-year deal with prosecutors and agreed to pay a $23 million fine. It also agreed to cooperate in their investigation and, in return, the charge could be dismissed as soon as this month.
Eddie Acevedo and his sons
Former state Rep. Edward “Eddie” Acevedo and two sons, Alex and Michael, have all gone to prison for cheating on their taxes in spin-off prosecutions from the Madigan case. Edward and Michael Acevedo pleaded guilty and were sentenced to six months and one month, respectively. Alex Acevedo was found guilty at trial in January 2023 and was sentenced to two months. Edward Acevedo also plays a role in the Madigan case: Prosecutors say he was among the Madigan allies who received thousands of dollars from ComEd and AT&T Illinois for do-nothing jobs. All three Acevedos have served their sentences.
Edward Burke
Last year’s blockbuster trial of Burke — Chicago’s longest-serving City Council member — grew out of the Madigan investigation. Charles Cui, a developer, was also convicted. But longtime Burke ally Peter Andrews was acquitted by a jury. Burke was accused of using his powerful position to squeeze developers for business for his private tax law firm, while Cui was convicted of bribing Burke. Burke was sentenced to two years in prison and began serving his sentence on Sept. 23. Cui has been sentenced to 32 months and is due to report in January.
Roberto Caldero
Prosecutors say the former political operative leaned on then-Ald. Danny Solis to help an Ohio company win a $1 billion custodial services contract with Chicago Public Schools, as well as to get a street and park named in honor of members of the Cacciatore family. Along the way, prosecutors say Caldero offered Solis thousands of dollars in campaign contributions. Caldero pleaded guilty to wire fraud and is serving a nearly five-year prison sentence.
Annazette Collins
The former state senator was convicted by a jury of filing false tax returns in a prosecution spun off of the Madigan investigation. Her trial revealed that she was also caught while working at an insurance company submitting policies for people who did not apply for them or “did not exist.” That conduct did not lead to criminal charges. Collins is due to soon begin serving a one-year prison sentence.
Paul La Schiazza
The former president of AT&T Illinois is accused of funneling money to Eddie Acevedo in order to influence Madigan, a scheme similar to the one that led to convictions against McClain, Pramaggiore, Hooker and Doherty. La Schiazza went to trial in September but a jury failed to reach a verdict. A new trial has not been scheduled.
Timothy Mapes
Mapes spent two decades as Madigan’s chief of staff in Springfield, until Madigan forced him to resign in 2018 over bullying and harassment allegations. Then, in 2021, Mapes lied to a grand jury investigating Madigan and McClain. A jury found him guilty of perjury and attempted obstruction of justice in August 2023. He is now serving a 2½-year prison sentence.
Fidel Marquez
Marquez served as ComEd’s senior vice president of external and governmental affairs from March 2012 until September 2019. Near the end of his tenure, on Jan. 16, 2019, FBI agents appeared at his mother’s house. They put him in a car, drove him to a parking lot and convinced him to wear a wire on his friends and colleagues. He has since pleaded guilty to a bribery conspiracy, and his testimony in 2023 helped convict McClain, Pramaggiore, Hooker and Doherty. If his cooperation continues, prosecutors are expected to recommend he be sentenced to probation.
Martin Sandoval
The onetime state senator actually faced criminal charges in a separate investigation. However, his name surfaced as federal investigators dug into ComEd and its parent company, Exelon. Sandoval pleaded guilty to bribery and agreed to work with federal prosecutors, but he died of COVID-19 in December 2020.
Daniel Solis
Solis represented Chicago’s 25th Ward on the City Council from 1996 until 2019, when he was unmasked by the Chicago Sun-Times as a government mole. He rose from activist to become head of the Council’s powerful zoning committee. But in June 2016, FBI agents knocked on his door and confronted him with evidence of his alleged crimes. An FBI affidavit first obtained by the Sun-Times alleged that Solis had received “a steady flow of personal benefits” from people for whom he had either taken official action or had offered to take official action. The benefits allegedly included campaign contributions, prostitution services and Viagra. Solis quickly agreed to wear a wire for the FBI, helping agents record powerful politicians like Madigan and Burke. Solis has been charged with bribery, but prosecutors are expected to seek dismissal of that charge if he holds up his end of a cooperation deal they struck. He will likely escape conviction and avoid prison.
Pedro Soto
Soto once served as chief of staff to the head of Chicago Public Schools. Then he lied to the FBI about whether he had once given out inside information about bidding on a major custodial contract. He pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in a spin-off prosecution from the Madigan case, and a judge sentenced him to probation.
See Wong
Wong was a developer caught cheating Chinatown families out of more than $1 million more than a decade ago. Hoping for leniency at sentencing, he began providing information to the FBI in May 2014. A few months later, he secretly recorded an August 2014 meeting with Madigan and Solis. Wong’s actions set in motion a chain of events that led to Madigan’s indictment nearly eight years later. Still, in December 2022, a judge sentenced Wong to 16 months in prison. Wong has since served his sentence.
