IVCA Provides Updates for State Legislative Issues – 12/4/2024

Illinois Venture Capital Association Illinois Legislative Report
David Stricklin / Stricklin & Associates

Wednesday, December 4 2024

MADIGAN TRIAL NEARS CONCLUSION

The closely watched trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan has often been an eye-opener on how things did and did not get done in Illinois government and politics. The federal government is pursuing a corruption case against the powerful former speaker and this morning the signals are it could soon go to the jury. A former alderman who wore a wire for the federal government highlighted the last few days:

• Tribune…
  After six days of testimony against ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan, [Ex-Ald. Daniel Solis] was off the witness stand and out of the public eye, perhaps this time for good.
  His cooperation changed the state’s political trajectory, contributing to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s improbable election, putting former Ald. Edward Burke in prison and helping dethrone Madigan, the longest serving state legislative leader in the country when he resigned in 2021 before being charged.
  It also altered Solis’ own place in city history, from once-respected community leader and public servant to another fallen Chicago politician with dark secrets — in his case, bribe-taking, tax malfeasance, extramarital affairs and visits to erotic massage parlors, to name a few.
  In all, Solis has been working with the government for eight-and-a-half years, including more than two years wearing a wire for the FBI and recording closed-door meetings in City Hall and elsewhere. He agreed to let the feds listen to every word spoken on his cellphone. He was questioned under oath about some of the most sordid and embarrassing moments of his life.
• Sun-Times…
  Solis’ testimony ended similarly to Marquez’s. Prosecutors last month pointed to a “wholesale attack” on Marquez’s credibility and convinced Blakey to let Marquez testify about related criminal charges brought against former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and onetime City Club President Jay Doherty.
  Defense attorneys objected, but prosecutors wanted the jury to know that even though Marquez had struck a deal with authorities to avoid prison, his fate did not rest on the outcome of Madigan’s trial.
  Solis’ situation is similar, but defense attorneys did not publicly object this time. They might have done so during a private sidebar.
  Still, Madigan attorney Dan Collins on Monday actually asked Solis about Burke. He brought up famous quips from the Burke case like, “did we land … the tuna?” Blakey then told jurors to disregard it.

LEGISLATURE NOT IN SESSION / GOVERNOR LOW KEY

The Illinois General Assembly is not scheduled for session until January of 2025, while the governor has made a few announcements on projects but not many headlines. This is a historically slow period where the legislature is preparing bills for next session and the executive branch is sharpening pencils on what could be a very difficult fy 26 budget.