Federal prosecutors are expected to lift the curtain on another round of Springfield intrigue Wednesday, taking jurors back in time to 2018 as they begin to make their case against the onetime chief of staff to former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan.
Opening statements in the perjury trial of Tim Mapes are set to begin Wednesday morning, following a two-day jury selection process that ended Tuesday with a panel of six men and six women.
Once the lawyers are done previewing the case for that jury, prosecutors are expected to begin calling witnesses. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Schwartz signaled Tuesday that one of those witnesses will likely be former state Rep. Greg Harris, who was secretly recorded by the FBI speaking with a longtime Madigan ally about becoming majority leader.
But Mapes’ defense attorneys have objected to that and other recordings. The feds hope to use them to convince jurors Mapes lied to a grand jury on March 31, 2021 when he claimed not to know about work being done for Madigan by that ally, Michael McClain.
McClain was convicted with three others earlier this year for a conspiracy to bribe Madigan. He also faces trial with Madigan in April in a second case, in which both men are charged with a racketeering conspiracy.
Mapes served for two decades as chief of staff to Madigan. But Madigan forced him to resign in 2018 amid bullying and harassment claims. Then, in early 2021, he found himself in front of the grand jury amid the aggressive federal investigation of his former boss and McClain.
Mapes is also charged with attempted obstruction of justice for his alleged bid to block that probe.
His lawyers have argued the questions posed to him in the grand jury were vague, and that some of his responses — like “I don’t recall” — were “literally true.” They’ve also suggested they’ll tell jurors that Mapes was caught off guard by the questions asked by prosecutors.
The jurors chosen Tuesday to help decide Mapes’ fate include a nurse, a TV meteorologist and an ultrasound technician. One juror said her sister works as a liaison between the FBI and the CIA, and another said he passed out signs on a few occasions for Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas. Another said he is involved in an organization that teaches computer code to high school students, and a woman from Beecher said she enjoys birding.
The panel is expected to hear dozens of recordings made by the FBI, largely as the #MeToo movement rocked Springfield in 2018, forcing some top officials like Mapes out of office.
Schwartz told U.S. District Judge John Kness on Tuesday about two recordings prosecutors hope to play once testimony begins Wednesday. In one recording from Nov. 30, 2018, McClain can allegedly be heard encouraging Harris to speak to Madigan about Harris’ interest in becoming majority leader in the House of Representatives.
Prosecutors have argued that the call shows that McClain “was asked for advice and that he gave advice.” But Mapes’ lawyers have objected to it, arguing that “Mapes was not asked about whether McClain gave advice to third parties.”
The second recording was of a call between McClain and state Rep. Robert “Bob” Rita about gaming legislation on May 24, 2018. When Rita asked McClain how to move the bill, McClain allegedly told him “let me check with Mapes.”
Mapes’ attorneys have said he was not asked about his handling of gaming legislation in the grand jury. Still, Mapes’ indictment alleges that he testified falsely about whether he knew McClain communicated with Rita in 2018, and whether McClain told him about those communications.
Rita is also expected to take the stand in Mapes’ trial. If he does, it would be his third round of testimony in a federal corruption trial this year.
Another early witness will likely be onetime Acting U.S. Attorney Gary Shapiro, who is expected to explain the secretive grand jury process to the trial jury.
