Lake County Gazette

Last week marked the beginning of the racketeering conspiracy trial for former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan. His defense team argued that Madigan was unaware of conversations happening behind his back, claiming he was "ignorant" of such discussions.

However, prosecutors presented around 30 recordings that challenge this narrative. These recordings suggest that Michael McClain, a longtime friend of Madigan, transitioned from being a lobbyist to performing tasks for Madigan after retiring in late 2016. A prosecutor described these tasks as McClain doing Madigan's "dirty work."

In one recording from 2018, McClain is heard telling a veteran lawmaker, “This is no longer me talking. I’m an agent.”

The trial delved into allegations against Madigan and McClain involving a racketeering enterprise and a bribery scheme related to ComEd. Much evidence concerning ComEd had been presented in a separate trial last year, which resulted in convictions for McClain and three others.

Key testimony came from former state Representative Lou Lang as secret FBI recordings were introduced in court under U.S. District Judge John Blakey. This evidence aimed to support claims by prosecutors that Madigan led a criminal enterprise to boost his political power and benefit his allies with McClain acting as his representative.

Madigan's attorney Tom Breen maintained during opening statements that Madigan was "completely ignorant of what people are saying behind his back," arguing they lacked authority to speak on behalf of Madigan.

Lang testified about events from late 2018 when someone threatened to bring forward an allegation against him amid ongoing #MeToo scandals in Springfield.

During one call played for jurors, Madigan expressed concern about Lang becoming "a continuing problem." In another call, McClain asked if he should contact Lang directly with pressure to resign.

Lang recalled on the witness stand how McClain conveyed it was time for him to leave the General Assembly: “This is no longer me talking. I’m an agent,” said McClain during their conversation on November 8th, 2018.

“I understood at that time that [McClain] was a messenger for the speaker,” Lang stated while testifying.

Further coverage of the trial can be found through Chicago Sun-Times reporting on this case.