Secret recordings give Madigan jurors look at patronage, payments and pillars of prosecution's case

Federal jurors Wednesday heard Michael J. Madigan’s allies talking on secret FBI recordings about an “old-fashioned patronage system,” the need to keep Madigan “happy” in Springfield, and how it’s unwise to “put anything in writing” because “all that can do is hurt ya.”

All told, prosecutors spent their day playing more than a dozen recordings in the corruption trial of Madigan, Illinois’ former longtime House speaker. Former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, who wore a wire for the FBI in 2019, continued to occupy the witness stand.

Jurors saw their first undercover video recordings since testimony began. Included were some of the most prominent recordings from 2023’s ComEd bribery trial, and Marquez’s testimony mirrored the comments he delivered then.

Jurors saw grainy video of Madigan ally Michael McClain meeting inside Saputo’s restaurant, a well-known Springfield haunt where “Higher and Higher” by Jackie Wilson could be heard in the background. They also saw then-City Club President Jay Doherty hold up four fingers to signal that former 13th Ward Ald. Frank Olivo was being paid $4,000 a month by ComEd.

Marquez made the videos early in 2019, in a bid to avoid prison, after the FBI confronted him with evidence of alleged wrongdoing. His testimony in the ComEd trial helped the feds secure the conviction of McClain, Doherty and two others for scheming to bribe Madigan.

Now prosecutors have begun to firm up one of the key pillars of that case, except this time against Madigan: The allegation that he conspired to accept bribes from ComEd officials in the form of payments for his allies, in exchange for favorable treatment of the utility’s legislative priorities.

Madigan resigned in 2021 and is more broadly accused of leading a criminal enterprise. Prosecutors say it was designed to enhance his power and enrich his allies. They say McClain, who is also on trial all over again, acted as his agent.

Madigan’s defense attorneys have tried to distance their client from McClain. But prosecutors have tied the two together through various recordings and testimony over the last few weeks.

For example, Madigan and McClain were caught on tape discussing claims against a veteran lawmaker. Madigan said he wanted McClain to pass along a message to resign, and to do it “sooner rather than later.” Jurors also heard longtime Madigan aide Will Cousineau testify that Madigan and McClain would sometimes meet privately at his office.

McClain told Madigan “I will never leave your side” in a 2016 retirement letter. In a similar note to a Madigan aide, McClain told him to “stay in the fox hole with the speaker!”

Now Marquez has testified that ComEd funneled thousands of dollars to Madigan’s allies as a “favor” so Madigan would look more kindly at ComEd legislation. Marquez testified that he fulfilled one such request because “this was Mike McClain asking me, and I understood that request comes from Michael Madigan.”

Some of that testimony got the attention of Madigan’s attorneys, who on Wednesday morning told U.S. District Judge John Blakey they planned to challenge it more aggressively. They questioned whether Marquez could properly testify about why the men were paid by ComEd.

Blakey countered that there’s been plenty of evidence “that one co-defendant is acting as the agent of the other.” Madigan attorney Todd Pugh insisted that “there’s no foundation” to support Marquez’s testimony that Olivo and others were paid to please Madigan.

But Blakely told him flatly, “I disagree with that.”

Marquez’s testimony could be problematic because of his deal with prosecutors, though. His credibility will surely come under fire when defense attorneys get their chance to cross-examine him. That might not happen until late Thursday, though.

Marquez did his undercover work around the time ComEd got a new CEO. Joseph Dominguez had taken over the role from Anne Pramaggiore, one of the two convicted last year with McClain and Doherty. Marquez sought help from McClain to figure out how to explain ComEd’s contract with Doherty — which was used to funnel money to Madigan’s allies — to the new boss.

Marquez wore a secret FBI camera when he met with McClain at Saputo’s in February 2019, and jurors saw the video Wednesday. Between bites, Marquez told McClain “it’s a legitimate question Joe’s gonna ask, ‘what are we paying Doherty for?'"

McClain warned Marquez, “don’t put anything in writing” and later added, “all that can do is hurt ya.”

Marquez met with Doherty the next week, again filming secretly and asking for his advice about Madigan’s allies. He asked Doherty, “do they do anything? … What do you have ‘em doing?”

“To answer the question, not much,” Doherty replied.

Doherty explained that he had virtually no contact with the men he cut checks for each month, including Olivo, former 23rd Ward Ald. Michael R. Zalewski and 13th Ward precinct captain Raymond Nice.

“My bottom line advice would be ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ with those guys,” Doherty said, later adding, “to keep Mike Madigan happy, I think it’s worth it.”

This all culminated in a March 2019 meeting between Marquez, McClain and Dominguez. McClain kicked it off by explaining Madigan’s history selecting meter readers for ComEd.

“You know,” he said, “it’s the old-fashioned patronage system.”

Contributing: Dave McKinney