Illinois Sen. Emil Jones III strikes deal with feds to avoid conviction in bribery case

Illinois Sen. Emil Jones III has agreed to resolve his federal bribery case with a one-year deal that could spare him from a conviction but requires him to make a "number of admissions," prosecutors said Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood revealed the so-called deferred prosecution agreement during a status hearing in her courtroom, weeks before Jones was due to face a jury again. His first trial, in April, ended with a hung jury.

When Wood asked Jones whether he wanted to go forward with the arrangement, Jones said "absolutely."

The hearing hit a bit of a speed bump when Wood asked about a part of the deal that requires Jones to pay a $6,800 fine — even though the Democratic senator could wind up without a conviction. Ultimately, Wood agreed to approve the deal, finding that it was made in good faith.

She said the parties could bring an amended deal to her within 14 days.

Federal prosecutors in Chicago struck a similar deal in October with ex-AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza, whose own trial also ended with a hung jury.

Despite being a relatively straightforward case, Jones' trial in April featured plenty of intrigue. Jurors heard from a former red-light camera executive who wore a wire for the FBI after being caught giving “benefits” to public officials across the suburbs, and they viewed undercover recordings he made in 2019.

Prosecutors say Jones agreed to protect red-light camera executive Omar Maani in the Illinois Senate in exchange for $5,000 and a job for a former intern of Jones. The ex-intern wound up being paid $1,800 by Maani despite doing no work.

Jones had filed a bill in February 2019 that Maani saw as bad for business.

The alleged deal between Jones and Maani arose over two dinners in the summer of 2019 at the downtown steakhouse Steak 48.

During their first dinner together, on July 17, 2019, Maani asked how much he could raise for Jones “in an ideal world.”

Jones eventually said, “If you can raise me five grand, that’d be good.”

The senator also asked for a job for the ex-intern during that dinner. Then, during their later meeting on Aug. 8, 2019, Maani told Jones he’d help the ex-intern “100%.”

“And like I said before,” Maani added, “if you could just help me out with the, ah, the study to make it to Chicago.”

“You’re good,” Jones told him.

But when he took the witness stand in April, Jones denied that he’d struck any deal with Maani. He said his response to the businessman was simply “how I speak.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.